Nursery World - Human development and the early years

Over the past 18 months, we have been pitched into a situation where we seem to constantly swim against a relentless tide of inappropriate policy ‘initiatives’.

After considering various statements made by many charged with policy development, most of whom are not developmental specialists, it would seem that they have cobbled together an erroneous model of human development in the early years and consequently ‘spun’ it into a poorly designed ‘solution’ for a range of difficulties faced by young children in families experiencing disadvantage.

This model in turn has then somehow given rise to an ill-conceived ‘schoolified’ programme for toddlers, immersed in a gross misunderstanding of how young children become ‘school ready’.

It was with these rather dismal thoughts in mind that I recently attended a Diamond Wedding party for a couple I shall call Mary* and Jack*. As a distant in-law, I had the opportunity to slip into a role in which I have had long experience, that of an observer.

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