YES: Steve Alexander, chief executive, Pre-school Learning Alliance
It's much more important to foster a culture of learning through play,especially for some of our youngest four-year-olds entering reception.The importance that education now enjoys means there's a danger itbecomes a requirement too early in age to the detriment of play. In anurturing environment with carefully structured activities children willlearn the necessary pre-reading skills that are important in the buildup to the more formal learning.
YES: Julie Fisher, early years advisor, Oxfordshire County Council
The rest of Europe doesn't engage children in formal literacyexperiences as early as we do yet when they reach the age of nine theyperform as well or better. The Government needs to take away thepressure of formal literacy learning too early, otherwise schools maydeem them to be failing simply because children can't read the 45 wordsthe Government says they must. Children of four or five shouldn't haveattitudes of failure about themselves.
NO: Mike Ryde, managing director, Ryde College, Watford
Children should be allowed to develop as soon as they are motivated, andchildren of four or five can read and achieve GCSEs. There's a fallacychildren become socially inept as soon as they start to learn and thatthey learn through play. I hope this is not an excuse for doing evenless work at primary school level. We are in danger of taking even moreemphasis off primary school teaching, which is the complete opposite ofwhat we should be doing.
YES: Neil McClelland, director, National Literacy Trust
Children's literacy development is a complex issue that needs asophisticated national debate and all children, by age 11, should havebrilliant literacy skills. This is not the case at the moment, and aslight delay in introducing formal teaching of reading might benefitevery child. This would allow those who are simply not ready inreception to benefit from more foundational support around language andinterpersonal skills without holding back the brightest of children.
