As a parent I don't believe in over pressuring kids to learn. I believe they need a normal childhood. It has affected my daughter to the point that she hates going to school everyday, and has no motivation to want to learn. It worries me because what will these kid's be doing when they grow up, and it is time to get jobs. We grew up just fine the way education was twenty five years ago most people have jobs, and are productive adults. Why do things have to become more difficult? Kids will have a low self esteem because of this, and feel they can not perform to standards. It also affects family life, and couples with young children who have a hard time focusing on all this work with other kids in the home. We have simply given up on the pressure, and let them learn at their own pace if they don't pass oh well we still love them the way they are. They are to pressured for what we used to do as kids. The people who make these stupid laws probably don't even have kids, or more than one.

Alicia, Chicago,

Every intelligent man and woman knows that the mind of a hild from 1 1/2 years onward is the greatest sponge for knowledge in the whole world so let's applaud the efforts to get our young children ahead of the world.

Jim T, Sol, WM

I would recommend that, rather than run around screaming with paranoia and writing angry comments with poor punctuation, grammar and too many exclamation marks, the people that seem so angered and scared by the EYFS actually read the documentation.

This article is hopelessly fear-mongering and misleading.

The EYFS is about treating each child as an individual, not setting blanket milestones for a whole year group. 'Continually assess' does not mean, as implied in the article, 'exams' - it means continuous observation, to assess how well each child is doing and to see if any one child needs more help, or perhaps more encouragement. Observation is good practice, and should be occurring already in our pre-schools.

Letter recognition, shape recognition, sound recognition - these are all part of the 'literacy and numeracy' skills mentioned, and all are done through play.

Know your enemy. If you fear change, read the EYFS first not dreadful biased and ill-informed articles like these.

Miss B, London,

I do understand that it is very difficult to get teachers to agree on strategies for change and therefore it falls to the government to set an agenda. However the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework is a very bureaucratic agenda to follow. While I applaud the desire to improve the life chances of children who currently fail within our system, I do deplore heavy handed legislation.
On page 1 of the EYFS it says "children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of Learning and Development are equally important and inter-connected" but then the document proceeds to put children into boxes by age as a tick list for progress. To me this is a contradiction.

I believe there is a place for expanding and extending the role of the Health Visitor for identifying children with needs. The Health Visitor can work within the family from before a child is born, has the expertise to alert other agencies when required and should be given the time to liaise with Early Years settings as necessary. The Health Visitor should support a child all through their Foundation Stage ensuring continuity of care and true involvement of parents and carers.
Let's train and empower Early Years practitioners so that they can react to each individual child's needs in an intuitive and spontaneous way without being encumbered with excessive planning, target setting and assessment. The framework needs to adjust to the child and not the child to the framework. While some children may thrive on early structured teaching, this can put others into a position of failure if begun too soon. We need to allow children whatever time they need to enable them to develop without failure and we need to have fewer tick boxes and more freed up fun in the Early Years.

Rachel Gallagher Early Years and Special Needs specialist teacher

Rachel Gallagher, Stockport, Cheshire

So who is going to be teaching this curriculum? Will it be none trained teachers? Will this mean a new level of civil servants to measure, control and report.?
Is this another vote catcher for Mr Brown/ I don't think so.

Bob Yexley, Ferndown,

The government's drive to get mothers back into work has increased the number of young children requiring childcare. In many of the inner city nurseries I visit, cuddles, family atmosphere, security, and spontaneous play have been banished from fear of accusations of paedophilia. Little security for so many little ones. Playspace is frequently taken up by the little tables and chairs one should only expect to see in formal school settings.
While learning skills is all part of the play experience, if nursery care (not education) is to be at all effective in preparing children for formal learning when they are really ready, then more guidance and ideas for play would surely be more effective rather than this 'tickbox' framework.
ESH Hampshire

Liz Scott Hall, Gosport, UK

Hopefully the framework is their for guidance and good foundation stage practioneers will already be familiar with brain -based learning theory and knowledge of what works .Foundation stage practioneers are caring and supporting the learning of 3-5 year olds through a rich range of play dance ,singing art ,freeplayand many activities both in nurseries and independent pre-schools.they know 3-5 year olds like to move around and that formal instruction is not suited to children for more than a few minutes at a time at this tender age.Which is why they use songs and nursery ryhmes to help children develop their language and phonetic understanding of sounds which naturally builds them up towards early reading skills.The best pre-school settings have a good balance .- practice which understands the early brain development with differential physical ,developmental as well as different personalities .My girls are early readers and have thrived in these settings with home support.

HK, LEICESTER,

It seems a shame if the government's new proposals are going to put parents off sending their children to pre-schools. I used to run a nursery with two friends where we had lots of fun, playing indoors and out. Learning about the world was incorporated into the children's play without them really realising they were being taught. For instance, counting and sharing were casually introduced through making playdough or real cakes. A very small amount of formal learning of letter sounds and number recognition was introduced to the four year olds. When I was a child there were no pre-schools and I would have loved to have had the opportunity to go. The main benefit of early years groups is the opportunity for children to play with other children, get used to being with other adults and learn to be happy without their parents being with them so that school is not such a shock. I went from being at home all the time to suddenly being in school five days a week - not good.

vicky coleman, dorking, surrey

Children in Asia are already writing 5 page term papers in the 5th grade. No wonder they'll be displacing the UK and US in science, math and technology advancement... God forbid we raise the bar on our children's learning to keep up with the rest of the world. It would have dire consequences to have our children to have higher quality education!

