Thread by @suzannezeedyk

This morn's news carries lots of coverage of @Ofstednews new Briefing Report on t impact of t pandemic on children in t Early Years. I thought I wd bring some context & critique to it, starting with this poorly chosen photo frm @EveningStandard. A THREAD standard.co.uk/news/uk/ofsted…

2. See that photo of a letter board used in the @EveningStandard? Its NOTHING to do w/ early years. STOP winding parents up & making them anxious about their young children's ability to write letters & numbers. That capacity is NOT important in the Early Years.

3. The @thetimes is worse. "Childrn struggling to write &communicate". What?? For yng childrn, these are totally separate things. STOP winding parents up w/ fear. I'm not saying we don't hv lots to worry abt. I'm saying: Let's worry abt t right things.
thetimes.co.uk/article/childr…

4. This quote frm @EveningStandard ? "Childrn turning 2 will hv been surrounded by adults wearng masks for their whole lives." That's NOT TRUE. Those babies hv been at home most of t time.Parents don't wear masks at home.
I'm not trying to criticise. I'm tryng to get us to THINK.

5. The @guardian choice of headline & photo is better. Why? Because it implies something about emotional experience, about relationships, about anxiety. Which all lie at the heart of how young children develop, including during a pandemic.
theguardian.com/society/2022/a…

6. "Basic parenting things are more important than delaying their entrance to school," said Spielman.
What if that's not true? Let's THINK. What if 'delaying' the start to formal educ wd help thousands of children whose biology has been altered by the anxiety of the pandemic?

7. What if parents can't do this? What if parents are terrified by a cost of living rise, hungry because they are giving their food to their children, guilty because they can't afford a coat against the cold in the house? STOP pretending parents have limitless capacities.

8. "Schools are well-prepared to deal w/ childrn at a range of developmental levels." What if that's not actually true? What if teachers are overwhelmd by Covid rates? What if childrn w/ 'special needs' are frequently punished, excluded, sent to isolation booths for behaviour?

9. What if we don't pay enough attn to childrn's anxieties, because our culture focuses on 'behaviour' & our systems focus on 'skills'? What if some as basic as morn drop off has potential to boost anxiety levels and we aren't thinking about that? daynurseries.co.uk/news/article.c…

10. "[We've] seen lots of good work across early years, school &further educ - closing gaps in knowldge & skills." What? These categories are NOT EQUIVALENT. Young childrn don't need knowldge & skills. Their needs are biological. They need TRUST & emotional regulatory capacities.

11. I much prefer to talk abt these things in a room, together w/ an audience, than on Twitter. They are unnerving to consider. It is scary to think that doing ordinary cultural things cd undermine childrn's developmnt. But that is perfectly possible. That is why I keep talking.

12. I'm not the only one who is worried about what happens if we get this 'stage' of the recovery 'wrong'. Here's @SollyKathryn this morning: "Children can't 'go faster' in their development. They are where they are."

https://twitter.com/SollyKathryn/status/1510879902660276224?s=20&t=okh2CBfPHkZehXQ7TDMjuw

13. Here's @chezlabeille. She is rightly worried abt @Ofstednews focus on tying shoelaces & writing. If our culture (or our educ system) tells itself that this is what matters for young childrn,we warp their developmnt. We undercut their ability to THRIVE.

https://twitter.com/chezlabeille/status/1510873748953571328?s=20&t=okh2CBfPHkZehXQ7TDMjuw

14. Here's @DrSue22 . She's celebrating t emphasis on physical & outdoor experience, but she is RIGHTLY worried that t emphasis on academic skills will mislead the public on what young children need.
Children harmed by a pandemic need informed adults.

https://twitter.com/DrSue22/status/1510882035560235014?s=20&t=okh2CBfPHkZehXQ7TDMjuw

15. Here's an analysis I did of t new EY Statutory Framework ( England) as of Sep2021. It misunderstnds yng childrn's biological need for relatnshps. It misrepresents self-regulation. Such gaps are dangerous. That's why I talked abt it at @hackneycouncil & @Brent_Council events.

16. Here's a study I often talk about. It shows the LIFELONG impact of what we offer children in the early years. "The bottom line? We need to do more than teach kids information. We need to invest in [helping them] handle t things they feel inside." upworthy.com/researchers-st…

17. Our children were changed by the pandemic. That's because the world changed. If we can MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE NOW, that would be the best thing we could give them. Anxious adults who are trying to 'fix' children make things worse. We need #curiosity. They need #play.

18. Our culture hasn't always done a great job of understandng young childrn's emotional needs. That's why I've gone back to readng Bowlby, to see how he put it whn he was trying to bring new discoveries to t attn of t public &professionals alike. What does he say? RELATIONSHIPS.

19. I believe everyone deserves to know about this 'stuff'. ESPECIALLY PARENTS. The truth is that systems are not always good at meeting the needs of individual children & families. That's why I recently wrote this piece for @MINDinMIND_iv . mindinmind.org.uk/thought-pieces…

20. Who did I quote in that piece? James Robertson, who Bowlby talks about on pg 2 of his book. Robertson's comments just as applicable in 2022 as they were in 1970: "Although there is everywhere goodwill toward children, adults' awareness of children's misery is often dulled."

21/end. We best serve our youngest children if right now we pay more attention to their feelings (what Robertson calls their 'misery') than to their skills.
I don't know what else to do but keep talking, in the hope it boosts the courage to think deeply.
Thank you for reading.

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