New evaluation shows Foundation Phase is delivering for Wales’ youngest learners
5 Feb 2015 02:54 PM
Education Minister, Huw Lewis has welcomed the latest evaluation findings of the Welsh Government’s flagship Foundation Phase which shows it is valued by the teaching profession and is helping to drive up literacy and numeracy standards in Wales’ youngest learners.
The Foundation Phase is the Welsh Government’s curriculum for three to seven year olds in Wales.
It places a strong emphasis on children learning by doing in order to develop their skills and understanding, and on finding different ways to solve problems - skills that are highly valued by organisations such as the OECD and CBI.
Yesterday the Welsh Government published two summaries of ongoing research of the Foundation Phase.
The first is focussed on the effect the curriculum is having on the literacy and numeracy skills of young learners, while the second considers how the Foundation Phase is viewed by practitioners and the wider education sector.
The research finds that:
- The majority of Foundation Phase leaders believe there has been at least some improvement in children’s literacy and numeracy skills since the introduction of the Foundation Phase.
- Children’s oracy and communication skills have improved as a result of the Foundation Phase according to Year 3 teachers and local authority representatives.
- The vast majority of practitioners and representatives from within the sector value the Foundation Phase and are committed to it. They would like to see it continue largely untouched.
- Schools feel that improvements around funding, guidance, assessment and transition to Key Stage 2 would help them in their delivery of the Foundation Phase.
Education Minister, Huw Lewis said:
“This latest research paints a really encouraging picture of our flagship Foundation Phase and the impact it is having on our youngest learners.
“It shows that the Foundation Phase is helping our three to seven year olds to develop better speech and communication skills and that vitally, it is helping to drive up their literacy and numeracy skills.
“The research also confirms what I know from speaking to teachers of the Foundation Phase - that they value it and are committed to it and believe it is the right choice for Welsh learners.”
The new Foundation Phase research findings follow the latest statistics on the attainment levels of pupils eligible for free school meals that were published last week.
Those statistics show that pupils eligible for free school meals are performing at historically high levels and that the attainment gap between those pupils and their counterparts has reduced in the last year.
Indeed at Foundation Phase level the Welsh Government has already met and exceeded its target to reduce the attainment gap by 10% against 2012 levels by 2017, and had secured an 11.6% reduction by the end of 2014.
The research reports are available on the Welsh Government website
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