On a high street in a wealthy part of south London, an off-duty early years inspector pondered over a group of three-year-olds walking along in a crocodile. 'They were wearing school uniform - shirts and ties, knickerbockers for the boys, skirts for the girls - with satchels on their backs and hats on their heads,' she says. 'They looked very pretty. But what on earth were they doing along a busy main road at 10.30am? What could they be going to that was appropriate for their age?' The annual census from April 2001 shows 40,526 two-to four-year-olds attending independent schools, accounting for about 7.5 per cent of children in the UK in this age range (the latest breakdown is for 2000). The early years provision in these schools varies considerably. Early years consultant Margaret Edgington says that many are doing 'more creative, exciting things than in the maintained sector and they mustn't be stereotyped'. But there are worries that some pre-preps, as they are known, are introducing too formal a curriculum, with undue emphasis on sitting at tables, writing and 'doing sums'.
Jean Ensing, vice-president of Early Education and an experienced advisor and inspector, says that a comment she hears regularly when visiting maintained nursery and primary schools is that a particular child has 'been transferred' from an independent school.
'The parents have been advised that an independent school is "not suitable" for their child,' she says. 'Sometimes it is because the school cannot cope with a particular special need. Sometimes the programme may not be appropriate. For example, most children are just beginning to read at five, but some independent schools expect them to be reading by then. This can leave the child with hang-ups. He does not want to co-operate and this is seen as misbehaviour. Then the trauma of a move to a new school with more appropriate expectations can make his behaviour worse.'
Parent pressure
Staff in independent schools, where fees range from 800 to 1,200 a term, often say the drive for early formality comes from parents. 'Naturally, parents want the best for their children, and some think that if they pay for a prep school for their two-year-old they are putting something into the child of value. But this is not always the case,' says Pat Wills, chair of Early Education, who is head of a maintained primary school in Blackpool. She adds that some prep schools do not give pupils access to the outdoor and physical curriculum because the schools are accommodated in houses, with only a back yard and no inside hall.
One head of a prep school, which takes children at two and a half, says, 'When parents are paying fees they want to see the goods. They choose us because of our academic excellence.'
Her school is registered to receive the nursery education grant and therefore must implement the Foundation Stage, but she says her teachers feel disconcerted, stuck between parents' expectations and 'the expectations of the powers-that-be'.
She is also not wholeheartedly convinced by the Foundation Stage curriculum. 'It looks as if it is holding children back,' she says. 'For example, at four we introduce structured writing activities, but the Foundation Stage is saying that this is not a good idea until Year 1. I'd like to see the Foundation Stage in operation for a couple of years to see if, as they say, children can learn in six months in Year 1 what they usually learn here over three years.'
'We will be flexible and implement the Foundation Stage, but if children are ready for more we will continue to move them forward as individuals.' The biggest growth in parents using independent schools has been among Afro-Caribbean and Asian populations. The head of another girls' prep school, where the majority of pupils come from these backgrounds, says Asian parents place a great emphasis on maths and want their children to be 'doing sums on paper' as soon as poss-ible. 'They have great expectations for their daughters to be chemists, doctors or accountants,' she says.
However, she feels that there is less pressure from parents for formality since the school introduced a curriculum evening every September to explain the Foundation Stage. 'There has also been a lot about it in the press, which has helped,' she says.
Margaret Edgington agrees that confident practitioners should be able to sell their philosophy to parents. 'The trouble is with those who are not trained in early years, who are pushed into formality by heads,' she says.
Ofsted reports
David Hanson, director of education at the Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS), to which half the prep schools in the UK belong, is quick to point out that independent schools scored highest in Ofsted inspections of the first settings to receive the nursery education grant, which took place between April 1999 and March 2000. Out of 2,400 independent schools, 1,130 receive the nursery education grant, and these schools are obliged to implement the Foundation Stage.
The IAPS recently organised a day course on the Foundation Stage and its pre-prep focus group has a national network of contacts. Its 1996 report on provision for under-fives in IAPS schools seems in line with the spirit of the Foundation Stage, with phrases such as 'play and the child's own motivation are essential to learning' and 'child-instigated activities release a powerful force of learning which must be harnessed'. There is no mention of formal literacy or numeracy exercises.
But ultimately, the IAPS has no jurisdiction over what type of nursery curriculum the independent schools introduce, which is why Jean Ensing would like to see them under the same inspection system as the maintained sector. 'Because independent schools have their own in-house inspections, inspectors may cast a benevolent eye over it,' she says. 'If that happens, then the provision is not judged in the same way as the maintained sector.' Perhaps the worst excesses of parts of the independent sector can be illustrated by the assessments on three-year-olds that were carried out at a prestigious London pre-prep a few years ago. The children had to write and spell their name, say the alphabet and recognise letters. The head told the parents of the few who could do it that their children were gifted, and he offered them extra lessons. Those who had a good stab at it were given a pass, while the parents of those who couldn't do it were told that their children were probably dyslexic - and were also offered extra lessons. NW
The inspection of independent schools
* Independent schools belonging to the eight associations that are members of the Independent Schools Council are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. This is monitored by HMI.
* Non-association schools are registered with the DfES and inspected by Ofsted.
The ISC states that when inspecting schools with a significant number of under-fives, an inspector with early years experience would usually visit.
Nursery provision in independent schools is currently exempt from the National Standards for Daycare, despite strong calls for its inclusion.
Government review The Government is reviewing the inspection process in independent schools and consultation is in process. The results are expected in early 2002.
At present:
* Maintained nursery schools and classes have a two- to five-day inspection from a team of inspectors under Section 10 of the Schools Inspection Act 1996.
* Private and voluntary settings claiming the nursery education grant have a one-day inspection by one inspector under Section 122 of the Nursery Education and Grant- maintained Schools Act 1996, as well as care inspections applying the National Standards for Daycare.
* Independent schools under the Independent Schools Council have a four or five-day inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate.
The National Association of Educational Inspectors, Advisers and Consultants (NAEIAC), strongly favours one national approach for all early years settings. 'We believe there are strengths in both Section 10 and Section 122 inspections, but there has to be real attention to practical detail because of the wide range of settings,' says general secretary John Chowcat. 'Thorough consultation will be needed.'
