by Sarah Meyer
Every school morning was the same. Tears at breakfast, tummy aches, headaches. Uncomfortable seams on socks, shoes not right. And this was following an evening of the same, and nights often with a small person in our bed. Getting to school was a constant chivvying of “Hurry up”, “We’re going to be late”, knowing that there would then be 10 to 15 minutes of playing hide-and-seek before three of us would find a way to encourage her in. Conversations on the way home would be about time spent in ‘the pod’, with the SENCO or doing jobs out of the classroom for the teacher. Ear defenders were often required in assemblies and in class. This was after the explosion, the running, screaming sometimes into a busy road full of school run traffic.
This was my daughter in Reception and the first term of Year 1 in England.
A big decision
Deciding to move back north of the border, where we had briefly lived when our eldest was born, was a big decision. Moving our ten-year-old, who only had 18 months left at primary and our six-year-old away from family and friends could have gone disastrously wrong, but we knew the area well and already had a good community of friends and acquaintances. We had many reasons for the move; leaving a city with rising crime rates, being able to afford to buy a house and my postgraduate university choice. But two of the largest driving forces for me were opportunities for my children to play freely and safely with little or no adult input, and the education system in Scotland.
As well as a parent and soon-to-be postgraduate student, I am also a Pupil Support Assistant in the local primary school and have several years’ experience as a Teaching Assistant in England. I know the education system in Scotland has its issues, but England has more than its fair share too. It may not be Finland but there is a nod to a Scandinavian approach in there with more play, particularly in the earlier years. We viewed several schools of different sizes and were taken aback (in a pleasant way) by the amount of movement and discussion in classrooms and we were assured that play opportunities were plentiful.
Of course we had some concerns. Some schools were open plan and I wondered how our youngest would cope with the noise levels. I also kept reading online about the “failing education system”, “children being left to roam free and leave school without being able to read and write” and other similarly terrifying articles. However, over several years in education in England I read exactly the same types of articles and whilst there are, of course. some children who leave without basic skills in both countries, I know that there are often other factors involved and that the majority do just fine.
From city to village …
On moving we were offered a place at the local village primary school. Going from 60 pupils per year group to 60 in the entire school was a (pleasant) shock. I wondered how, with only three composite classes, the teachers managed to cover all the material for up to three year groups. In England our classes were bigger and, even with the wide range of abilities in one year group, lessons were often not completed due to the amount of content that had to be squeezed in.
So far, we haven’t had any need for concern. Our daughters are working at their own level, the P2 teacher has observed that our youngest daughter needs more play and movement than some of the other P2 pupils and so she is given that, in a day where there is far more play and opportunities to be creative than there were in England. Our P6 is feeling challenged by the work given to her but is no longer having panic attacks and anxiety over the test they were given at seemingly regular intervals throughout the year in England.
Why we think Scotland is better than England
Every day, both our children come home having had the opportunity to be creative, whether that is through art, drama or outdoor play. PE features twice a week, rather than once and even P6 have outdoor play sessions as part of the curriculum. This doesn’t just happen at our small village school either but in the larger two- and three-form primary schools I have worked in since moving.
For us, mornings are still a bit hectic, our youngest still struggles with transitions. But we now rarely have to cajole and beg her out of the door. We still have some hurry ups on our morning walk and some coke-bottle effect after school, but we also have excitement about what has been done during the day, even sometimes from our tween, and school days are spent in class, no ear defenders required.
Learning about Michelangelo by painting on the underneath of the tables … learning French through producing The Three Little Pigs to the tune of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face … making papier mâché planets, and lots and lots of multi-age group play … pretend lunchtime weddings that involve the whole school seems to be a regular favourite. Our only regret about moving to Scotland is that we did not do it sooner!
Making it even better
This leads in nicely to why I have recently signed the Upstart Scotland petition for a kindergarten stage. Of the 193 countries officially recognised by the UN, there are more countries around the world that start formal schooling at seven years old (33) than start at five years old (23) and 137 that start at six years old.
This is something I feel really strongly about. Research shows that a child’s prefrontal cortex is not developed enough to deal with the demands of school until six years old. The majority of studies also show that early academic ability does not offer any benefit later in life and many studies even find that early academics correlate with poorer performance at 15 years old.
Finally, there are many arguments for early schooling for social development, reducing inequalities in children of differing socio-economic status and for safeguarding reasons. I agree that this is all really important (although I also agree that not all children need to be in a school setting as home education is the right setting for some children).
This is why Upstart Scotland ‘s call for a kindergarten stage is so important. They (and I) have looked at the countries that start school later and have acknowledged the quality of early years opportunities. We are not saying all children should be at home until six or seven years old, but that they should be in developmentally age-appropriate settings and most importantly they should be playing.
So please support the campaign and sign the petition for children to have a better and more age-appropriate start to school!