Editor’s view – Hot Spots

It has certainly been a month of meltdowns – not least in the sphere of government. Three different Education Secretaries in the space of three days and an ongoing sense of chaos which does not bode well for the challenges facing the early years sector. Now we have the possibility of the former childcare minister Liz Truss becoming PM. Back in the day, she tried to change ratios – so what’s the betting she would try to do so again?

Then of course there was the terrific heatwave – all two days of it. Amid blanket media coverage about the dangers of the extreme heat to children, the sector struggled to cope and decide whether to open or close. While for many it was a case of lots of water play and being outdoors in the shade (see online, 19 July), many settings admitted they were not equipped to operate in the extreme heat. However, not all children will have benefited from this decision, as Dr Julian Grenier points out on page 12. Those living in poor-quality accommodation, with little access to outdoor shade, might have been worse off than in nursery. Closures were also very bad news for hard-up families who could not go to work.