ABSTRACT
School readiness seems to be high on the government agenda and this is a cause for concern for many early years practitioners, trainers, researchers and parents. The issue is not that children are not ready for early education; as can be seen in the previous chapters, early childhood care and education should go hand-in-hand right from the very early years. The issue raised in this chapter is how ECCE is provided for young children that are of an age to enter the formal school system. What is appropriate provision in terms of curriculum and pedagogy for the four- and five-year-olds entering English schools? This chapter and the next will critically reflect on these. This chapter examines the perspectives of policymakers, theorists, researchers and parents; the next chapter presents the perspectives of a reception class teacher who reflects on her quality provision.
