1. Early Education
believes that all young children are entitled to high quality
education in their earliest years and that teachers play a key
role in improving outcomes for all children, especially the most
disadvantaged.
Early Education will:
- urgently seek
clarification from the DfES and CDWC on the relationship
between early years professionals and qualified teachers
- lobby governments to
ensure that young children have access to input from a
qualified early years teacher
- lobby governments to
urgently improve the quality of training for the least
experienced practitioners so that they are fully equipped to
take on the role of key person.
2. Early Education
believes that for young children to become successful readers
they need learning experiences which embrace a broad, language
rich curriculum.
Early Education will:
- monitor the impact of
the implementation of the early reading review
- gather evidence where
early years practitioners are required to implement
inappropriate curriculum practices and ensure that this is
reported to relevant bodies such as the Primary Strategy and
DfES
- challenge the
imposition in England of one method of teaching phonics.
3. Early Education
supports the Government’s aim to bring together existing
frameworks for children from birth to five within the Early
Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
Early Education will:
- monitor the
implementation of EYFS to ensure that training and
dissemination is effective and reaches all practitioners and
feedback issues that arise to the relevant bodies
- lobby government to
urgently improve the quality of training for the least
experienced practitioners so that they are fully equipped to
take on the role of key person
- lobby government to
ensure that children in reception classes receive the
appropriate Foundation Stage experiences to which they are
entitled
- lobby for changes to
those Early Learning Goals which evidence from three years of
Foundation Stage profile outcomes show are set developmentally
too high.
4. Early Education is
extremely alarmed that OfSTED inspectors in the maintained,
private, voluntary and independent sectors are not always
supporting the development of appropriate early years practice
in the Foundation Stage. We believe that OfSTED inspectors who
inspect the Foundation Stage should have appropriate and current
knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and national
research outcomes. This knowledge should be clearly applied when
making judgments about early years practice.
