School
Gate: Are we teaching our children too much too young?
Alpha
Mummy: How the under 5s recommendations and sex education are related
A powerful lobby of leading authors and educationists accuse the Government
today of setting children up for failure.
In a
letter to The Times they say that ambitious education targets –
including using punctuation before a child turns 5 – are unrealistic and
risk harming pre-school children by setting back their development.
They accuse Beverley Hughes, the Children’s Minister, of ignoring her advisers
and shelving research commissioned by her department because it contradicted
policy.
Philip Pullman and Michael Morpurgo, the children’s authors, Susie Orbach, the
sociologist, and Steve Biddulph, the psychologist, have joined dozens of
academics to demand that the reforms be scrapped or turned into a voluntary
code before they come into force this autumn.
Children as young as 4 are expected to write in sentences and use punctuation
under the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework – widely described
as a “toddlers’ curriculum”.
This sets 69 goals and more than 500 development milestones that children in
England should reach by the age of 5.
They are supposed to use mathematics to solve practical problems, retell
stories in the correct sequence, understand right from wrong, read simple
sentences on their own, sit quietly, be able to use a computer and
understand that other people have different views, cultures and beliefs that
need to be respected.
However, two of the most contentious targets are being reviewed by Sir Jim
Rose, who carried out an inquiry into primary school literacy teaching.
These are that children should “write their own names . . . and begin to
form simple sentences, sometimes using punctuation” and, “use phonic
knowledge to write simple regular words and make phonetically plausible
attempts at more complex words”.
Evidence suggests that only 30 per cent of five-year-olds achieve the first
target and 46 per cent the second.
Campaigners claim that young children affected by EYFS will become
“guinea-pigs of ministerial whim”.
An outcry from nurseries, child-minders, pre-schools and independent schools,
who will have to adopt the framework, prompted two concessions from Ms
Hughes, including the review of the two literacy targets.
But these are lambasted today by the Open
Eye campaign, founded by Richard House, a child psychologist and
university lecturer.
The letter, signed by more than 80 campaigners, says the two “alleged
‘concessions’ fail to address the concerns” because Ms Hughes has “ignored
calls to scrap or suspend literacy goals that are widely deplored as being
far too advanced for many young children.
“Her other ‘concession’ – the 34-page exemption process purporting to enable
providers to opt out of some of the ‘learning requirements’ – is expertly
camouflaged, labyrinthine and bureaucratically complex, appearing to have
been intentionally designed to deter anyone from applying.”
It adds: “Parents should have the right to choose how their preschool children
are cared for and educated.”
The letter is signed by Tim Brighouse, Visiting Professor at the London
University’s Institute of Education; Pullman, who wrote the His
Dark Materials trilogy; Morpurgo, the former Children’s Laureate; Sally
Goddard Blythe, director of the Institute for Neuro-physiological
Psychology; Lilian Katz, Professor of Education at the University of
Illinois; Katherine Langrish and John Dougherty, the children’s authors; and
Sue Palmer, the educational consultant and author of Toxic Childhood.
Dr House told The Times: “Certain parts of the learning requirements
set some children up for failure, particularly those who haven’t got the
necessary foundations of social learning or basic skills.” He said that
children who did not come from middle-class families, or those who were less
academically bright, were particularly at risk. “They may withdraw into
themselves and stop trying. Trying for them becomes associated with fear and
angst.
“Just because you can get children to do something at 4 or 5 it doesn’t follow
that it’s appropriate for them, and Beverley Hughes has never made that
distinction.”
A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said that
the commissioned research had not been published because “the evidence base
was too small to be significant”.
Ms Hughes said: “The EYFS is hugely important as a single framework for
play-based early learning and care, based on the kind of support that helps
children thrive in the early years. We have always said that we will keep
the EYFS under review.”
A hard lesson – or too much, too soon
— The National Curriculum was established by the Education Reform
Act 1988. It was revised at all key stages and in all subjects in August
2000
— The Foundation Stage, which lasts from a child's third birthday
to the end of the reception year, became part of the National Curriculum in
2002. Early Learning Goals were achieved through play and group activities,
not sitting at desks
— In 2005 the Government announced that the Early Years
Foundation Stage would be included in its Childcare Bill and become part of
the national curriculum
— There was mounting criticism of the new national curriculum for
under5s. In November 2007 a lobby of academics said it would induce needless
anxiety and dent children's enthusiasm for learning
— It requires children to be continually assessed on 13 learning
scales including writing, problem solving and numeracy
— It will apply to 25,000 private and state nurseries and aims 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
Eastern European immigrants are often reported to be preferred by employers because of their good education and attitude to work and better themselves. Ministers might get a surprise when they ask them what age they started formal learning!
