Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw used the launch of the inspectorate's first early years annual report earlier this month to open a new front in his battle to improve early education standards.
In typically robust fashion, Wilshaw pinned the blame for some disadvantaged children being developmentally 18 months behind their wealthier peers when they get to reception on the failure of the early years sector to properly prepare them for school.
He says childminders, nursery workers and children's centre staff do not have the advanced skills and training necessary to meet the additional developmental needs of those from poorer backgrounds.
Early support
Instead, he believes that schools are best placed to manage and deliver this support, and that they should be providing early education to disadvantaged children as young as two-years-old in order to give them the best start in life.
"What children facing severe disadvantage need is a high-quality early education from the age of two delivered by skilled practitioners, led by a teacher in a setting that parents can recognise and access," he said. A simple school-based system, with incentives for low-income families to use their free childcare entitlements would fulfil this, he believes.
He adds: "It also needs to be clear to parents that every child must be ready for school, and that high-quality early education will make sure they are. The best way of ensuring that the most disadvantaged children are ready for school is to put schools in the driving seat."
Wilshaw thinks schools could either deliver provision themselves on site or play a strategic management role and take leadership of its delivery elsewhere, such as through feeder nurseries.
"It has to be about taking responsibility for seeing more children arrive on the first day of reception being better prepared," he says. "That means working with feeder nurseries and childminders so that there is no doubt about what is required for children to be school-ready by the start of reception.
"We know that some schools are starting to do this. I want to see this happening across the board."
In a bid to make his vision a reality, Wilshaw has put forward four recommendations for the government to consider. He has justified his recommendations by saying that extending school-led provision for disadvantaged children is the only way to improve social mobility.
"If you're going to do anything about social mobility, rather than (looking at) Key Stage 2 results we should worry more about what's happening in the early years and what's happening pre-school," he says. "The status quo is not even an option. We (Ofsted) have to make radical changes; the government has to make radical changes."
Data in the report reveals that the quality of provision in the early years sector is rising, with 78 per cent of all providers on the early years register judged to be "good" or "outstanding". When the figures are broken down and analysed according to deprivation, maintained nursery schools are at the top, delivering high-standard education across the board.
According to data published by the DfE, 96 per cent of nursery schools in the most deprived areas are judged to be "good" or "outstanding", while 95 per cent of nursery schools in wealthier areas received similar judgments.
Meanwhile, 76 per cent of childcare settings in the most deprived areas received the top judgments from Ofsted, compared to 86 per cent in the least deprived areas.
Wilshaw's vision has also received backing from within and outside the government.
Improving standards
Graham Allen, chair of the Early Intervention Foundation, says the proposals have the potential to improve educational standards "provided they are designed to use the early years to develop the child's social and emotional bedrock upon which all else - including future academic attainment - is based".
He adds: "Putting the concept of 'school-readiness' at the top of Ofsted's agenda is a breakthrough moment that has now to be fully optimised so that every child can develop the skills to make the best of school and themselves."
The DfE is also supportive. "The evidence is clear - starting to learn from a young age with high-quality teacher-led provision can have a real and lasting impact on children's development and life chances, particularly for those from the most disadvantaged families," says a spokeswoman.
Ian Wybron, education expert at the think-tank Demos, agrees that there is evidence to show that early formal education can help to improve the "school-readiness" of disadvantaged children. However, he warns that it is unlikely the approach will work with every child, meaning it should be targeted carefully at those it will most benefit.
"It is vital that the government properly targets resources and provides this early educational support where it is most needed."
Many early years professionals are far more sceptical.
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, says: "Ofsted's obsession with 'school-readiness' ignores the fact that early years are a pivotal stage of child development in their own right.
"Yes, we want to ensure that children start school in the best possible position, but early education is also about laying a secure foundation for longer-term learning and development."
Liz Bayram, chief executive of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years, says the focus should be on supporting childcare practitioners.
"We disagree that the only solution to improving early education for disadvantaged young children is to extend nursery provision in schools from the age of two," she explains. "Instead of pursuing a course of 'schoolification' in the early years, policymakers need to recognise that there is excellent and poor practice in schools as well as childcare settings.
"Critical to improvement, especially in areas of disadvantage, is to improve the qualifications and practice of childcare professionals."
Hilary Emery, chief executive of the National Children's Bureau, holds a similar view.
"We are concerned that the Ofsted report focuses on increasing the capacity of school-based early years provision, while downplaying the excellent work of the majority of nurseries and other providers delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage," she says.
"Where early years education and childcare takes place is less important than the quality of the provision, its appropriateness to the developmental stage of the children and the qualifications of the workforce delivering it."
Former children's minister Tim Loughton has spoken out against extending school-led provision.
"There is a worrying tendency for Ofsted, and increasingly for the DfE, to fail to value things that happen outside of schools," he says.
"What matters is giving children the space to grow up naturally; learning through quality play; forming strong attachments; encouraging their communication and speech skills to engage and socialise with others.
"If we get that right, it strikes me that children will arrive at primary school settled, socialised, ready, eager and willing to learn, much more so than being trained to sit in front of a white board before they are hardly out of nappies."
Wilshaw's wish list
- Ofsted's chief inspector wants the Department for Education to review its offer of 15 hours of free childcare for two-, threeand four-year-olds, and consider whether it is enough for making provision for disadvantaged children "financially viable"
- Wilshaw wants the government to extend to two-year-olds the new early years pupil premium payment currently planned for just threeand four-year-olds, with the funding invested in school-led provision only
- He wants disadvantaged infants to be given priority in the admissions process for reception classes on the condition that places are taken up from the "earliest age possible"
- Finally, Wilshaw thinks that the inspection and regulation of the early years should be streamlined to make it easier for schools to take infants
Pre-school prepares children for reception
Kate Lee is head teacher of Townfield Primary School, Wirral
"At Townfield, we have a growing demand for two-year-old places in our pre-school, especially since the introduction of the two-year-old funding.
"In 2005, I converted a room to bring the parent-run playgroup into the fabric of the school and extended the sessions from 7.45am to 6pm. Over the past nine years, our numbers have risen to 113, with between 60 and 70 children between two and four years old attending one of our three pre-school rooms.
"Our two-year-old rooms are set up exactly the same way as the whole of the Early Years Foundation Stage, with carefully thought-out resources to engage, stimulate and challenge the youngest learners, developing and following their interests.
"Linking with the local children's centre enables us to support parents with a variety of classes and the children's centre staff support our setting, screening the children in their speech and language skills as they enter the setting. This way we can tailor specific language development from entry.
"My acting deputy head teacher is the strategic lead for the whole of the pre-school and reception class, working alongside the practitioners to mentor and coach them in their teaching, data collection and analysis, ensuring strategies are in place for good progress to be made by all children.
"The 2013 data shows that 72 per cent of children who attended our setting since they were two reached national expectations compared to 52 per cent nationally. We are proud of our provision and the impact it has on accelerating our youngest children's learning. This has been recognised in two inspections where we achieved an 'outstanding' judgment."
