Clegg criticises government targets on visit to Chelmsford

11.14.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 22nd Oct 2008

Stephen Robinson & Nick Clegg helping pupils to make bread on their visit to Tanglewood nursery school

Government plans to test children as young as three years old have been criticised by Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg MP. He was visiting Tanglewood nursery school in Chelmsford with local Lib Dem candidate Stephen Robinson.

Research recently uncovered by the Liberal Democrats found that forcing children as young as three to write simple sentences and use punctuation has little effect on literacy skills in later life.

Nick Clegg condemned the new early years curriculum. He said: "The Government's centralised, target culture becomes more and more absurd. This new curriculum risks imposing a tick-box mentality upon pre-school teachers. The Government has even gone to the extent of burying a report showing that its approach doesn't work.

"Instead of issuing new targets and instructions from Whitehall, ministers should instead focus on driving up the quality of early years education across the country."

Stephen Robinson, Parliamentary Candidate for Chelmsford, added: "I think this is a really important issue and I'm very pleased that Nick has raised it on his visit to Chelmsford. At such a young stage in a child's development it is ridiculous to adopt this 'one size fits all' approach.

"I was absolutely delighted to take Nick to Tanglewood. Having been a parent at the school, I know it is such a fantastic place."

Related Links:

Some photos from the visit are online here.

Essex Chronicle article prior to Nick Clegg's visit.

Nick Clegg's conference report in the Essex Chronicle.