National curriculum for babies and toddlers?

[weesaidie]

here

Any views?

A women on breakfast news said they are only teaching what you would probably teach them yourself were you at home?

Or should they just be allowed to play?

Am leaning towards the latter I must say.

I want my childcare provider to be interacting with my child, not waasting time filling in some daft form to say what they have done to teach her to count.

I presume it's related to the fact that the government puts money into childcare through vouchers or whatever and they have to have something to measure so that they can account for it being well spent and this kind of uniform box ticking is the only idea they ever have to achieve that accountability..totally lacking in imagination these education ministries

I see a division of the classes coming on here. So, people who employ nannies can taylor their childs curriculum/activities. But those who use childminders / nurseries have to accept what they state thinks is best.... hmmm...

bump

The phrase that keeps on annoying me is developing faster..learning social skills faster.......WHY do they have to go fast?
Just let them be babies for Gods sake

Angeliz, they have to go fast so that they can be ready to be sent into a formal educational setting as young as we can possibly shoehorn them in.

The government's childcare strategy is beginning to be quite reminiscent of the old DDR (East Germany) where so many women were just forced to leave their kids at state-run nurseries where they could be brought up with the correct opinions right from the start. All very orderly.

I suspect that what's behind this, is the idea that the earlier we can get children away from their parents into a much more suitable environment where the state is in charge, the better.

and make sure all parents are working and contributing economically and so on
not having a pop at working parents btw, but just think this is insidious - that looking after the 0-5 becomes a professional job. already I have my in laws telling me how I am letting down my dd because I am staying at home with her and not putting into a nursery, and how she will be permanently disadvantaged and "never catch up"

The sentence that concerns me is

"The early years foundation stage will have the same compulsory legal force as the national curriculum for schools, Ms Hughes said."

I think it was Uwila who said if the government wants to interfere at this stage of childcare, then they should be paying for it.

My ds was in a childminder from 4 months. I don't know what she "covered" with him, not do I want to know. The important thing was he was happy going in in the morning and happy to see me at night. He progressed "normally" and was a very sociable wee boy - thanks to being with lots of other kids (the childminder was more like a mini nursery as she did it with her mother and MIL, so there quite a few kids).

He didn't talk properly until he was 3 - I wasn't concerned by that as I had been 3 before I talked properly. But how would that have fitted with a "national curriculum"?

When he started half days at nursery (Scottish equivalent of pre-school) he thrived - he was ready for it then. He is now 5, at school and by all accounts doing well.

I'm sorry - I don't see what this propsal adds - and I can only see what it could do that was damaging, ie extra costs, administration, stree on child minders, stress on parents as their "child" is not meeting the national curriculum.....

oh FFS. Utterly ridiculous. I have 3 very different children. ONe (severely autistic) needed a very prescriptive early years education which he didn't get (except for the stuff we funded ourselves) because this govt doesn't do early intervention.

My other 2 do not need this.
Although having said that- just had ds2's latest developmental review thing at nursery (he's 3 and a hlaf) and there seems to be a huge checklist that has to be ticked off (early years goals?), so it may be more of the same

harpsichordcarrier, that's so about your in-laws.

IMHO these desparate education initiatives are about Tony Blair's obsession with being seen to have done something about education in all the years he's been PM - Labour's hardly lived up to that early promise so far...

IMHO - insane! My dd goes to nursery 3 days a week and it is fab - but whilst she is little I just want her to play, have fun, and become a caring and sharing child etc. National curriculum, SATs and pressure will soon come along when they start school - and too soon in my opinion. I would be much happier if formal learning didn't start until about 7ish which is what I believe happens elsewhere in Europe - and the children are not behind etc.

Let them play - they are not little for long!

How depressing.

God it's utter bollox. How much bloody time and money has been wasted on this crap?

Did we have this stupidity in the 70's? No. Did we grow up f*cking delinquents? No. Nuff said.

Oooh, not sure though, my language is a bit choice there

Childhood is toooo short - what are they playing at? Of course they learn to do these things anyway auntymandy - so what do we need a daft curriculum for? It's just unnecessary pressure and paperwork for all concerned. A complete wasteof time and energy.

If you actually read the existing Birth to Three Matters framework you will see imo very, very good and inspiring guidelines for caring for babies up to three. The Foundation Stage leads on from age three as part of the curriculum already and the idea of marrying the two, so that the transition is easier for early years workers, and making it an Ofsted requirement that all registered settings follow the same curriculum is a sound one I think. There is still plenty of scope for doing your own thing but less chance of naturally inquisitive babies and younger ones being ignored or treated simply as cash cows when the carer or nursery has to actively prove how they set out a recognised standard of care and learning through play.

Just out of interest - here is the Birth to Three Matters framework, if anyone fancies having a look at what they are talking about.