Sir, Schools should be encouraged to protest over the imposition of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (report, May 26).

Given the correlation between economic conditions and educational attainment, this latest, if disguised, attempt at social engineering is also bound to fail. Significantly, it violates both the rights of parents to bring up children with minimum state interference, and the child’s right to remain a child at least to age 5.

The requirement for “up to 500 development milestones” and that under 5s “be assessed on 69 writing, problem-solving and numeracy skills”, is damaging to natural development and self-discovery through free play. Such premature intrusion of meritocratic adult roles and the near-abolition of childhood are likely to result in high frustration levels in later life.

Dr Robert Gutfreund-Walmsley
Manchester

Sir, I have been a teacher for 40 years, 23 of which have been spent with under-5s, and have campaigned against the age at which children start reception in this country. If one compares the age at which children commence formal schooling in Europe, as well as further afield, our children are greatly disadvantaged. In the UK many pupils start school up to a year before their fifth birthday (the statutory age being the term after their fifth birthday) — before they are developmentally ready.

Instead of focusing on free play, interaction between pupils and teachers, development of listening and social skills and the building of confidence and self-esteem, our children are expected to achieve prescribed literacy and numeracy targets at an ever earlier age. Experts have pointed this out repeatedly to government ministers but over the years this good advice has always fallen on deaf ears.

Children under 5 develop at different rates (boys, generally, lagging behind girls in certain areas at this stage) and the new curriculum, with its obsession with quantifying everything, will undermine what the true purpose of early education should be.

Lucille Sher
London NW11

Sir, I can’t believe that a group of mature adults sat round a table drawing up these targets, oblivious to the sheer stupidity of what they were doing. I could draw up the curriculum for the under-5s in one sentence: have fun playing with your peers until it is time to start school. If this were implemented we could get rid of all the civil servants who drew up these targets and all those who would have to enforce it.

Mike Sant
Basingstoke, Hants

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