EYFS protests fail to bring change
No changes will be made to the EYFS framework before 2010, despite widespread concern that some learning goals are unrealistic, children's minister Beverley Hughes has declared.
Ms Hughes' comments came in response to a letter sent in March by the British Association of Early Childhood Education, which said that some of the 69 targets had been set 'developmentally too high' and that the staff ratios for reception classes are inadequate and inconsistent with the rest of the EYFS. It also called for clearer definition of the role of Early Years Professional Status and its relationship to Qualified Teacher Status.
But Ms Hughes replied that, as practitioners are preparing to implement the EYFS framework in September, 'it would not be appropriate to make changes to it now'. Instead, she wrote, there will be a review of the framework in 2010, 'once it has had time to bed in'.
An earlier document, also expressing concern over the early learning goals, was leaked last week. It had been sent to Ms Hughes in February by members of the Early Education Advisory Group, a panel of experts set up to advise on Government policy for the under-fives, including Bernadette Duffy, head of the Thomas Coram Children's Centre, and Dame Gillian Pugh of the Institute of Education.
That letter said that some targets are 'overly ambitious for most children'. These targets state that five-year-olds should be able to 'use phonetic knowledge to write simple regular words and make phonetically plausible attempts at more complex words', 'write their own names and other things such as labels and captions' and 'begin to form simple sentences, sometimes using punctuation'.
The issue was raised again at a meeting of the Commons Select Committee for Children, Schools and Families last Wednesday by a panel including Ms Duffy, Anna Firth, Open Eye campaign co-ordinator, Graham Kennish, Steiner-Waldorf/Hereford Academy Research Network, Anne Nelson, chief executive of BAECE, and Sue Palmer, educational consultant.
Ms Duffy called the EYFS a 'positive document' with 'sound principles behind it', but added, 'I do share concerns about the literacy goals. They are not consistently achievable for all children and I would like to see some of them amended to be more realistic.'
Ms Firth said, 'The targets create undue pressure on settings and practitioners and give very young children a sense of failure.'
She also questioned the inclusion of ICT goals for children as young as 22 months in light of recent reports suggesting that exposing young children to computers could hinder their development.
Several delegates argued that the EYFS framework is too prescriptive for young children. Ms Palmer said, 'I believe the EYFS will result in the schoolifying of early years education and will push down a formal, target-based approach to learning.'
Ms Palmer also highlighted concerns over childminders who are leaving the profession because of the EYFS (News, 15 May).
She said, 'We are losing childminders in droves. Many work by instinct, and the framework gives them the impression they will have to fill in many forms.'
Ms Firth added, 'We have been deluged with calls from disillusioned childminders who are planning to leave the profession by September. Childminders feel they are losing their identity - they are not teachers and should not have to quantify learning.'
Panel members also warned that the EYFS could not compensate for the lack of a well-qualified and trained early years workforce.
Ms Nelson said, 'The principles and commitments of the EYFS are laudable, but the goals could be misused by people who do not have the right training.'
WHAT THEY SAID
Anna Firth, Open Eye: 'I am worried there will be no free choice for parents once this is statutory. Parents do not want every setting to be the same and provide the same.'
Bernadette Duffy: 'The feedback we have had from parents has been positive.'
Prof Ted Melhuish: 'A laissez-faire attitude will only work in an environment where everyone knows what they are doing. But here we have a system where people don't.'
Bernadette Duffy said 'I understand concerns over regulation but feel we need it until the quality of the workforce is comparable with those of other countries.'
Graham Kennish said, 'There has been a clear communication and interchange today, something that has been lacking in Open Eye's exchanges with the government.'
