Many schools work hard to make children's transition from the early years to primary education as seamless as possible. But part of the effectiveness of such plans lies in the experience that awaits children when they arrive in Year 1. As one foundation stage teacher put it, 'It's no use getting the children excited about moving to Y1 if, when they get there, it's formal, boring and rigid and the children get no play.'
Many teachers in schools around the country have recently been challenging the appropriateness of the education that children receive in Years 1 and 2 and which so often lacks continuity with the play-based, child-initiated opportunities of the EYFS.
Also, in his independent review of the primary curriculum, Sir Jim Rose draws on evidence from NFER research that states, 'The Government's attention should be focused on ensuring developmentally appropriate and positive experiences for relatively younger children in the primary school' (para 4.32).
The Learning Needs of Y1 and Y2 Children
Within every class, there is a range of children with a range of learning needs and abilities. Some five-year-old learners in the reception class are ready to learn elements of the Y1 curriculum. Some children in Y2 struggle to learn the objectives meant for children in Y1. Children need to be treated as the individual learners they are, and not as a homogenous group who all happen to be 'in Y1'.
Effective teaching differentiates learning experiences for children, and this is best achieved by teaching children as individuals or as members of a small group. Even so, it cannot be assumed that what one group learns today can be followed up in a linear way tomorrow. Even within one small group there will be children ready to move on in their learning, while others need further consolidation. Teaching and learning must be flexible enough to meet the different ways in which children learn, every bit as much as what they learn.
Any search through the child development literature will find that the way children learn, and the motivation that drives them to learn, differs very little between five, their age on leaving the reception class, and six, their age on leaving Y1.
What the literature does show, and what teachers know when they are experienced in teaching this age group, is that there is a shift in children's learning capacities and approaches around the age of seven.
At some point during Y2, children begin to manage learning in a greater range of ways. They begin to think more logically. They can learn from more abstract sources such as books and other people, rather than preferring experiences always to be first hand.
They are less compelled to follow their own interests and respond more readily to experiences that adults or other children suggest. They come to understand the purpose of literacy for communication and have the physical skills to fulfil writing tasks requiring fine control. They generally develop the skills for thinking about thinking, which helps them improve their capacity as a learner.
The developmental surge at age seven is well worth noting - first, to remind ourselves that, from the beginning of Key Stage 2, children can manage new, more abstract ways of learning (although this does not mean, of course, that they no longer need concrete, first-hand experiences as well).
Second, the common reference in the literature to a developmental surge at age seven reminds us of the absence of any evidence of a developmental surge around age five and six. This means that there is no rationale for the approaches to learning and teaching that are seen to be appropriate for a child in the reception class being inappropriate for a child in Y1 or even Y2.
We need to truly 'continue the learning journey' from the Foundation Stage to Y1. What the child development literature reinforces for us is that the importance of 'developmentally appropriate' practice in the EYFS remains every bit as relevant in Key Stage 1.
SCOTLAND, WALES AND NORTHERN IRELAND
It is interesting to note that in the other countries of the UK, there has been recognition that education at ages five to seven should not be separated out from education at ages three to five.
- Wales
In 2008, the Welsh Assembly introduced a 'Foundation Phase' of education for children from age three to the end of KS1 (age seven). The 'Framework for Children's Learning' (DCELS, 2008) makes the principled statement that 'a curriculum for young children should be appropriate to their stage of learning, rather than focusing solely on age-related outcomes to be achieved' (p4).
The monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Foundation Phase Project (Siraj-Blatchford et al, 2006) re-emphasises these points when it says, 'A major assumption that has informed the amalgamation of the current Early Years and KS1 into the new Foundation Phase in Wales, where it is intended that children's development and learning will be seen as a continuum from three to seven, has been that there is no real reason for considering the development of children in two stages - under-fives and over-fives. Lindon (1993) has argued that this later stage is merely a continuum of the first stage of child development. This belief is also supported by effective practice in a number of international contexts, where children begin formal education at a later age than in the UK' (Siraj-Blatchford et al 2006:107).
- Scotland
In Scotland, too, there have been moves towards the pre-school sector and the early years of primary schooling being 'presented together as one level'. The principles and rationale for this new approach are set out in 'Curriculum for Excellence' and the emphasis is on active learning, which is defined as 'Children ... doing, thinking and exploring, and (learning) through quality interaction, intervention and relationships' (Scottish Executive, 2008).
The Executive notes, 'Research indicates that developmentally appropriate practice is most conducive to effective learning. For example, it suggests that there is no long-term advantage to children when there is an over-emphasis on systematic teaching before six or seven years of age. A key message is that approaches to fostering learning need to be flexible to take account of the needs of the child, and will change as children develop' (Scottish Executive 2008: 2).
- Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland the 'Revised Curriculum' was introduced during 2006-2007. Pre-school education or early years provision in Northern Ireland is presently separate, with its own curriculum, because it is non-statutory provision. However, the Foundation Stage ethos and practice is modelled on existing pre-school practice and is seen to be creating more cohesion between the sectors. Northern Ireland is presently undergoing a birth-to-six Strategy Review in which it is believed many issues will be considered to provide a more unified service.
