This week, Nursery World's hard-hitting Special Report, 'Sound and fury'(pages 10-11) examines how the headlong rush to introduce syntheticphonics ahead of the Early Years Foundation Stage is running counter tothe move to personalised learning, is taking away practitioners'opportunity to use their skills in a creative way, and is workingagainst the EYFS being a single, unified framework for the earlyyears.
On the nursery education grant issue, consultation on the funding hasnow finished, and early years organisations are adamant that a newsystem must ensure parity and consistency across the PVI and maintainedsectors. Sorting out how the free entitlement is funded is crucial tothe future success of the Government's policies.
The EYFS is, of course, also top of everyone's mind, and Nursery Worldbegins a new four-part series examining its constituent parts next week(21 June). Early years expert Lena Engel will take a close look at theframework, the guidance, the principles and the DVD to explain what itall means for early years professionals. Don't miss it!