DEPARTMENT FOR
CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES News Release (2008/0133) issued by
The Government News Network on 30 June 2008
Children's
Minister Beverley Hughes today announced that Sir Jim Rose has
been asked to review two of the milestones set out in the Early
Years Foundation Stage as part of his review of the primary curriculum.
The review will now consider whether two statements on developing
literacy strike the right balance between giving children a good
start in literacy skills and supporting a smooth transition from
the early years into Key Stage 1 of primary school.
The two statements are already contained in the existing
Foundation Stage, currently followed by all Government funded
settings. They are about the higher levels of achievement in
literacy and set the aim that by around age five, most children
will be able to:
* Use their phonic knowledge to write simple regular words and
make phonetically plausible attempts at more complex words;
* Write their own names and other things such as labels and
captions, and begin to form simple sentences, sometimes using punctuation
Recent evidence shows that just under half (46 per cent) of
children achieve the first of these milestones and a just under a
third (30 per cent) achieve the second, even before the Early
Years Foundation Stage comes into effect across all English early
years settings this September. The Primary Review will look at how
appropriate these aims are for children around age five, when
evidence shows it is realistic for children to achieve them, and
how we make sure that children progress well, and smoothly,
between the EYFS and Key Stage 1 in primary school.
Beverley Hughes also announced further details of the EYFS
review, scheduled to begin in 2010. The Minister confirmed the
review will assess how the framework was implemented and how well
it meets the needs of children, families and childcare providers.
Work will begin immediately to gather information to inform the
review, including compiling national and international evidence on
child development and monitoring the way in which the EYFS is implemented.
The Minister also repeated the Government's commitment that,
following the recent consultation on registration fees for
childcare providers, fees increases will be held to a modest level
over the next few years, to help provide greater stability for
childminders, nurseries and other childcare providers.
Ed Balls said:
"The first few years of children's lives are really
special because they are learning more and faster than at any
other time in their lives. Children's experiences in the
early years make a difference for years to come, and gaps open
very early on between children from richer and poorer backgrounds.
I believe that every child in this country is entitled to the
benefits of learning through play as set out in the EYFS and that
their parents are entitled to the reassurance that their children
will be well supported and cared for by high quality childminders
and nursery workers.
Beverley Hughes added:
"The EYFS is hugely important as a single framework for
play-based early learning and care, based on the kind of support
that helps children thrive in the early years. We have always said
that we will keep the EYFS under review, which is why I have asked
Sir Jim Rose to look at two of the early learning goals on
children's literacy at around the age of five, and report on
how well they support a smooth transition into Key Stage 1 of
primary school."
Welcoming the announcement, Sue Owen, Director of the Early
Childhood Unit at the National Children's Bureau, said:
"The EYFS is an enormously important document for childcare
in this country. It's the first time that we have had a
single framework that looks at children's learning and
development as a whole, and we need to make sure it's
delivered in the right way. It's already making a big
difference, and the childcare providers I talk to really welcome
this as something that they can use as a resource and that builds
on what they do now. I'm delighted that Sir Jim Rose will be
looking into the goals on literacy, and look forward to working
with him as he develops his thinking. This is a great opportunity
to consider the experiences of children in the early years and in
primary school to make sure they learn to read and write in an
enjoyable way and at a pace that is right for them."
Beverley Hughes also confirmed that the Government will prepare
regulations to make it possible for childcare providers to apply
for limited exemptions, where a majority of parents support doing
so, from particular elements of the EYFS learning and development
requirements which they view as being in conflict with their
established principles about children's learning and development.
Consistent with the Government's promise to keep EYFS
implementation under review, the regulations will mean that early
learning and childcare providers who can show that particular
elements of the learning and development requirements are in
conflict with their established principles, will be able to apply
for a two-year exemption. The Minister announced that Dorian
Bradley, former Director of Children at Ofsted, had been appointed
as an independent advisor on exemptions and applications will be
administered by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
Beverley Hughes said:
"The EYFS is a highly flexible framework based on the best
practice that already exists in the childcare sector. However a
small number of parents and childcare providers have told us they
feel that some specific parts of the EYFS are incompatible with
their philosophy. I have listened to these views and whilst we
believe the EYFS to be compatible with their philosophy, we have
agreed that a time-limited exemption process should be possible,
so we can monitor the implications of the EYFS in these particular
settings and inform our review in 2010."
Welcoming this announcement, Janni Nichol of the Steiner Waldorf
Schools Fellowship said:
"The EYFS is a valuable framework, and we recognise that it
has much to offer everyone working in the early years sector. We
particularly value the principles on which it is based, such as
the uniqueness of every child, and the value of play in early
learning, which have a great deal in common with the Steiner
philosophy. I welcome the chance to look closely at the EYFS and
how it will impact on the ground when it is implemented, and
believe it is right that there will be the possibility of
exemptions where it can be shown that there are difficulties of
principle with some elements of the framework."
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a statutory
framework for the early learning and care of children from birth
to five. It applies equally to all settings offering childcare,
including childminders, day nurseries and Children's Centres
as well as reception classes in schools. It was created, and
debated in Parliament, through the Childcare Act 2006, and comes
into statutory force from September 2008.
2. The EYFS sets out a framework for children's early
learning, but does not prescribe the way in which childcare
providers should operate day to day, or the pace at which
individual children need to learn. While it contains 'early
learning goals' which children must be supported towards,
these are intended as milestones for what most children should be
doing by around the age of five, and not as targets for individual children.
3. There is no testing in the EYFS, and no requirement for
excessive paperwork. The only statutory requirement to write
anything down is that a single document, the Early Years
Foundation Stage Profile, must be completed in the year the child
turns five, and submitted to the local authority. This is not an
onerous document, and for the vast majority of children will be
completed by teachers in school reception classes.
4. Sir Jim Rose has been asked to review two specific statements
on early literacy within the EYFS. These are that, by around the
age of five, children should:
* "Use their phonic knowledge to write simple regular words
and make phonetically plausible attempts at more complex words."
* "Write their own names and other things such as labels and
captions, and begin to form simple sentences, sometimes using punctuation"
These statements are already contained in the existing Foundation
Stage, and evidence from Foundation Stage Profile data shows that
46% of children already achieve the first of these, and 30%
achieve the second, even before the EYFS comes into effect. Sir
Jim's review of the primary curriculum is due to report by
the end of March 2009.
5. The proposed exemptions from the EYFS would be for early
learning and childcare providers who can show that particular
elements of the learning and development requirements in the EYFS
are in conflict with their established principles on the learning
and development of young children. Exemptions would last for two
years, and would only be granted where a majority of parents at
the setting were in favour.
6. A range of key organisations and individuals will be involved
in developing thinking around the review and the other issues set
out in this Press Notice. The Minister for Children and Families
has already had discussions with representatives of the National
Childminding Association, the National Day Nurseries Association,
the Pre-School Learning Alliance, 4Children, the Daycare Trust,
the Independent Schools Council, the Independent Association of
Pre-Schools, the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship, Ofsted, the
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the NCB, the British
Association for Early Childhood Education, and a number of
individual experts on children's learning and development
including Sir Jim Rose, Professor Ted Melhuish (Birkbeck College,
University of London), Professor Iram Siraj-Blatchford (Institute
of Education), Professor Kathy Sylva (University of Oxford), and
Professor Morag Stuart (Institute of Education).
7. The Government's response to the consultation on
childcare registration fees was published on 19 June, and both
this and the original consultation document are available from: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/conResults.cfm?consultationId=1512