The role of early years provision in a child's future will be highlighted in the Education Select Committee's autumn report, says Mary Evans
The crucial role of early years provision in helping children develop to their full potential will be underlined by the House of Commons Education Select Committee when it reports in the autumn.
The MPs, who during the course of their inquiry visited a range of early years providers in this country, as well as settings in Denmark, saw much praiseworthy work and some practices which clearly shocked them. The committee's chairman, Labour MP Barry Sheerman, described how they had seen children as young as three tracing out letters of the alphabet and he also complained about the 'patchy provision' around the country.
The expert witnesses, in their written and oral evidence, echoed the committee's obvious concerns on the issue of the appropriate age for starting formal schooling with the notable exception, however, of the chief inspector of schools Chris Woodhead.
A summary of the written submissions to the committee states on the issue of the age of statutory entry to school, 'No other question posed by the committee generated such strong statements, reflecting serious concern about the conditions currently encountered by three- and four-year-olds in school.
'There is remarkable unanimity about the desirability of raising the school starting age to six and, in the interim, of reinstating the rising-fives policy as soon as possible. Many respondents point to European experience with later school entry at six or seven, where educational achievements at ages eight and nine far outstrip that of British children.'
But Mr Woodhead stressed he had not been persuaded by the argument that raising the school age would be beneficial. 'If you looked at the high standards that are achieved in other countries, I think myself it probably has more to do with the effectiveness of teaching later on in the child's period of schooling than it does with the delayed entry to school,' he said.
New inspection system
The summary also reports that witnesses gave a guarded welcome to the new inspection system but stresses, 'Care must be taken when training early years workers and inspectors that the goals do not come to be seen as a rigid framework.'
It adds, 'A problem remains with the lack of understanding of the early years at the highest level in Ofsted, and it would be very helpful if an early years specialist were to be recruited to head up its new early years arm.'
The MPs sought assurances from both the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and Ofsted that the literacy and numeracy hour does not have to be delivered in one session but can be broken up throughout the day. Lesley Staggs, principal manager of the Executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority Early Years Team, said, 'The elements can be delivered across the day in different contexts and really it is then for the teachers to make decisions about what is appropriate for the children they are working with.'
Mike Tomlinson, director of inspection at Ofsted, conceded, 'In one or two reports on the reception classes particularly, some inspectors seem to want to see the totality of the hour in all its glory and we have re-issued guidance recently to remind them that there is flexibility.'
Under-achievement
One issue that was raised throughout the inquiry was the under-achievement of boys. Mr Sheerman described how the MPs had been warned. 'Particularly with boys, pushing them to formal learning, reading and writing too early can damage their later development.' He sought assurances that Ofsted was not influencing providers to push children too far, too fast on numeracy and literacy.
Mr Woodhead insisted Ofsted does not set the inspection agenda, and assesses settings on the basis of criteria set by ministers. 'It is damaging to try to assume any young child can do more than they are able. Having said that, I am all for challenge and stimulus. It is a professional judgement as to how far you push a child at any point in their development,' he said.
Status and pay
The crucial need to raise the skills, status and pay of early years professionals was referred to repeatedly. The summary of written submissions notes, 'The majority of under-fives are currently in the care of staff with little or no educational content in their training; indeed, over 60 per cent of the early years workforce has had no relevant training. Increased training and understanding of young children's social and emotional development is a priority.'
Dr Nick Tate, chief executive of the QCA, referred to the 'skills gap', while employment and equal opportunities minister Margaret Hodge said the early years sector had been undervalued in the past. 'Our job is to raise the status and to convince everybody that the early years are one of the most rewarding and important areas in which to invest your energy and best people,' she said.
She added that the introduction of the national minimum wage would help tackle the chronic problem of low pay. 'I was shocked by the number of MPs who wrote to me about pre-schools in their constituencies where the minimum wage caused a problem. In one constituency a pre-school was paying staff just 90p an hour.
'Over time, as we raise the qualifications and status of the early years sector, it is bound to have an impact on income levels. Part of that will be met through the state, part will be met through the working families tax credit to support low income families, and part through parents paying.
'At the moment, 98 per cent of people in the sector are women. That is not an appropriate role model for our young children. If we want to encourage more men into the sector we must deal with the important issues of status and money.'
