Formal Education To Commence From The Age of Six!

A recent and thorough investigation of the education system in England and Wales concluded that it was believed to be more prudent for children to officially enter formal education from the age of six years; instead of the age of 5 as it stands at the moment.

This would actually bring things more in-line with the rest of most Western European countries and is not quite as big a ‘shocker’ as you may think at first.

It is widely believed that children are able to gain far more knowledge through the enjoyment of playing at this age and that it is extremely difficult and even counter-productive for children to be taught in a formal classroom, so young.

Indeed, some countries, more especially around the Baltic states and in Eastern Europe, see their children introduced to the system from the age of 7 and there are no statistics that are able to attest to the fact that this is of a detriment to the children concerned.

At the age of 5, it is fair to state that children only really want to play; after all, they are still very young at this age. However, there are others that would argue that it is best to have children learning how to behave in a more formal environment as early as possible, therefore, for my part, I am on the fence over this issue.

Perhaps, given the huge overhaul and expense that would be incurred to move the age limit to six years of age, it may well be wise to just keep things as they are. If it is known that play encourages children’s knowledge at this age, why not just incorporate this into the curriculum more - therefore problem solved and fuss over!