by Helen Bonnick, a supervisor of school-home support workers and a social workerWe have to assume that government ministers have read the full final report of the Cambridge Primary Review: Children, Their World, Their Education, since they apparently have already found so much with which to disagree. Sadly, I have only seen the media coverage, so I must take care in reading the reports, understanding the agenda behind the choice of quotes, trying to balance the analysis with opposing views ... before I launch into a measured and entirely dispassionate tirade.
What seems particularly sad to me is that, when you work in schools, the opinions of teachers, assistants, support workers are more connected to their personal experience than to any political agenda; and yet the education system now appears to be held hostage to the views of those in power, with or without supporting evidence.
Sometimes policies have seemed to be useful ways forward, but the accompanying bureaucracy and the incremental encroachment into the local decision-making process has left many on the ground disillusioned and antagonistic. A brave experienced headteacher will defy the controls and create their own learning environment, developing practice which is then held up by politicians as an example to all - have they no self respect!
No formal learning prior to age 6
Of particular note in this report would seem to be the recommendation that formal learning should not start till the age of 6 or 7. This is not to say that no learning takes place prior to then, but rather that the early years or foundation stage should last longer and be based on play, and the development of physical and social skills.
Britain has long held to a different view which states that it is important to start teaching as young as possible to give those from impoverished backgrounds time to catch up. Thus, children in the nursery classes of some schools, in some inner-city areas, are being taught phonics from the age of 3.
Calm and rewarding classroom
This review seems to suggest what many have long believed: that not all children are ready to learn until later, that some children may not yet be sufficiently physically developed to perform particular tasks, and that a calm and rewarding classroom experience for all is more likely if children have spent longer first learning how to get along.
The government argues that the review is already out of date, that many gains have been made in standards since it began. I would ask: who are the experts in this case?
Sometimes policies have seemed to be useful ways forward, but the accompanying bureaucracy and the incremental encroachment into the local decision-making process has left many on the ground disillusioned and antagonistic. A brave experienced headteacher will defy the controls and create their own learning environment, developing practice which is then held up by politicians as an example to all - have they no self respect!
No formal learning prior to age 6
Of particular note in this report would seem to be the recommendation that formal learning should not start till the age of 6 or 7. This is not to say that no learning takes place prior to then, but rather that the early years or foundation stage should last longer and be based on play, and the development of physical and social skills.
Britain has long held to a different view which states that it is important to start teaching as young as possible to give those from impoverished backgrounds time to catch up. Thus, children in the nursery classes of some schools, in some inner-city areas, are being taught phonics from the age of 3.
Calm and rewarding classroom
This review seems to suggest what many have long believed: that not all children are ready to learn until later, that some children may not yet be sufficiently physically developed to perform particular tasks, and that a calm and rewarding classroom experience for all is more likely if children have spent longer first learning how to get along.
The government argues that the review is already out of date, that many gains have been made in standards since it began. I would ask: who are the experts in this case?
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