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Universal Preschool News

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In this section, you'll find editorials, legislation, public policy and trends on issues relating to preschool, pre-kindergarten, childcare and the push toward universal preschool education. Particularly of note are articles concerning the states claim of a compelling interest in compulsory preschool education. Visit often for the latest preschool news.

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Is your baby playing with its toes yet? If not the government wants to know why Babies will be assessed on their gurgling, babbling and toe-playing abilities when they are a few months old under a legally enforced national curriculum for children from birth to five published by the government yesterday. When children enter compulsory schooling, they should be able to read simple sentences using a phonics-based approach, count reliably up to 10 and sing simple songs from memory, as well as respecting others' beliefs and learning to share and take turns. by Lucy Ward March 14, 2007 [More Results from Guardian Unlimited (UK)]
Hi-tech toys offer no educational gain, say researchers Parents who invest in toy computers and other electronic games marketed as boosting learning for babies and pre-schoolers could save their money and help their children to learn themselves, according to new research. A government-funded study examining the role of technology in the lives of three- and four-year-old children and their families found that the hi=tech devices - one of the fastest growing sectors of the toy market, aimed at infants as young as nine months - are no more effective than traditional ways of introducing basic literacy and number skills. by Lucy Ward November 14, 2006 [More Results from Guardian Unlimited (UK)]
Mixed response to toddler plans There has been a mixed reaction to the government's idea of a national curriculum for babies and toddlers. Under the Childcare Bill, childminders would teach the curriculum to children "from birth" - with some worrying that it might be too prescriptive. The National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations called the proposals "bizarre". November 9, 2005 [More Results from BBC News (UK)]
Playtime, nursery rhymes and progress tests Plans for a national curriculum for babies will only add to pressure on parents, says Alice Thomson The blue indicator line shows. "I'm pregnant." It all seems so easy. All you have to do is wait nine months and there's your baby. You can take them home and they are all yours. You can cuddle them, play with them, care for them and enjoy watching them grow. That's what you think. From the moment you inform the state that you are having a baby, there's a third parent in the relationship. It starts the moment that you tell your doctor. October 11, 2005 [More Results from Telegraph News (UK)]
Official: babies do best with mother One of the most detailed studies of UK childcare has concluded that young children who are looked after by their mothers do significantly better in developmental tests than those cared for in nurseries, by childminders or relatives. The study on children from birth to three will reignite the controversy over the best way to bring up young children. It found babies and toddlers fared worst when they were given group nursery care. Those cared for by friends or grandparents or other relatives did a little better while those looked after by nannies or childminders were rated second only to those cared for by mothers. by Yvonne Roberts October 2, 2005 [More Results from Guardian Unlimited (UK)]
Hidden stress of the nursery age · Study finds hormone level soars when daycare starts · Extra time with parents needed to help calm down Toddlers starting at nursery after being at home since birth experience high levels of stress in the first weeks after separating from their mothers, and are still showing "chronic mild stress" as long as five months after their first day in the new environment, according to a study measuring hormone levels in young children. by Lucy Ward September 19, 2005 [More Results from Guardian (UK)]
Too much learning damaging children's play, says report Young children are being denied the chance to play at being pirates and astronauts because they spend so much time learning to read and write, according to research published today. Role play games such as pretending to be doctors or police officers are vital to help children learn how to make friends and develop their imagination, the University of Plymouth study found. But the pressures of the formal primary school curriculum, such as the drive to teach literacy, mean there is too little time for play, the research said. September 8, 2005 [More Results from Guardian (UK)]
Dawn to dusk care plan for schools All children under 14 in England will be offered "dawn to dusk" care under a radical extension of the current school day, which the government hopes will become known in the education lexicon as "Kelly hours". But today's announcement by the education secretary, Ruth Kelly, is likely to be overshadowed by questions from teachers' leaders about how the so-called extended schools - open from 8am to 6pm - will be funded, and warnings of the bureaucracy involved. by Rebecca Smithers June 13, 2005 [More Results from Guardian Unlimited (UK)]
Three-year-olds 'face criminal risk test' Children as young as three should be targeted as potential criminals, according to a leaked government report. The Home Office study suggested nursery staff should be trained to spot tots at risk of becoming criminals when they grow up. The publication said that infants not "under control" by the age of three were four times more likely to be convicted of a criminal offence once they reached maturity, according to a report in the Sunday Times. The 250-page report by the Home Office strategy unit, entitled Crime Reduction Review, was drawn up to identify the most effective ways of cutting crime by 2008. by Helene Mulholland June 13, 2005 [More Results from Guardian Unlimited (UK)]
Archbishop accuses Britain's parents of child 'abuse' - Britain - Times Online Britain is a society of infantilised adults who are abusing their own children by default, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said today. He condemned the "malign" obsession with testing in schools and issued a clarion call for the British people to grow up. "When adults stop being infants, children can be children," he told an audience of headmasters, church and mosque leaders, community workers and academics in east London. by Ruth Gledhill April 11, 2005 [More Results from Times Online (UK)]

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