Sue Owen asserts that critics of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) are confusing what is statutory and what is guidance (CYP Now, 12-18 March).
Yet on page 11 of the EYFS statutory framework it states unambiguously that the early learning goals that all settings must deliver by law are "the knowledge, skills and understanding which children should have acquired by the end of the academic year in which they reach the age of five".
These requirements include literacy education, which a less-than-adequately trained workforce will commonly interpret in a crassly mechanistic, unsubtle way.
Many early years experts believe such learning to be premature and harmful to many young children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
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