Early years education is woefully misunderstood.

[Invasionofthegutsnatchers]

I'm an infant school teacher. (Year R, 1 and 2 = age 4-7). The more time goes on the more I'm realising that a huge proportion of the general population don't understand the importance of learning in the first few years of life.

Childcare as a concept is highly valued because it allows parents to go to work, this is a necessity for most. But the actual stuff children do at Childcare settings is often dismissed as 'just playing'. This play is crucial for development.

Children need to be able to listen to others, take turns, understand that others have needs and wants. They have to share once they start school.

They need daily exposure to nursery rhymes and stories. Strengthening activities to allow their fine and gross motor skills to develop. Imaginative play to help them be empathetic and create stories. And so much more.

I feel like the pandemic has highlighted so many reasons we need this learning and as a result a lot of children who missed out on childcare have huge gaps in their development. Very poor core strength for example so they aren't ready to write. No knowledge of rhyme as they haven't been singing songs. So many other examples. Social skills is a massive one. We need to value this education so much more and the adults who work really hard in these settings.

My dc went to a preschool in Denmark and started school at 7. Tbh I don’t know yet how that will play out (they’ve been in British schools now 6 months). They didn’t do the academic stuff but they had a huge focus on nature. They know more tree, bush, crop and bird species then I will ever know and how to use each (fire/building/edible etc.) They did loads of exercise too. I totally agree the early years are the making of someone.

@TrendingNowt

P.s. we don't do nursery/ preschool. All potty trained before 2. Talking in sentences by 2. Could sing, count, identify colours, know their animal sounds, play well, love getting filthy. Early education is not the answer.

Yes, but you are a parent who cared. Not every child has that luxury.

@PriamFarrl
I think I feel it’s the opposite lately. Parents started to realise their children are drained and stressed after the day in the R year and question of why their children are not allowed to do what they are supposed to do - playing, building relationships, moving etc with the guidance of their teacher.

Bitofachinwag

Yes it is important. But children don't have to be in childcare to gain those skills. Parents can do it too

Where I am we have to brush the children's teeth for them as the parents don’t do that.
Parents can do it but many don’t

Ok, that is a problem, but a different one! Obviously parents should brush their own children's teeth!

@TheVanguardSix

It is EVERTYTHING, OP. You can muck about with the junior years. Or, in my case, my DD has missed all of year 7. She will catch up. But that social foundation that kids get in the early years is the bedrock that stabilises them later on (like now, as my DD prepares to return full time to secondary school). You can catch up with the academics (or not). But social skills start early on. My youngest is autistic and early years education (something so many parents of autistic children understandably fear) was the making of him. So much of our behaviour is learned behaviour. It is not intuitive to share and take turns.We learn to socialise. And learning to wait your turn to speak is, in effect, learning patience! I think one of the reasons my DS is so calm and copes so well in his mainstream environment is because his early years were so effective in helping him relate to the world around him- a world not shaped for his needs. To this day, I believe early years and sixth form/college are the best and most beneficial times in one's education.

I would say this is all true for my Autistic child as well. I’m so grateful to the amazing nursery he went to.

I agree! I have a first class Russell group degree and I do this for love! I love little kids and I love teaching them. I'm on minimum wage.

There seem to be parents who stick their kids on ipads/ screens all day (and expect 15 hours p/w of preschool to compensate) and parents why are obsessed with their kids writing and recognizing numbers from 2 years old (get upset we're not teaching them to write).

There needs to be a happy medium, parents! Lots of reading/ learning books and rhymes by heart (happens naturally if you read the same books/ dying the same songs), lots of playdough and baking, going to the park, singing, jigsaws, playing ball, having friends round, playing with mud, putting cars in muddy puddles, going for walks, Lego, Playmobil, dolls. Play, play, play!

@Bitofachinwag

Bitofachinwag

Yes it is important. But children don't have to be in childcare to gain those skills. Parents can do it too

Where I am we have to brush the children's teeth for them as the parents don’t do that.
Parents can do it but many don’t

Ok, that is a problem, but a different one! Obviously parents should brush their own children's teeth!

Yes, but it’s the same problem. If parents can’t be arsed to brush their children’s teeth then they aren’t going to be doing lovely crafting/painting/cooking/day trips with them.

Surely this is just child development though. It can all be taught at home. So basically your just saying a huge % of the population can’t bring up a child anymore without pre school doing the majority?

Ds will start nursery in Autumn. So I get a break and have time to work. I don’t think it’s essential he goes for him to become a decent person.
He was born in lockdown, he’s not yet 2. We live fairly remote, no ‘classes’ as such. But so far he seems very sociable, starting to chat, shares, good gross and fine motor for his age.

I think many children don’t actually have to do day to day life anymore. Ie you have to buy something or nursery to teach fine motor skills. Ds has happily spent the morning hanging laundry up with me with pegs, planting up bean seeds for spring, helped weeding, composted rubbish, sorted recycling with us, walked uphill to help feed neighbours chickens etc… all those ‘skills’ are developed daily as he has to occupy us and we live a fairly outdoors lifestyle.

