Discussion - School is NOT beneficial to young children at all!

[shappyred]

The UK education system is antiquated and damaging to children. Formal learning would ideally begin from age 7-8, until then, children need free-play, social time and lots of outdoor time.

What are the best alternatives to this? Home Ed? Forest school? Also, it's very clear that parent/child attachment becomes strained and kids become peer attached at school, this is wrong on all levels!

What type of provision could work better? Private schooling it seems isn't much better.

A play based provision from 5-8 year olds?

I'm very interested in this subject..

Completely agree with @Saturdayssandwichsociety , and very much disagree with you OP.

Also, it's very clear that parent/child attachment becomes strained and kids become peer attached at school, this is wrong on all levels!

What on earth do you mean by this bizarre claim ?

I think ability to tailor the curriculum is missing. My kids were absolutely not ready at 4 to go to school, but they are autistic. Having time for more free play, more outdoors time and less formal learning would have benefitted them hugely. We are now at the stage where one is completely unable to attend as it has caused so much trauma.

But other kids in the same class are loving it and thriving. They are fine with the academic expectations and lack of freedom. Who is to say they should have their experience changed because it doesn't suit my children?

More flexibility and ability to choose how to run the school seems to be the answer. But will never happen in the highly controlled from the top environment we live in now.

DS enjoyed primary school, he was at a small school with smallish classes. The step up to Yr 2 felt like quite a big one though.

Homework should be kept to a minimum with the emphasis put on reading, then adding in times tables and then a few more interesting/fun bits and pieces in Yr5 and 6.

DS is autistic so unstructured time was often more difficult for him, especially if outdoors. In fact he wasn't outdoorsy at all and would have hated forest school. While he thrived being able to work from home as a teenager during covid he was fine in secondary school and the socialising it required was important, even if it was fairly minimal on his part!

Having read 'Hold onto your kids' by Gabor Mate.. His research is in-depth and explores young children/attachment and the school system/peers saying 5 days per week is too much for most children to thrive.

oh dear, no words for your post...

@MarmaladeSideDown absolutely!

I think perhaps what you're looking for
Op is human scale education also know as child led/ democratic education. It's been brilliant for my children but obviously each to their own.

I'm currently a nursery teacher after teaching Y1 for many years. I'd like children to spend 2 years in nursery or have reception as entirely play based. Focus on social skills and language development the start phonics in Y1. I work in an inner city school were very few leave nursery with the expected language and social skills and struggle in Reception. With another year in nursery they'd find it so much easier.
On the other hand my kids were fine starting school when they did but they had very different early experiences than the kids I teach.

So it sounds like having a more tailored approach to the individual would work well.. Flexi-schooling perhaps?? where parents could opt-in to either 3/4 or 5 days per week for their kids up until age 7 or 8 when formal learning could begin.. it's JUST a discussion and food for thought, no unnecessary sarky comments, as seems very typical.. I do think most schools try to be play based, but still have a cirriculumn to follow, even in reception..

My daughter (six and in Y1) loves school. I haven't noticed her any less attached to me as a result. She was at the school nursery from just over three and loved that too - all play and outdoor activities, lots of free choice. She's an only child and loves having friends to play with. She is also enjoying the more structured approach now they are KS1 rather than early years. I know it doesn't suit everyone, but she is thriving.

Great to hear some little ones are thriving in school settings.. each and every child is different..

I have friends from countries where school starts at 7. They still go to childcare from a young age but it is all played based until 7. That sounds like a good compromise to me coupled with a year ML and personally I’d like to see a years paternity leave after ML. So two years before going to Early years.

Why is this discussion in Relationships?!

The EYFS us largely very good and actually my children had far lovelier years in Reception, even though it's technically school, than in private nursery. The problem is the national curriculum that follows after, which is just too much pressure on most children unnecessarily. A more open, play-based curriculum like in Reception for all of infants would allow those who like to play, play and those who like to write/explore numbers investigate things at their own pace, instead of being expected to write a newspaper article or non-chronological report at age 5.

I agree OP. It’s been like this for years though. Seems it will never change - in fact is only getting worse. Education seems to be getting more rigid and obsessed with numbers, grades and various tick boxes. Soon it will be like the opening pages of “Hard Times” by Dickens.

I looked up Gabor Mate, he is an author who once worked with a developmental psychologist. He hasn’t done any research himself into attatchment or education.

The English system starting at 4 is too young.

mine were 5.5 starting school in Scotland and were in nursery until then - I’m comfortable with that.

I'd go further and say that 75% of school time is if no benefit to kids. Once they are taught to read, write and do basic math, the rest of it is simply jail time.

It is an affront to human rights to force people to be where they don't want to be.

The only reason we perpetuate the cycle is because we need free childcare whilst we work. In jobs we can choose and are paid for.

I resent that my childhood was stollen by school.
I find it morally repugnant that the cycle is still ongoing.

Once kids can read, they can learn for themselves and sit exams as and when they wish. Schools are simply tools of indoctrination and cesspits of despair.

Same

..... in your opinon.

In my opinion, all my dc were ready to start school when they did (the Sept after they were 5), including my Summer born boy.
They've all grown into lovely, capable, emotionally secure young adults, and I'm comfortable with that.

In my opinion the school starts too young. Most children would probably benefit from kindergarden- style setting with formal school starting at 6 or 7.
4 to 6 year olds should, in my opinion, be concentrating on social development, language (understanding, listening, discussings, etc), gross and small motor skills- such as to help develop proper pen grip (completely ignored by most schools, for example), lots of time outside (during daytime hours in winter, when it gets dark very early). Then they will be more ready to start formal lessons by 6, as they have mental and physical capacity to be sedentary for longer periods of time (sitting at the table during lessons), developed longer attention span. The experience of many European countries shows that the difference in attainment by 10 does not depend on whether the children start school at 4 or 7. They just take much longer to acquire the skill at 4 or 5 than at 7 y.o.

Ha Ha Ha

awesome 👍

was it unclear that I was sharing an opinion?

School suits some children but for others it is a hard slog. I chose to home ed my own dc and feel it was a good choice for our family(that’s not to say that sometimes it isn’t hard work!).

The problem is, one size doesn’t fit all.
I was a late summer baby, so I started school having just turned 4. I thrived and was top of the class all through infants and primary.
I soaked up learning like a sponge and couldn’t get enough of it, so I’d have been so bored if formal education hadn’t started until later.

I’m not sure realistically how they could accommodate so many different needs though. It’s tricky isn’t it.