The Quirky Teacher: 'Some proof that the EYFS does not need to be extended into Year 1'

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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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The Quirky Teacher: 'Some proof that the EYFS does not need to be extended into Year 1'

Post by Debbie_Hepplewhite »

'The Quirky Teacher' has received considerable backlash via Twitter, including from some well-known independent educationalists, regarding the suggestion that pre-school and infants can fare better with structured teaching rather than through an entirely play-based provision.

In England, this is part of a 'storm' (a backlash) that has arisen as a consequence of Ofsted (England's formal inspectorate) publishing a survey commonly referred to as the 'Bold Beginnings' report - featuring practice in the early years of some of the leading schools in the country:
Some proof that EYFS does NOT need to be extended into year 1

JUNE 19, 2018
https://thequirkyteacher.wordpress.com/ ... to-year-1/
When I first came to this role, I was told that our children couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to cope with formal learning and I was advised to extend the early years experience into year 1. This is considered good practice in the early primary teaching community, as evidenced by this recent article – the children coming up to year 1 were very behind academically (low baseline too) and had received less phonics instruction because of decisions to minimise aspects of formal learning in reception year. So, what was envisioned was that they would have more play in the classroom, carousel teaching with the rest of the groups maybe choosing their activity etc – not too much writing because they ‘weren’t ready’. These instructions came from a place of love and what is considered best practice, but I, with my funny-shaped evidence & research hat on, felt uncomfortable. Why? For a start, it’s just not logical to expect children who are behind to catch up by going slower and doing less than their peers in different schools. The thought of letting them spend another year going slower than everyone else in the country made my stomach churn. I couldn’t allow it.
Here is the link to the thread featuring the 'Bold Beginnings' report and the subsequent responses to it - positive and negative!

http://www.iferi.org/iferi_forum/viewto ... ?f=3&t=921
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Joined: Sat May 23, 2015 4:42 pm

Re: The Quirky Teacher: 'Some proof that the EYFS does not need to be extended into Year 1'

Post by Debbie_Hepplewhite »

The Quirky Teacher constantly provides food for thought about the prevailing ethos in the early years in England:

How a smörgåsbord of learning in lower phases might be contributing to high exclusion rates in secondary schools
https://thequirkyteacher.wordpress.com/ ... y-schools/
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