Memorandum from the National Early Years
Network (EY 42)
This response from the Network, is informed
by views held among its membership of some 1,200 early years service
providers around the UK. The National Early Years Network was
founded 21 years ago as a national umbrella organisation. It exists
to improve the quality of life for young children by supporting
people working with young children and their families in a wide
range of settings. The Network has a history of collaboration
with the DfEE on projects to contribute to the quality of early
years practice ranging across its care and education aspects.
Network members range from childminder networks,
playgroup, kids' club and family centre staff to Home-Start groups,
early years teachers, family support workers and Under Eights
Advisers. It is the only national agency which provides practical
support to early years services across all disciplines and to
early years workers from the voluntary, statutory and independent
sectors. The Network's support takes the form of:
— practical publications for early
years workers and parents;
— a national programme of training
workshops for early year workers;
— the provision of information on issues
affecting young children and families via policy briefings to
members and its bi-monthly magazine Coordinate;
— the promotion of local and national
networks of early years workers such as local Early Years Forums
which are frequently represented on EYDCPs;
— policy influencing activities.
While the Network acknowledges that the Committee
will also be considering initiatives such as Sure Start, it has
been decided in this submission not to provide detailed comments
on its different aspects, important though this model is for the
future form of provision for under threes.
The National Early Years Network would welcome
the opportunity to provide verbal evidence to the Committee.
1. THE
APPROPRIATE CONTENT
OF EARLY
YEARS EDUCATION,
TAKING INTO
ACCOUNT THE
RECENTLY PUBLISHED
QCA EARLY LEARNING
GOALS
1.1 The Network welcomes these broad goals,
but would like to see an even more specific recognition of the
important role of child-led play. The 1997 Curriculum Framework
for Children in Their Pre-school Year and subsequent practice
guidelines from the Scottish office includes "creating opportunities
for play" as one of its aims. We recommend QCA do the same.
It takes a lot of confidence to believe in children's desire and
ability to structure their own learning. And in the value of play
and child directed activity. Play fosters opportunities for children's
personal, social and emotional development which is a prerequisite
for all other kinds of learning (Bateson and Martin, in press;
Bruce, 1996; David, 1999).
1.2 The Network would like to see a broad
education for children in the intended age group where the imagination
is fostered, and play, fun and learning are everyday experiences
for all children in settings where their personal, social and
emotional well-being is at the heart of the curriculum (Penn,
2000 a passim). The Network particularly welcomes the priority
given to the goals dealing with personal, social and emotional
development, because children's development in this respect is
a prerequisite for any learning (Sylva, 1994; Cousins, 1999).
Any high quality curriculum has to have integrated the values
and practice of high quality care for young children. This should
be visibly delivered through the focus on personal, social and
emotional development.
1.3 There is a growing body of research
evidence that shows that ever earlier formal teaching does not
benefit the majority of children and may even diminish their confidence,
self-esteem and eagerness to learn, particularly in the case of
boys (Sylva, 1994; Schweinhart et al, 1986; Sylva et al, 1999).
Disembodied teaching and learning is not appropriate in the early
years for most children and undue focus on letter knowledge instead
of listening to stories and sharing books alongside an adult is
likely to prove counterproductive in attaining early literacy
for many children.
2. THE WAY
IN WHICH
THE EARLY
YEARS CURRICULUM
SHOULD BE
TAUGHT
2.1 While the Network welcomes the introduction
of a Foundation stage in early education, it notes that a curriculum
for such a stage can only be adequately designed from a perspective
which takes into account the different developmental pathways
and speed of maturation displayed by children between birth and
age six (Early Childhood Education Forum, 1998). Some of the detailed
goals may well be inappropriate for children within the age range
intended, who may yet mature to a point where they will attain
them later on. Care must be taken not to compromise children's
confidence in their own ability to be successful learners (Cousins,
1999).
2.2 The process of learning is an interaction
between children, their previous experience, knowledge and understanding
and warm and interactive familiar adults and peers. Many worthwhile
learning activities are cross-curricular and defy neat separation
into a planning sheet. Children of this age should not be seen
as pre-schoolers, but every step along the way in their development
should be valued in its own right.
2.3 There can be no quality learning experiences
unless the context in which all learning takes place is respectful
of the differences in learning abilities, ethnicity, culture,
religion, languages and other aspects of their home background
that young children bring to the early years setting. These differences
are not yet sufficiently acknowledged. Additional support may
be needed to ensure that all children are offered equal chances
of attaining the early learning goals (Lane, 1999; Dickins, 1998).
