Ofsted want to introduce more formal teaching practices – this is a potential disaster for children’s learning
Mandy Pierlejewski, Leeds Beckett University We know that when it comes to brain development, it continues throughout most of our lives – from infancy to adulthood. But unlike other more obvious signs of growing up, many parents underestimate how much a child’s brain changes from year to year. Research shows that during early childhood, the links within the brain are busy forming – this is a time when children are learning to learn. And their brains are gradually forming connections that enable them to organise their thoughts. For children to be able to learn new information, they need to relate the new learning to previous learning. They need to develop an awareness of their own thinking and to monitor their thoughts, emotions and actions. And these capacities develop best through play. Psychologist Pam Jarvis explains this in her blog The Psychological Historian , using an analogy of trying to put clothes into a wardrobe with insufficient hangers. T...