Nursery World - What's the measure of imagination?

Sue Allingham's letter ('Government tightening the screw', 10 October) makes depressing and familiar reading. The extension of the formal curriculum into early years settings is continuing apace, to the great detriment of our children. What exactly is the point in children as young as three or four learning even the rudiments of mathematics and English? Barring misfortune, my son, born in 1999, is likely to live in three separate centuries. He is likely to be in full-time education for longer than I was and in work for longer than I will be.

The extension of the formal curriculum into early years settings is continuing apace, to the great detriment of our children. What exactly is the point in children as young as three or four learning even the rudiments of mathematics and English? Barring misfortune, my son, born in 1999, is likely to live in three separate centuries. He is likely to be in full-time education for longer than I was and in work for longer than I will be.

As our lives are being increasingly stretched out, does it really matter whether children can do their two plus two or write their names at the age of four? They will pick this up easily when they are seven - why do we want them to do it when they should be still running around in the garden, splashing in the paddling pool, and building things out of twigs and cardboard boxes?

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