John, London, England

I was lucky not to work til boys age 5-6. I taught them everything, to read age 3-4, chess age 3-4 but plenty of games, parks, swims etc too. Balance in life is what counts and a firm but loving Mum. Now aged 31 & 32 they are great men, very good careers, one married, both happy, own cars and property, etc but had no dad after divorce since they were 5-6. Teaching, whoever does it, needs balance and TLC at that age. Unfortunately, staff vary too much.

MS MR SMITH, NORTHAMPTON, uk

Possibly better than filling their heads with apocalyptic predictions about Global Warming, nuclear holocausts and other fears

grant watt, glenning valley, australia

I haev a 12 month old little girl who is a happy and sociable baby. I am running to get to the "best" nurseries" / "schools" since she was 6 months. However I have to say that to be told that my daughter will be assess at 4 to see if she can get into a prep.school frightens me!

Let children be children we kill their dreams with all the TV/games ect... they just need to have the time to grow as a flower.

JP, london,

I see this as a covert governmental way of trying to 'compensate' for the huge mistake of persuading/bullying mothers of young children back into the workplace too early, thus leaving their very young children to be largely brought up by well-meaning strangers. A loving mother who has no 'teaching diplomas' but who understands and communicates with her toddler/young child is 100% more effective than all the trained staff in the world. Emotional balance is what matters for 3/4 year-olds

F Phillips, Aylesbury, Bucks

I am pleased that my children are now well past that stage, I think that if they were toddlers today I would keep them and home and allow them to be children. In my view it was a detrimental step when Playgroups had to rename themselves as Pre schools. Children at that age need to experiment through play, talk and learn to take turns and get along with each other. Staff will be so busy ticking boxes and recording children's responses that it won't leave time for interacting with the children. I heard last week of someone with a 14 month old who was told when she collected her that she had made 'sad choices'. She is a baby playing-how can she possibly at that age be making 'sad choices'?!. I think it is so sad.

Jenny, Reading, England

THANK GOD I had a sterilization! I would never want to put my child through an educational ordeal like this!

Petra Muths, Street, UK

Isn't there a conflict of interests between the state and parents on the issue of the education of our children?

I feel that education should be provided by local community schools funded as cooperatives. Wouldn't trust the state or a profit driven organisation with my children.

David, London, UK

“An early ‘head start’ in literacy is now known to precipitate unforeseen difficulties later on — sometimes including unpredictable emotional and behavioral problems.” At least this did not apply to my children. Having spent years teaching English as a Foreign Language (the unrecognized poor relation of the teaching world) I know a thing or two about teaching. My children learnt to read (tested thoroughly - not memorizing text etc) at 3years 3 months, 3 years 6 months and 2 years 10 months. This was not done with any difficulty at all - they thoroughly enjoy(ed) reading and did not turn into juvenile delinquents or suffer emotional problems of any kind. They felt very confident in school and all progressed with ease. My eldest son has just qualified as a doctor at the age of 22. I found a1960's book at a car boot sale which showed that a group of parents had found this possible back then. We tend to think that young children cannot have an intellectual life - this is wrong.

Alan Urdaibay, Paignton, Devon

Am a Childminder and we have already been given training and the documents for this. Personally, I think its wrong and this is 'education on the cheap'. We are not qualified teachers, and nor are nursery staff required to be, but this is being used as so. It will take away the play ethic and give us all far, far more paperwork to complete each day - making us all feel like Big Brother! I for one shall not be following it, preferring to educate throgh play and experience with my charges!

Name withheld, london, england

This has obviously been planned for a along time, step by step.
It is absolutely disgusting that children should be in school so young when by nature they should be involved in unstructered play in order to develop into healthy human beings. And this is exactly what the system does not want. And let's not talk about the absurdity of compulsory lessons later on,that are led by teachers who are usually as boring as the lessons they are supposed to teach or rather repeat , without even considering that they have been heavily indoctrinated themselves.It is sad that many teachers do not have e thought in their head that come fromthemselves. This new curriculum is designed to force children to memorize and follow instruction without without developing intuition and common sense and it has been designed for that sole purpose alone. It is a malignancy inflicted at an early age when it is going to be very difficult even for enlightened parents to counteract its damaging effects.

Alex, London,

This is not democracy, this is state control. It is unaceptable and must be challenged. You always have a choice. The populace can take this to the human rights and en masse, nurseries, especially the non-mainstream ones ( where parents send their children through choice ) should refuse to implement it. The people have the power to change that which is not acceptable if they stick together. Children must be free to play and grow naruraly

Y. Becha, Stirling, Scotland

Stalinist indeed. This is truly shocking, not to mention frightening. This government seems bent on destroying children's development, and families as a whole. Why bother with parents at all? Why not just take babies from the maternity ward and release them with worthless degrees at 21? I can only pity the poor nursery school teachers who are expected to toe the line rather than getting on with interacting with each child and enabling him/her to develop at his/her own pace. And if the government is so bothered about children's development, why is it pushing mothers back to work? Is it because they want to make sure the children are all thinking the 'right' thoughts before some dastardly mother can tell them otherwise? It's positively sinister. I am fuming!

