http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-38104242
The BBC tells us that:
Almost a third of children in England are behind in their development when they start primary school, according to official figures for 2016.
And Department for Education statistics show pupils from poorer backgrounds are more likely to be lagging in their learning, literacy and numeracy levels.
The charity Save The Children called the figures “shocking”.
I’m with Save the Children – for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, I would suggest that if a third of children are below expected standards then the expectations are all wrong – like last year’s SATs fiasco – and perhaps the people setting those expectations should get out and meet a few more 5 year olds.
Secondly, I have a profound mistrust of any judgements made about 5 year olds. As part of a PGCE you have to carry out your own research projects and make presentations. One of the presentations I gave was on school starting ages… this links to the accompanying powerpoint (I promise it’s not too long, though I am a tad embarrassed at the quality – please remember it was a long time ago and I was new to this stuff. It’s also a little outdated but basic idea is the same too-absolutely-small-prof-studies
The important points, as far as I am concerned, are that we are not doing great in the reading stakes, that those countries with the best performances are the ones that start formal education at a later age, and the research that Woolfe did about brain development.
So, I have serious reservations about the DfE’s expectations.
I’m also concerned about recruitment and retention in the profession – but that’s another post.
However, what is clear is that our tiny-smalls need to listen to adults reading, have plenty of books to look at themselves and to experience word and number play. When I was a child that was the norm. There were plenty of folk ready and willing to chip in. I learnt number making makes with Grandma and crackers with Mum. We all read copiously, visited the library every week, watched Jackanory and listened to Listen with Mother.
Today parents are under different pressures.
So what can we do here at EKT? Some of our tutors offer ‘storytime sessions’ and/or Parent Help sessions, where we can give you a bit of support in supporting your children. Ideas for games and activities that will make learning fun, and give you strategies for helping them access reading, writing and number.
Contact us for more details.