Too many nurseries are failing to ensure children are ready to learn when they get to primary school, says Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted's Chief Inspector
Posted: 04/03/2014
How depressing to wake up to this report on Radio 4 this morning. To close the gap between advantage and disadvantage Wilshaw is calling for more schools to open on-site nurseries and that young children should be taught in a structured way by skilled practitioners with degrees. He
denied that play and creativity would be sacrificed for learning, saying that
children face pressure when they are forced to catch up later on.
The Pre-School Learning Alliance, which represents 14,000 early-years providers in
the private and voluntary sector, disagrees with much of what Michael Wilshaw says, stating:
“We
are at a loss to understand why Sir Michael has essentially dismissed the
existing huge network of experienced, passionate group settings and
childminders who currently provide excellent, and appropriate, care for young
children despite chronic under-funding and a never-ending wave of
ill-researched, ill-thought-out early-years policies.”
Sir Michael’s speech was at the launch of Ofsted’s first stand-alone report on early-years education. The report is due to be released today.
To read more about this issue:
Go to the Pre-school Learning Alliance’s home page for a fascinating article by Michael Freeston about the facts behind the Ofsted figures, ‘Reflections on a year of change for the early years sector’
Read more on the BBC.
Watch out for the full Ofsted Early Years report in our Early Years section.
