Rea Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10732067/Reading-and-numbers-tests-for-two-year-olds.html Very glad we're not taking funded 2 year olds, I can see this and worse becoming a condition of funding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamgirl Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 I think we should go and visit him with a two year old in tow. Has he ever met any? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narnia Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 I think this is all part of the basic 'plan' to take two year olds into school.......................because we all know that we're not good enough to give children a decent education, don't we?? All that play.........all those play and learning opportunities..........play, play, play. Goodness me, 6 weeks is long enough to be a child, let's get with the programme folks. Sit and read 'War and Peace' Johnny.......you're 18 months old now, stop sobbing you at the back, you'll get your turn............now, turn to page 6 of your maths books, we're starting on Logarithms today... Britain, 2014 where we steal childhoods...................... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredbear Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Oh my but the phrase statutory schooling, surely should be the term after their fifth birthday, as in the education law in the uk. This so makes me want to scream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 OMG - is all I can think of to say! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apple Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 In the letter, Sir Michael says that “children as young as two can learn and be taught a range of things”, including new vocabulary, recognising familiar nursery rhymes, listening to stories and looking at picture books, building small towers and counting play bricks, making shapes from modelling dough and beginning to form marks on paper. I'd like to know what the Government are doing to address some of the underlying issues regarding why so many children come to us below age related expectations - e.g the things they should be doing above - is also the role of parents - until the Government begin to address parenting and support then we will continue to the be the scapegoats when children do not progress at the rate they (Ofsted et al) expect). ggrrrrrr makes my blood boil to think that yet more pressure is put on children earlier and earlier when all the work over the last ten years regarding learning through play etc seems to be now a thing of the past Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mundia Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 If you haven't seen Michael's letter in full, it is here http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/letter-hmci-early-years-inspectors-march-2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mundia Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Clicked post before I had finished! Many things on the list of thing Michale refers to are the very things we would aspire to provide for our children. Obviously we await this forthcoming information the Telegraph refers to, but its the terminology that probably bothers most of us the most. Most of us assess children already dont we? Its the what and how that we worry about. It seems the govt whole view about the purpose of education is entirely about preparing them for the next phase. This is seen in the primary assessment and accountability document that came out this week, which indicate that the prime purpose of primary education is to make them 'secondary ready'. It's very sad really. It that really it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 like most newspaper articles they have taken the basics and twisted to read 'well'! Mundia is quite right we already do most of what is written here ...we assess children all the time otherwise our observation assessment planning cycle would not exist. I have no issue with this although the emphasis seems to be only on learning the 3 r's which is my problem. An article this week said that there has been a 70% increase in SAL problems over the last 6 years, we have children coming from all over the world to access our systems which is fab but means we are submerged into a multilingual society which will cause some delays whilst language is being acquired. Our sen services are up the spout which means children are already being set up to fail when they enter school because provision is not targeted and money is used for inappropriate support. Despite all of this we are the third best provision in the world (way above France which comes in 9th place) and we are being told to do what they do. There is a real lack of understanding as to what children and families really need....they do not need their children taken away from them at the earliest possible time they need help and guidance as how to become better parents....nuclear families tend not to exist so experience does not exist in the family . We need to rally here guys....the eyfs is a stage not a process to be quickly got through....what can we do to stop this tide of ridiculous information! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamgirl Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 We stick together and do not comply with unrealistic dictats that have another agenda ie political. We are the experts at the coal face. It is in our hands. We know what good practice is and we keep doing it. If someone asks me to test a two year old in numeracy and literacy , I will say no. If someone asks me to assess a two year old's development and support them to grow, I will say OK. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apple Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Despite all of this we are the third best provision in the world (way above France which comes in 9th place) and we are being told to do what they do. Hi Finleysmaid - can you copy in where you got this from as I am interested to read more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 I have to agree that the newspaper article did make me panic but reading the letter (thank you Mundia for posting) has reassured me somewhat. The things Sir Michael is asking the inspectors to look for are after all things we would want to be encouraging children to do. I was lucky enough to attend the 'Getting to Good' seminar at the ChildcareExpo on Friday which was led by a senior inspector. She started by saying we need to have a clear understanding of what Ofsted means by the word 'teaching'. She have the example of a parent/carer assessing that their child is ready to learn to walk up stairs and then gives the opportunity to learn, standing behind them for safety and encouraging etc. She said this is what is meant by teaching and the whole session actually left me encouraged. She emphasised once again that the focus of inspections should be on how the setting is supporting children to learn. I have to welcome that as far better than picky comments on one child who did not wash their hands thoroughly! By the way - she said the Ofsted report will be published next Thursday. I shall look forward to seeing what it actually says, rather than a newspaper's sensationalising comments! (Thanks Rea for posting though - it has raised some interesting questions) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hi Finleysmaid - can you copy in where you got this from as I am interested to read more. cant find the link....will go and investigate! was published when Mrs truss was comparing us to French Maternelles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apple Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Thanks would appreciate that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mundia Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 The only one I can think of was the Starting Well report which came out in 2012, and ranks across a range of measures, of which one is quality, where the UK came in 3rd and France 9th. Its a long document but if you are the sort of person who likes to read research, then its quite interesting. Im always fascinated by what people choose as their data for defining 'quality' It can be found here http://www.lienfoundation.org/pdf/publications/sw_report.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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