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In planning educational policy for Scotland, which of these two countries seems to provide the most effective model?

A - Finland (where formal schooling doesn’t start till children are six or seven and there are no national exams until the end of secondary school) regularly comes top in international educational surveys. They also have high levels of childhood well-being.
B - England – where formal schooling starts at four or five and children sit national exams all through their school career – doesn’t perform particularly well educationally and has shockingly low levels of childhood well-being. Mental health problems among children and young people are now spiralling out of control.

The lifestyle of Scottish children has grown increasingly sedentary over recent decades and they are now among the least active children in the world. Three-quarters of them spend less time outdoors each day than prisoners in Scottish gaols. As well as the problems this causes in terms of physical health, researchers have now linked it to long-term mental health issues. Which approach to early years education is more likely to improve the situation?

A - A Nordic-style kindergarten stage for children aged three to seven, with particular emphasis on active, outdoor play
B - ‘Schoolified’ education from the age of four or five, mostly indoors with a very early emphasis on literacy and numeracy skills.

At the age of five, there is an attainment gap between Scottish children from poor families and those from wealthy families of thirteen months in vocabulary and ten months in problem solving skills. The disadvantaged children therefore find learning to read, write and calculate more difficult than their wealthier classmates. Which of the following approaches in Primary 1 is most likely to close the poverty-related attainment gap?

A - Lots of relationship-centred, play-based learning to support all children’s overall development – physical, social, emotional, cognitive – while providing opportunities for disadvantaged children catch up in vocabulary and problem-solving skills
B - Tablet-based standardised tests of literacy and numeracy skills to collect data about children’s progress.

Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence includes an ‘Early Level’ for children between the ages of three and six, based on the type of play-based pedagogy used in educationally successful countries (see Question 1 above). However, for a variety of reasons, the Early Level has not yet been implemented in the majority of Scottish primary schools. Which of the following would be most likely to ensure effective implementation of the Early Level?

A - Requiring all teachers of children under the age of seven to have a specialist qualification in child development and play-based pedagogy
B - Introducing standardised tests of literacy and numeracy skills in Primary 1 (a policy which, wherever it has been adopted, has led to narrowing of the early years curriculum; ‘teaching to the test’; anxiety among teachers, children and parents; and increased teaching of literacy and numeracy skills in nurseries as well as primary schools).

There is currently considerable interest across Scotland in the evidence that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have adverse long-term results. In the light of this, what would be the more rational and humane course of action:

There is currently considerable interest across Scotland in the evidence that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) – such as violence, neglect and abuse – have adverse long-term results, including lower educational attainment, mid-life health issues and problems with relationships, and lower life expectancy. Several long-term studies, such as The Longevity Project and the High/Scope Perry Project have indicated that an early start on formal learning is probably an ACE.

A - Pull out all the stops to ensure that the developmentally-appropriate principles of Curriculum for Excellence’s Early Level are adopted throughout Scotland
B - Press on with national standardised testing in Primary 1

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