Independent Schools and Early Years Foundation Stage

Written by Rosie Keeling

By definition independent schools have the freedom to set their own curriculum and have freedom in their choice of pupils and are not dependent on Government or Local Authority finance.

Why then are they now being told that they will need to adhere to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and be inspected by Ofsted for their under fives?

These restrictions undermine the very route of success of independent schools, which rely on their freedom from regulation by central and local government and also of each other.

Excessive bureaucratic burden of assessment associated with extensive form-filling creates no tangible benefit to children, and results in the diversion of teacher time from more beneficial tasks. There is also the imposition of staff qualification requirements on the independent sector that EYFS brings.

Is it also not a violation of parents’ rights, who select independent schools because of their independence? Children who are particularly able are likely to be held back by the implementation of these regulations and therefore will not receive the support they need.

For more information on this topic, view our letter expressing our concerns on the EYFS to the Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, available in the Latest News section of our Member Zone.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 9th, 2008 at 9:20 am by Rosie Keeling and is filed under Early Years Foundation Stage - Private Schools, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.