Opinions about the best way to teach young children and support their learning seem to be increasingly polarised - an important development in the context of the current review of the EYFS in England.
Earlier this year (1 July), Nursery World published a controversial article by Tom Burkard about his report for the Centre for Policy Studies, which argued for direct instruction in literacy as the prime factor in improving the achievement and life chances of disadvantaged children.
Investment in Sure Start was a waste of money and the EYFS should be scrapped, were Burkard's unequivocal conclusions.
This week, we have Oli de Botton of the CfBT Education Trust on CfBT's research project into the effectiveness of early years programmes (Analysis, pages 10-11). The six programmes that showed the most evidence of 'educational impact' by the start of formal schooling were found to have key features, including an emphasis on teacher-led practice and academic outcomes such as letter and word recognition.
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