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Welsh Foundation Phase extended to age five

The Welsh Foundation Phase entered the second phase of its roll-out last Thursday, when the curriculum was extended to include four- to five-year-olds.

Wales' early years framework is being rolled out over four years and it will be statutory for all children aged from three to seven by the 2011-12 school year. The curriculum has been statutory for three- to four-year-olds since September 2008.

The Foundation Phase operates on an adult:child ratio of 1:8 for three- to five-year-olds, which means that schools have employed an increasing number of classroom assistants. The Welsh Assembly Government said that more than 2,000 additional classroom assistants have joined the Foundation Phase workforce since September 2008, and it is expecting this figure to increase to 3,250 from September this year.

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