The National Curriculum and The Early Years Foundations Stage

By Catherine Samuel and Bethany Hook

What is the National Curriculum?

• The National Curriculum was published in 1999 and is a set of subjects and standards used in state primary schools that ensures children across the country are learning about the same things. Unlike the EYFS, some schools (eg. Academies and Private schools) do not have to follow this curriculum.

https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/overview

What is the Early Years Foundation stage?

• Introduced in 2008 – Give every child the best start.

• Updated in September 2012 • The learning and development requirements for all care providers.

• Age 0-5 • Play-based curriculum (EYFS, DfEE 2012)

Predominant Influences on the NC

The National Curriculum bases their expectations of children’s ability in terms of their age. This supports Piaget’s theory of stages of cognitive development.

( The Psychology Notes Head Quarter, 2012 )

Predominant Influences on the EYFS

• 20 th century research- Development of play theories.

• Bruner- 3 stages on how memory and knowledge is stored: (Bruner, J. S. 1973)

National Curriculum Structure

English RE PE Maths ICT (Babcock LDP, 2012) Music PSHE Art & Design MFL

Compulsory subjects

Science D & T Geography History (DfEE, 1999)

Key Stages, Year Groups & Ages Year 1 5-6 Year 3 7-8

KS1

Year 6 10-11

KS2

Year 4 8-9 Year 2 6-7 Year 5 9-10

(DfEE, 1999)

EYFS Structure

Communication and Language Expressive Arts and Design Physical Development EYFS Understanding the World Personal, Social and Emotional Development Numeracy Literacy (EYFS, DfEE 2012)

Similarities

• Both curricula include activities for independent learning and working collaboratively.

For example:

A higher ratio of teachers to children to support learning in both curricula: - Recent progress, not fully implemented yet.

- Supports Bruner’s idea of ‘scaffolding’ where help from more able is given to child and gradually taken away to promote independent learning. (Bruner, 1983) - Supported by Vygotsky: ‘The Zone of Proximinal Development’, (Wookfolk, Hughes & Walkup, 2013) and Kozulin (2003)

(DfEE, 1999) (EYFS, DfEE, 2012)

• More practical work is being enforced in the NC even in upper KS2, making it more similar to the EYFS. • Piaget’s theory of cognitive stages is apparent throughout the EYFS and feeds into The National Curriculum too. (Sensorimotor: EYFS  Formal Operational: NC) • They both have a focus on developing language and communication skills. Social interaction and ‘talk’ now play an important part in education in both EYFS and NC.

- Supported by Palincsar (1998) who shares Vygotsky’s view of Socioculturalism, believing talk is a key process in learning.

- Chomsky 1972: Talk is innate

(DfEE, 1999) (EYFS, DfEE, 2012)

Differences

• EYFS focuses on developing key skills e.g communication, emotional wellbeing etc whereas the NC has a higher priority on specific subject knowledge.

• NC Major Learning Path: Cross Curricular Learning - Wider context and purpose - Develops transferable skills.

- Barnes (2007) believes in multiple prospects for individual achievement through a curriculum packed with opportunities.

(DfEE, 1999) (EYFS, DfEE, 2012)

The NC is primarily whole class, teacher initiated whereas the EYFS is mainly taught through play as it is:

• Essential for development and confidence • Begin to explore, think about problems and relate to others • 1/3 Adult-led , 1/3 Child-initiated and 1/3 Child-initiated with adult support.

• Stretched but not pushed beyond abilities • • • Three areas of effective teaching: Playing and exploring Active Learning Creating and thinking critically (EYFS, DfEE, 2012) • EYFS targets very young infants: springs debate over ‘too much too soon?’ Are childrens’ childhood’s being taken away?

(House, R. 2011) (Meighan, R. 2004)

Assessment Similarities

• Both use continuous assessment throughout the year.

• Both curricula assess children’s achievement from a well rounded perspective, including assessment on social interaction, well being, behaviour, emotional development.

• Both curricula use their assessments to reflect on what needs to be taught – aiding future planning and meet individual needs. • Both curricula focus assessment on their 3 prime/core areas.

