Being ‘unpolitical’ has long been the norm in early childhood: practitioners rightly want
autonomy, and to get on with the job of educating and caring for our youngest citizens.
However, political intervention is abundant now in relation to early years, and it is vital
that educators, including parents, raise necessary questions about the experiences their
children are exposed to in the name of early years curriculum and pedagogy, such as
readiness for school at age four.4
The emphasis from government always appears to be on
it being the children’s, parents’ and pre-schools’ ‘responsibility’ to make children ‘ready’,
but what about the schools’ responsibilities to ensure they are ready to receive young
children, and educate and care for them in a developmentally appropriate way? I would
argue that this is a far more appropriate way to consider young children’s education and
care, and values young children in their own right in their early years, rather than as
merely future school pupils. A key aim of the flexible Unhurried Pathways is to
‘galvanise the sector around an alternative framework to which all practitioners can
enthusiastically subscribe … a strong message to the government that the sector really
does have a collective “mind of its own”, and will no longer passively accept whatever is
imposed upon it’. Now is the time for all those involved in the education and care of
young children to reflect upon what are the most appropriate early experiences for our
birth-to-six year olds and act accordingly, which means arguing against the ‘too much too
soon’ mentality currently existing.