Rachel, Leeds,

My children are Aug babe's and so went to school just as they turned 4 - far too young - the eldest hated it and screamed every day on the way to school. School was great, small, experienced teacher etc... couldn't fault it. However at 5 he was to go into yr1 - we decided at that point to home educate - what a difference. His peers were getting upto 4hrs of homework PER WEEK!! My son had lots more play, socialised well, gained in confidence, we then went travelling so no 'formal' work undertaken, except that of life. We moved abroad during this time, (they don't start school until 6 and yes they too have better results than uk!) We do a little formal work now with him, but because it is 1 on 1 time - he is already progressing well above his peers. Support available from home ed groups.I am just average mum and really believe that giving personalised teaching/education gives your child so much more than school can. I say take control of your child's education yourself!

Jane, WA,

Sorry sue in Bristol the EYFS is a statutory curriculum calling it a framework doesn't disguise what it is!

Marion, Durham,

There is no obligation for children to be in any form of education in the UK until the age of five -- parents who send their children to "nursery" and "reception" are simply availing themselves of state funded childcare (note not the "early education" that such childcare is sold to us as). The government benefits by more women going back to work earlier than they would otherwise, and their direct taxation makes this a nice little earner for a government that would like to have have both parents out working in all families and the children in state-sponsored care.

Why not just say no? Keep your children at home, let them play, let them have a childhood ... and when they're five they can start school and begin to learn. Don't worry that they'll have fallen behind their peers who've been stuck in classrooms since the age of three -- they won't. What they will have had is a stress-free early childhood that will equip them well for later learning.

Until recent years, this was the norm.

Antonia Robinson, Dulwich, London

"I'm from the government, I know best and I'm here to help. - Now, give me your monies, liberties, freedoms and children."

DanO, Mount Vernon, USA

Bill Q, Derby wonders whether sending your children to pre-school will become compulsary. Well, I am a single mum who has been fighting against the immense government pressure for every mother to go back to work and hand over their child to someone else to bring up, within minutes of them leaving the womb. Now my son is almost 3, will soon be getting his 'tokens' entititling him to 2.5 days free at pre-school (which I believe all children get), and it feels a lot like I have very little choice left, however much I disagree with this new 'curriculum'. And I wonder how many of you would look down on mothers who decide not to put up with it, and have to stay on benefits a couple more years?

To take everything that is wrong with schools (targets, too much testing, etc.) and foist it on even smaller children is truly sickening. A young, curious child's natural inclanation towards learning is to find it fun and enriching - why must this government insist on taking that away from them?

Sally, Shropshire, England

"It will induce needless anxiety and dent children’s enthusiasm for learning, "........


As with everything else that this Government has already done. Won't be long before women give birth and hand their progeny over to the state. It will be law, naturally.

Judy , Liverpool, england

This is not a straightforward issue. I suggest that the agenda of those petitioning the government about this issue of the Early Years Foundation Stage becoming statutory is not as straightforward as people think.

I agree totally that the EYFS should not be encapsulated in law. But what has led to this formality has arisen from some of the very people (I suspect) who are now arguing against the EYFS.

We have a very powerful group of early years advisers. They themselves have dictated to early years teachers and nursery nurses how they should set up their Foundation Stage settings. This includes a very formal emphasis on constant observations which then have to be recorded formally in the Foundation Stage Profiles to 'evidence' the 'point' that pre-schoolers have reached.

This currrent agenda is about undermining the Rose Report. We need an urgent national debate to thrash out the true issues here. People could easily become duped with anti-government hysteria.

Debbie Hepplewhite, Newbury, England

There is a small group of around 10,000 agent provocateurs embedded into the education, legal and political system of Great Britain. They are working towards a goal of a one party state in the UK and the EU. The once called themselves Marxists or Trots while at Uni in the sixties but dropped those labels when the horrors of Soviet and Chinese systems became apparent. They are trying to control and divide the population and “shape” it to their Utopian dream of the State being all and the individual there to serve it.
Their “God” Georg W.F. Hegel's and their “mission statement” from the mouth of the man his self:
"When men understand that there is an Idea, that the state and its institutions constitute its temporal manifestation, and when they accept and subordinate themselves to the state and its institutions, then they are free. This is Hegel's definition of freedom, they are fanatics and a true cult.
They believe to the core of the black-hearted souls that they own your children

Ken Warren, Melbourne, Australia

Whether it's a curriculum or a framework, I still find the idea of this - 'the Government’s drive to make children aged 3 and 4 write simple sentences using punctuation, interpret phonic methods to read complex words and use mathematical ideas to solve practical problems.' - bizarre. I have not seen the documentation, but have to say that non of the pre-schoolers I know are ready to have the writing of even simple sentences modelled to them. I believe that children up to the age of 7 should be experiencing the wonders of the world and shown that they can express these things orally, pictorally or through movement.

C Ingram, Richmond,

So far as it is not corrected, the debacle diminishes the international reputation of H.M.G. and the average Brit alike.


From America,

Michael Campbell, Pineville, Louisiana

The only serious argument against the new OPEN EYE campaign is that the EYFS is a ‘framework’, not a ‘curriculum’. Yet this is a vacuous argument: perhaps some inhabit an Alice-thru-the looking –glass world in which just naming something in a certain way somehow magically guarantees its beneficent nature? All that matters in practice is what actual effects the framework will have on the learning experiences of practitioners and children – and it seems clear that an often very young, under-resourced and under-trained early years workforce will indeed tend to interpret the new framework with a rigid, audit-driven sensibility. The more this happens, the less will practitioners just be warmly available to their children in the fullest sense; and surely it is the latter that matters most for young children. Is this constant, unrelenting observation a disciplining preparation for the ‘surveillance society’ into which, under the present government, they will unquestionably grow up, I wonder?

