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Diane Reay lecture- How do I think the factors relate to early years…
Diane Reay lecture- How do I think the factors relate to early years education in current time?
Educational attainment levels of different classes and ethnic groups.
The is a much higher increase in the British percentage compared to the national average and I would say based from my experience there is still a gap in performance levels based on what social class a child is in.
Social class intake accounted for over 77% of the performance between British schools. This was found in a survey conducted in 2009 by PISA. Only Luxembourg had a higher percentage. The average percentage generated by OECD was 55%.
I believe that there is still a difference in a Childs performance levels in education as a child who is considered to be in a higher social class may be in private education where the school gets more funding. This means that the setting can afford to buy more resources which will expand a childs knowledge and understanding further whereas within a public setting the resources are limited as their is very limited resources whcih I belive means that children are not able to expand their knowledge as much. This means that the perfomance levels are different as children in a higher social class have access to more educational resources compared to children in a lower social class.
28% of white British students on free school meals (FMS) achieve the threshold of 5 or more GCSE's compared to 62% of white British pupils not on free school meals.
In current times in the EYFS especially now with the cost of living I think the amount of children on FSM has increased. Gov.uk (2023) suggests that In January 2023 over 2 million pupils were eligible for free school meals which is equivelant to 23.8% of all pupils. This is an increase of 122,000 pupils since January 2022 when 1.9 million pupils where eligible for free school meals.
There is still a North/ South divide in terms of education in early years and the opportunities that are available to the children.
In the the Uk children will be able to get free school meals if they are in a government funder school and are in reception, year 1 and year 2.
This is a problem in the EYFS as children are falling behind at this level in their education becasue of their social class. No school has been able to reverse the pattern of children who are not on free school meals doing better that the children who are on free school meals. I still believe that there is a gap between children who are on free school meals compared to those who are not however not as much as there was as more children are on free school meals.
Research from gov.uk (2023) shows that there where 1.6 million infant pupils on free school meals and almost 1.3 million of those are not normally eligible however through the criterial and the Universal Infant FSM policy they were eligible. The policy provides funding for all government funded schools to offer free school meals to pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2
The wellbeing and happiness of school students
Within the EYFS I would say that the children enjoy going to school to see their friends and gain more social interactions.
I believe the point about the children not enjoying school becasue they are the most tested in the world is still a valid point in current times especially for those within the higher years. Even though the the year 2 Sats is no longer a statutory requirement there are still lots of requirements and early learning goals that children are expected to meet and these are constantly assessed to see if the child is making the correct progress within each of them. As there is so many pieces of criteria for the children to meet I belive sometimes the 'unique child' is forgotten as practitioners are under so much pressure to deliver the knowledge to meet targets. This means that the children have less time to explore things for themselves.
I think there is a big emphasis now on practitioners forming positive relationships with the children in their setting so the children feel comfortable and confident to be themselves in the setting. Its also done so the children know that they can talk to the teacher about how they are feeling and they can trust them as they know they are there to help.
There is increasing pressure on school children to meet criteria set out by the government which is likely to have a negative effect on their wellbeing and overall happiness about going to school. If they see that a child around them is meeting the criteria fine but they are struggling with it then they may not like going to school as they may feel like a failure.
Spending per pupils across different types of schools (including the private sector)
The private schools are still getting more funding and still considered higher in the hierarchy which leaves public/state schools at the bottom and therefore getting less funding.
I have been in public education settings where it gets to the end of the year and becasue of the lack of funding they are unable to by basic resources such as writing books, glue sticks, reading books and whiteboard pens which are all resources that are needed to expand the Childs knowledge and understanding further. This meant that the children where having to write on scrap pieces of paper, they were limited in the expressive arts and design that they did as they could not glue materials and they were reading the same book over and over as there where no alternatives to read.
In 2024-25 every mainstream primary school will get at least £4,655 per pupil.
There are still inequalities when it comes to school types as the amount a private school gets per person is considerably more than what a public school gets per child.
Levels of segregation and polarisation between schools and within them
Children within the EYFS from what I have experienced are still split into ability groups within the taught subject sessions. This means that the children who are believed to be high achievers are grouped together and then the 'low achievers' are grouped together however the children in the lower groups get a sense of failure which then affects their overall feeling of school.
The increased hierarchy of school provision results in a growth of class and race segregation.
Within the EYFS currently there is more of a social mix however it is still very limited. I believe this is based on the area that the school is in as a school that is located in a poorer area is likely to have children in a lower social class. If a school is located in the middle of a poorer and average area then there is likely to have more of a social mix of lower and middle class.
The degree to which children have access to a broad and balanced curriculum.
The constant assessment is still very much apparent within the EYFS as the children are assessed at the end of reception to see if they have met their early learning goals however this is an ongoing process within the EYFS. This affects the children as they may feel pressure from the practitioners to do well and meet the criteria at the average pace in order to help their schools raise their league table position.
The curriculum that is taught in the EYFS stage in poorer parts of Britain is different to what is taught in wealthier Britain and I believe this is down to the resources that they have available. This means that schools in a poorer part of Britain have access to less resources to and therefore are limited to the parts of the curriculum that they can teach. Whereas wealthier parts are likely to have access to more resources so can therefore cover more aspects of the curriculum.
Teachers levels of satisfaction and professional autonomy
The work load for teachers within the EYFS is a lot and if a child does not meet the criteria then it is the teacher who will be questioned about this and the school as well as parents will blame the teacher. This increasing pressure does not benefit the teachers own mental health and for some it becomes to much that they need to leave the profession.
Teachers still feel stressed as they have so much criteria to meet in a short space of time and if a child falls behind in a certain aspect then they get the blame for it.
There is also pressure from the parents as they just want the best for their child however the teacher could have 30 other children in their class who all require the equal amount of attention and support so their individuals needs are met.