The coming months will be crucial in setting a political ‘climate of opinion’ about early-years issues, and so we have made an exception in this case in order to inform you about some potentially highly significant developments in Parliament on issues that concern us all.
Three new Early Day Motions have recently been tabled by MPs concerned about early years issues.
An Early Day Motion (EDM) is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament for debate “on an early day” (namely, an unspecific date in the future). Very few are actually debated on the floor of the Chamber of the House. However, EDMs remain open for signature for the duration of the parliamentary session; and depending on the support they attract (in terms of MP signatories), they often help to shape parliamentary thinking on a range of issues. MPs may also ensure that the text of an EDM is printed in Hansard by mentioning it by number in questions to the Leader of the House of Commons after the Business Statement.
The idea is for as many people as possible to then contact their local MP (either by email or by post), urging him or her to sign the EDM. You can find out the contact details of your local MP by going to this link: www.findyourmp.parliament.uk
To find out how to contact your MP, see
www.parliament.uk/about/contacting/mp
These are the full details of the relevant EDMs:
EDM 1483 SAVE OUR NURSERIES CAMPAIGN 28.02.2011
Goldsmith, Zac
That this House recognises that private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers fulfil a vital role in the care and education of pre-school children; welcomes the work of the Save Our Nurseries Campaign; notes that the previous administration’s Code of Practice on the provision of free nursery education and the Early Years Single Funding Formulae developed by local authorities threaten PVI providers’ viability by imposing price controls and have forced, and will continue to force, providers to close or opt out of providing funded places, leading to a loss of funded nursery places and a two-tier pre-school system; requests the Government to revise the Code of Practice to allow flexibility to providers to continue to charge additional top-up fees to meet the shortfall between the funding of the entitlement and the actual cost of providing a place; and requires the entitlement truly to promote choice and diversity for parents to enable children to attend high quality provisions.
EDM 1484 RECOGNITION OF MONTESSORI QUALIFICATIONS 28.02.2011
Goldsmith, Zac
That this House is concerned that the Children’s Workforce Development Council proposals to reform training for workers with children aged under 5 will remove recognition from Montessori training courses provided only by practitioners qualified and experienced in that approach to children’s education; notes that continued recognition of Montessori qualifications should be given where these are taught by qualified and experienced Montessori practitioners, using recognised, accredited Montessori schools for practical training experience; and requests the Government to ensure that such provision may continue to provide over 640 Montessori schools with access to appropriately trained staff, thereby supporting parental choice and enabling children from all backgrounds to continue to achieve high educational standards.
EDM 1532 PHONICS-BASED READING TEST FOR SIX YEAR OLDS 03.03.2011
Brooke, Annette
That this House endorses the views of many early years experts in calling for a rethink on the introduction of a phonics-based reading test for all 6 year olds; believes that phonics can play a crucial part in reading but that a simplistic exclusive focus on phonics can distort children’s learning and limit the breadth of their experience; believes that reading should be enjoyable and that children need to look for meaning as they read in order to develop fluency and understanding; and further believes that young children need to have highly trained teachers with an understanding of child development and that such teachers are best placed to identify children who are not reading at an appropriate level for their age and level of development through appropriate monitoring and observation.
We hope that you will encourage your own MPs to support any EDM that helps to protect young children from inappropriate interventions and that preserves the quality and diversity of early years settings, as well as their financial sustainability.
