In its response to the government’s consultation on plans to simplify the EYFS, the Daycare Trust said the proposed "light touch" check on the development of two- to three-year-olds will not be robust enough to identify problems at an early age.
The organisation also said the proposals are "generally weak" in offering advice to practitioners on how to support the development and care of children under the age of two and on how to effectively work with parents.
Daycare Trust chief executive Anand Shukla said: "We are pleased that the government has shown its support for the EYFS as a universal framework, and the revised guidance is certainly both simpler and clearer than the original. We cannot give it top marks in all areas, however, and there are aspects which cause us concern."
The Pre-school Learning Alliance is also concerned that the revised framework’s focus on "school readiness" could lead to "intolerable downward pressure being exerted by the schools and the education system on many early years settings, staff and the young children themselves".
The alliance said this could undermine efforts by nurseries to encourage learning through play and lead to a gradual "institutionalisation of early years".
The government’s consultation, which closed on Friday (30 September), follows Dame Clare Tickell’s review of the framework for under fives. Ministers backed her recommendation that the EYFS needed to be simpler. Plans include reducing the six measurements of achievement to three "prime areas" of personal, social and emotional development; communication and language; and physical development.
Her review added that these should be underpinned by "specific areas" of literacy; maths; understanding the world; and expressive arts and design.
