It seems ironic that the Government is determined to enforce an increase in the level of qualifications in our settings, when it appears it is further down the line that children are failing. I have no issue with raising standards, but not until the Government realises that pushing children into formal education too soon can be a retrograde step. I have known many children (mostly boys) whose parents have felt under pressure to take up their school place in September. They are sometimes barely four years old and are not sufficiently developmentally mature to cope with formal learning and large class sizes.
It doesn't matter how well qualified you are, when faced with a class of 30 children with very different capabilities, some are bound to be left behind. It is the system that fails the children and not the other way around.
If children are to succeed they need much better adult:child ratios than 1:13 or worse and, as the article suggests, a more child- centred flexible curriculum, particularly in Years 1 and 2.
When will the Government listen to us instead of continually undermining our skills and wealth of experience?
Ann Darlington, Willaston Playgroup, Nantwich
