Early years organisations in England have given a warm welcome to the appointment of Lesley Staggs as the Government's first-ever national director of the Foundation Stage.
Ms Staggs, who takes up the post on 1 October, most recently worked as a senior adviser to the Sure Start Unit at the Department for Education and Skills. Before this she was principal manager of the early years team at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and was instrumental in the creation of the guidance for the Foundation Stage.
Margaret Hodge, minister for children, announced Ms Staggs' appointment last week and added, 'She commands enormous respect across all stakeholders and will be able to lead the work on ensuring that the quality of play and learning for young children is of a consistently high standard.'
Mrs Hodge said that Ms Staggs would work on the link between the Foundation Stage and the first years of formal education in primary schools 'so that every child enjoys an experience that is appropriate to their age and their development'.
The DfES said Ms Staggs would be representing the Foundation Stage nationally and that a key element of her job would be to 'work closely with the directors for literacy and numeracy (and) to harness the benefits of joining up work on support for teaching and learning within the Foundation Stage with the work in Key Stage 1 and beyond'.
The appointment has delighted the early years sector. Early years consultant Margaret Edgington, who has campaigned for the literacy hour to be removed from the Foundation Stage, on the grounds that its child-centred and play-based principles cannot co-exist with a strategy based on formal, whole-class teaching methods, said, 'Lesley has worked tirelessly to achieve a developmentally appropriate curriculum for the Foundation Stage. I am sure that she will now use her position as national director to promote similar approaches in Key Stage 1. Many Year 1 and 2 teachers are desperate for this to happen so they can meet the needs of their children.
'Many of us are still campaigning hard to get rid of Key Stage 1 SATs and to relieve the pressure on reception teachers to introduce the inappropriate, non-statutory literacy hour. We will look to Lesley to use her position to help us achieve this.'
Tina Bruce, who was recently appointed professor at the University of Surrey Roehampton, said, 'Lesley has made a huge contribution to the development of the Foundation Stage and she is very committed to making a seamless transition from Birth to Three Matters to the Foundation Stage and into Key Stage 1.
'This is a wonderful opportunity for everybody in the early years sector to give her support in the implementation of the core reference documents, Birth to Three Matters and Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage.'
Eva Lloyd, senior lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at Bristol University, said, 'Lesley is an extremely good person to have in this position, as she knows how to listen to everybody involved in delivering the Foundation Stage, not just teachers, and this is crucial.'
Sue Owen, director of the Early Childhood Unit at the National Children's Bureau, added, 'We hope that in this new role Lesley will not just form a bridge between the Foundation Stage and formal schooling, but also develop links with those working with babies.'
Ruth Pimentel, who is currently working as Foundation Stage co-ordinator at Cambridgeshire Care and Education Partnership, will be joining Ms Staggs as co-ordinating director later this year.
