Opinion: Editor's view - The foundations of early years education could be looking shaky

First, there is the speed at which the Tory's flagship policy of allowing all schools to apply to be academies is being brought in (Analysis, pages 10-11). A couple of points here - nursery schools are not part of the programme, which could well be bad news for high-quality nursery education and denote that this stage is not seen as a separate part of mainstream education.

The nursery and reception classes of primary schools will be part of any move to academy status, however, which begs the question of whether such schools will be able to effectively opt out of the EYFS and will lose local authority support.

At the same time, the mooted move 'back to basics' with the primary curriculum raises visions of a diet of phonics and worksheets for the youngest children in schools.

Meanwhile, the EYFS has come under fire in a Times leader saying that nursery education spending has been a waste of money (based on an apparently slewed interpretation of the ONS outcomes research; see page 3). And the Centre for Policy Studies has also called for the EYFS to be scrapped (see page 4).

With campaigning from groups such as Open EYE being appropriated by some to ridicule the 'nappy curriculum', it is time to tread very carefully. The EYFS has much that is good, and early years providers have settled in to appreciating its benefits. Wholesale change would be unhelpful - more support and training to enhance practitioners' skills are the way forward.