Parents naturally want the best start for their children. But in today's competitive world of league tables and assessments they can all too easily think that the most positive first step on life's ladder of learning is to push their toddlers into a formalised programme of education, rather than letting them progress through play.
Childcare professionals from all sectors and settings often find that when practising the philosophy of learning through play, they first have to teach the parents. As Ann Elliott, head of Horton Grange First School in Blythe, Northumberland, and vice-chair of the National Association of Head Teachers Early Years Committee, says, 'I had one mother say, "I don't want my son dressing up. He should be at his desk doing sums". I had to explain how important dressing up was for them.'
Good communication between staff and parents is crucial to getting the message across, according to Lynne Crussell, the proprietor of the Abacus Day Nursery in Cambridge. She is organising a wine and cheese evening for parents at which she will discuss learning and demonstrate how the nursery is moving towards the early learning goals in the Foundation Stage through play.
Lynne says, 'Our parents do seem to understand our ethos, but if a new parent comes to look round and asks, "What reading system do you use?" we say that we don't have one.
'In fairness to the parents, where do they get their education on childcare from? If I hadn't gone into childcare I wouldn't know half of what I do know about child development.'
Through play the staff cover pre-reading and pre-writing. A recent activity where the children "wrote" their names on labels will be included in a video that Lynne is filming for the parents' evening. 'The children have each been given a drawer for their treasures. We gave them their names to copy on to labels and they just did a scribble or a zigzag. But they can read it. The marks may just look like a blob or a squiggle to us, but if I say, "Let's put this away in your treasure drawer", they know which is their drawer and say, "Look my name is on it".'
Diane Peden, director of the chain of Red Apple Nursery Schools in Scotland, says, 'We do have some parents who want to see their child achieve and want to see evidence of this achievement.' The chain has responded to this by devising a system for explaining to parents what the staff and children are doing. The five-day week is divided into ten sessions and the noticeboard for the week contains ten squares. Each square will show what the activities are for that session and to which of the early learning goals they are linked. For example, if the activity concerns spring flowers, it will involve knowledge and understanding of the world, maths (through counting the petals), and basic science. In this way the staff can illustrate to the parents how their children are developing and learning through play.
Opposite is a cut-out-and-photocopy guide on how children learn through play, with suggested play activities. Designed for practitioners to hand out to parents, the guide is by early years consultant Marian Whitehead.