The Rise of 'Formal Teaching' in the Early Years

Lately I've noticed a significant rise in the number of posts where practitioners express their concern that their school has moved towards what is being described as a very 'formal' style of teaching with 4-5 year olds.

This is, and should be, of great concern to everyone involved not only in the sector, but also achieving the invested in the very best outcomes for all children.

The first question is 'Why is this happening?'

We rarely give 'why?' the attention it deserves and, as a result, we react and expend precious energy feeling upset, frustrated, unheard and helpless. The outcome is that many then put their head down and get on with it.

This changes nothing.

When we seek to understand 'why' something is happening, we not only conserve our energies but we can begin to see how to navigate these tricky waters.

Why might school leaders be choosing to do this?

• The belief that, the earlier you begin, the higher standards and better progress you create
• 'Gaps' in fluency and lack of progress shown in subsequent years 
• A lack of knowledge and understanding of child-development and effective pedagogy (across all year groups not limited to Early Years)
• Failure to view children in the climate they are growing up in and acknowledge changes that affect skill development

Because there are so many aspects to this, it would be most helpful to look at one at a time.

Belief #1:That, the earlier you begin, the higher standards and better progress you create

Let's use an analogy to examine this one. This often helps us step out of the 'storm' and see things more clearly.

Learning to Walk: 

Children typically begin to walk between 9 months and 18 months. Whether your child is first or last, they are developing normally.

Let's imagine the government wanted to address the poor 'core' control we're currently seeing in children and the reduction in children being active and decided that the way to address this was to get children walking earlier.

They create an expectation that 'All children should walk by the time they are 12 months old'.

What would be your reaction?

Something along the lines of 'How ridiculous' I imagine.

We know that:

• Not all children develop at the same rate; the body and brain need to have reached a particular stage  for walking to happen
• Given reasons to walk, children will do so in their own time
• Putting pressure on parents to get their children to walk when the child isn't physically or mentally ready, will cause both great stress and could easily prevent the child from developing normally
• Even if a parent stood their ground and refused to comply, they would feel on some level that they were failing their child and are likely to move between complying and rebelling leading to inconsistency and causing further anxiety and stress for both the parent and child
• Whether a child walks at 9 months or 18 months, by the time they are 3, you can't tell who has been walking for longer

So, let's reverse this and say 'How can we ensure every child, that is able, has the very best experiences regarding physical development?'

What does this lead us to ask?

What do we need to understand about how a young child's body and brain develop in relation to gross motor control?

• Gross motor control is largely neurological
• there are 'windows' of opportunity where neurons are particularly susceptible to making connections linked to movement
• Muscles and bones are strengthened with use so experiencing a wide range of movement each day allows the body to learn new ways of working

What motivates a child to move?

• Wanting to move somewhere independently
• Seeing others walking around them and copying
• Enjoying the reaction of others when they attempt to stand and walk
• The change in perspective and feelings when walking compared to crawling

What range of movements best serve children's development at different ages 

• Tummy time
• Clapping an learning actions
• Being outdoors and in large spaces
• Rolling and tumbling
• Pushing and pulling
• Dancing, skipping, jumping and stretching

Can you see how this analogy applies to the the belief that 'earlier is better'? 

Trying to force a child to do something when their body an brain are not developmentally ready to do it not only leads to:

• A great deal of stress for the child and adults involved 
• Significantly increased likelihood that a negative attitude will be developed in relation to that skill
• The skills that are absolutely central to the very development were aiming to achieve being missed 

It's obvious to us all that whether we're talking about walking or learning a skill such as communicating, reading, writing or maths, progress only happens when we, as the adults, understand how the human body develops and make sure that our children are given experiences that meet their needs and motivate them to learn. When children feel safe, challenged, supported and experience the rewards that improving their skills brings them, they will seek to use them all day everyday.

THIS, and only this, is what brings about great progress.

Conclusion

So, what do we understand about the 'Why?' and what can do about it?

Despite the huge amount of commitment and hard-work demonstrated by those working in the Early Years sector, knowledge of child development (both the cognitive and physical elements) and understanding of what truly unlocks and motivates children to learn are areas of requiring significant investment.

Reacting to what we know is wrong and doesn't work is understandable, but won't change things.

Instead, arming ourselves with new 'tools' and improved understanding of what highly effective practice looks like means we take a step in the a direction that can bring about change.

To begin to change the minds of those who 'don't know what they don't know' (yet) we must learn to subvert the limiting expectations being placed upon us and explore ways of achieving the same objectives but in ways that work.

Our task is to keep quietly and consistently do what brings about the success everyone is aiming for until those around us are ready to listen.

It's a long-game, but it works.