The Revised Curriculum emphasises that, 'Children learn best when learning is interactive, practical and enjoyable ... In the Foundation Stage, children should experience much of their learning through well-planned and challenging play. Self-initiated play helps children to understand and learn about themselves and their surroundings. Motivation can be increased when children have opportunities to make choices and decisions about their learning, particularly when their own ideas and interests are used, either as starting points for learning activities or for pursuing a topic in more depth' (Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment, 2007: 1.7, 9).
OTHER COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE
England is out of step not only with other countries in the UK. In comparison with many other countries around the world, the school starting age in England is low. Parents are required to ensure their children receive full-time education from the term after their fifth birthday, but the legislation to bring in the new primary curriculum (DCFS 2009) proposes that children start school in England in the September of the year in which they turn five - in other words, when some of them are barely four years of age. Yet in most countries in Europe, children do not begin compulsory schooling until the age of six or seven.
Statistics provided by the European Commission (reported in Sharp, 2002) show that over half of the 33 European countries they investigated have age six as the official school starting age, and in three Scandinavian countries and five eastern European countries the starting age is seven.
But do English children in KS1 do better in national comparisons, because English children have already had two to three years' additional years of statutory schooling? The evidence base is complex, but, from her extensive research, Sharp concludes that, 'The arguments in favour of children being taught earlier do not appear to be borne out by the evidence.'
There is evidence that children who have three terms in reception often do better than those children who have had one term, but this is generally because those three-term children are older, not because they are more able. More important to note perhaps, is that younger children - those born in the summer term - do not do as well as their autumn-born peers even when they have three terms in reception (Sharp and Hutchinson 1997).
What matters most of all, it seems, is not the age at which children start school, but whether their experiences once they are in school are appropriate to their age and stage of development.
Effective Learning
So how do teachers believe children learn best when they are in Y1 and Y2? This question has been posed to thousands of KS1 teachers over the past five years and their most frequent answers are given here.
Being active: through
- practical activity
- first-hand experiences
- trips and outings
- using their whole bodies
- not sitting still for long
Naturally and spontaneously
- when playing
- being outside
- through real-life experiences
- finding things out for themselves
- being messy and creative
Given time and space: having
- sufficient space for active learning
- outdoor space as well as indoors
- flexible space that can be used for a variety of activities
- time to see an activity through
- time to go wrong and put it right again
When motivated by
- new experiences
- bringing stuff from home
- having choice and variety
- taking risks ... and succeeding!
- their own achievements
Supported by knowledgeable adults
- by being shown (by adults as well as children)
- when adults respond to, rather than always directing, learning
- through short 'blasts' of adult-led activity
- when adults listen to and respect their contributions
- when adults build on previous experiences
- when adults intervene appropriately
Alongside peers
- talking together
- negotiating and testing out together
- through genuine collaboration that requires 'team work'
- by watching and seeing 'what's possible'
- by having more confidence to put ideas forward
By initiating their own enquiries
- pursuing their own interests
- making their own connections
- drawing on their own experiences
- having a purpose (theirs!)
- when they ask for the help they need
Rehearsing and repeating
- revisiting concepts and skills again rather than just moving on
- having time to come back to something and learn it in a different way
- using familiar skills in unfamiliar situations
- trying again when things are hard
- persevering and having time to keep 'at it'
In a relaxed, supportive atmosphere
- when not having to get answers 'right' in front of the whole class
- by being given time to think
- when they are prepared to take risks
- when they are heard and respected
- when home life isn't worrying them
When engaged and involved
- when things relate to their own experiences
- when learning is relevant and meaningful
- when they are challenged and inspired
- when learning is not predictable or too routine
- by having some say in what is done or how it is done
As so often happens, teachers' own theories about what works best in their classrooms is based on the evidence of their own eyes. Yet this first-hand evidence chimes so closely with what robust research evidence also says. There are good reasons why what teachers believe to be the most effective ways in which children learn is borne out in the child development literature.
Best practice is informed by a constant cycle of observation, action and reflection and is based on what children naturally and spontaneously do to achieve the outcomes they want. The most effective teachers draw on this to inform their approaches to learning and teaching across the curriculum.
CONCLUSIONS
The way children learn when they are five and six years old differs very little from how they learn in the EYFS. This has implications for classroom provision, for pedagogy and for curriculum development in KS1.
- Julie Fisher, Early years consultant and author of Moving on to Key Stage 1 - Improving transition from the Early Years Foundation Stage (Open University Press, April 2010).
PART 3: Developmentally appropriate practice for fiveand six-year-olds appears on 22 July
REFERENCES
- Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (2007) The Revised Curriculum. Belfast: CCEA
- Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (2008) Framework for Children's Learning for 3 to 7-year-olds in Wales. Cardiff: Welsh Assembly
- Department for Children, Schools and Families (2009) Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum: Final Report. London: DCSF Publications
- Lindon, J (1993) Child Development from Birth to Eight: A practical focus. London: National Children's Bureau
- Scottish Executive (2008) A Curriculum for Excellence. Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS)
- Sharp, C and Hutchinson, D (1997) How do season of birth and length of school effect children's attainment at Key Stage 1? A question revisited Slough, NFER
- Sharp (2002) School Starting Age: European Policy and Recent Research Paper presented at the Local Government Association Seminar, November 2002, Slough, NFER
- Siraj-Blatchford, I, Sylva, K, Laugharne, J, Milton, E and Charles, F (2006) The Monitoring and Evaluation of the Implementation of the Foundation Phase Project across Wales. London: Institute of Education