The report’s recommendations for schools (see box), including making sure children are taught ‘correct pencil grip and how to sit correctly at a table’, as well as a focus on synthetic phonics and ‘direct teaching of reading, writing and mathematics’, have been viewed by some commentators as part of a politically driven agenda towards more formal teaching of four- and five-year-olds.
While asserting that ‘a good early education’ is ‘the foundation for later success’, the report is largely critical of Reception class teaching, stating that for too many children the year is ‘a false start’ and ‘a missed opportunity’ that could lead to some ‘falling behind their peers’.
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