Local authorities are being given £11 million to train teachers to lead supervised toothbrushing in Reception classes in schools and in nurseries, the government has announced today.
Early years settings, including nurseries and schools, can voluntarily sign up to the scheme, with funding available from April.
The scheme is targeted at 3- to 5-year-olds in England, including pupils in Reception classes, in the most deprived areas of the country.
The money will be used for “teacher training, local staffing costs and the costs of providing take-home brushing packs, including toothbrushes and toothpaste,” the government has said.
Many welcomed the initiative, which was first announced in 2023 and was a manifesto commitment of the Labour Party.
But headteachers’ leaders have warned the government about “loading increasing expectations on schools” and expecting them to “fix all of society’s ills”.
Targeted at ‘most deprived areas’
The Department of Health and Social Care, which is leading the scheme, said that it is targeted at the most deprived areas of the country and aims to reach up to 600,000 children each year.
However, the government has yet to clarify which local authorities will be included in the programme.
Teachers will not be physically brushing the teeth, Tes understands, but instead leading a supervised session where the children are shown what to do.
While Labour’s initial plans proposed that the scheme would operate during breakfast clubs, toothbrushing in the current scheme may take place in the classroom or another suitable room.
As part of the initiative, Colgate-Palmolive will donate 23 million toothbrushes and toothpastes over the next five years, as well as educational materials.
Official data shows as many as six in 10 children in some areas have rotting teeth by the age of five, with clear differences between poorer regions of England and more affluent areas.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock called the figures “shocking” and said the scheme will ”revive the oral health of the nation”.
Early education minister Stephen Morgan said that school readiness “goes beyond what is taught in a classroom”.
He added: “By supporting the youngest children with vital life and development skills, more teachers will be able to focus on what they do best - teach.”
Don’t ‘shift’ parental responsibility to schools
Unions voiced concern over the scheme when it was initially proposed in 2023.
Reacting to the latest announcement, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said: ”There is no doubt that there is a crisis in childhood dental health in this country and the government are right to make it a priority.
”However, we cannot keep loading increasing expectations on schools. Nor can we keep looking to schools to fix all of society’s ills.”
He said that most people would see toothbrushing as a basic part of parenting, adding: “We must be careful not to shift what is ultimately a parental responsibility onto the shoulders of schools.
“The new expectations around breakfast clubs are already placing increasing demands in schools; there is only so much we can expect teachers and school staff to do.”
Mr Whiteman urged the government to think further about how parents can be supported to look after their children’s oral health and to focus on rebuilding NHS dentistry.
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