Revoke the high pressure EYFS reforms. Young children need real learning not rote learning

The Issue

What do we want for our young children’s early education in England?  What would you want for your own child?

  • An early education that prioritises children’s emotional wellbeing, resilience and motivation to learn alongside their knowledge and skills?
  • An early education that ensures children learn the foundations of reading, writing and mathematics, through fostering joy, real engagement and deep learning in these areas?
  • An early education that values and encourages the creativity and divergent thinking that abounds in children of this age?
  • An early education that respects each child as a unique, competent individual; that recognises and celebrates their cultural heritage and, regardless of their socio-economic status or special need, builds upon the knowledge and passions they bring from their homes and communities?
  • An early education that ensures learning is made truly memorable, applicable and transferable, that gives children foundations for life rather than merely preparing them to pass tests in their future education?

These things are realistic aims. They are all based on international evidence around what really matters for young children's learning. The EYFS reforms provided the perfect opportunity to ensure that all these things were firmly embedded to give our children the very best start to their education.  

Instead this opportunity has been squandered. The new EYFS framework pays only lip service to all of the things mentioned.

It presents goals that children must achieve by the end of Reception year. Some of these are developmentally inappropriate, unevidenced by research and focus on memorisation of facts and the ability to perform tasks. The lack of emphasis on meaning and real experience means learning may be  shallow and easily forgotten, rather than deeply embedded.

Children of 4 and 5 will be deemed as failing if they don’t achieve these goals.

  • We are about to have an EYFS framework which judges children on their ability to automatically recall abstract mathematical facts and prioritises correct handwriting and spelling, to the detriment of children developing their own ideas and sense of purpose for writing.
  • We are about to have an EYFS framework which requires compliance from children rather than genuinely supporting the development of self-regulation skills.
  • We are about to have an EYFS framework which emphasises learning from books more than real world experiences, and risks limiting the creativity of children by focussing on performance above imagination and self-expression.
  • We are about to have an EYFS framework which no longer places a requirement to report on the ‘how’ of children’s learning, their play, exploration. motivation, and thinking skills, but only on whether children have achieved arbitrary goals or not.
  • We are about to have an EYFS framework that excludes the voices of Black children. These reforms sew more seeds for a future generation that pays no dues to a community who have paid with their lives to contribute to today's Britain.
  • We are about to have an EYFS framework which could give some children, especially those most at risk of educational disadvantage, a stressful, negative early education experience instead of a joyful, playful and successful one.

We believe that all young children in England should be entitled to an early years education that builds upon their fascinations in and knowledge of  the world around them, feeds their minds and bodies in a challenging and appropriate way and gives them the foundations they need to go on to be successful in their future learning and lives.

We believe that the new EYFS reforms are likely to hinder, rather than help  this and risk widening the achievement gap further.

We believe these reforms are wrong, and are coming at a time of great turmoil, likely to add to the stress of children and their educators.

We believe that now, more than ever, children deserve to have priority placed on their mental health and on the things that research shows really matter.

So what do we think you want for your children?
 
We think you would like them to have  an early education rooted in the most recent developmental research, that nurtures their wellbeing and resilience, fosters joy, motivation, creativity, and great learning,
 
An early education that celebrates the uniqueness of every child, including their ethnicity and multi-cultural heritage.

If you agree then join us in making your views known. Sign our petition requesting that these reforms are revoked. If you are a school or setting then refuse to become an early adopter of this framework.
 
Join us in making a stand, not just for your child but for all children.

Say no to these reforms.

Say no to teaching our children the wrong things at the wrong time.

Say yes to nurturing wellbeing, motivation and learning in our unique children.

Lets’ think about the future and  get early education right from the start.

#Rightfromthestart

 

Twitter:      @KeepEYsUnique

                   @kymscott5.            

Facebook: Keep Early Years Unique

https://www.facebook.com/groups/548117901996416/?ref=share

Instagram: keyu_official

 

 

 

                 

 

avatar of the starter
Right From The StartPetition StarterRight From the Start is a grass roots coalition of parents, carers, grandparents, childminders, Early Years practitioners, teachers, Early Years trainers, academics and researchers. Our supporters come from a wide range of social, cultural and age groups
Media enquiries

16,835

The Issue

What do we want for our young children’s early education in England?  What would you want for your own child?

  • An early education that prioritises children’s emotional wellbeing, resilience and motivation to learn alongside their knowledge and skills?
  • An early education that ensures children learn the foundations of reading, writing and mathematics, through fostering joy, real engagement and deep learning in these areas?
  • An early education that values and encourages the creativity and divergent thinking that abounds in children of this age?
  • An early education that respects each child as a unique, competent individual; that recognises and celebrates their cultural heritage and, regardless of their socio-economic status or special need, builds upon the knowledge and passions they bring from their homes and communities?
  • An early education that ensures learning is made truly memorable, applicable and transferable, that gives children foundations for life rather than merely preparing them to pass tests in their future education?

These things are realistic aims. They are all based on international evidence around what really matters for young children's learning. The EYFS reforms provided the perfect opportunity to ensure that all these things were firmly embedded to give our children the very best start to their education.  

Instead this opportunity has been squandered. The new EYFS framework pays only lip service to all of the things mentioned.

It presents goals that children must achieve by the end of Reception year. Some of these are developmentally inappropriate, unevidenced by research and focus on memorisation of facts and the ability to perform tasks. The lack of emphasis on meaning and real experience means learning may be  shallow and easily forgotten, rather than deeply embedded.

