Raising school starting age? Likely to go ahead?

[redskyeatnight]

Is it just hot air? There's barely any council places available here. What's it actually going to mean?

The idea is that there would be a kindergarten set up for age 3-7 where learning through play would take place like currently in nursery but extended similar to the playbased P1/2 stages that has been rolled out in many schools. So you would still be offered the hours that currently are there.

However the government have not funded the introduction of 1140 hours in nursery as easily as they lead staff to believe it would be. Care inspectorate want quiet areas etc, but unless the building is purpose built it makes it very challenging to create rest areas in settings that used to be 3 hours morning or afternoon.

The idea in theory is wonderful, will it happen successfully in my working life? I genuinely cannot say.

Don't forget, you do already have the right to defer for q4 birthdays and q3, if I was in any doubt I'd fight to keep them back a year as it is.

It should be flexible in my view, some kids are ready on the current schedule, some are not. I'd really like the current system of applying for deferral if it suits your child to be extended to all quarters.

No need to force people to all be the same.

I may be a bit cynical but I suspect it would be the play based P1/2 stages, which have already been widely introduced, but with teaching staff largely removed and replaced with Early Yeara Practioners. It would be presented as progressive (and may well be) but would also save a heap of money.

Omg I hope not. DS1 completed a mix of older style P1 with a lot of play. It was fantastic and the kids all progressed amazingly. They had a great mix of play, structured learning, embedding good routines and boundaries etc. His whole year are known in the school as a lovely year group.

Fast forward a few years ds2 complete the new "playbased" P1 style. It's absolute nonsense. The kids have no structure, routine or boundaries and half went feral. The other half didn't learn much. I have spent half the summer sorting out poor behaviour he was allowed away with at school.

Loads of play for young kids is vital but the playbased stuff is regressive in my experience not progressive.

It sounds like your child went to a terrible school, not that the learning method was wrong

But it may be that it's easier to go wrong with play based approaches

The structure, routine and boundaries you get should not be missing through. That's basic. If the school has dropped these at let the kids 'go feral', the school is the issue.

Also play based learning really suits some kids and not others, finding a learning style and environment that suits your child is the key. Still not enough choice.

It's all, all of us must do x, or all of us must do y.

Both kids go to the same school which is a top school in our region. I have heard a lot of very poor reports from other schools about P1 playbased learning and it all seems to be about the lack of structure, routines and boundaries etc

It's not a top school if they are producing 'feral' children.

I fed this all back to the school and made it very clear the lack of discipline, structure and rules was an issue. I believe a lot of parents gave similar feedback or feedback about the lack of learning.

I will be honest and admit that I've heard that from a few different people too. My SIL said they basically had to do all the learning at home while he unscrewed keyboards and played with the blocks.

I would like it to happen but doubt it will. I have one DC who had a bonus year at nursery and then started P1 when he almost turned 6yo. It did him the world of good. My youngest is not benefitting the same due to his birthday however....if there are issues at school it is on them as I challenged the LA about giving him extra time but they just wouldn't budge.

Play is child's work and I don't believe there's anything wrong with following a similar system to Nordic nations.

Notice no mention of what will happen at the other end. Already one less year of schooling compared to England.

As a teacher, I think that raising the age is incredible. Play based learning cannot be underestimated in terms of importance.

However, classrooms absolutely must have routines and boundaries. I'm shocked to read some comments on this thread - although I can believe it.

I implemented merely play based learning as a part of our weekly timetable in my primary one classroom. It's wonderful to see how young people have such amazing imaginations. Given that the materials and content provided are valuable, I think there's definitely still a place for it in the lower school.

That said, it's imperative to also ensure these young people are taught appropriately. The curriculum has been written up for a reason.

This is my feeling too. I know "Play is the Way" and that there are many advocates of it but I'm not convinced. I have a friend who teaches P2 and, since her school have done play based learning in P1, she is having to do 2 years' work in one. Our school is very traditional and I really don't see how it would work. Personally if I was teaching P 1 or 2, I'd ask for a move further up school.

There is a terrible shortage of permanent primary teaching jobs in Scotland atm so if they do bring this in on the cheap, they will have to find jobs for all the P1 teachers who will be ousted.