2.4 The Foundation stage of early education
should recognise the role played by parents, the extended family
and other important adult and young friends and peers in children's
early learning. By building on this learning through a carefully
nurtured relationship with the wider family, early years settings
can add considerable value to the learning children do in these
settings (Siraj-Blatchford, 1996; Lloyd, 1998; Lloyd et al, 1997).
2.5 The "adult as perpetual expert"
stance described by Barbara Tizard in the eighties discourages
children's learning, as does consistent questioning by adults
when the child is aware that the adult knows the answers. Again,
a more productive approach is where the adult follows and encourages
child-focused learning, exploration, problem-solving and discovery
(Bruce, 1999).
2.6 Early education should be delivered
in a nursery style setting within a side range of early years
services, definitely not in formally arranged classrooms and its
emphasis should be on active exploration of the world, indoors
and outdoors, observation, talk, play. The growing number of Early
Excellence Centres should be able to model the kind of setting
which encourages maximum benefits to children from early education.
The centre context in which it is delivered is a major factor
in achieving short and longer term educational outcomes for young
children, especially those living in difficult circumstances (Lloyd
et al, 1997). Above all the early years should be recognised as
a stage in its own right, not just a preparation for what follows
(Moss and Penn, 1996; Moss and Pence, 1994).
2.7 The role of outdoor activities in promoting
learning as well as children's physical development could do with
more extensive treatment in this document. While children may
learn to recognise the importance of keeping healthy and those
things which contribute to this, as the document suggests, they
have little autonomy over what they eat, where they live, air
pollution, damp housing etc. Can they really exercise in the way
they want to and need to if they cannot play freely outside and
are frequently being told not to run and to sit still (Ouvry,
in press; Dudek, 1995)?
3. THE KIND
OF STAFF
NEEDED TO
TEACH THE
EARLY YEARS
CURRICULUM AND
THE QUALIFICATIONS
THEY SHOULD
HAVE
3.1 The Network regrets the current emphasis
on what children ought to learn formally at the expense of a greater
recognition of how children learn from all their experiences in
the early years. To translate such a recognition into appropriate
training strategies for all those working with children in the
early years is the real challenge that should be posed by the
Early Learning Goals (QCA/DfEE, 1999) and other guidance
documents. Early years workers are well placed to extend children's
individual learning strategies into a wide range of activities
which would help them achieve the early learning goals. What children
learn does not follow automatically from what is taught, but results
from their activities undertaken with the help of resources we
put at their disposal.
3.2 Early years workers need the confidence
to recognise those different ways and work with them creatively
in harmony with the individual child's particular stage of development.
Given that over half the world's children are likely to be using
more than one language at home in the new Millennium, early education
should recognise the challenge posed to the literacy programme
by children bringing additional languages to the early years setting.
Early mathematical experiences are important and valuable, as
long as they are embedded in and connected with children's preferred
experiences and interests and not too formal, structured and disconnected
from other activities. Those working with young children should
be trained to explore every opportunity offered by children's
self-directed learning to extend children's mathematical knowledge
(Bruce, 1999).
3.3 The issues around the gender balance
within the workforce in the early education field needs urgent
attention. Men have an important role to play in the care, education
and support of young children and their families with potentially
far-reaching consequences for children's healthy and balanced
intellectual and emotional development (Cameron et al, 1999).
3.4 There remain some significant weaknesses
in the current and proposed qualifications structure (QCA, 1999)
relating to children with SEN, and equality issues generally.
It seems inherent to the good practice that the Government and
the NTOs wish to foster that there should be a mandatory requirement
to ensure knowledge and awareness of equal opportunities issues
and those relating specifically to children with disabilities
or SEN. The current gaps in the training relating to disability
and SEN must be identified and addressed as part of this consultation.
The framework for these proposals would be established according
to common principles regarding equality issues, that apply across
the breadth of the early years education, childcare and playwork
sectors.
3.5 There is no reference to the teaching
profession in this document. This ignores the role already played
by early years teachers in early years education, a role which
is expanding under the provisions of the national Childcare Strategy.
The relationship between further and higher level education work
needs addressing as a matter of urgency. The absence of references
to early years degrees and other levels of higher education which
need to be incorporated into this climbing frame constitutes a
significant omission. The introduction of a graduate level of
the profession concerned with the care and education of young
children will greatly affect the standard of the profession as
a whole, the quality of provision and ultimately the employment
conditions in these sectors. Moreover, it will bring this country
closer in line with our European neighbours in this respect (Moss,
2000).