He will go to Montessori forest kindergarten. Yes they will do lots and be out and about, but most children who go there will already be doing that at home as well.

Tv for small children is very frowned upon here. Independence is encouraged from young.

And yes if someone can’t be bothered to even try cleaning child’s teeth, then of course those children benefit more from nursery.
But the average child who has parents who generally give a shit, then most basic skills can and should be able to be taught at home if they choose.

then most basic skills can and should be able to be taught at home if they choose

Yes but it’s how many don’t seem to choose, or realise the importance of choosing to do this. Parental awareness or expectations seemed to have changed, something has shifted anyway, and kids are pitching up for reception class lacking in the basics.

The death of the children's centres was a terrible decision. Bloody tories.

@Caspianberg

Surely this is just child development though. It can all be taught at home. So basically your just saying a huge % of the population can’t bring up a child anymore without pre school doing the majority?

Ds will start nursery in Autumn. So I get a break and have time to work. I don’t think it’s essential he goes for him to become a decent person.
He was born in lockdown, he’s not yet 2. We live fairly remote, no ‘classes’ as such. But so far he seems very sociable, starting to chat, shares, good gross and fine motor for his age.

I think many children don’t actually have to do day to day life anymore. Ie you have to buy something or nursery to teach fine motor skills. Ds has happily spent the morning hanging laundry up with me with pegs, planting up bean seeds for spring, helped weeding, composted rubbish, sorted recycling with us, walked uphill to help feed neighbours chickens etc… all those ‘skills’ are developed daily as he has to occupy us and we live a fairly outdoors lifestyle.

He will go to Montessori forest kindergarten. Yes they will do lots and be out and about, but most children who go there will already be doing that at home as well.

Tv for small children is very frowned upon here. Independence is encouraged from young.

Does it honestly surprise you that there is a large percentage who are unable or disinclined to provide the ideal upbringing (or anywhere near it) to their dcs? I work in a school - non teaching staff, but I see enough that it doesn't surprise me at all, sadly. It often is in families where resources are spread pretty thin, but not always

100% agree. My 10yo was recently diagnosed with autism, and one of the things that was incredibly helpful was the really detailed reports from his preschool years written by his keyworker. So many careful observations that although none of us were sure at the time were evidence of his autism at that age.

They were fantastic at helping him to develop within his comfort zone - finding activities related to his obsessions that would develop his motor skills and speech right down to wiping the handle of paintbrushes so he would be happy to pick them up.

He didn't have a 1 to 1. They were just that supportive of every single kid.

@TrendingNowt

P.s. we don't do nursery/ preschool. All potty trained before 2. Talking in sentences by 2. Could sing, count, identify colours, know their animal sounds, play well, love getting filthy. Early education is not the answer.

Not for capable people like yourself who clearly now what good parenting looks like, but there are swathes of parents who do none of this. Then Early Education is the answer. Educating the parents would be the ideal, but, as this doesn't happen, then offering accessible early education can help hugely.

There are too many people that post on MN who seem to think "all people are like me" and have no concept of the lives of hundreds of thousands of other people across the country.

Good parenting is obviously crucial too. Reading to your child every day, talking to them about the world, playing with them, giving life experiences eg going to the beach, mark making with them. Not teaching phonics, we can do that at school. Limiting screen time. The ipad generation of toddlers have shorter attention spans, are lacking in body strength, have limited vocabulary, expect immediate gratification in learning like when they play games.

The worrying thing is that I teach in a very 'nice' middle class area. The issues that we're now seeing used to be limited to deprived areas.

There are too many people that post on MN who seem to think "all people are like me" and have no concept of the lives of hundreds of thousands of other people across the country.

Yes, I agree.

Also, not sure if this is presumptuous, but I feel as if Mumsnet maybe is a demographic where a lot of people will be fairly reasonable parents. Obviously there are exceptions, but even though people disagree on here about all sorts of ideas about parenting, generally, I think Mumsnet is on the more involved side when it comes to parenting. If you were a feckless parent, you maybe would be less inclined to join a parenting forum for one thing.

"Yes, but it’s the same problem. If parents can’t be arsed to brush their children’s teeth then they aren’t going to be doing lovely crafting/painting/cooking/day trips with them."

Nurseries (and schools) have the time, the money and the facilities to do those things. You cannot assume that every parent has. Ds has a severe learning disability so although much older is still at early years learning stage. If I do craft or painting at home he would do it for 5 minutes and get it every where ( with no understanding that it is not ok to wipe paint everywhere) that would take an hour to clean up which doesn't work with a child who requires constant supervision.

