Exams for under-threes
From which planet do our government ministers come from? http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,172-1864565,00.html In a new Bill being proposed, under-threes in the care of nurseries and childminders will be legally required to be taught a National Curriculum. To be policed by Ofsted, this is to ensure that children are taught mathematics, reading and writing. Why? Because three-year-olds have been found to enter PLAYschool (NB emphasis on PLAY) without the necessary basic knowledge. Yet three-year-olds are known to be excluded from playschools for their ability to swear. How do you square this? Who teaches young children to swear? Who teaches young children to count? Is the government now saying that mothers cannot be trusted to teach their own children? Or are they waking up to the fact that too many children are left in the care of institutions and now these institutions must step up on their surrogate parent roles? In either case, the reasoning is flawed. The government is trea