Alliance criticises 新澳门六合彩官网开奖 early years recommendations

3rd April 2014

The Pre-school Learning Alliance has slammed calls by 新澳门六合彩官网开奖 for a more formal approach to early learning, describing the inspectorate鈥檚 focus on school-based early years provision as 鈥渃ompletely misguided鈥.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, said:

鈥淕iven that 新澳门六合彩官网开奖 is supposed to be an independent and impartial inspection (not policy-making) body, we find the extent to which they appear to be trying to dictate the direction of early years policy rather alarming.

鈥淚t鈥檚 perhaps unsurprising that Sir Michael, a former school headteacher, is such a supporter of school-based provision. However, while we recognise that there are, of course, some schools that are equipped to offer high-quality provision appropriate to the needs of children of a young age, the assertion that these are the best early learning environments for young children is completely misguided.

鈥淲e are at a loss to understand why Sir Michael has essentially dismissed the existing huge network of experienced, passionate group settings and childminders who currently provide excellent, and appropriate, care for young children despite chronic underfunding and a never-ending wave of ill-researched, ill-thought-out early years policies.

鈥淚n his eagerness to insult the sector, Sir Michael seems to have forgotten that recent research from the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the UK鈥檚 childcare system as fourth out of 45 countries in terms of quality, accessibility and affordability. This is despite the fact that as a country we invest half as much as much into our childcare system as a percentage of GDP compared to countries like Sweden and Norway - a fact that is completely at odds with Sir Michael鈥檚 inaccurate and frankly bizarre assertion that there is 鈥渟o much money鈥 being spent on early years.

Commenting on Sir Michael鈥檚 call for providers to deliver 鈥榮tructured鈥 early years provision to ensure that children are 鈥榖etter prepared for school鈥, Neil said:

鈥淲e of course agree that it is vital that all children have access to high-quality early education and care, and that children from more disadvantaged backgrounds in particular receive the support and, where appropriate, targeted intervention they need.

鈥淗owever, 新澳门六合彩官网开奖鈥檚 obsession with 鈥榮chool-readiness鈥 ignores that fact that the early years are a pivotal stage of a child鈥檚 development in their own right. Yes, we want to ensure that children start school in the best possible position, but early education is also about laying a secure foundation for longer-term learning and development. A tick-box approach to learning is not appropriate in any part of the education system, and certainly not in the early years - and yet this seems to be the direction that we are moving in.

鈥淲hen Sir Michael argues that too many children are starting school 鈥榰nprepared for the demands of full-time education鈥, perhaps he should be asking whether our schools are adequately prepared to meet the needs of our children? Why are we not following the example of countries like Finland, where the emphasis is on learning through play and formal education does not start until seven?鈥

Neil also criticised Sir Michael鈥檚 call for early years providers to use 鈥榝ormal鈥 assessments to ensure school-readiness, saying:

鈥淭he only 鈥榓ssessments鈥 that should be taking place in the early years are observational assessments, and these should be used to inform planning and support each child鈥檚 continuing development, not as a means through which to rank and compare early years providers.

鈥淓xperienced practitioners know that a flexible approach to early care and education that reflects children鈥檚 individual learning and development needs is key to quality provision. Academic research has shown that children who have a broad-based early years provision, focusing in socialisation, language development and physical activity rather than a narrow focus on formal literacy and numeracy make better academic progress later on in their educational careers[1] - so why is it that 新澳门六合彩官网开奖, along with the DfE, remains so resolutely focused on 鈥榮tructured learning鈥, and hitting pre-determined targets? Such an approach is uninformed, unhealthy and unethical, and something that no child should be subjected to."

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Notes for editors

  1. Edward C. Melhuish, A literature review of the impact of early years provision on young children, with emphasis given to children from disadvantaged backgrounds, prepared for the National Audit Office, 2004.
  2. The Pre-school Learning Alliance is the largest and most representative early years membership organisation in England. A registered educational charity, it also provides high-quality affordable childcare and education to support children and families in areas of deprivation throughout the country.
  3. The Alliance represents 14,000 member settings and supports them to deliver care and learning to more than 800,000 families every year. We deliver family learning projects, offer information and advice, produce specialist publications, run acclaimed training and accreditation schemes and campaign to influence early years policy and practice.
  4. The Alliance website is at

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