From outcomes to processes changing the dialogue

1. Save Childhood Movement 2014 From outcomes to processeschanging the dialogue The Early Years set the foundation for all that is to come

2. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Meaningful outcomesWe need to start joining up the dots between child academic achievement and child physical and mental health and wellbeing

3. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Why we should be worried one in ten children in the UK has a diagnosed mental health disorder one in three is clinically obeseone in twelve adolescents deliberately self-harms nearly 80,000 children and young people currently sufferfrom severe depression including 8,000 children aged under 10 years old Putting Children First

4. Save Childhood Movement 2014 “Should we force the bud apart and destroy itor help it to flourish by nourishing it while it grows naturally?" DrPam Jarvis

5. Save Childhood Movement 2014 The early years is the single most important period of human developmentLearning starts pre-birth and continues throughout lifeIt includes the development of values, beliefs and dispositions

6. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Using brain scans and what we now know about human neurology, scientists have learned more in the past ten years about how we interpret and process information than at any time in human history

7. Save Childhood Movement 2014 We know that both nature and nurture matterfor the shaping of healthy developmental pathways Nature: the biological systems that underpin life and learning Nurture: the unique environmental experiences that shape our understanding and emotional responses http://www.icare4autism.org/

8. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Children are born with genetic predispositions and motivations that are then influenced by unique environmental experiences Early life experiences are built Into our brains and bodies(for better or for worse)Our early experiences build brain architecture and alter gene expression Positive early experiences result in healthy body/mind development and learning Negative early experiences result in compromised body/mind development and learning

9. Save Childhood Movement 2014 www.talkabouttwins.org Our early experiences literally shape our brains and define who we will grow up to be

10. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Emotions matterAll children are born with hearts and minds that are ready for feeling and learningYou can’t separate one from the other Our feelings about ourselves and our worlds shape how effectively we learnOur early relationships (with parents, care-givers and teachers) shape how we feel about ourselves

11. Save Childhood Movement 2014 The relationship that a child has with its parents is the single biggest indicator for later wellbeingOver the last twenty years the challenges and issues facing families and parents have changed beyond recognition And balancing work and family life has becomeincreasingly difficult Parents want to spend more time with their children And when they can’t they want their children to be with loving, caring and trustworthy people

12. Save Childhood Movement 2014 8 out of 10 parents say that ‘in an ideal world’ one parent would stay at home. Britain Thinks Survey, 2014 One in five 8-11 year olds want to spend more time with their parents and more than a third of parents said they want to spend more free time with their kids. National Trust 2013 Parents( in the UK) work all hours to increase family income but then are too exhausted or too busy to give their children the attention they need and deserve. UNICEF 2009 More than half of parents (52%) feel that work, or other unavoidable commitments, limit their time to support their children to play. Play England 2009

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14. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Children learn from the environment - which includes the adults in their worlds- Adults can consciously change their environments Children have to live in the worlds that adults have created Save Childhood Movement

15. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Developmental maturity/readiness is essential for successful learning

16. Save Childhood Movement 2014 “The years of optimum right hemisphere development (4 – 7 years) are the time when learning is naturally linked to sensory-motor activity, when “perception, action and reasoning develop in parallel, and not in simple progression from sensation to higher cognition” Developmental maturity takes timeyou can’t rush it

17. Save Childhood Movement 2014 90% of countries have a formal education starting age of 6 and overwhich allows time for developmental maturation Age 7 start: 44 countries Age 6 start: 133 countries Age 5 start: 24 countries “There would appear to be no compelling educational rationale for a statutory school age of five or for the practice of admitting four-year-olds to school reception classes." CAROLINE SHARP, School Starting Age: European Policy and Recent Research, 2002 School Starting Age

18. Save Childhood Movement 2014 “It is not whether a child is ready to learn, but what a child is ready to learn ... The model of ‘readiness for school’ is attractive to governments as it seemingly delivers children into primary school ready to conform to classroom procedures and even able to perform basic reading and writing skills. However, from a pedagogical perspective this approach fuels an increasingly dominant notion of education as ‘transmission and reproduction’, and of early childhood as preparation for school rather than for ‘life’. Whitebread and Bingham

19. Save Childhood Movement 2014 In the UK (and particularly England) We live in a culture that has primarily focused on what children learn i.e a core body of knowledge (the content/results) Rather than how and why children learn i.e. their motivations, values and dispositions (the context/processes)

20. Save Childhood Movement 2014 And from an assumption of their needs and fragilitiesi.e. a deficit-based approach They need constant adult supervision and direction Rather than an acknowledgement of their power, competencies, rights and potentialitiesi.e. an asset-based approach They are powerful natural learners in their own right

21. Save Childhood Movement 2014 England“The national curriculum provides pupils with an introduction to the essential knowledgethey need to be educated citizens. It introduces pupils to the best that has been thought and said, and helps engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement… The national curriculum provides an outline of core knowledge around which teachers can develop exciting and stimulating lessons to promote the development of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills as part of the wider school curriculum”. Finland “The underlying values of basic education are human rights, equality, democracy, natural diversity, preservation of environmental viability and the endorsement of multiculturalism. Basic education promotes responsibility, a sense of community, and a respect for the rights and freedoms of the individual.”

