As our nursery children complete their final days at nursery and prepare themselves for primary school – this is a thought provoking article by David Whitbread, Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Education at Cambridge University http://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-at-what-age-are-children-ready-for-school-29005.
David questions whether an earlier start of formal education, and the government introduction of tests for four-year-olds is really the right way forward? Or is this further eroding the power of play to help children learn?
He suggests that a range of studies, including his own, “have consistently demonstrated the superior learning and motivation arising from playful as opposed to instructional approaches to learning in children”
In his article David cites a 2004 longitudinal study of 3,000 children funded by the department of education itself, which showed that "an extended period of high-quality, play-based pre-school education made a significant difference to academic learning and well-being through the primary school years” http://www.ioe.ac.uk/RB_Final_Report_3-7.pdf
Certainly, in my own experience as a paediatric physiotherapist going into schools, I was always struck by the huge difference in both physical and emotional development between those children who had summer birthdays, compared with those who had autumn birthdays and who were, consequently, almost one year younger.
As a paediatric physiotherapist I learn about two fundamental physical processes or 'mechanisms' which are refined through meaningful movement or play. This processes chnage over our lifetimes but do not largely mature until the age of seven i.e.
1. The body’s postural control mechanism. This process helps us to position ourselves safely and securely up against gravity to do things i.e. to sit on a chair comfortably, with minimum effort, so we can efficiently look up at a whiteboard and then down at our paper.
Previously it was thought that this process happened ‘automatically, needing no conscious thought, but more recent research is showing that the process of maintaining or regaining stability does require conscious attention.
A 2008 study by physiotherapists http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2586927/ nicely highlights the impact of the postural control system on a child’s ability to attend to and complete an cognitive task. The authors of the study conclude by suggesting that:
“the results of this study support the need for educators to include in the curriculum for children at 4–6 years of age a program of perceptual-motor activities (activities which involve movement and the processing of sensory information i.e. jumping as frogs along a line of floor spots or play!!) that emphasizes the development of postural control. The more automatic the postural control, the less attentional resources are required for postural control tasks and therefore the more attentional resources should be available for cognitive processing.”
2. The process of sensory integration. This is the neurological process that organises the sensations we experience from our body and the environment so that we can move and do and do all the things we need to do efficiently and effectively.
This process of sensory integration develops in the course of ordinary childhood activities i.e. play. It drives our development and encourages us to explore and learn (L. Hardy 2011 http://www.autism.org.uk/conferences/sensory2011)
Crucially, sensory integration helps us sift out unwanted sensory information so we can concentrate on the task we wish to do i.e. We can ‘sift out’ the noise of the plane outside or the brightness of the mobile hanging from the classroom ceiling to draw a picture of what we did at the weekend.
I would suggest that both these systems need to be ‘well on their way’ before a child is asked to sit down for longer periods and formally learn. Meaningful play is the ideal way to refine these mechanisms and help them to mature.
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| Meaningful play in a Tatty Bumpkin class |
Find out about your local Baby or Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class Our qualified Baby Bumpkin Teachers are fully trained in aspects of baby development and Children's Yoga and are kept fully up-to-date by our professional team of paediatric physiotherapists, Yoga teachers and musicians.
Or, maybe, you are thinking of a new career, which gives you:
- The opportunity to work with kids
- A great sense of job satisfaction and
- Flexible working to fit around your own family?
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