But the average child who has parents who generally give a shit, then most basic skills can and should be able to be taught at home if they choose

It's hard to learn social skills unless you have brothers/sisters close in age. Staying, turn taking, looking after a crying child (showing empathy). It's also hard for parents to know what their child is capable of and should be encouraged to do by themselves eg. Getting themselves dressed, cutting using knives/ scissors (child friendly ones), toileting on their own, being able to sit and listen to someone speak for a period of time etc.

A lot of the wonderful parents of 'my' kids wouldn't know to encourage these things or have the resources. I definitely think going to nursery for a year before Reception is important.

@newstart1234

My dc went to a preschool in Denmark and started school at 7. Tbh I don’t know yet how that will play out (they’ve been in British schools now 6 months). They didn’t do the academic stuff but they had a huge focus on nature. They know more tree, bush, crop and bird species then I will ever know and how to use each (fire/building/edible etc.) They did loads of exercise too. I totally agree the early years are the making of someone.

I love how they learn so much about nature in the Nordic countries. My daughter is 10, compared to a British 10 year old she's quite behind in maths (she won't finish school behind thoug), they haven't even started learning history yet, but she can identify many birds at just a brief glance in the wild, can identify different plants, trees, birds, fish and animals from just silhouette pictures, knows what plants and berries are and aren't edible (some I didn't know, wood sorrel for instance, and its quite nice!). Also lots of time for handicrafts, can sew, knit, crochet, and they make quite decent things in woodwork and metalwork, most recent was a bird feeder. In preschool they had a forest "classroom" they went to every week and built shelters out of sticks and climbed trees and had a great time.

My son's nursery has a forest class for the older ones, they do cross country skiing, ice skating, swimming, hiking, make fires and eat outside. Makes me wish I could go back to nursery!

It is fab and important and everyone who works in early years are doing incredibly essential work. However I disagree that it's everything. I felt pretty undermined as a parent when my eldest started school. He was young in his year group and struggled settling in with adults who were intent on telling me he was trying to manipulate me into letting him stay at home. I persevered and sent him in screaming but I am highly dubious that it helped him emotionally to be required to attend a setting when he just wasn't ready. I think these things should all feel collaborative. Otherwise it feels like a power struggle between school and parent. I just wanted the best for my child. I'm not sure the school had the same agenda.

To be honest I wish reception was more play based. My DS seems to do loads of reading / writing in reception and loads of the kids don’t seem ready at all for it yet. I think early years settings are very variable - some good, some not so good. I think we expect quite a lot of little children.

'The death of the children's centres was a terrible decision. Bloody tories'

DS is almost 15 but I used to take him to sure start centres in SE London in a deprived area. We were not the families targeted as dual income, not requiring parenting support etc - generally the children attending the centres and activities I engaged in several times a week were not the children it was aimed at.

You need children to be parented and you can throw as much money at the problem as you can, but without engagement children will continue to fail to achieve their milestones. Lockdown has highlighted the poor parenting but it existed before that and this is why early years teaching is so important.

I work in a primary school (non teaching) in a deprived area and can honestly say we actively engage with our families with outside agencies, home life is chaotic and so many problems could be stabilised with routine, restricted access to devices and firm guidelines and importantly a parent who parents.

I honestly believe millions could be spent in early years and you would still have issues because there will always be families who do not think it is their job to do X,Y,Z it is nursery or school.

So this thread is actually about the fact that 'early years education' is required because there are now a large number of parents who don't do what most of us here call 'normal' parenting. Talking to your child, encouraging them, playing with them, taking them to mix with others, taking them on walks etc.

It isn't education, it's development. So which came first, parents not doing it or parents now leaving it to 'formal' settings because it's free and it's there?

Children in this country start formal school as young as just over 3 years old because they can just turn 4 in August and therefore need to start reception. IMO the fact that posters are claiming that missing a day of reception really isn't on because they do so much is absolutely ridiculous. Surely goes against what we're told which is that reception is learning through play, if they are playing then missing a day isn't a big deal at all.

@Underhisi

"Yes, but it’s the same problem. If parents can’t be arsed to brush their children’s teeth then they aren’t going to be doing lovely crafting/painting/cooking/day trips with them."

Nurseries (and schools) have the time, the money and the facilities to do those things. You cannot assume that every parent has. Ds has a severe learning disability so although much older is still at early years learning stage. If I do craft or painting at home he would do it for 5 minutes and get it every where ( with no understanding that it is not ok to wipe paint everywhere) that would take an hour to clean up which doesn't work with a child who requires constant supervision.

I used to work in a school in a seaside town. The beach was 10 minutes walk away. Some children had never been to the beach. The school I’m in now is a 20 minute walk from a brilliant park with a fantastic play area. Many of the children have never been. It’s not to do with money or the children having disabilities.

Surely goes against what we're told which is that reception is learning through play, if they are playing then missing a day isn't a big deal at all

I agree that missing a day isn’t a big deal. It was the comments that implied that what they do in reception had no value.