Put children first, not paperwork

I have been working with children for almost 40 years in various ways - running pre-schools, as a learning support assistant, running Brownie packs and youth clubs, school governor, specialist educational social worker, fostering social worker, family centre worker, as well as being a mother and grandmother. If it's taught me one thing it's that we need to let children show us what they need and want to know about.

New Zealand has always been at the forefront of early years education.The article reminded me of a pre-school I ran in Germany for British and American children in the early 1970s. A relative in New Zealand sent me one of their pre-school publications and we adopted all the lively and stimulating suggestions. We always had a large woodwork table that was fully equipped and constantly in use (we never had an accident), and children were free to play inside and out in all weathers, often in mud and puddles, snow and ice. At every session we had all the activities that we have in our pre-school today.