Our response to Michael Wilshaw's 17th March 2014 letter to Early Years Inspectors
" The Save Childhood Movement supports Michael Wilshaw's desire to improve standards and improve the life chances of the most disadvantaged children, but we have significant concerns about the seeming lack of understanding about the importance of developmentally and age-appropriate practice and the need for balance between teacher-led and child initiated activities. Of course we can pressurise young children to achieve specific outcomes, but we need to ensure that this is not at the cost of positive learning dispositions and their longer-term wellbeing and attainment. We would like to see a much greater focus on the transparency of the evidence supporting Ofsted's statements together with the accompanying backing from key experts in the field."
Save Childhood Movement, April 2014
Responses to the subsequent Ofsted Early Years Report (see also our media page)