Issues Arising From The Introduction Of Fs

[Guest]

Can anybody help with some advice on writing an assignment dealing with issues arising from the intro of the FS.

 

I have research from SPEEL etc, but I would welcome some personal experiences from those who were teaching in teaching this age group before the intro of FS and what diffs the Guidance has made.

[Helen]

Hi Hotlips, and welcome to the site

That's an interesting question, and one which I'm sure many practitioners who were teaching before the onset of the FS would be more than happy to voice an opinion on! I was a primary teacher, teaching year 4 and year 2 before I started up the nursery in 1999. By the time I'd written the policies, employed the staff, done all the advertising, and used the PLA literature to plan an early years curriculum, the FS had come out and I was following that! I don't therefore have anything with which to compare the FS guidance, but I'm sure there are others out there.............

[Guest Candy]

Hi Hotlips,

 

I'm sure you will get loads of information about national issues arising with the onset of the FS, but for me personally it was like a godsend! At the time I ws the EY co-ordinator in a fairly large Infant school. We were located in a "nice area" so there was a lot of pressure to get good results. With the Literacy Strategy already up and running and the Numeracy Strategy hot on it's tail I was being asked to teach in a way that I knew was wrong. I know that the Literacy and Numeracy Hour have never been statutory in Reception but I'm sure I am not the only practitioner that was asked to do it.

 

When the Foundation Stage was introduced I felt as though there was now something tangible coming from the government that was confirming all of the points I was trying to make about the way young children learn. It gave me the courage and the confidence to "fly the EY flag" and to talk to other practitioners in schools and pre-schools about the things we were happy with, finding difficult etc.

 

I still feel however, although the Guidance has been very empowering for most practitioners there are still a lot of headteachers out there who just don't "get it". Don't get me wrong, I can thoroughly understand why this is the case with ofsted and SATs results looming over there heads every year. It's a hard job and I wouldn't want it. There is a real temptation to introduce formal teaching earlier and earlier if the understanding of HOW children learn best isn't there. What I would like to see happen is a level of training (and money) being spent on developing teachers understanding of the FS equivalent to that of the strategies.

 

Sorry, I tend to ramble on a bit.

I hope this helps

[Helen]

Hi Candy, and thanks for your post

Many people in the profession feel the way you do; we all know the best way to take the children onto new learning and experiences but are feeling the top-down pressure that testing and publication of SATS results brings about.

Let's hope (and I think it is a legitimate hope) that the more voice EY professionals have, the quicker the move to extending the FS principles into Key Stage 1. I'm very interested in what's going on in Wales at the current time, and how the extension of the FS is going.