• Links with EYFS, as children can reach Level 1 NC by the end of EYFS (DfEE, 1999) (EYFS, DfEE, 2012)

Assessment Differences

EYFS ASSESSMENT

Uses formative assessment with little paperwork.

Sadler (1981) would dispute this way of assessment due to concern over the inefficiency of human’s intuitive judgemental processes which can result in bias, defective decisions.

NC

Observation

NC ASSESSMENT

Relies heavily on paper based exams and results.

The Guardian (2012) would contradict the NC suggesting paper exams create too much pressure, suggesting results are becoming more important than learning.

Teacher Tests Formal SATS, Y1 Phonics Screening Self Assessment (DfEE, 1999) (EYFS, DfEE, 2012) Portfolios & Projects

Another difference:

• • The NC has split into 8 levels across KS 1, 2 and 3 which are used to assess.

Each level is divided into 3 sublevels – A, B and C Child is expected to move up one level every 2 years.

Orlando, L. and Machado, A. (1996) would disagree with the NC, suggesting although age can be a factor, it shouldn’t be used to determine thinking ability.

… However …

(DfEE, 1999)

The EYFS… use a more rounded approach

• • • •

The EYFSP:

A well rounded picture of the child’s knowledge understanding and ability.

Evaluation of ‘readiness’ for Year 1 Reflects on observations and discussions.

The child’s level of development needs to be assessed against the Early Learning Goals.

• • •

Progress Check (aged 2):

Short written summary of child’s progress in 3 Prime Areas Identify child’s strengths and weaknesses across the EYFS Significant concerns need a targeted plan to support future learning These assessments must be forwarded to the relevant people; Parents, Health Visitors, Local Authority, School Teachers etc.

(EYFS, DfEE, 2012)

• • • • • • • • • •

Reference List

Babcock LDP. (2012), Partners in Education: Changes in ICT. Available from: http://www.babcock-education.co.uk/ldp [Accessed 10 Dec 2012] Barnes (2007) cited by Rowley, C. and Cooper, H. (2009) Bruner, J. S. (1973). The relevance of Education. New York: Norton Bruner, J. (1983) Child’s Talk . New York: Norton Chomsky, N., Marsh, J. (1972). Desirable Literacies. McDonagh, J., McDonagh, S.

Learning to Talk: Talking to Learn.

DfEE. (1999), The National Curriculum: Handbook for primary teachers in England, Key Stages 1 and 2. London: DfEE, QCA Kozulin, A. (2003) Vygotsky’s Educational Theory in Cultural Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Meighan, R. (2004) Natural learning and the natural Curriculum. Educational Heretics Press Orlando, L., Machado, A. (1996) In defence of Piaget’s theory: A reply to 10 common criticisms. Psychological Review 103, 143 – 64 Palincsar, A. S.(1998). Social constructivist perspectives on teaching and learning. In J. T. Spence, J. M. Darley and D. J. Foss, Annual Review of Psychology. Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.

• • • • • • • • • • Piaget, J. (1964). Development and Learning. In R. Ripple and V. Rockcastle (eds), Piaget Rediscovered. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Rowley, C. and Cooper, H. (2009) Cross Curricular Approaches to Teaching and Learning. London: Sage Sadler, D. R. (1981) Intuitive Data Processing as a Potential Source of bias in naturalistic evaluations. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis [online]. 3 (4), pp. 25-31. [Accessed 06 Dec 2012] Schaffer, R. (1996). Social Development. Oxford: Blackwell The Department For Education (2012) The Statutory Framework for The Early Years Foundation Stage. London: Department for Education.

The Government Digital Service (2009) GOV.UK, The National Curriculum. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/overview [Accessed 06 December 2012]. The Guardian (Monday, 2 nd April, 2012) The Guardian News [online]. [Accessed 06 December 2012] The Psychology Notes Head Quarter. (2012) Available from: http://www.psychologynoteshq.com/piagetstheory/ [Accessed 06 December 2012].

Vygotsky, L.S. (1962) Thought and Language. Cambridge MA: MIT Press Vygotsky, L. S. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Mental Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Woolfolk, A., Hughes, M. and Walkup, V. (2013) Psychology in Education: Cognitive Development and Language. 2 nd ed. London: Pearson.