25th September 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A high profile lobbying group has published an open letter arguing that children should not begin formal schooling until the ages of six or seven. The group of educationalists, including academics, teachers and psychologists have cited countries such as Norway, where schooling does not begin until students are seven years old, but academic achievement is higher. Added to that, students’ over all wellbeing is higher in countries where children are not pushed into formal schooling early, and tested from a young age. There’s no surprise there, but what is surprising is that the British government, schools and parents are pushing young children harder than ever, regardless of the consequences.
The majority of requests received by tutoring agencies used to be for GCSE and A’Level tuition, but they are increasingly receiving requests for primary school children. In some cases, children as young as three are receiving tuition to prepare them for entrance exams to selective schools. According to the group calling for later schooling, forcing tests and formal education on young children is extremely damaging, and does not give them an opportunity to develop vital cognitive skills through play and free interaction with their peers. So should tutors refuse to work with young children or is there something they can do to help?
The report published by the Save Childhood Movement suggests that classes for young children which involve supervised play with educational and imaginative games is more appropriate for this age group. So, where parents genuinely want to help their child’s cognitive development, tutors may well be able to devise appropriate and fun activities which will allow children to flourish and prepare them for school. However, tutors would do well to avoid working with parents who want their children to begin learning academic subjects at a very young age, and insist on regular reports and testing. If tutors cannot persuade parents that this approach can be damaging, then they should steer clear rather than contributing to an approach which is surely detrimental to the child’s development and wellbeing.