Richard House (OPEN EYE campaign), London W3, UK

What the Government is after is total control from birth to death as it tries to become the corporate parent/dictator.!!!!!!!!!!

Most people do not see it though.

How much paperwork and time is being wasted on all this theory- when children of that age just need to live and have FUN.!!!

These old fashioned patriarchs should be put out to grass and allow a new breath of fresh air in to the lives of children.

Children want to dance and sing, and play FREELY.

Freedom is not on the agenda I see.

Lilith Barrett, London., UK

All of this is intentionally being done with the ironic and grim intention of disabling and dumbing down children.
The one thing these Fabien types at the top want is free unstructured play by children. That leads to individualism and free thinking and these are being weeded out of society by the clever ones at the top.

The Good Doctor, London,

that is why I home schooled all my children.

I know hundreds of others removing their children from the system.

That is the only way for people to get the message into their thick heads- and boy have MP's got thick heads.!!!!!!!!!!

Lilith Barrett, London., UK

The idea that nursery-age children should be reading and writing is based on a complete lack of understanding of child development. I can't believe that so-called experts are proposing these very measures when it is oral skills that need to be developed at this age. Surely we should be looking at what has been shown to give the best results? Finland, which has the highest level of academic achievement in schools, doesn't start formal education until the age of seven! Yet in this country we are pushing younger and younger children into formal learning. This is not only inappropriate; it is counterproductive.
I do appreciate the fact that this government is deeply commited to helping disadvantaged children and has made this a priority; but the news that these misguided measures are to be made compulsory and have been introduced without any public debate is extremely worrying.

julie rawnsley, london, uk

Have you read the documentation? It is a framework not a curriculum. I work in a state nursery. Synthetic phonics in nursery is learning to listen to sounds around us and different sounds in speech it is not not teaching a letter a week which has been going on for years! My planning is all based on play, most of wk is spent teaching social skills and speech (via play). In my school neither nursery or reception children are formally taught to write. Yes good writing practice is modelled to them - in play ie. an invitation to a party. My understanding of EYFS is that it takes a child as an individual, you work to their interests. Statutory parts are ratios, food safety certificates etc all things that exist in the private sector but not the state. What tests are these children going to be undertaking?They will be observed. Observation is good practice without it you cannot plan and don't know what skills the children need to develop. Nurseries are so much more play based than 5 yrs ago.

Jo Riddle, Hitchin, Herts

When I was taking my BEd degree, I learned that there are many forms of child abuse. One of these is to take away the opportunity to be a child. What the government has done to the education system is just that. How can they now apply that formality and prescriptiveness to the education of 3 and 4 year olds? If a group of pre-schoolers are not allowed to wonder at the beauty of a frosty branch because their nursery teacher has to teach phonics, we are going to have some incredibly deprived youngsters on our hands.
My little boy is almost 3. He is very well behaved and knows his alphabet and numbers to 12 with no formal learning or prompting from anyone. Yet I'd like to see a government official sitting him down to learn how to read and write.

It looks as though the new primary National Curriculum offers more flexibility for individual pupils (is this just rhetoric?) so what on earth is the thinking behind this crazy curriculum for pre-schoolers? It's absurd!

C Ingram, Richmond,

I work in a preschool and just want to say the new eyfs is a framework as some have already stated and the children still learn through play. Our chidren do not sit any test and will never have to not even with the new framework, when a child shows an interest in writing, then we help and guide them to be able to advance on this. We dont have children writing words the only words that Our children try and write is their own names. If a child wants to do more, then they are encouraged and helped to do so. They move freely around the planned activities and the staff monitor and listen to their socialisation with others and this is how we assess them against the framework. The only fault I can find is the extra work that practitioners have to do for such little pay. But all children will be cared for equally across the country.

A Kennedy, Manchester, UK

Have to agree with comment that this document is not a curriculum but a frame work
I have worked in early years for over 16 years and have already been involved in training to support Pre schools in the implementation of EYFS
Assessment forms only a very small part of the whole document with the main focus being play based with a strong emphasis on Personal Social and Emotional Development
How can Pre school practitioners support learning and development if they do not have a sound understanding of what the children in their care already enjoy
Then our job is to give them the best opportunities to play even more
Look at the document as a framework
It is welcomed by many dedicated Early Years professionals

M Nixon, Warington,

"I think managing intelligence is not a bad thing. Children can be assessed earlier and that will allow those that may have a learning problem, to be identified quicker and as such, help parents understand what options are avaialable, sooner!

Yes, there is a down side to it, but overall, i think the risks are far less than the potential benefits. It will also give children a greater sense of purpose and invovlement when they get older and contribute more positively to society.

Danny Brown, DERBY, UK"

Ministry of Education employee in the house!

