Government efforts to forge closer ties between early years providers and schools took another step forward earlier this month when childcare minister Elizabeth Truss announced an expansion of a little-known peer support programme that links high-performing settings with struggling ones.
Truss wants experienced teachers to lead a self-improving system for the early years, working with nurseries to enhance outcomes for disadvantaged children.
She says the model will be delivered by teaching schools and is about creating opportunities for professional development, rather than placing children in school at an earlier age.
But the announcement came just days after Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw called for schools to be given the lead in shaping early years education, and has led to further concerns being raised by early years organisations about the "schoolification" of childcare.
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