Change that Works for You - Building a Fairer Britain outlines the party's plans to 'replace the bureaucratic EYFS with a slimmed-down framework'. It also pledges to reduce the size of the DCSF and establish an independent Educational Standards Authority that would replace Ofsted and oversee the examinations system and curriculum.
Further proposals include introducing Special Educational Needs diagnostic assessments for all five-year-olds in England, and funding 15,000 new places for students on foundation degree courses.
The manifesto reiterates previous pledges made by the Lib Dems, such as extending the free nursery entitlement to 20 hours per week for every child aged over 18 months and introducing up to 19 months of shared paid parental leave.
Early years consultant Margaret Edgington said, 'I do not believe the Lib Dems would scrap the EYFS but remove the pressures that have come from the learning and development requirements. I totally support the retention of the EYFS themes, principles and commitments. But like the party suggests, I would like to see the Learning and Development requirements and the local authority outcomes duty removed so that practitioners can focus on developmentally appropriate practice, rather than chasing goals and targets.'
Early years expert Wendy Scott said she welcomed the proposal for a slimmed-down framework, 'as it would make room for Steiner, among others, and take the pressure off all children'.
She added that, 'coupled with expanding specialist training for early years educators as they propose', this 'would give scope for the kind of curriculum development that has happened in early excellence centres and maintained nursery schools. This takes account of evidence about children's learning which shows that a later start to formal approaches enables children to sustain their engagement and motivation to achieve, while not harming levels of literacy at the end of primary school.
'I hope other parties will take the kind of informed interest in the early years shown by the Liberal Democrats, so we achieve cross-party consensus in these important issues,' said Ms Scott.
Meanwhile, Labour reiterated the party's commitment to reviewing the EYFS later this year.
A Labour spokesperson said, 'The EYFS has been welcomed by experts and providers as an important step forward for childcare in this country, because for the first time it brings together children's learning and development into a single framework that supports them to develop and learn through play. Clearly, it is crucial that the framework is the best it possibly can be from the point of view of parents, of providers and, above all, of children, so the review will look at how the framework is being used in practice in all kinds of settings. We will not pre-judge the outcomes of what we intend will be a thorough examination of the EYFS.'
The Conservatives have also said they will review the EYFS in light of the fall in childminder numbers (News, 24 March).