Plans to teach toddlers 'fundamental British values'

Under new proposals announced by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, councils are to be given new powers to stop funding for early years providers with links to extremist views.

Pre-school children will be given "age-appropriate" education on issues such as learning right from wrong, taking turns, sharing, and challenging negative attitudes and stereotypes.

Ofsted will inspect early years providers on the promotion of these fundamental British values and funding will be withheld from establishments that teach creationism as scientific fact, as well as those that have links to extremist views.

The move is part of a drive to protect children from religious radicals and comes in the aftermath of the alleged "Trojan Horse" plot by hardline Muslims to take over state schools in Birmingham.

One report into the scandal by former counter-terrorism chief at the Metropolitan Police Peter Clarke concluded there was a "co-ordinated" campaign by extremists to force out head teachers and impose an "aggressive Islamic ethos" on pupils.

Then Education Secretary Michael Gove announced that schools will be required to ''actively promote'' British values such as democracy, tolerance, mutual respect, the rule of law and individual liberty, after Ofsted confirmed that five Birmingham schools had been placed into special measures following inspections as part of investigations into the ''Trojan Horse'' allegations Announcing the latest measures Mrs Morgan who replaced Mr Gove in last month's Cabinet reshuffle, said one of the most important roles of the education system was to prepare young people for life in modern Britain.

"I am clear that public money should not be used to support any school or early years provider that does not support this aim because it seeks to promote ideas and teachings that run counter to fundamental British values," she said.

"There can be no place for extremist views anywhere in the education system. The changes we are making today will ensure that all early years providers and schools are aligned with the need to protect children from views that are considered extreme."

But Liz Bayram, chief executive of childcare association PACEY said most nurseries and childminders are already teaching young children important values like respect and tolerance, which are required as part of the early years curriculum.

"I can understand, when you look at the consultation, giving additional powers that help local authorities to remove funding from bodies that are promoting extremism, that's a reasonable thing to do.

"But proposals to change the early years foundation stage (EYFS) are of concern as Government is not recognising what the early years curriculum already requires nurseries and childminders to do, things like teaching children to take turns and challenge negative attitudes."

She added: "We also need to be realistic about what's age appropriate for young children. Mutual respect and tolerance are already in the EYFS but democracy, law and individual liberty are very challenging concepts for under fives.

"What does Government really mean? Childcare providers already set boundaries and help children to know right from wrong. It's a lot to ask of any setting to now teach democracy and law."

Ms Bayram said: "If inspectors are going into settings and looking for how they are delivering the EYFS, my assumption would be they would identify if this is not being done effectively. Ofsted can already tackle these concerns by judging a setting as requiring improvement. What more is needed? Let's focus on how inspectors are already making these judgments in settings every day.

"The vast majority of settings are doing a really good job and no evidence of extremism has been found. This is a big reaction to an issue that may not even be there and could be tackled by what's already in place."

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-School Learning Alliance, said that the alliance supported the spirit of the Government's plan, as it promotes the "fundamental principle" that a child's understanding of the world should not be restricted by a particular view or ideology.

"The Government has defined key British values as individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faith and beliefs. We believe that banning or discouraging particular viewpoints would not be a helpful way of facilitating the development of these values.

"In addition, for many of us, 'British values' is still difficult to define and often subjective so we cannot see how stipulating 'British values' or the state of 'Britishness' adds anything that could ever be meaningful to the experiences of young children who make sense of their world through 'opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places technology and the environment' (EYFS 2014).

"Practitioners are likely to struggle to think of anything that 'needs' to be taught to young children to achieve British values specifically - their focus will always be on providing a rich and positive experience in all areas. Life values are more important to develop for a two year old, not a limited view of culture and life."