The Problem With Early Years Foundation Stage
Criticism of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) tends to focus on the framework’s implementation, not its principles. The guidance has been maligned for a number of reasons, including its unwieldy and excessive paper work, and a too-strong frame work that puts needless burdens on the workforce of the EY. If more trust was put into the ability of the professionals working with children, this rigidity could be relaxed, leaving them free to give the child more space on occasion. This would allow the child control over his/her own world of learning through play, but with occasional challenges discretely offered by the staff to enhance it as well as allowing additional time to be devoted to each child rather than to the accompanying paper work.
We know that across ISC pre-prep, prep and senior schools , children have a vast array of different needs, and each school has its own approach that best assesses these needs to produce an outstanding education. If individual education centres and schools had more autonomy at early years level, there might not be a perceived need for such tight regulation as can currently be seen in the EYFS guidance.
It is not only in education that kids develop individuality and their abilities. Creating bridges between the activities undertaken at school with the play that occurs in the home has been shown to up the enjoyment and eagerness that children feel towards their activities, so it is important that parents understand the techniques used to advance their child’s learning. At the TCCC, parents are actively encouraged to take part in sessions, which has been found to speed up the development process in their children thanks to the consistency between home and school life.
The title of the pamphlet Born Creative serves to warn that being born creative (having, as a child, none of the hindrances or restraints that adulthood introduces) does not necessarily mean being creative. If we are to ensure that our children are given the best opportunities for cognitive development and independent thinking in their most formative years, we must ensure that the environment at home and at school in which they absorb these skills are as supportive as possible, and take care not to instrumentalise their creativity.
Remember pre-prep schools and boarding schools
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