Picture "Nicola Sturgeon visits Loanhead after school club and Community Nursery". from Daily Record Story "Nurseries, more hours and better teachers: Nicola Sturgeon's big idea to give every child a chance"
Nicola Sturgeon got her photograph taken in a nursery with someone else's child. This photo was used in a story against her "pledge"
"to make closing the gap between haves and have-nots the centrepiece of her next five years in office."
Nicola Sturgeon claimed in an interview with the Daily Record, at Bute House "her government’s priority is to improve the standard of teaching in nursery classes"
She also claimed
"“It means having teachers in there and having quality of provision.“One of the things we’re going to do is make sure that as we increase the quantity of childcare, we also improve the quality of it as well.”"
Within EIGHT DAYS of the Scottish elections, Labour's Dumfries and Galloway council revealed they were replacing all nursery teachers with "pre-school officers" to save £240,000.
Like Nick Clegg's pledge the opposite happens - instead of increased quality of nursery teachers all quality provision is being withdrawn for all the toddlers.
Dumfries council say they are moving the nursery teachers into schools because the SNP ""."Children and Young People Act." requires councils, by law, to develop flexible provision outwith the school day and in the school holidays, to better meet the needs of working parents and those seeking work"
Nicola Sturgeon's Children's Bill law dictates councils must provide 30 hours a week per child over 38 week.
But they cannot afford it - as the Scottish government dictates the budgets to every Scottish council - not just how many hours nursery provision they must make sure is funded.
So all the toddlers in Dumfries are the first to suffer 30 hours cheap and nasty supervision rather than 15 hours quality nursery education SNP government dictate based on the budget restrictions they also dictate.
The Scottish government know private nurseries and council nurseries, who currenlty provide over 70% of the nursery care provision, are currently running at an average £40k a year loss - that's for just 15 hours nursery care demanded by the Scottish government.
The Scottish government know doubling that to 30 hours that means double the losses - but a mass pool of cheap labour for corporations available 30 hours a week instead of 15 -and the only way nurseries can cover those massive losses is to replace qualified nursery teachers with unqualified staff to supervise rather than to teach.
And that is the way Nicola, who has no children, is replacing 15 hours quality nursery education with 30 hours supervision for all toddlers - a disaster for every child's "well being" and will only widen the attainment gap further.
But we must remember - if two doctors are married with two pre-school children - they can afford to pay extra for their children to ensure their children keep their quality nursery education.
NIcola expects low paid workers to give all the best paid people in Scotland £240 a week free subsidy for their two pre school children to go to nursery - but they can afford to top up the cost - so their toddlers are guaranteed a 30 hour a week quality nursery education - while those earning the minimum wage cannot afford to top up the cost of their toddlers child care and so their kids are supervised for 30 hours rather than getting 30 hours quality nursery education the heavily subsidised doctors, lawyers, boardroom members, tax avoiders, civil servants and MSP's get.
Who wants their children supervised for 30 hours without any nursery education - Nicola does.
Like Nick Clegg we find Nicola's "pledge" was just words for votes - and the opposite happens in reality.
The poor children's quality nursery education sacrificed for the children of the best paid people in Scotland - of which there are many.
Take the £120 week subsidy per child from all those parents who can well afford to pay their own nursery fees and give that £120 a week per child to the nurseries looking after the low paid workers children -to ensure they are not making a massive loss - that's the only way to ensure the attainment gap is closed.
You cannot close an attainment gap by replacing 15 hours quality nursery education for low paid workers pre school toddlers with 30 hours supervision by unqualified staff.
Doctors, lawyers, boardroom directors, bankers, top paid civil servants and MSP'S can well afford their own pre-school child care costs for 30 hours a week - low paid workers cannot.
Take away the subsidy for the best paid - who don't need it - and give it to top up the money required for the nurseries providing the service to the low paid workers is the ONLY way to ensure qualified nursery staff are not withdrawn - as has just happened in Dumfries.
Nicola is sacrificing quality nursery education for the children from low paid families - to ensure the best paid and their children get double the benefits and can afford the best nursery education money can buy at little cost to themselves.
That is Thatcherism - not socialism - forced on every council - no matter which badge is running it - because SNP government dictate the budgets and the policy and so are totally responsible - we must stop this now.
If the SNP government wants quality education for the poor children then withrdraw all subsidies for the best paid and transfer that money to the nurseries providing the services for the low paid workers children to GUARANTEE every worker in every one of those nurseries is a qualified nursery teacher - or better yet give the low paid workers £120 a week subsidy direct so they can stay at home and educate their own children should that be their preference - as previous generations of mothers used to do.