Children of 4 and 5 will be deemed as failing if they don’t achieve these goals.

  • We are about to have an EYFS framework which judges children on their ability to automatically recall abstract mathematical facts and prioritises correct handwriting and spelling, to the detriment of children developing their own ideas and sense of purpose for writing.
  • We are about to have an EYFS framework which requires compliance from children rather than genuinely supporting the development of self-regulation skills.
  • We are about to have an EYFS framework which emphasises learning from books more than real world experiences, and risks limiting the creativity of children by focussing on performance above imagination and self-expression.
  • We are about to have an EYFS framework which no longer places a requirement to report on the ‘how’ of children’s learning, their play, exploration. motivation, and thinking skills, but only on whether children have achieved arbitrary goals or not.
  • We are about to have an EYFS framework that excludes the voices of Black children. These reforms sew more seeds for a future generation that pays no dues to a community who have paid with their lives to contribute to today's Britain.
  • We are about to have an EYFS framework which could give some children, especially those most at risk of educational disadvantage, a stressful, negative early education experience instead of a joyful, playful and successful one.

We believe that all young children in England should be entitled to an early years education that builds upon their fascinations in and knowledge of  the world around them, feeds their minds and bodies in a challenging and appropriate way and gives them the foundations they need to go on to be successful in their future learning and lives.

We believe that the new EYFS reforms are likely to hinder, rather than help  this and risk widening the achievement gap further.

We believe these reforms are wrong, and are coming at a time of great turmoil, likely to add to the stress of children and their educators.

We believe that now, more than ever, children deserve to have priority placed on their mental health and on the things that research shows really matter.

So what do we think you want for your children?
 
We think you would like them to have  an early education rooted in the most recent developmental research, that nurtures their wellbeing and resilience, fosters joy, motivation, creativity, and great learning,
 
An early education that celebrates the uniqueness of every child, including their ethnicity and multi-cultural heritage.

If you agree then join us in making your views known. Sign our petition requesting that these reforms are revoked. If you are a school or setting then refuse to become an early adopter of this framework.
 
Join us in making a stand, not just for your child but for all children.

Say no to these reforms.

Say no to teaching our children the wrong things at the wrong time.

Say yes to nurturing wellbeing, motivation and learning in our unique children.

Lets’ think about the future and  get early education right from the start.

#Rightfromthestart

 

Twitter:      @KeepEYsUnique

                   @kymscott5.            

Facebook: Keep Early Years Unique

https://www.facebook.com/groups/548117901996416/?ref=share

Instagram: keyu_official

 

 

 

                 

 

avatar of the starter
Right From The StartPetition StarterRight From the Start is a grass roots coalition of parents, carers, grandparents, childminders, Early Years practitioners, teachers, Early Years trainers, academics and researchers. Our supporters come from a wide range of social, cultural and age groups
Media enquiries
Support now

16,835

The Decision Makers

Department for Education
Department for Education
Responded
“We are aware of a petition on Change.org that makes significant misleading claims about our reforms to the early years foundation stage (EYFS). The petition suggests that children will be deemed as failing if they do not reach particular milestones at ages four and five. This is untrue. These milestones are not tests; they are an end-point measure of children’s attainment at age 5 and readiness for year 1. No child will be deemed as failing if they are not meeting these developmental goals. We have transformed early years learning and development, focusing on equipping children with the early language, literacy, numeracy and other skills they will need as they start their school journey. The point of these reforms is to make sure early years professionals fully support children’s holistic learning and development throughout reception year. These reforms achieve that by removing unnecessary paper work to free up more time for teachers to spend interacting with children. This builds on pilot findings published last year, where teachers found changes largely positive, with feedback that it helped focus on stories, group work and discussion, inspiring pupils to be more imaginative and improving their language skills. Our reforms have been developed following extensive consultation with the sector. Jan Dubiel, specialist in Early Childhood Education, said: “Recent events have been a stark reminder of how unpredictable the world can be. As educators and policy makers concerned with early years care and education, we have a duty to ensure that we are preparing children to be knowledgeable, skilled, resilient and creative to manage and succeed in the future that they will face. “We are all committed to providing the most effective and up to date provision for children that will ensure this. The review of the Statutory Educational Programmes, Early Learning Goals and EYFS Profile provides us with a timely opportunity to reflect on, update and refine key aspects of the EYFS.” Dr Julian Grenier, Headteacher at Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre, said: “I think it’s important for the sector to take hold of the opportunities these reforms offer us. Reducing the workload around the EYFS Profile will enable practitioners to focus their assessment work where it’s most needed. That’s for children in danger of falling behind the majority, and children who may have barriers to their learning. “This is an opportunity for schools to think about their early years curriculum, and what they want children to learn, experience and enjoy, rather than focusing on assessment data. The key to giving children better and more equal life-chances is to strengthen the profession in the early years. I hope that colleagues will seize this opportunity to put less emphasis on generating ‘data’ on more on developing a stronger and better-trained workforce.” Professor Dame Alison Peacock, Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching, said: “The Chartered College of Teaching welcomes these reforms. It is vital that teachers and early years colleagues are free to spend the majority of their time focussing on leading learning rather than constantly tracking and monitoring progress for external moderation purposes.” Tiffnie Harris, primary specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We support this new approach to early learning because it will remove the administrative burden of external moderation and give our fantastic early years teachers more time to interact with children. Early years education is so important for future outcomes, and it is a key to narrowing the attainment gap between rich and poor. We very much welcome the focus on this vital phase.””
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Petition created on 14 July 2020