Warning signs about the state of British childhood have been flashing everywhere recently.
The Children's Society's Good Childhood Inquiry has been receiving submissions from many experts concerned about the quality of children's lives. The UNICEF report ranked the UK near the bottom of an international league for many aspects of emotional well-being, finding that children felt unsafe and didn't trust their friends. The NCH has launched a campaign, Growing Strong, to call for children to be given emotional support (News, 11 October).
The latest call to action comes from an interim report from the Primary Review which talks of children's 'deep anxiety' about modern life (see News, page 6). One source of stress constantly referred to was the barrage of school tests children face.
Why, then, have the latest Foundation Stage Profile results led to outrage over children's 'failure' to come up to prescribed standards (News, page 4)? Four-year-olds are being castigated for not reaching some very challenging goals. 'There were 42 per cent who struggled to write letters to Father Christmas,' said the Guardian's report. It is interesting that the lowest results were found with the early learning goals for Writing and the controversial Linking Sounds and Letters, which many experts said should not be included in the Profile.
The primary heads' vision of a playful curriculum moving up into Year One seems further away than ever.
