Let your children finish pre-school first
The Education (Update) Amendment Act 2017 which came into effect on May 19, 2017 is New Zealand’s biggest education update since 1989. The current system allows children to start primary school on their fifth birthday, and requires consistent attendance only from the age of 6. While this part of the new Act is not a compulsory edict from the Ministry of Education, it allows primary schools to choose to take new entrants from as young as 4 years 10 months.
Students at this age at our preschool – Montessori Blenheim – are still consolidating the learning they have been working on since they started as 3-year-olds. Ideally, these students will stay to complete the 3 – 6 years programme, though many families wish to enrol their children in the local primary school at age 5.
My concern is that the new option will push parents into sending their children to school before they are 5. Time and time again educational research has shown that quality, preschool education is a huge indicator of success in life. It is this age, from birth-6 years old, where development and learning is at its fastest and most influential.
Children at this age are like sponges, soaking in everything from the environment around them. To give them the best benefits, their educational environment needs to be of high quality and carefully designed to meet the specific developmental needs of this age group.
Neuroscience shows that the ability to reason and monitor behaviour as is necessary in the primary school years doesn’t develop until 6 or 7 years old. The countries with the best education results in the world don’t start school until the age of 7; in England it has been found that starting children at 4 years old has not improved their educational outcomes.
Parents will choose whether their children forgo their final months of structured preschool programmes or whether they remain in a familiar learning environment aimed at their age and developmentally appropriate level before embarking on the next stage of learning.
As a Montessori preschooler, that extra time consolidating my learning and confidence as a learner was invaluable. When I transitioned to my new primary school, I was able to assimilate into the larger classroom and approach the new learning environment with confidence.
Parents wondering about these issues should be aware that quality preschool education is one of the greatest gifts we can give to our children. Quality early childhood education will provide your pre-schooler with the essential tools they need to get the best out of their primary and subsequent education levels and the impacts on their entire lives should not be underestimated.