Elizabeth, Glasgow,

The comparison with Stalin is highly apt.
I find this terrifying; not only is it very detrimental to young children, it undermines the professional informed judgements of peoole who know what is best for children ie teachers, childminders and most fundamentally of all PARENTS too and yes, parents can be professiomal and experts with regard to their own children, as Montessori pointed out. She identified the benefit of an expert mother to the child ie a mother who observes her child and provides what he needs to grow as he needs it. This is possibly the most frightening attack on civil liberties yet that this administration have mounted but it comes in the midst of other measures seeking to undermine parental authority and therefore healthy child development and the intergrity of the family. I have just registred as a childminder. I will ensure every child in my care is going tohave the time to learn what they need to when they need to in the way they need .

Karen Rodgers, Cambridge, Cambs

This Stalinist Labour Government with its control-freak mindset so typical of the Left-Wing has already ruined the Primary education experience for children and teachers with over-testing, a narrowed but overburdened curriculum, targets that result in a dumbing down of professionalism and massive amounts of paperwork requiring endless " meetings".

The sort of people who have pushed forward this Nursery curriculum have no idea of normal human interaction and development and are clearly motivated by Orwellian ideals -it simply reeks of Bottler Bean and his useless Government, who have not learnt lessons from the failure of the prescriptive 5 to 11 yr micro-management which has dehumanised many schools. ( Some have successfully ignored the Labour mania.)

Labour are completely out of touch ( as evidenced by the massive data loss affecting, potentially, every family with young children) with the ordinary working or retired person.

Paul Butler, Reading, UK

You Brits had better nip this today! What happened to choice? What sort of bureaucracy will have to be in place to watch over these poor little children? The world has always admired your educational system, but this is nothing to emulate or admire.
D. Allen-Martin, South Carolina, U.S.A.

D. Allen-Martin, Rock Hill, S.C.

As a mother of 3 children, and someone who has worked in a pre-school, I am appalled that the State is imposing this measure on such small children. The early years should be a time when children learn to socialise with other children, rather than preparing for exams. There is more than enough time spent on exam preparation when they get older.

Sharon Fishwick, Sevenoaks,

Continually assessing kids from the age of 3! Against a national famework! Even Stalin didn't try this one.

When are kids meant to be kids? Why oh why do we have to rush them into the adult world of monitoring and performance appraisals?


HEY! TEACHER! LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE.
ALL IN ALL YOU'RE JUST A...NOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL.

Mike Poole, Chester,

Attempting to accelerate the learning patterns for young
children, a well known and reliable field of study,, .not only
will cause irrepairable harm to their brains, but it will
produce such disruptive and aggressive behavior in
some, that an entire new industry will have to be introduced
to handle emotionally and intellectually damaged elementary
aged school children. Maybe that's what the promoters
have in mind. Those proposing this should be
under serious investigation for motive and purpose and'promptly removed from official educational positions.

Carole Cameron Shaw, Black Mountain, North Carolina

I work in a pre-school and view with horror the idea of this "curriculum". The main reasons for children to attend pre-school setting is 1) to develop their social skills by interacting with other children and adults; 2) working through play to physically build up their small and large motor skills; 3) develop their creativeness by doing things that they are probably not allowed to do at home such as painting and sticking. These skills
need to be learnt before there is any chance of them learning to read and write.

I am appalled by these latest ideas and can only hope that someone in government comes to their senses before it is too late.

Children already begin Reception class far too early and we know for a fact that the children in our group do not do half as much there as they do in the pre-school.

I just hope that the Pre-School Learning Assocation gets it act together and speaks out against it which they should be doing already but seem remarkably silent.

I

Sue van der Veen, Swanley, Kent

I studied speech and language therapy and psychology.
Many children at age 3 or 4 are not yet secure in their speech sound systems nor in their grammatical development.
Is the UK government seriously suggesting that a child who may still pronounce "cat" as "tat" should be learning to spell?
Should a child who may cheerfully report "I swimmed a long way today" be learning to write in sentences?
Is there any research that shows that children in "good enough" homes benefit from such academic early intervention?

N H , Dublin , Ireland

My Middle child attends a small primary school, a schol that turned the acheivements of my eldest round in the 8 months she spent there.She left a school that was target obsessed in the Oct of yr 6 with predicted level 3's went to a school that cherished childhood, where the head had an ethos of family within school and of valueing positive qualities of all kinds. HAPPINESS was key in the school, parents went in and out freely to help, and the head ran the beer tent at the summer barbeque.She left 8 months on with high level 5's . Now he has moved on, the deputy is acting up, and how, target led statistic obsessed. Drakonian looking to find fault. parents unwelcome. Just what the govt wants!

It is a school that parents are desperate to get a place at, ex pupils, and parents go back and back to support it, not for much longer it's being dismantled, and where is the acting head? Oh in her office doesn't even show her face in assembly. presumably too busy ticking boxes!!!!!!!!!

sharon Knight, london, uk

The problem as usual is that the ones in political power do not consult enough education experts who are suggesting something totally the opposite.
Play is crucial in the early years. There is no need or hurry to introduce formal and academic learning - children this age are not ready and not interested in it. And it might be counterproductive.Children might get bored of learning at an early age and some might even opt out. It is more important to help children acquire personal and social skills which help them to become independent learners that are crucial and basic skills that children need to acquire. As suggested, the well-known Scandinavian approach (of well-being, care, and very informal teaching) is giving very positive results. Why is it so difficult to follow good practice of others, which if it is considered, needs to be modified to meet the needs of the British students while taking into consideration the British culture?

