Children under seven years of age

For all children, health and well-being must be the first priority as schools are gradually reopened.

This is particularly important for those in CfE's Early Level, for whom secure attachment and plenty of opportunities for self-directed play (as often as possible outdoors) are essential for long-term health and well-being. This will be even more important after the traumatic events of recent months.

It will be very difficult indeed for this age group to abide by rules for social distancing. We know that Early Years practitioners and P1/2 teachers are very worried about this. Therefore we suggest:

1) Children whose parents wish to continue home learning are not required to return to school until the coronavirus crisis is over.

2) Part-time attendance for the remaining children, to keep numbers down.

3) The nursery expansion planned for summer 2020 is delayed so that four-year-old children can return to their familiar nursery setting for a further year (see https://www.upstart.scot/managing-the-return-to-schoolnursery-for-the-under-sevens/)

4) Provision for children in P1 and P2 is firmly based on the guidance described in Education Scotland's recent document 'Realising the Ambition: Being Me'. This will involve ensuring plenty of access to the outdoors for children in these classes. It will also involve ensuring that all local authority and senior management staff are fully aware of the contents of the document and the developmental reasons that underpin the guidance.

5) The P1 Scottish National Standardised Assessments are (at least temporarily) suspended so that teachers can concentrate on the principles of 'Realising the Ambition: Being Me'.

During Early Level there are many reasons for focusing on children's health, well-being and developmental needs rather than those for 'academic targets' such as those for literacy and numeracy, including:

1) HWB and healthy all-round development underpin all children's success throughout their school careers and beyond. As pointed out in UNCRC General Comment 7, during the early years (0-8), the role of care and education is to create strong foundations for children's future progress. If we get things wrong at the beginning of the educational process, it will have lifelong implications. See, for instance, the growing literature on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the science of play.

2) Since children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to have experienced ACEs and missed out on outdoor play experiences, they need the best possible care and education during Early Level. This would be far more likely to help close the poverty-related attainment gap than an attempt to accelerate their progress in the 3Rs.