Features

To the Point - Take care with creativity

It is nice to think that the EYFS is the one part of the educational system where children's creativity is truly valued. Nice, but misguided.

First of all, many nurseries and reception classes still work under the misdunderstanding that creativity is about mass production. I am thinking of those rows of near-identical paintings of flowers, and outlines drawn by adults that are filled with tissue paper scrunched by industrious little fingers.

Then there are the displays made up of children's drawings that have been cut around by an adult and stuck on to a background. I can remember spending almost a week's worth of early evenings putting together just such a display as a class teacher nearly 20 years ago. It was all nicely mounted, spaced and proportioned. Parents and staff admired it, but I do not recall that the children took much interest.

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