Editor's View - Thoughts from China

One of the most interesting aspects was the chance to step away from the hurly burly of UK early years policy-making, which went into overdrive just before Easter, and see a completely different system, driven by societal and cultural imperatives quite unlike our own.

The private and state kindergartens we visited were run with large classes, although ratios were not that different from the UK, with two degree-level 'teachers' and an assistant typical for a class of 30 three- or four-year-olds.

Everything was very time-tabled, with all children doing art or music or games at the same time. Our group was asked many questions about how settings could operate a free flow approach and child-initiated play. This just hasn't been part of Chinese thinking.

The morning exercise sessions at one kindergarten, with very impressive, highly choreographed routines incorporating all sorts of skills, gave our group some good ideas, however.

And it was interesting to see that the pressures on Chinese children, mostly the only offspring of the family, to achieve and start formal learning early are being recognised as the incidence of mental health problems rises. We were told by one education director that she thought four years old was much to early to start school, and that formal literacy was now starting later for some Chinese children.

Chinese practitioners were very keen to know about concepts of learning through play and the Early Years Foundation Stage too. It seems that as we head in one direction, China is beginning to head towards us!