Both the conference of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers and the select committee on primary education share the widely expressed concerns about school starting age and mandatory learning goals in the foundation stage.
Michael Gove, shadow minister for children, schools and families, has also been vocal about the need to return to a more traditional syllabus, requiring teachers to teach, rather than trying to cure the social ills of society.
I am concerned about the confusion these views might lead to. There is truth in all of them, but the danger is that those in charge of policy decisions may confuse the developmental needs of our youngest children with the educational needs of those over six and continue to lump them all together.
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