The dangers of implementing an infant curriculum extend beyond restricting free play. A statutory learning programme for under-fours will homogenise early years care as practitioners are forced to stick to prescribed activities.
Response to the Government's proposed infant framework has been very negative. The principal objection is the foreseen loss of creative play as infants are subjected to specific learning outcomes. Many practitioners were already sceptical about the early introduction of formalised learning when the national curriculum started as late as four. Children's minister Beverley Hughes has responded to critics of the proposal by arguing that an infant curriculum won't signify an end to childhood, but simply a 'coherent framework'. Yet it's exactly the coherent framework which is pernicious.
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