I agree that the Birth to Three Matters framework and the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage are based upon sound principles. However, ending the Foundation Stage with mandatory profiling inevitably leads to the deficit model of assessment that Cath Arnold rightly decries. An example would be a talented and enthusiastic five-year-old artist being marked down for creative development because of her inability to co-ordinate her movements in dance.
In producing checklists, local authorities are responding, in a supportive manner, to practitioners who are anxious to demonstrate to Ofsted that their nurseries are offering effective care and education and that children are progressing towards the Government's learning goals. Advice from local authority advisory teachers is that close observations of each child should be mapped on to such checklists, rather than the checklist items being the focus of assessment.
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