EYFS, dubbed the "nappy curriculum", is the first legislation to give the State a say in the raising of children under five.

[mrz]

EYFS, which comes into force in September next year, has already been harshly criticised by teachers, parents and politicians.

At the time of its launch Margaret Morrissey, from the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, said: "I think it's really sad that we have reached the point now where instead of reducing children's stress we have increased it.

"Will nurseries be worrying more about children reaching these targets than caring for our children?"

EYFS applies to around 25,000 nurseries across both private and state sectors, plus all childminders.
openeyecampaign.wordpress.com/about/

"There are 117 YES 117 points for each child to achieve before they even reach school age, multiply that by the 82 children in my care and it doesn't leave much time to teach."

Can you explain a bit more about what you do? What do you teach? Why do you have 82 pre-school children in your care?

Crazy- how does it affect things like Steiner parent and toddler groups- are they exempt because a parent is there (hope so). How does it apply to SN?

I PMSL when I was handed ds1's foundation stage booklet thing at the end of reception. His teacher had circled about 2 things. Thank the lord for special schools where they know how to adapt the NC so it makes sense for children with complex disabilities.

I tend to think all this paperwork is crazy- I know if I like a childminder/nursery and its nothing to do with early years goals.

I am a teacher in a Foundation stage unit with 30 reception children FT and 26 PT nursery children each session making a total of 82 children. As the teacher it is my responsibility to assess the children.
There are actually something like 350 developmental steps per child but only 117 need be formally reported to the government. It is also suggested by some Local Education Authorities that three pieces of evidence be recorded for each point for each child That's over 86000 for my children perhaps I should buy a shed?

Observing and planning is a very necessary part of my job and it is what I have been trained to do but not everyone working with young children has the same level of "knowledge" and "support" yet they will be expected to make the same judgements. Many teachers question the meaning of assessment points.
For example a child by the end of the Foundation Stage will be expected to
"Understands that people have different needs, views, cultures and beliefs that need to be treated with respect."
lets face it adults have difficulty with that and how does an adult decide and provide evidence that a child has fulfilled that point?

OK but surely that just means we all "do" Channukah and Diwali and don't poke the Muslim children with sticks in class?

OK am being flippant there, apologies

Just wanted to add that in practice the EYFS just joins together two documents that we had to follow 1)the foundation stage and 2)birth to three matters framework (which was not a curriculum but you had to have reference to it and was down graded at inspection if you did not). No different really, much easier to have all documents/legislation in one place.

Guess that doesn't make such good headlines for the press though does it!

morningpaper It also means if the event of a difference of opinion/disagreement they respect the other persons right to their own views.

Mummywannabe EYFS is more than Birth to Three and the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage. It also includes elements of the National Standards for Daycare and Every Child Matters so is much wider reaching.

2500 people have signed the petition in the two weeks since it was put on line.
petitions.pm.gov.uk/OpenEYE/

yurt1 Steiner schools aren't exempt but toddler groups should be.

www.savesteinerschools.org/

MRZ I am fully aware of the STATUTORY nature of the new document but no-one is telling us to ensure that children are pushed on to achieve just because that is what they are expected to do at their age, it is clear that it is a document to ensure that practitioners have goals to work to and knowledge of the norms of child developmental stages.

All the hype and stress about increased paper work etc is totally unecessary.

You may think that I am unqualified to discuss this topic but I work in a setting that has been recently awarded outstanding in its OFSTED inspection and that is already integrating the new "Curriculum" into its planning. We have found that other than wording and more emphasis on outdoor play we have had to change very little. If anything it has increased a tendency towards reflective practice and given us lots of new ideas.

MRZ also every setting/school/childminder should also have been referring to the 'Every Child Matters' document in their day to day planning and routine and the National Standards.

As Mummywannabe said, EYFS just links all the various documents in one. Much easier when filing evidence.

Perhaps training on EYFS in your area is not up to scratch? Have you got a cluster group?

Mrz - am aware that it links in these other documents as well but it isn't anything new as such. I'm a nursery manager and honestly think its a good thing, much more user friendly.

However there is a real danger that poor settings may use it as a tick list and that is very much against the principles of it.

There is too much hype about the EYFS , it is a merging and building on documenst and polices that are already in place - Curriculm Guidance for the foundation stage , Birth to Three matters , National Standars for Under *s Daycare and Childminding and Every Child Matters.

