I started school at the age of 4 - back in the 1960s - and prior to this had no opportunity to go to play school or nursery or part time day care etc... - apart from finding the first day away from mum very stressful, it did not do me any harm at all and i took to it like a duck to water. These days may kids have been in nursery before going to school and ready for school by the age of 4.

jane, portsmouth,

At last, a breath of common sense. At 4, children should be learning through play. They should be learning ,through social interaction, the skills that will become intuitive in adult life. It has long been my opinion that the reason children underperform at secondary school level is because their natural curiosity has been stifled by a too rigid system of learning. British children start school earlier than most other countries in the western world, yet lack noticeably behind their peers in their social and educative development. Raise the school age to 6 and we might start to see an end to the self-destructive behaviour of British youth.

Angela Barratt, London, UK

Exactly so. British education is mired in the past. I have never ever heard the word "constructivist" (a modern method of teaching suitable for young children) mentioned by British educators.
(I'm a British expat teaching in Mexico at secondary school level)

clive warner, Monterrey, Mexico

Reading and writing and mathematics compresses the development of the young mind. It is completely unnatural and is likely stunting our children. Further a young mind can only learn simple things, and slowly. They would be better put to helping their parents and learning constructive activities that are immediately useful (and satisfying to the child). By not learning to read and write until an older age the mind is given a chance to develop naturally. And, like dyslexics, will experience the world so much more vividly.

Modern education is there only to feed our factories and work-houses. We are training our children in slavery, in order to be slaves.

Greg Lorriman, Leatherhead, UK

They are still playing at 4. Foundation and shortly Year 1 will be mostly, or all, play, leaving formal education to begin at 7. The reason why Key stage one teachers are concerned is that a lot of children are ready for structured work at five but will now not be afforded that. Bored children tend to be badly behaved. As with everything that this Government touches, the new policy caters for the lowest common denominator. If I had children starting school now I would be very worried about the intentioned dumbing down of the basics.

judy, Liverpool, England

Pah! thats nothing here in CHina, in primary school they get tested once a month on English, ChHinese and Maths! these kids never get any time off school starts at 7:40 and finishes at 4:20 then an evening study period of 1 1/2 hours to do their homework which some don't finsih and do the inthe monring at 6 when they get up!!!

Barry, Chesham, Uk