Opinion

Michael Pettavel: 'Leadership is about inspiration and positivity'

The Government’s vision for the early years seems vague and is lacking the inspiration that Labour provided back in the late 1990s
Michael Pettavel
Micahel Pettavel

I listened to Keir Starmer’s ‘re-set’ speech in December. I’m glad they remembered the early years in Whitehall and we made it into the top six priorities. It’s a relief the importance of early intervention has been recognised, but the vision appears muddled; lots of laudable aims, but little substance.

It feels like it was written by lots of different people, resulting in a list of ideas, rather than ‘this is the issue, this is the solution’. It shouldn’t only be a response to a problem, but aspirational in its desire to invest in excellent practice.

I struggle with the term ‘school readiness’, I’m not sure that anyone really knows what it means. It is a ‘catch-all’ that is vague, but sounds purposeful. It masks the real issues by placing the burden with the child. Are schools child-ready? Do they have the resources to meet the needs of the children starting? Inevitably, without the practical skills in place, children will struggle being dropped into a group of 30 and will take up ‘valuable teaching time’. Perhaps a rethink of Reception class sizes to allow children time and attention would be a practical way of addressing these issues? Perhaps we could redefine what is seen as a valuable set of skills to teach?

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