Walsall school 'employs staff member to change children's nappies'
An infant school in Walsall is employing someone dedicated to changing pupils’ nappies, says a leading councillor.
Walsall Council's education chief, Councillor Chris Towe, said the situation at the unnamed school was one of many examples of how youngsters are not ready to start school.
In a report to full council on Monday, Councillor Towe said letters will be sent out to parents informing them of the basic skills their children will be expected to have when they start school.
He said headteachers had raised concerns that many youngsters were two or three years behind where they should be with many unable to hold a pen properly, use knives and forks correctly, wash their hands and faces, hold conversations with adults, dress themselves, turn pages correctly or go to the toilet independently or still wearing nappies.
Councillor Towe added that he had a lot of support from schools for his plan.
Labour’s Diane Coughlan said: “I agree that children start school behind where they should be and are playing catch up.
“But we have a lot of children part of vulnerable families with a lot of issues. Sure Start Centres used to tackle these issues but they were scrapped due to austerity.
“For many parents, school readiness is simply not a priority for them so apart from simply sending a letter, what other support will they be given?”
But Councillor Towe said: “Clearly, over the years, many parents have not been taking responsibility in making sure their children are ready for school.
“There is an infant school in Walsall that employs someone to change nappies of children. We are talking about five-year-olds here and it is not acceptable.
“This can’t go on and I have had total support from schools and nurseries over this.
“The letter will give advice on what they can do or where they can get help but this is a first step to try to engage with parents so they understand their responsibilities.”
According to www.nhs.uk by the time children reach the age of four, they are expected to remain dry during the day with only some wetting the bed at night.
The ‘Scholastic’ website says developmental skills a four-year-old is expected to include: being able to dress, undress and brush their teeth, hold a book correctly and turn pages, draw simple shapes, use scissors and string beads, can listen to details and retell a story and recognise their own names.