Josephine Deguara, Malta,

Here in Northern Ireland, with just a stretch of water between us and the rest of the UK, we have just introduced an Enriched Curriculum whereby children at both pre-school and primary level will learn through play rather than formal education. I'm very pleased that these proposed measures seem to have "sunk" before reaching our shores but feel very saddened that others are less fortunate. There are advantages to being considered a "remote" part of the UK!

T Majury, BELFAST , N IRELAND

A child's first 5 years of life provide a foundation for it's future: a springboard from which to maximise potential, and face the opportunities and challenges of life ahead. Weak foundations have severe consequences.
A good foundation requires emotional security, a sense of self worth, and a desire to learn, which then foster confidence and independence.
These are best achieved not through sums and punctuation, but through mum's unconditional love and presence in the child's early years.

M Bienfait, St Albans,

Over the last ten years or so pre-schools have seen a number of these initiatives. My wife used to work in a voluntary pre-school and it is clear that children's behaviour has got worse. Many children at 3 years old need to learn social skills, eg how to share. They need to have the physical side of play to master hand eye co-ordination, balance, motor skills etc. Learning is not just about academic skills such as reading and writing. They will have ample time to master those skills as they get older.

Is there a relationship between better behaved children in many continental countries and the fact that they start formal learning at age 6 or 7? Spending more time on play etc may be what our children need not less!

Colin Bland, Taverham, Norfolk

Have any of these critics actually read the EYFS? It is a framework, not a curriculum. It looks at the needs of the child. It promotes learning through play.
Our children deserve quality childcare, and that is what the framework promotes.

sue, bristol,

I am disgusted by this news. This government is out of control, this yet another example of Britain becoming a totalitarian state. I presently have two children one of which is in school the other attends nursery. My wife and I are expecting a baby next year. If this becomes law our baby will not attend nursery we will make alternative arrangements at home.

Nick, Chesham, UK

In my home country children start school at 6, no need to do any of these pre school test prior to going. I think England should look more towards Continental Europe. There is no need for this pressure in the early years. there will be enough stress in later life.

Henry, London,

I agree with Donna Walker (This sounds like a very good reason to give up work for a few years and look after your own children - at home - in order to give them the childhood they need and deserve until they are required by law to start formal education) - well said!

Sticking children into the rat race we all deep down hate is unfair. Let's stick to our guns and GIVE CHILDREN THE CHILDHOOD THEY DESERVE. THey will have PLENTY of time to learn how to read, write and count, so long as the propoer formal schooling systems are top quality (just before they get to university hopefully...).

g soderbom, coventry,

One of the most striking observations about my three-year-old daughter and her peergroup is the large spread of development in the children, on all levels. The great thing about the present education framework for these early ages is the flexibility for staff to react to individual children's needs, strengths and weaknesses, giving the right level of challenge, motivation and reward on a very individual level. Any formal framework that does not recognise this at its very heart is doomed to fail.

Rolf Herzberg, Moreton, Wirral

Won't this just mean that people will stop sending their children to nurseries altogether? Another Br-own-goal...

Ian, London,

Its like trying to teach a six month old baby to walk.

jane, oxford, uk

Surely it is obvious by now that our approach to learning is not working for the majority of our children. Why are we not looking at models used in countries such as Scandanavia, where children do not start formal education until at least 6 yrs old, and which have far higher literacy rates by age 11. By forcing our children to have formal educaution at a younger and younger age we will create a generation of children who do not enjoy learning. The government is using our education system as a form of childcare, when most parents would like choice over how we bring up our young children.
What can we do to stop this institutionlised madness?

Angela Thompson, Thursley, Surrey,

Who said Communism is dead in the UK and only now exists in China. Even Chinese officials might be looking at this Government and wondering "why can't we simply do how they do it and instead of giving kids an option to grow organically, which leads to all sorts of problems, most of all an independent mind, lets stifle that mind the moment its born".

Any one organising any protests against this (assuming we are still a "democracy" and get our "permit" to demostrate)?

pm, UK,

Do the idiots in government really believe the nonsense they spout? I'm sick and tired of having to listen to these stupid incompetents and watch whilst they spend billions of our money on stupid projects that are doomed to fail. Next there'll be a National Curriculum for the unborn so that some over paid political prat can carve a reputation for themselves and advance their crappy career. It's time we voted these Labour idiots out!

Mick, York, England

Those who can, do.

Those who can't work for the Government and write National Curricula.

R Bingham, Lauzun, France

Allow to me give a Finnish perspective on this misguided proposal. In Finland children go to school at 7 and until then they play, either at home or in a nursery. "A child's work is to play" is the saying here. My daughter told me that when she started school they were expected to learn to read and write by Christmas, i.e. within 4 months. School kids here are streets ahead of kids in Britain academically. Look at the international comparisons. I suggest the U.K. government ditch their educational advisers and get some others with a bit of common sense.

Stephen Band, Helsinki, Finland

Forcing formal learning on children at an age before they are ready for it is pointless, even counterproductive. As an example, I started school shortly after my fourth birthday and, being unready and unwilling to engage at that age, learnt almost nothing. In fact, at the end of my first year, I was considered for being moved to a remedial class. Then, in my second year, I decided I was ready to learn: by the end of that year my literacy and numeracy were top of my age range. I eventually went on to get straight As at A Level and graduate from Cambridge.

We should adopt the Scandinavian approach and not require formal learning to start until at least the age of five and preferably six. Ten years of compulsory schooling should be quite sufficient for anyone.

