Teachers aren't surrogate parents

So said Nick Clegg today and I agree entirely; but perhaps it's not the parents who need telling this, perhaps it's the schools and social systems themselves.

I don't expect teachers to be a parent to Rachel, absolutely not; but I DO expect them to communicate with me as her primary carer and therefore take into account my knowledge of her. This means dealing with each child as an individual, which is not what I experience from school.

When I tell school that she's worried about something at school I don't expect school to tell me there's nothing they can do about it. I expect them to listen to me as her parent, who knows her inside out, and explore how they can support me as a parent in her care.

I think the main problem is that the system wishes to dictate the way our children are brought up, based on some sort of fictional average child. As soon as this is corrected and children seen as individuals and parents valued as those who know best how to look after them, then the better.

I know that takes time and effort; but I'm sure the teachers would happily give up much of the form filling and testing in order to have time to spend nurturing and caring.