Practitioners at the St Matthews Pre-school in Newham, London, where the review of the EYFS was launched, said that they do not feel that the framework is too bureaucratic.
Speaking at the launch of the review, children’s minister Sarah Teather said that lots of smaller settings had complained that the EYFS is too prescriptive, and that there was too much of a focus on assessment.
However, when Ms Teather asked practitioner Tabinda Ul-Hassan, who works at the setting, what she would like to see changed, Ms Ul-Hassan said, ‘There was a time when people were saying that the EYFS was very demanding in terms of the level of paperwork, and if you had asked me a year ago, I would have agreed. But after two years of working with the framework, we have come to a stage where we manage ourselves better. It’s a very easy to understand curriculum.’
She added, ‘ We were very fortunate to be involved in the Buddying programme for two years, and Every Child a Talker, and we had access to a lot of training through the Pre School Learning Alliance. The key is having a skilled workforce. If staff are skilled, then they are confident and capable and this obviously benefits the children.’
Earlier in the launch, Ms Teather denied that the Government wanted the early years framework to focus more on academic learning.
She said, ‘Of course numeracy and literacy are important, but it is also important for children to be able to say how they think and feel, to sit quietly and to play. All of those things are important as well.’
She also denied that the review was part of the Government’s drive to cut public spending, saying, ‘This review is not about cost cutting. It’s about what works for children, parents and the childcare sector. It will be an open review and we want all providers to feel involved, so that we can make sure we really get it right as we move forward. The review will be evidence based. It’s a question of how we can make sure that we still have that quality, and how parents can confidence in the sector. We need to make sure that it really works for the children.’
Ms Teather added, ‘The previous Government were going to review the EYFS anyway. We have just widened its scope.’
However, when Ms Teather asked practitioner Tabinda Ul-Hassan, who works at the setting, what she would like to see changed, Ms Ul-Hassan said, ‘There was a time when people were saying that the EYFS was very demanding in terms of the level of paperwork, and if you had asked me a year ago, I would have agreed. But after two years of working with the framework, we have come to a stage where we manage ourselves better. It’s a very easy to understand curriculum.’
She added, ‘ We were very fortunate to be involved in the Buddying programme for two years, and Every Child a Talker, and we had access to a lot of training through the Pre School Learning Alliance. The key is having a skilled workforce. If staff are skilled, then they are confident and capable and this obviously benefits the children.’
Earlier in the launch, Ms Teather denied that the Government wanted the early years framework to focus more on academic learning.
She said, ‘Of course numeracy and literacy are important, but it is also important for children to be able to say how they think and feel, to sit quietly and to play. All of those things are important as well.’
She also denied that the review was part of the Government’s drive to cut public spending, saying, ‘This review is not about cost cutting. It’s about what works for children, parents and the childcare sector. It will be an open review and we want all providers to feel involved, so that we can make sure we really get it right as we move forward. The review will be evidence based. It’s a question of how we can make sure that we still have that quality, and how parents can confidence in the sector. We need to make sure that it really works for the children.’
Ms Teather added, ‘The previous Government were going to review the EYFS anyway. We have just widened its scope.’