Neil, Cambridge,

Thats what happens when you create a load of Civil Servant jobs to keep unemployment numbers down...they have to think of something to do.

I only hope the next government sacks every single person payed out of the national coffers that can't prove what tangible benefit it has brought to the country. Until that happens there will be more nad more stupid legislation to control even more aspects of our lives.

I hope the police find enough evidence to mean GB can not remain PM. Then we will have to have a General Election and the process of rebuilding this country can start.

Tony, northants,

This makes sense. Now that the UK no longer has a manufactuing sector what's the point in letting our children play with lego and stickle bricks? Hopefully, by the time they are 5 they will be ready to learn about customer service and pick up some sales techniques. Maybe even do an MBA!

Rod Munch, Northampton, UK

Are these kids yours or the governments?

I am not a parent yet,but will have to seriously consider whether my future children go to nursery at all.

Surely this will be against human rights legislation to bring up your child as you see fit.

Tom, London, UK

But where did this come from?

Who drove this through?

Who?

What are their credentials?

Where was the open debate?

Why did they use "stealth"?

What had they to hide?

This is totalitarianism in the extreme. Teachers up and down the nation have already been complaining that children have nothing like enough time to allow them to learn the basics of how to get along with others around them, (the core reason for so much disruption in classes today). This is utter madness. Of all the stupidities that have come out of central government over the years, this must rate as the worst of them all. The removal of this from the statute must be taken up by one of the opposition parties as a part of their platform for the next election. If none of them will do so, then we need to form a completely new political party to expressly stop this idiocy.

Chris Coles, Medstead, Alton, United Kingdom

Absolutely disgraceful. Why does the Government not look at the practices in countries that have better educational results than us and see how they do it? Not by formal education of tiny tots, that's for sure.

At nursery, the useful things my girls learned were all to do with socialising - playing nicely with other children, taking turns, putting the toys away, sitting down for storytime. By the time they started school (and I did keep both in nursery longer than strictly necessary as I felt the environment there was better for their stage of development, much to the first school's Head Teacher's irritation) they were really up for it, settled in well and have now both been identified as 'gifted' in different subjects.

A McCrory, Milton Keynes,

S Gleadall your not the only one, and i have no children.

I worked in the voluntary youth support sector and the paperwork, assessments was a joke. the government meddling has now gone to far. I very much support the schools but the system used in todays school is wrong and needs to be changed. The assessment system isn't working, the amount of work the teachers have to do now is a joke. I wanted to become a teacher and i'm a M to F pre-op trans-sexual, but i'm not going near the job or even going to think about becoming a teaching assistant.

Nicola Clubb, Bournemouth,

S Gleadhall has a pertinent point. If parents don't send their children to preschool, how long before it becomes compulsory, or Ofstead become another Government agency which has a RIGHT of access to our homes. Methinks I hear the measured tread of the jackbooted hordes.

Bill Q, Derby,

It is a statistical fact that a significant percentage of children who lag behind in letter recognition/reading in their early remain behind right up to GCSE. These comprise mainly of summer born children who are disadvantaged by not being able to attend full time in Reception (thereby missing out on the professional teaching provided for the rest of their class). Many of these children are given little or no help to catch up with those in their class who may be nearly a year older. As they lag behind, their self esteem diminishes over time, sometimes leading to behavioural problems in later schooling.

Kindergarten children in Northern European countries are taught up to the age 7 by teachers who have postgraduate qualifications and have a well tried and tested curriculum. NVQ3 is the only qualification needed in the UK for pre-5 nursery children.

sk, Eastbourne, East Sussex

Shocking really, to think that this is being cited as an "answer" to the state of English state school education. Why are we so inistent on our children being educated from such an early age, when it has been proven time and time again by our European partners that starting formal education later dleivers better results. Children grow into their early years having ejoyed themselves and learned through experimentation and good fun. Next we'll be told that we must place a small speaker to the womb and "feed" the unborn child with as much information as we can so that they have a better start in life. Nonsense, utter nonsense, let children be children for the only time in their lives that they genuinely can be!

Tom Langrick, Pershore, UK

OMG!! This is so sad. Where does joy of childhood; passion for discovery and the basis for a lifetime love of learning feature in all this auditing. Looks like a good system to bring the "drop-out rate" to 11 !!

Cheryl Toomey, Croydon, England

This is what's going on in England!
Mom

Mom, New York, NY, USA

The reason for 'stealth' is obvious. The elective minority dictatorship in Westminster knows that this would be opposed by the democratic majority - so it acts behind our backs and against our will.

This is nothing less than political paedophilia! It must be opposed and overturned as a matter of great urgency.

Terry, London, UK

I think managing intelligence is not a bad thing. Children can be assessed earlier and that will allow those that may have a learning problem, to be identified quicker and as such, help parents understand what options are avaialable, sooner!

Yes, there is a down side to it, but overall, i think the risks are far less than the potential benefits. It will also give children a greater sense of purpose and invovlement when they get older and contribute more positively to society.

Danny Brown, DERBY, UK

what the hell is going on with our education system, when will our children learn to be a child, to make mistakes and not to become menkinds machines to control other machines.

jay, london, u.k.

