Standardization of entry threshold for kindergarten teachers
In Britain, if an adult wants to enter an early education institution and become an independent teacher, he must meet at least three conditions: he has graduated from high school, received early childhood education and training, has a recommendation letter from his former employer or school teacher, and has no criminal record.
The British government has formulated a very systematic level for the academic qualifications of early education practitioners, from the first level to the eighth level, and each level corresponds to the corresponding academic qualifications and abilities.
Liao Xiayin, who studied preschool education in Britain and worked in preschool education for many years, told reporters that the requirements for teachers in private kindergartens in Britain are at least level 3 or above, that is, reaching the academic level of high school graduation and pre-university education. The entry threshold for kindergarten teachers in public schools is higher, and they must reach Grade 6 or above, that is, bachelor degree or above.
The first and second grades belong to interns and are not allowed to attend classes alone in any preschool education institution.
In Britain, all jobs that will come into contact with children and vulnerable groups with disabilities require candidates to prove that they have no criminal record. "In a school, from principals, teachers and interns to cleaning aunts and maintenance masters, it is necessary to issue a certificate of no criminal record." Liao Xiayin said.
This does not mean that everyone must have a clean certificate of no criminal record, but if a person has a criminal record of hurting children, in theory, this person can't engage in direct contact with children in his life. This may explain why the data of the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse, the largest child protection agency in Britain, shows that most child abuse cases in Britain occur at home, not in kindergartens and schools.
Systematic supervision of professional institutions
All educational institutions in Britain, whether private or public, must be registered and supervised by the British Office of Educational Standards. This is a teaching quality supervision institution independent of the government, which can submit reports and suggestions directly to the British Minister of Education.
The inspection report of each school will be published in the official website of the Education Standards Office, and the contents are open and transparent, and everyone can check it for free at any time. The inspection results are divided into four grades: excellent, good, to be improved and unqualified.
The inspection frequency of the Office of Education Standards is related to the last inspection report of the school. Unqualified schools will receive more frequent inspections, usually several times a year; Schools that need improvement should be inspected again within two years; Good schools can't be inspected for 3 years; Excellent schools can be exempted from inspection for at least 5 years.
"The inspector can call the principal the afternoon before and inform him to supervise the next day without leaving too much preparation space for the school." Liao Xiayin said.
In addition to routine inspections, if parents or anyone calls the inspectors of the Education Standards Office to report suspected child abuse in the school, the Education Standards Office has the right to send inspectors to the school for inspection without notifying the school.
The Office of Education Standards stipulates that every school must have a complete set of child protection policies and plans. Each school also has a designated team of commissioners responsible for protecting children's safety, usually consisting of the principal and a teacher. If school staff find suspected child abuse, they should immediately record it in writing and notify the panel of commissioners. After consultation, the latter decides whether to start the protection plan immediately and whether to inform the local government, police or child welfare agencies to intervene.
Once the investigation agency is involved in confirming the child abuse situation, the kindergartens and teachers involved will face severe punishment. For kindergartens, even if they are not ordered to close down, they will be downgraded to "unqualified" and will be subject to more frequent and stricter review in the short term. For the teachers involved, in addition to being banned from working with children for life, they will also be tried by law. In 2009, a female kindergarten teacher was sentenced to life imprisonment for uploading a large number of photos of students to child pornography websites.
Pay attention to dredge teachers' emotions.
British kindergartens also have strict teacher-student ratio requirements. The younger children need teachers more. According to the provisions of the Education Standards Office, if an early education institution accepts babies under one year old, the teacher-student ratio is one to three, that is, every three babies need at least one teacher; Accept 1 to 2-year-old children, the teacher-student ratio is 1 4; Accepting children aged 2 to 3, the teacher-student ratio is 1 8.
The Office of Education Standards believes that a person's time and energy are limited, and letting a teacher take care of too many children will inevitably increase the pressure on teachers. If negative emotions are not channeled in time, it may lay a hidden danger for the occurrence of child abuse.
Liao Xiayin said that British schools also regularly or irregularly assess the teaching management level of each teacher and teaching assistant. One of the most important assessment contents is called "student behavior management", which is to assess whether teachers can effectively manage children's behavior.
If a teacher can't control the children, not only the safety of the children can't be guaranteed, but also the teachers themselves are prone to feel depressed and anxious, and then there will be a situation of "fighting violence with violence". "The more naughty the children are, the louder the teachers are, the more violent they are, the worse the relationship between teachers and students, and the more difficult it is to manage the class." She said.
In addition, some educational institutions in Britain will organize experienced kindergarten teachers to be volunteers and go to kindergartens regularly to help novice teachers who encounter difficulties in teaching.