Three text messages a week or a DfE approved app will offer advice on how to support a child’s early learning is the latest idea announced by Damien Hinds and the Department for Education. The trial is aimed at improving school readiness. It is one of a number of trials being launched by the DfE aimed at supporting the early educational development of disadvantaged children who, on average, are four months behind their wealthier peers by the age of five.
Although in its early stages the trial will take place in areas where there is a larger number of children achieving below expected development in key areas (communication, language and literacy) at the age of five as well as areas which are recognised as being deprived.
In a previous post drawn from my own research I made it clear that any education policy must ensure the barriers that exist prior to child entering nursery are removed. The key example of this in action was Sure Start Children’s Centres which were introduced in 1998 which aimed to provide easy access to a range of community health services, parenting and family support, outreach services, integrated early education and childcare, and links to training and employment opportunities for families with children under 5.
Under the Sure Start scheme, many of the barriers that would in other circumstances, lead to poorer performance in school were tackled early in a child’s development. This new idea appears to attempt to tackle the same issue but on the cheap. With no way of knowing whether the advice and guidance is being acted on and no real way of personalising the service on offer to the needs of the individual.
The percentage of people who own a phone between 16 and 34 is 95% which in itself sounds positive. However, those who for whatever reason cannot afford to have a phone are more likely to also be those whom an intervention such as this should be aimed. What instead needs to happen is the reinstatement of the numerous sure start centres that have closed that provided a more wrap around service in the early years.
It is important to note that socio-economic factors can have just as important an impact on outcomes at school and to focus solely on academic development through this new initiative is to ignore the vast impact that these other factors play in the overall effectiveness of an early years intervention.