Hanne, London,
There is nothing wrong in assessing a child when they are 3-5 yrs old - it's how the results are acted upon that is important. Just don't let the pushy parents know - they apply the pressure to their darlings.
Florrie, Norwich,
The evaluation of children's skills against the 13 scales should ONLY be done by the Reception teacher at the end of the reception year. The EYFS guidance asks us to observe children playing and to provide play experiences to help them develop through play. Good settings wil not be testing kids.
Karen, Witney,
Oh Goverment boot camps for under 5's. Stop this abuse of childhood. Stop this abuse in the guise of education. this isn't education this is pure indoctrination!
vicki, Caernarfon, Wales
My thoughts whilst reading this article too, Graham of Benfleet! This Govt don't seem to recognise that education is more that just tests & exam marks. Granted that is required at 16 but the real value is to instill a life long interest in learning and an ability to think, question & have some fun!
Robin, Hassocks,
Soon, a third of parents will be keeping their pre-school children home for fear of too much discipline and education and a third will be keeping their secondary children home for fear of a lack of it. (The rising number of home educated children tells its own story.)
Daniela Molloy, Barnard Castle, UK
Soon, the government will make it mandatory that little tots have chips implanted into their brains that will monitor their behaviour at all times and administer electric torture whenever any non-PC behaviour occurs. Brave New World!
clive warner, Monterrey, Mexico
What sadness - not only have we created for our little children a nightmare future world of shrinking resources, dramatic weather patterns and terrorism on our streets but we now take away from them their carefree years of childhood and replace it with something akin to the battery farming of hens.
graham , Benfleet ,
no television, no computer games and children will read for entertainment as we did- there was nothing else
peter c, devizes, wessex
What a lamentable and ill-conceived plan. This govt is a sad joke that has lost all sense of community, civilisation or understanding. No wonder knife crime is on the up - being forced to read before you can feed yourself properly will only end up in more poorly expressed anger and resentment.
Jim, exeter, england
Are they mad? A hefty proportion LEAVE school not being able to read, write OR PUNCTUATE adequately.
Also agree with Zurich.
marion marchant, reigate,
Parents do have a choice about how to educate toddlers. Just because a nursery place is partially funded does not mean that you have to send them. My 3 yr old will not go to any nursery in September.
J Emerson, Warwickshire, UK
The problem with Labour is that they don't understand education at all.
judy, Liverpool, England
i live in switzerland. here children are only taught social skills until the ages of 6 or 7 ..only then are academic skills taught..after 7 years here ive yet to meet a badly educated swiss..the uk leans highlights the acememic & ignores social skills.. look around the uk to see the sad result
zugerman, zurich, switzerland
It is well known that boys develop later than girls. One begins to suspect the motives of our female ministers are to keep us males in our place.
Boys will suffer from this more than girls but it is not good for either sex. It's a recipe for disaster.
David Lightfoot, Bedar, Spain
I agree with the authors 100%, children should be left to learn at their own pace. The government should invest more money in providing adequate nursery space, I have had so much headache in placing my 3 year old into a nursery that I have opted to go private.
Saeed, Birmingham, West Midlands
the most incredible of these targets is that children, by the age of five, ought to understand right from wrong! what hope have five-year olds got in a country where ministers don't understand this!
Marco, KrakOw, Poland
There are other areas of education crying out for improvement ie bad secondary schools but there are obviously some people working in government departments that need to be seen to be doing something. Another damaging waste of money.
Graham, St. Albans, uk
Don't hold your breath waiting for the NuLabour Stalinists to accept advice from REAL experts. This is the party that drives square pegs into round holes, come hell or high water!
Ian Dickson, Brighton, UK
My children went to a nursery school founded on the kindergarten idea. There was no formal instruction in reading, writing or mathematics, though much readiness learning took place. When they started in reception class, rising five, they took to formal work quickly and well.
Mary Humphreys, Greenford, England
The deeper problem, as with so many other Whitehall initiatives, is the extent to which the functionaries and expert advisers are out of touch with reality and lacking in common sense. Passion and enthusiasm have been abolished by the roundhead reductionists who must measure and level.
John , Birmingham, UK
I could read and write to some extent at the age of three and moved on to adult books at six, but at the expense of developing social skills. Let the children learn to play with other children first and let them start learning their letters later as in many countries with high literacy rates.
Sue, Birmingham, UK
Agree with the authors completely, children should learn at thier own pace. I learned to read and write a few years later than my peers and I later far outshone them academically.
Johnny, London, UK