tc winter 2009
foundations for teaching careers
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Developing your careeR: How to get off to a flying start at school
Plug in and learn: utilising the great resources of the internet
snowed under: keeping on top of the mountain of paperwork
stemming the flow: combating the fall in numbers of science students
Spring to success? The Government says that starting school at the age of four will help children born in July and August boost the start of their school careers. The policy is already causing controversy By Jessica Moore
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n 19 October, the schools secretary Ed Balls set out new plans for primary provision in the UK. The change? From September 2011, every four-year old will be offered a free place at school or nursery, bringing the age at which children start full-time education forward by a year. This follows recommendations by the government advisor and former Ofsted inspector, Sir Jim Rose. Rose believes that starting school at four will counteract the penalty those born in the summer months face throughout their education. The plans have sparked controversy – not least because they were announced just days after the biggest independent inquiry into primary education in 40 years, the Cambridge University Primary Review, recommended delaying the start of formal learning until a child turns six. The Cambridge Review argues that England, where children currently have to start school at five, is out of step with international practice – internationally, most children enter full-time education at six. Delaying the start of formal schooling, the Cambridge Review says, would extend the preschool, play-based curriculum to give children a better grounding before they start formal lessons. It found a “strong and widespread conviction” that children are ill served by starting formal learning at four, claiming it “dents children’s confidence and risks long-term damage to their learning”. One local authority in the UK claimed that the combination of an early start age, testing, and pressure to reach government standards was creating a generation with mental health problems. Barry Sheerman, the Labour chairman of the Commons select committee that covers education, has similarly argued that British children are being “hot-housed” into formal schooling too early. However, Balls claims that “there is clear evidence the sooner summer-born children start good-quality pre-schooling, the sooner they close the gap on their peers”. So, he plans to offer every family a free place at school or nursery from the September, January or April after their child turns four. If they opt for a nursery place, the child will learn the early years play-based curriculum. If a family chooses to start their child at school, it will mean more formal lessons in reading and writing. Balls insists that the scheme will be optional and will not force children into formal primary education if they are not ready. Further, he stresses that, under the scheme, parents could still choose to keep their child at home until they turn five. “We know that not every four-year-old is going to be ready for reception at the
same time – so it is important families have the choice when to start full-time or parttime classes, or have free early years’ provision if they want it,” he said. So what’s the problem? Some parents feel that “allowing” children to learn earlier, and giving families “more choice” over early years education brings pressure. “There’s a gap between the ideal scenario and the practical one”, admits Emma Anderson, a working mother of two. “While I much prefer the idea of delaying formal lessons until my kids are six, the fact is that I need to work, and childcare is expensive. If there’s a free full-time place at school for my daughter when she turns four, I’ll probably take it. Wealthier parents might turn it down – but I think most won’t.” Another argument takes issue with the basis of Balls’ proposal: there is a divide in opinion over why children born in July and August are at greater risk of falling behind. Is it because the children are up to a year younger than their peers? Or is it, as Balls believes, because they receive less formal schooling because they start later? In a survey of 700 teachers, published 8 April by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers
(ATL), a Kent-based teacher warns that starting children at school younger may have a negative impact on teachers, and on the classroom environment. “Summer-born children, especially those born in August, often lack the maturity to cope with school. They would be better off staying at preschool for longer – but there is also a lot of parental pressure for the children to start school so they can go to work.” This teacher coins the resulting problem for educators: “I often feel like a child-minder and not a teacher.” The ATL survey also found that 30 per cent of teachers and support staff working with primary and junior children think statutory education should not start until children are at least six years old, and well over a third (37 per cent) think pupils should be over five. It further finds that three in four teachers say it is wrong to admit children to mainstream classrooms at the age of four. In the survey, many teachers pointed out that children from Scandinavian countries did better in international tests than those in the UK, despite the fact they did not start formal schooling until age seven.
Claire Jagger, a primary teacher in Cornwall, said: “I have taught in Finland, Lapland and Russia and have seen firsthand the way in which their seven-year-olds start school ready to learn. They are emotionally ready, socially able, physically content, and mature enough to deal with the curriculum in school, bringing good solid life experience and a thirst for learning.” Further evidence that Balls’ plans may be ill conceived comes from Northern Ireland. A report by researchers at Queen’s University, Belfast, published in October – around the time Balls proposed lowering the school start age in the UK – claims that children in Northern Ireland are being damaged by starting school too young. The study recommends that the start age for school children in Northern Ireland be raised from four to at least five. Currently all children aged three and four are entitled to a part-time (12.5 hours a week) nursery place, but this entitlement stops once the child reaches school age. A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said it was in negotiations with the Treasury on funding the change.
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