I was delighted to read Mary Jane Drummond’s piece ( TES, November 28) and would like to let her know that there are schools where children are entitled to a childhood - we are one.
However, the Government and education authorities have a different agenda and it is a constant battle to continue to deliver such a curriculum.
How interesting also that Libby Purves “Cheats trade in used ideas, TES, November 28) asks why so many university students buy essays from the internet. I would suggest that our whole education system is a preparation for this.
We test children at the foundation stage then again at 7,11,14, GCSE and A-level and schools are judged by these results. We do not seem as a nation to value the process of learning, only what we can test. You can now buy crammer books that start with phonics in Foundation stage!
While we send a message to parents that outcome is more important than process then children will be continue to be denied childhoods, university students will buy essays and publishers will get richer!
Lorna Walter
Headteacher
Sherwin Knight community infant school
Cedar Road, Strood, Kent
