Pupils kept out of formal schooling until the age of seven perform just as well those subjected to normal lessons at five, it was revealed. In some assessments of reading skills, those with a later start actually overtook their peers by the age of 10, figures show. Academics suggested that infants given more time to naturally develop their language skills in the early years had a better foundation when they started conventional tuition at seven. The disclosure – based on an analysis of pupils in New Zealand – will raise fresh concerns over Government reforms to pre-school education which appear to place a greater focus on the three-Rs at an increasingly early age. This includes subjecting all pupils to a new-style reading test at six to identify those lagging behind. It comes after a major US study showed that bright children actually benefited from being slowed down in the early years, suggesting that they risked growing up in an “intellectually unbalanced” way by being pushed too far, too soon. Most British schoolchildren already start classes earlier than their peers in many other European nations. Children are normally expected to be in lessons by five, although most are enrolled in reception classes aged four. But the latest study – published in the journal Early Childhood Research Quarterly – found that children who begin decoding words later than their peers can “eventually achieve equally in reading fluency”. Source: Sam Daily Times
