Nursery World - Letters - Letter of the week overload of change

As someone in childcare for 20 years, a qualified teacher and mother of a child who started school at four years and two weeks - ie, an August-born child - I am resolutely against four-year-olds in school. Why put the children through so many changes?

Summer-born children do not access funding until the year before most go to school. Children have one year in a pre-school/nursery (even older ones have only two at most), then a year in a reception class where they change to a teacher, 30 pupils in a class, adapting to a new place and people, different rules, a uniform, set lessons and maybe even homework. Then it's all change again. Surely at least the EYFS (three to five) should be just that - a foundation for children aged three years up to six years in one place, with a stable foundation.

The biggest problem I see is trying to train the staff in this stage to raise their expectations of the children. Only then can the children benefit from it. Trying to put children through more changes cannot be the answer.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included