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By Rachel Lawler

Amanda Spielman has commented on levels of "school readiness" and clarified the aims of �°������ϲʹ�������’s report in a speech at the Alliance Annual Conference.

 

Speaking at Minds Matter, in London, Spielman said: “Bold Beginnings was aimed very specifically at the Reception Year.” She added that �°������ϲʹ������� was not “calling for play to be removed from Reception classrooms”.

 

Instead, Spielman says that the report was aimed at helping “unlucky” children who do not spend as much time learning “nursery rhymes, ABCs and settling down for a story” as their better-off peers. She said: “Unlucky children certainly need more of the structured learning to replace what they don’t necessarily get at home.”

 

Spielman also spoke about varying levels of “school readiness”, including the ability to use a toilet. She cited an that claimed that 70% of schools were reporting that more were children starting school without being toilet trained and a commissioned by hygiene company Essity that estimated that teachers spend 30 minutes every week cleaning up after children have been to the toilet.

 

“Of course there are rate health complications that can be a good reason for this. But these exceptions aside, no one could say that this is an acceptable situation,” Spielman said. “While parents clearly have the most important role here, it follows that nurseries and childminders must also play their part.”

 

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, commented: "Childcare providers are already working incredibly hard to support children in the first few years of their lives, supporting families and children as they prepare to start school.