The Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, covering the years from three to six, that is until just before the end of the Reception year, was introduced in England in 2000. This guidance related to another earlier and significant QCA/DfEE publication – Early Learning Goals (1999). Both documents set out learning goals in six areas. Those to do with Communication language and literacy include: ‘using language to imagine and create roles and experience’, ‘knowing that print carries meaning’ and becoming able to ‘write their own names’.
The Curriculum Guidance document received a cautious welcome from the early years community who are always concerned that methods more appropriate for older pupils should not be pressed down on the very young. Part of the reason for this ‘cautious welcome’ was the constructive response the QCA had made to their criticism of the Early Learning Goals document. As Miller and Smith point out, some felt there was too much emphasis ‘on the achievement of learning goals rather than the process of learning’ (Miller and Smith, 2004). QCA had broadened language and literacy to include communication and strengthened the importance of developing literacy through play. Teachers working in early years settings have felt the naming of the 3–6 years stage – The Foundation Stage – gives their work a clear status and a firm place in the child’s educational journey. Early years specialists seem to think the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage is underpinned by an understanding of how young children learn and communicate. Whitehead, for example, welcomes the focus on communication ‘as the essential precursor to language and literacy in the early years’ (Whitehead, 2004).
Those working with very young children rightly resist any downward pressure from The National Curriculum or The National Literacy Strategy to nudge young children towards preparing for the tests and targets of statutory schooling.
Do teachers working in different early years settings interpret the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage differently? Are there other important factors that affect practice, like teachers’ perceptions of their role and their beliefs about literacy learning? Linda Miller and Alice Paige Smith, who are academics at the Open University’s Centre for Curriculum and Teaching Studies, carried out a most interesting study to begin to answer these questions (Miller and Smith 2004). The examples of children’s work make the article a highly enjoyable read. We see how a planned activity linked to an early learning goal of children writing their names developed into a play situation. Important in this example were the rich play and writing resources available to the children and the teacher’s belief in the learning potential of play. Miller and Smith conclude that the Foundation Stage of the National Primary Strategy does embody some of the principles of good early years work but that some practitioners need the kind of training and support that would give them the confidence to interpret the guidance in creative ways.
Texts which help give this support include Language and Literacy in the Early Years by Marian Whitehead, Developing Language and Literacy 3–8 by Ann Browne, Foundations of Literacy by Sue Palmer and Ros Bayley, The Early Years Handbook edited by Max de Boo and Threads of Thinking by Cathy Nutbrown. You will also find stimulation and support in the journal published on behalf of Training, Advancement and Co-operation (TACTYC) entitled Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development.
Browne, Ann (2001, second edition) Developing Language and Literacy 3–8 London: Paul Chapman.
De Boo, Max (2004) The Early Years Handbook London: The Curriculum Partnership.
Miller, Linda and Smith, Alice P. (2004) ‘Practitioners’ beliefs and children’s experiences of literacy in four early years settings’ in Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development, 24(2), September.
Nutbrown, Cathy (1999) Threads of Thinking; Young Children Learning and the Role of Education London: Paul Chapman.
Palmer, Sue and Bayley, Ros (2004) Foundations of Literacy London: Network Educational Press.
