For example, the numbers of children meeting or exceeding the goals appear fairly low in some areas, particularly in 'writing'. This could be taken to mean that Foundation Stage teaching is failing in this area and may well give rise to calls for formal writing skills to be taught earlier.
In fact, the figures really show that it doesn't make sense to have such a goal for children of this age, and that its inclusion is more down to pressure from the National Literacy Strategy than from any sensible assessment of children's development. Many children at this age, especially boys, haven't yet acquired the motor skills that are necessary for formal writing.
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