It is in place to HELP children acheive their potemtial and GUIDE practioners how to do it .

I work in a pre school setting and it is not going to be much differnt as to what we are already doing. We at the monent DO NOT teach the children to read and write but we do encorage formation of letters etc all through learning through play.

we already observe children and plan for them through formative and summative assessments .

Too much hype and scaremongering I feel.

nosnikrap the training have received has been excellent and as an experienced teacher I have no concerns in implementing EYFS in my setting but when I visit other settings and speak to other teachers I am already witnessing the anxiety it is causing in less experienced practitioners. When I first saw EYFS I thought well it's nothing we don't already do. Which is true, but for independent schools which were previously able to follow their own curriculum, it will in some cases make a huge difference. Parents who have opted out of mainstream will no longer have a choice of the type of early education their child receives. This is why the OPEN EYE campaign wants the government to downgrade the status of EYFS to professional guidance.

If you have no concerns then why the scaremongering, which IMO is what you are doing. Why not start a positive thread to reassure people rather than create panic and opposition.

Parents still have a choice of where their child attends and methods of teaching will vary greatly from one setting/school to the next. If the Government do not enforce the EYFS then surely many children will not get the education and care they deserve due to low paid jobs and lack of education causing a skills gap in Early Years.

Agree with Mummywannabe on the tick list danger .

I have no concerns for myself or my setting but I do have grave concerns for other settings and children. I know a number of schools where teachers are so concerned with "evidence" the children are lost beneath the paperwork.
Parents will still have a choice of where they send their child but they will not have a choice of curriculum. For example parents who currently send their child to Steiner schools do so because they do not want formal teaching until the child is older. In September Steiner schools will have to follow EYFS which is against their principles.
Companies are already producing tick sheets to assess if children "Like to be looked at and approved of" and "Make a range of sounds (crying, gurgling, babbling, squealing)" and even "Enjoy snuggling in for comfort" I know a number of settings who are buying these in preparation for EYFS IMO absolute madness.

Do you think childminders will be put off having 0-5s and will prefer older children?

This would be a shame as I always feel that non-institutionised childcare is best for the littlies

non-institutionalised even

EYFS programmes lay out what teachers, nursery staff, childminders and so on must do. It is clear what sort of approach must be taken in order to deliver at least some of the early learning goals. To refuse to implement any part of the educational programmes for any reason will be unlawful. There is no flexibility on these issues.

www.waldorf-swlondon.org/item.shtml?x=559637
www.savesteinerschools.org/

I know of one childminder that stopped having under-5s when the birth-to-three came in. Another who took that on-board but wasn't happy with it is now seriously considering taking only over-5s due to EYFS implementation.

Over 3000 signatures

curriculum; a definition: "the subjects comprising a course of study in a school or college"

The EYFS is not a curriculum, it is a framework; a definition of that is: "a supporting or underlying structure".

The Statutory Framework does not make for easy reading and I can see how practitioners could become bogged down by paper work. But to lessen its importance in the way you suggest would be to deny that something concrete needs to be done to give uniformity to Early Years care so that all children have the same opportunities.

I suggest that if everyone involved were to put effort into fighting for recognition of the roles of the people working in the sector and into improving communication between nurseries, pre-schools and yr R classes, the children of Britain would benefit far more.

That is only a very narrow definition of a curriculum and certainly not one commonly
used by educationalists, schools,teachers,HMI, QCA or OFSTED.

Perhaps the best definition of curriculum is that offered by HMI

?A school?s curriculum consists of all those activities designed or encouraged within its organisational framework to promote the intellectual, personal, social and physical development of its pupils. It includes not only the formal programme of lessons, but also the ?informal? programme of so called extracurricular activities as well as all those features which produce the school?s ?ethos?, such as the quality of relationships, the concerns for equality of opportunity, the values exemplified in the way the schools sets about its task and the way in which it is organised and managed. Teaching and learning styles strongly influence the curriculum and in practice they cannot be separated from it. Since pupils learn from all these things, it needs to be ensured that all are consistent in supporting the school?s intentions.?
(DES, 1985a, para.11)

Which is why EYFS is most definitely a curriculum and is recognised as such by the DCFS.