- Sarah Morrison
- , Monday 1 September 2008 15.34 BST
Campaigners fear the ‘toddler targets’ could affect children’s enthusiasm for learning
Under-fives who play in the sandpit and recite nursery rhymes are to be assessed under a new government-enforced national curriculum that comes into force today.
The early years foundation stage means that all childcare providers who are registered with and inspected by Ofsted – including nurseries and childminders – must monitor children’s progress and record their performance against 69 government-set “early learning goals”.
When children enter compulsory schooling, they should be able to interact with others, negotiate plans and take turns in conversation, recite the alphabet, count to 10 and write simple letters, according to the targets.
At five, each child will be assessed against 13 scales based on the learning goals put forward. Their score will result in an early years profile that must be passed to the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
The new “toddler curriculum” will replace non-statutory guidance already in place and is aimed at providing the same standards of early learning across all areas of England.
While care providers can choose to opt out of these new requirements, for example if they favour an alternative educational philosophy that introduces reading and writing at a later stage, they will have to apply for an exemption and run the risk of losing state funding.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families’ legal framework has come under attack by a group of education experts who feel that the curriculum is flawed, arbitrary and could have unforeseen negative effects on a child’s development.
“The goals in this curriculum are just inappropriate for young children,” said Kim Simpson, a Montessori practitioner and member of the Open Eye campaign against the new curriculum. “If they are required by law to achieve certain goals when they are not ready, it could totally destroy their enthusiasm for learning.”
The experts emphasise the need to build a child’s sense of self in their early years and object to the new curriculum being compulsory, as well as its emphasis on reading and writing at a young age.
Government officials say the framework is a way of ensuring high standards of early education, and said the curriculum that has been based on research from top experts in the field.
“The EYFS will help make sure that all young children have the chance to engage in stimulating play and hear and respond to rich and varied language,” said the children’s secretary, Ed Balls, and children’s minister Beverley Hughes in a joint letter to the managers of the country’s 3000 children’s centres. “Children’s centre staff will be able to use it to engage mothers and fathers, to make sure these experiences are built on at home.”
They added that children will not be tested and are expected to reach these goals at different ages so will not be deemed to have failed if they do not reach them.
Balls said extra funding will be available to provide 15 hours of free childcare and early learning for the 25% most disadvantaged three and four year olds, a year before their peers receive the same entitlement.
“I am driven by a determination to make sure that the most disadvantaged children get the very best start in life,” said Balls. “We want to give all children a level playing field and help all parents get the best care and support for their children.”
While the National Day Nurseries Association says that while it embraces the ideas behind the curriculum, it is concerned about the practicalities.
“We wouldn’t want it to be a move to more paperwork and it is important for us that the approach remains flexible to each individual child,” said a spokeswoman for the association. “It continues the idea of a single national framework that is consistent, which is a development of what we had before.”
Sarah Morrison 