School starting age - formal teaching versus play-based learning

There seems to be general agreement that early exposure to books helps children develop an interest in books and reading. Many would argue that the first two years of a baby's learning are crucial. 75% of brain development occurs between birth and the age of two. However, there is an increasing debate over the best time to start formal education, and how to deal with problems young children may encounter moving from play-based learning in the Foundation Stage to more formal teaching in Year 1. Key reports on this debate are listed below. In October 2002, the Foundation Stage became part of the English National Curriculum under the Education Act; the early learning goals/Foundation Stage profile replaced baseline testing. More. For more information see: Compulsory age of starting school in European countries, 2007 visit www.nfer.ac.uk/eurydice/briefingseurope/school-starting-ages.cfm The importance of play in children's development - from Talk To Your Baby Steiner Schools

Early Years Education: Perspectives from a review of the international literature (2006), available from www.scotland.gov.uk/publications.
According to this early years review commissioned by the Scottish Executive, there was no compelling reason to begin school at age five. After analysing start dates around the world, Dr Christine Stephen of Stirling University concluded that there is no right age for launching into a formal school career, she told the TES: "Policy variations cannot be endorsed by research findings...There are no consistent results from studies examining the benefits of delaying school entry." Scottish studies, Dr Stephen continued, have found 'enormous variations' in cognitive development when children start school and little relationship between the amount of pre-school experience and their baseline assessment. This conclusion is not shared in England.

Inside the foundation stage: recreating the reception year (2003) £12.99 (Association of Teachers and Lecturers) www.askatl.org.uk.
A report on the foundation stage curriculum, commissioned by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, found that four and five-year-olds were not receiving the play-based education they are supposed to because of pressure to prepare for more formal learning in later years. Teachers were being pressured by key stage 1 colleagues to prioritise achievements such as numeracy, literacy, and familiarity with routines such as lining up in the playground which they were not sufficiently confident or articulate to resist. The study, conducted between February 2002 and August 2003, was carried out by Mary Jane Drummond and Professor Janet Moyles.

Starting school - young children and learning cultures (Liz Brooker, 2003). £16.99 www.openup.co.uk
This book says that ethnic minority children may lose out when they join reception classes because the school's values are so different from those of their homes, according to research. For example, Bangladeshi children arrive at school expecting to work, but some fail to make progress because they think their teachers want them to play, and had not absorbed the unspoken message that the aim was to learn through play. In contrast, the three children who did best in the study were Anglo pupils whose mother were aware of how children learnt through play and provided similar experiences at home.