Nursery World - Fair play (2)

A new approach to learning in the absence of SATs has turned the eyes of the early years profession on Wales. Simon Vevers reports Teachers in England preparing to take children through the ordeal of SATs at Key Stage 1 may be excused for dreaming of relocating across the Severn Bridge to Wales. The devolved Welsh Assembly abolished SATs last year and has now unveiled its proposals for a Foundation Phase for three-to seven-year-olds, with a shift towards a play-based and experiential approach rather than a rigid, formal curriculum weighed down with individual subjects.

Teachers in England preparing to take children through the ordeal of SATs at Key Stage 1 may be excused for dreaming of relocating across the Severn Bridge to Wales. The devolved Welsh Assembly abolished SATs last year and has now unveiled its proposals for a Foundation Phase for three-to seven-year-olds, with a shift towards a play-based and experiential approach rather than a rigid, formal curriculum weighed down with individual subjects.

The consultation paper The Learning Country: the Foundation Phase 3 to 7 years was launched last month by minister for education and lifelong learning Jane Davidson. Responses to it must be in by the end of May.

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