Discuss the impact of the National Curriculum on child-centred Essay

Discuss the impact of the National Curriculum on child-centred principles and the use of play within primary education - Essay Example It was evident that a single plan was needed. In 2000, it was reported by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NLT: Early Debate, 28.1.00) that English children were falling behind Japanese children because English children started school earlier and didn’t have sufficient development of behavioral and social skills. Teachers found they were spending more time on bad behavior and less time on teaching than did their Japanese equivalents. A study of play-based learning in Nursery School has shown it to be important for preschoolers, and this type of learning might be extended to children up to 6 years old and perhaps even 7 before formal teaching takes over. This thinking was first developed by Rudolph Steiner of Austria, whose Steiner Waldorf approach was instituted in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1919, with many Steiner early years centres presently located throughout the world. The centres focus on three stages - birth to 7 years old, 7 to 14 and 14 to 21. Gareth Lewis, author and advocate of home schoolin g (2001), lists the following principles as part of the approach: The Foundation Stage became part of the English National Curriculum in October 2002, and its profile has replaced baseline testing. Updated to the Early Years Foundation Stage in November 2005, it focuses on â€Å"the distinct needs of children aged three to the end of the reception year (age 5)† (NLT: Foundation Stage, par. 2). In the U.S. there was a move in 2003 to cut playtime in order to make more time for testing. This view was not shared in the United Kingdom, however, because researchers found that â€Å"shortening school breaks undermined children’s social relationships and long-term emotional development† (NLT: elgoals: Primary Play Cut for Testing, par. 2). Controversy surrounding this issue continued through 2004 and a report by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in