3.6 Given the size and importance of the
early years workforce, all these issues need to be progressed
at a greater pace than they currently are. In order to retain
a suitable size workforce to deliver the government's early education
strategy, it is imperative that every encouragement is given to
early years workers to remain in the workforce, through continuing
professional development. The National Early Years Network delivers
a national programme of continuing professional development for
early years workers via one day workshops. In order to achieve
these aims, all types of early educators should be entitled to
annual INSET days, like teachers. Financial support ought to be
found from the Training Standards Fund to provide cover for the
children they care for while the workers take up these training
opportunities.
3.7 Four final points: it is important that
an individual's suitability to work with children is assessed
at the earliest opportunity. NVQ Level 4 should be a standard
in future for managers of early years settings, to reflect the
responsibility of the role. We have some concerns about lack of
parity in the proposed qualification. Issues around qualifications
and training of parents themselves should be addressed within
the framework.
4. THE
WAY QUALITY
OF TEACHING
AND LEARNING
IN THE
EARLY YEARS
IS ASSESSED
4.1 We must ensure appropriate expectations
of three and four year olds, not the final goals presented for
older children. And appropriate activities for all the age ranges.
At the moment only children who are gifted in the "academic"
areas get any recognition. There is a risk that these could be
used in practice and in its inspection in the same way as actual
early learning goals. The prescriptive format of the guidance
makes it difficult to help practitioners develop confidence in
their own abilities to respond creatively to children's self-directed
learning, once they are better acquainted with how children learn.
Cousins' practitioner perspective on Ofsted inspections provides
a good frame of reference for the desirable contents (Cousins,
1999b; Cousins, 2000).
4.2 Care and education are inseparable in
the early years (Moss & Penn, 1996). The new arm of Ofsted
proposed in the Care Standards Bill 1999 should ensure an even
playing field for the inspection of all types of early years provision
providing publicly and privately funded early education and care
to three and four year olds. This will require a great deal of
adjustment to the bill as it currently stands.
4.3 There is no justification for the continuing
separation between a dual inspection system of Section 10 inspections
under the Schools Inspection Act 1996 and Section 122 inspections
under the 1996 Nursery Education and Grant Maintained Schools
Act (Thompson, 2000). Nursery schools and classes, as well as
infant classes catering for four year olds will have to revise
their methods of working with three and four year olds (Moss &
Penn, 1996).
5. AT WHAT
AGE FORMAL
SCHOOLING SHOULD
START
5.1 The Network is pleased to see in the
general Guidance on school admissions that parents are entitled
to a deferred-entry place in the same academic year, if they consider
their four year old child is not ready to take up a place offered.
However, we believe that the issue of who is going to meet the
cost of such places needs resolving as a matter of urgency, and
preferably before September 2000.
5.2 We believe that the issue of assessing
and acting on the "school-readiness" of four year old
children at the time of their proposed admission to primary school,
should receive more detailed consideration. There may well be
a role to play for the proposed Admissions Forums in this respect.
This concept is recognised and acted upon widely in parts of Europe
and increased flexibility in relation to the point at which children
are deemed to have acquired the ability to benefit from more formal
instruction may be in the long-term interests of both children
and schools.
5.3 While we welcome the attention being
given to the issues of continuity in appropriate provision both
at pre-school and primary school level for children with special
educational needs and challenging behaviour, we believe that all
children entering primary school would benefit from transfer of
information about them between pre-school and school. To this
end all children's early years records could be transferred to
the school in question, via their parents, employing a process
analogous to that already being employed with parent-held child
health records.
5.4 The Network believes that the arguments
proposed as part of the current debate promoting the feasibility
of raising the compulsory school entry age to six, should be listened
to carefully by the Department for Education and Employment and
that the full implications of implementing such a policy within
the next few years should be thoroughly studied and seriously
considered.
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for a Life, London: Cape.
Bruce, T (1996), Helping Young Children to
Play, London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Bruce, T (Ed) (1999), Young Children Learning,
London: Paul Chapman Publishing.
Cameron, C, Moss, P and Owen, C (1999), Men
in the Nursery: gender and caring work, London: Paul Chapman
Publishing.
Cousins, J (1999a), Listening to Four Year
Olds: how they can help us plan their care and education, London:
National Early Years Network.
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The National Early Years Network
February 2000
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