Petition for review of the compulsory Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Thanks to an informative post - Want a happy, healthy child? Then sign this petition - on Little Green Blog, I've been reminded about legislation for Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) that is due to take effect soon that involves a set of Learning and Development Requirements which must be followed by providers of care for children below 5 years old. You read that right - learning and development requirements for children under five years old! I support the campaign (Open EYE, the campaign for an open Early Years Education) that is opposing this new law and agree with their views that it's: overly prescriptive; potentially harmful to the development of children; and a breach of the human right of parents to have their children educated in accordance with their own philosophies. The petition states that: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to commission an urgent independent review of the compulsory Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) policy framework, and to reduce the status of its learning and development requirements to ‘professional guidelines’. More details from petition creator We recognise the government’s good intentions in its early-years policy-making, but are concerned about the EYFS legislation, which comes into force in England next September. Our concerns focus on the learning and development requirements, as follows: 1. They may harm children’s development 2. They will restrict parents’ freedom of choice in childcare and education 3. Their assessment profile requirements may place an unnecessary bureaucratic burden on those who care for young children 4. Recent evidence suggests that government interventions in education generally may not be driving standards up and may be putting too much pressure on children Read more on the blog, Open EYE, the campaign for an open Early Years Education. And please sign the petition via this link: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/OpenEYE/