School readiness survey - surprising?

[GirlfromtheNorthLondonCountry]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jan/30/some-children-starting-school-unable-to-climb-staircase-finds-england-and-wales-teacher-survey

Is it really the case that 4 year olds (absent disabilities) are unable to climb stairs or sit on the rug because of too much screen time? It just seems so extraordinary to me.

UK research into class size.
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/reducing-class-size

“The evidence in this area is very limited, so should be treated with caution.”

Mild attention difficulties maybe, but the types of SEND that seem to be increasing? Nah.

You'd have to abuse a child in a way that would put you down on a list of most monstrous parents in modern history to actively make an otherwise neurotypical baby into a non-verbal, doubly incontinent child who trashes classrooms.

Someone above said there were 5 non verbal children in her mainstream average size classroom.

The SEND in between mild attention difficulties and non verbal children is also increasing but SEND is so complex and, like some previous posters, I just struggle to believe we've suddenly become lazy, rubbish parents as a whole generation.

This is literally what my children’s EY provision did. Yes there was some phonics in preschool/nursery but it was about toilet training, taking turns, eating nicely at a table, getting your own coat on.

@PlumpHobbit I'm not sure about the idea of screens being linked to SEND. My autistic child had behavioural differences as soon as he was born from other babies - very easily upset, didn't sleep much, cried non-stop for hours each day until he actually stopped breathing and fainted sometimes. He didn't watch any screens as a baby.

Is the cost of childcare a factor meaning childen are being left with grandparents who haven't got the energy to parent effectively full time ?

This is literally what my children’s EY provision did. Yes there was some phonics in preschool/nursery but it was about toilet training, taking turns, eating nicely at a table, getting your own coat on.

Reading the American research and other analyses, plus personal experience in education, older and more experienced EY staff do focus on these basic self care independent skills, which also includes emotional regulation and social communication.

That's what needs to be prioritised. School readiness js learning readiness.

Academic scores are meaningless without the above

I do think that competitive inspection pressures (and potentially parental expectations in some areas?) Mean that the focus in some nurseries can be too academic.

Some kids are bright sparks and can rattle off all sorts of impressive academic skills; if they can't do the other things effectively it's all meaningless.

Hilarious blame everyone but the parents

It's the screens that haven't learnt to parent properly.

I saw this article earlier and it reminded me of this thread. www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/01/one-in-four-children-in-england-need-social-care-services-by-18-study-reveals

I think linked to what @BogRollBOGOF was saying about things changing and support, and which hasn't been discussed is that the sheer explosion in the population which has had a huge impact on services across the board. In almost every thread I read about issues like this from nutrition to schooling, it occurs to me that this is one of the issues. In our area for example, the school that DS goes to is the newest school ... and it's about 30 years old. The others are all significantly older. They're all, I believe, taking much more children than they used to, but it's all being squeezed in.

We've had a big increase in primary spaces recently because most of them were eithe rinfnats or juniors and now they're all full primaries. But again, in many cases, the spaces and resources to do this has been challenging and comes with additional impacts.

Look at hospitals. There aren't a lot of new hospitals being built even though the population has grown from some 50million 20 odd years ago to nearly 60million now.

You can't label 44% of children as ND. If nearly half the population of children display the behaviour/ symptom then it's not diverse it's typical.

Is this not likely to be slightly skewed by the fact that with most families who require social work input, all of the children in the family will require it?

ND is an example of ‘false teaming’ - using other conditions to gain weight whilst only actually wanting support for their preferred condition. You only need to look at consultation responses to the Learning disability, autism and neurodiversity bill in Scotland to see this. The autism organisations suddenly ceased to be interested in ND and said it should just be about autism. (And LD orgs said it should be just about LD and Downs org that is should just be Downs). Any attempt to define who is covered is pushed back by vested interests just wanting it to be their group. In reality it can’t be defined because any definition results in it including everyone.

You've touched on something here (even though @Littoralzone makes a good point).

More and more adults, as well as kids, are realising their struggles relate to neurodiversity. I'm sure it will soon be realised that "neurotypical" is the minority - not actually typical at all.

The question is, why is everything in society set up for this minority?

No one is ‘Neurotypical’; it is a false premise that is made up by averaging the population. Just as the average person in the UK is 40.7 years old but only a very small proportion of the population are that age. Thus the way society is set it is a compromise for everyone.

And who will monitor that parents actually do the things that make a difference with children? Many mothers I see of nursery Reception aged children are young have never worked and are single parents on benefits.Are you proposing we pay them to do what they already do? Stay at home and, in many cases, don't parent effectively?

🤔

@Dsdurga i used to wear headphones out with my baby, pushing him, because that was the only time I DIDNT have to talk to him…!

I agree it's laziness as does my mum but she also acknowledges that the nappies we wore helped her potty train my siblings and I very young because we felt the sensation and discomfort of being wet faster than with a modern nappy. Not that I am making excuses but perhaps the convenience of disposable nappies plays a small role in the later potty trainers.

I taught children living in that kind of accommodation in the 80s but they could run around and sit on the carpet.

Yep. See also “fed is best”.

I read a book recently by an author who essentially fictionalised her experience with her first baby who screamed all the time. The character basically ended up abusing the child (throwing him across the bed, leaving him to cry and ignoring baby monitor etc) and when she confessed this to her mates, they all said she was doing “brilliantly” considering “how much society hates mums”.

Character was pregnant with her second at the end of the book and her friends were all celebrating the fact.

None of this was intended to be perceived as negative in any way, it was written as if we were all supposed to admire this character’s resilience and fortitude.

I think this really illustrates how absolutely batshit insane the world has gone.

@fitzwilliamdarcy “fed is best” is absolutely not in the same vein as anything else you’ve written or agreed with…

Fed is best is a really helpful thing for anyone struggling with breastfeeding to hear. It was said to me so kindly by a GP and midwife when we had to give up on the breastfeeding journey. It certainly wasn’t a response to, or validation of, an act of poor parenting on my part.

I have only heard it in the context of kids being fed unhealthy foods/takeaways for every dinner. That was what I was referring to.

I absolutely agree that in the context of feeding infants, it is 100% accurate that fed is best. Please accept my apologies for coming across as attacking formula-feeding, that was not my intention.

I think it's often misused to refer to older kids. "Everyone fed, no-one dead" is what you might tell yourself after a bad day, not a standard of parenting to aspire to.