I VERY MUCH agree with Dr Richard House (TES, August 20). Having been a primary teacher for 11 years before moving into higher education, I have doubts about the emphasis on the assessment of young children.
Are we denying our children a childhood? Chronological age has become the arbiter for achievement yet developmental age is a reality and emotion, physical and intellectual growth do not run parallel. While one is developing, others are waiting their turn. The academic seven-year-old failure of today might be tomorrow’s genius.
Everything must be written down by the child and recorded by the teacher, and all at the tender age of seven. The result is anxious parents and anxious children.
All that appears to be important is academic success: moral standards do not appear to feature in these so-called accomplishments.
Dr Pat Bidmead
Coton Road, Nuneaton