Perhaps my views tend toward the distopian, but, as a retired teacher with experience in both the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education sectors, I find the control-freakery of the current UK government quite frightening. My most significant worry is that doctrinaire local authorities will crucify parents and caregivers who do not follow the new curriculum to the letter. When I trained, we were instructed to be cautious about investing too much in lesson planning as we should always be alert to capture and utilise unplanned and fleeting educational moments which are immensely valuable for the child's development. With the rigid application and enforcement of every diktat from Ofsted, that level of enlightenment is not possible.
However, one positive aspect of introducing the new curriculum is that it may help those children who currently spend their developmental years parked in front of a television screen,.deprived of interaction with sensible and caring adults.

Kiwi expat, London, Middlesex

here here as a registered childminder who has just attended the first of the manditary courses on implementing the new proposals I was appalled at the tick box attitude to childcare.The children I care for [often nursery teachers!] learn in a loving homelike enviroment focused on the individual child they don't need sessions of synthetic phonics as we sing and rhyme during our normal day having fun in the process

gillian millington, stafford,

I now await this government's national curriculum for prospective fathers' performance in the bedroom. Targets will have to be met, inspectors appointed, civil servants paid and a Cabinet minister for procreation will have to appear on post 9pm television to encourage us all to perform according to rules laid down by a quango of MP studs. Why do we have to be told how to do everything we once took for granted ? And why and how does it all have to be tested and reported on ? Excuse my shaky hand- I think I can hear Ofsted at my front door.

Eric Paul Lishman, Cockermouth, UK

what about the children who dont enter any form of pre-school learning until they reach 4 years old. there is going to be an obvious difference between the mind of children who have woeking parents and have been in a school enviroment through childcare as compared to those children who arent. as a working parent i want my son to be free to have fun in his day time creche and learn emotional and communication skills rather than numbers and words he wont understand. i believe we shyould let children be children we already have enough threats against this simplest of things

mrs lewis, wales, uk

We have looked into a number of nurseries for our daughter to attend and have been underwhelmed with most of them. The current government mandate appears to be "learning by play", This is translated by the nursery staff as a directive for the toddlers/children to sit around staring into space. I'm all for a structured framework and some real learning. These psychologists should investigate the learning methods for the same age group in China. The kids there are years ahead of ours- the difference is a complete embarressment.

John Williams, London, UK

This sounds like a very good reason to give up work for a few years and look after your own children - at home - in order to give them the childhood they need and deserve until they are required by law to start formal education.

Why on earth does this interfering government - think it has the right to control the education and upbringing of every child from the minute they are born.

Donna Walker, Effingham, Surrey

My four year old son recently started part-time school and seems to be struggling with the academic demands being placed upon him - demands which seem to contradict the school's professed policy to ease him into the school system by teachng through play. It seems clear to me that it is wrong to force formal learning on children so young, particularly boys who experience a testosterone surge at the very age that we expect them to sit down, be quiet and listen. I have a younger son who is enjoying pre school at the moment, but I doubt he would if he were forced to follow a rigidly academic curriculum. This horrifies me to be honest, why can't children be allowed to be children? A system like this put many children off school before they even get there.

Louise King, Bedford,

We sent our little girl to school when she was over five . She had attended a nursery for perhaps 25 days just to give her a bit of time away from Mum. Frankly, I wish we hadn't bothered. When it same to school she settle in very quiickly and is progressing with her reading, writing, and numbers.

What she benefitted most from was a strong relationship with her Mum and Dad. Consistency, stability and very little TV.

This 'pre school curriculum' is highly destructive and will cause huge stress in young families.

I just don't know where the Government gets these warped ideas from.

Charlie, Isle of Man,

An assessable curriculum for 4 year olds - has the UK gone mad? I can remember watching the stresses put onto Japanese children and the distress that caused. We used to be shocked and concerned about that, now it appears your government bureaucrats have become the equivalent of 'ugly parents'. What is the for? It appears to be based on the assumption that humans learn in a linear fashion and can be filled up with knowledge in steady stages. Hence, the earlier you start the better - there is some truth in that but children develop at different rates and should be encouraged not slotted into categories. We are talking about deve;oping humans here not machines. My goodness, I would expect this from some rigid Marxist (Orwellian) state not an advanced, post modern state (although it is certainly 'modernist' in its outlook - let us develop more cogs!)

Bill, Perth, Australia

Watch the tug of war now develop.

We and many parents are going the home school option to follow best practice in child development. How long before the Govt. tries to take even that option away from us.

This 'pre-school' curriculum has no basis in any valid development theory, and is a Stalinist political attempt to 'cure' problems who's solutions are already known but rejected by the Govt. Smaller class sizes at 5-11. Not forcing ludicrous learning targets which go against all sense and will give us a generation so badly damaged England may never recover.

David L Brown, Bedford, England

As a teacher who is tired of increasing levels of target setting and asessment at key stage 3 and, who has a two year old child, I am saddened by yet another layer of assessment starting even younger. As a retired head said to me, 'you don't fatten pigs by measuring and a good farmer can lean over the wall and tell if a pig is getting fatter'. What does it achieve? I have watched my son grow and develop without this formal academic approach.

Alastair Mattinson M.Phil, Blaby, Leics

Talk about a sledgehammer to crack a nut. 20% of 11 year olds can't read well enough (ie 80% CAN), so make 100% of 3 year olds start reading!

This is sickening. And to deny any parent the right to choose an alternative is very aggressive.

I would join any protest against this.

How long is it before the "testing and monitoring" leaves the nursery and enters your home?

S Gleadall, London,