22. Save Childhood Movement 2014 What we’re worried aboutIncreasing political intervention in the early yearswithout the appropriate developmental understandingA lack of focus on the vital importance of early attachment and strong family relationshipsInsufficient attention paid to expert opinion and advice A lack of rigour applied re the global evidenceDevelopmentally inappropriate and potentially damaging policymaking An underestimation of the high quality and holistic nature of learning through play Measures of successthat are not linked to child health and wellbeingA lack of investment and understanding on the vital need for, and nature of, quality careEarly years policymaking that does not have the best interests of the child at its heart Why are we not joining up the dots between over-early developmental pressures and later child wellbeing?

23. Save Childhood Movement 2014 What is at stake? Positive Learning DispositionsEmotional health and wellbeing Healthy self-regulation Social skillsand friendshipsEmpathy and understanding Healthy stress responsesLater attainment and fulfillment Teacher creativity and wellbeing The joy of learning

24. Save Childhood Movement 2014 QuestionsWhat are the implications of introducing universal childcare without the appropriate guarantee of quality? Are schools in England currently the right place for two year olds? How are we ensuring that we are measuring what matters?How are we correlating short-term outcomes with long-term wellbeing?How do we support the wellbeing of children and teachers?How are we supporting genuine parental choice?

25. Save Childhood Movement 2014 BASELINE TESTING Of 1,063 responses to the DfE’s question, in its July “consultation” as to whether the principles of that paper were right, 57 per cent said no, with only 18 per cent in favour. Yet the thrust of the proposals are unchanged. Some 51 per cent replied that there should not be a baseline check at the start of reception, against 34 per cent in favour, with the detailed concerns of expert groups not even mentioned. Yet it is happening. Similarly, 73 per cent of consultees came out against allowing schools to choose from commercially available baseline assessments, compared to 12 per cent in favour. Again, it is happening. And 68 per cent said that if the baseline assessments were to happen, they should not be made optional, against 19 per cent who said they should. They are being made optional Julian Grenier talking about the Primary Assessment and accountability consultation

26. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Year One Phonics Test

27. Save Childhood Movement 2014 A massive political underestimation of children’s creative and expressive abilities? Tristram Hunt – it’s all about ‘counting and holding a pen’ Liz Truss – it’s about ‘counting bricks and playing with water’ Liz Truss - nurseries will have the ability to train early years teachers at the “Play Doh–face”.

28. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Michael Wilshaw“every child must be ready for school, and high-quality, early education will make sure that they are.” What is expected of two year olds

29. Save Childhood Movement 2014 First campaign launched by the Early Years Education Group in September 2013

30. Save Childhood Movement 2014 CORE AIM to see the introduction of developmentally appropriate and evidence-based policymaking for the early years OBJECTIVES to re-establish the early years as a unique stage in its own right and not merely a preparation for school to protect young children's natural developmental rights and freedoms to prevent baseline testing to reinstate the vital role of play an English informal, play-based and developmentally appropriate Foundation Stage until the end of Key Stage 1

31. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Early Years Manifesto published in March 2014 Putting Children Firstan integrated, holistic and appropriately financed system built upon an evidence-based understanding of the child as a citizen with developmental rights and freedoms Save Childhood Movement

32. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Putting Children First - Eleven Policy Points The development of a fully integrated system that should: 1respect and support the rights and freedoms of children to be provided with environments that allow them to develop all their natural dispositions and capacities to the fullest potential. This must include regular and open access to the natural world 2re-instate the importance of early relationships and better support the health and wellbeing of parents and families 3address inequalities and ensure that every child can develop to his or her full potential4ensure that the values we are modellingfor children are those that we want to see in a 21st century world 5ensure that developmentally appropriate play-based care and education governs children’s experiences until at least age 6 Putting Children First

33. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Putting Children First - Eleven Policy Points 6be evidence-led and have the best interests of the child at its heart. This should not be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution but should be responsive to the diversity of parental and local community needs 7reverse the existing funding curve so that we prioritise the vital importance of the early years 8underpin all ECEC services and provision with the latest scientific evidence and global examples of best practice 9review, consolidate and evaluate all policies and evidence through a new National Council on the Science of Human Learning and Development 10 provide formative assessment and screening of children’s development from birth and ensure that we are measuring what matters for children’s long-term health and wellbeing 11ensure that the adults working with young children are highly trained, emotionally mature and appropriately valued and remunerated Putting Children First

34. Save Childhood Movement 2014 We’re interested in children’s learning journeys and what nurtures and maintains each child’s innate curiosity, creativity and love of learning And also in the journeys of parents and teachers and what best supports their own health and wellbeing as the really important adults in children’s lives Children and families are embedded in communities so the health and wellbeing of local communities matters too Putting Children First

35. Save Childhood Movement 2014 Save Childhood Movement

36. Save Childhood Movement 2014 “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”. Nelson Mandela Please join us in the call to protect childhood www.savechildhood.net contact@savechildhood.net Putting Children First