Meet Britain’s youngest teachers - the babies visiting primary school pupils to help them learn about empathy.
The tots are children of teachers at Ardgowan PS in Greenock and are brought into class to meet P3 pupils once a fortnight.
The schoolkids are able to see the infants grow and develop and learn about empathy, understanding and responsibility.
The youngest baby is little Ada Roberston, aged three months.
Her mother Lana teaches P2 and is on maternity leave, along with the two other mums.
Lana said: “It’s a real community. We’re all teachers here and the kids get to see us in a different way.”
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Fellow teacher Charlene McClusky, 28, insists it also helps her 10-month-old son Calvin. She said: “Basically, the children learn about our babies’ development.
“They ask us lots of questions about what the babies like to do, how we look after them, what to do if they’re being grumpy.
“And they just love getting to know the children and see how they grow and develop.
“It’s also great for us to interact with the children. We can use wee stories and scenarios of us looking after our babies to teach them empathy and different emotions and how to deal with different things in our lives like family situations.
“For Calvin, it’s made him more confident in groups, with the children looking at him and wanting to hold his hand.”
Colleague Stacey-Lee McLellan, 27, brings her little boy Millen, eight months, along.
Stacey-Lee added: “Even for kids who are a little challenging, they really adapt when the babies are in. It’s often them who are interacting more on a one-to-one level, so it’s good.”
The idea originated in Canada and is part of the international Roots of Empathy project.
P3 teacher Roly Srivastava, 53, said: “It has taught the children a lot. It’s had a positive impact on them because they have been able to understand feelings.”
