Infant Education in England

England has decided to spend over $1.2 billion on an education program for babies from birth to 3 years (Read The Story). Aparently the English, like Rob Riener in California ( search ), think that babies shouldn't be allowed to just simpy be babies. They must have government funded education programs. Is this incredible or what?

Here is an excerpt of a London Times article on the subject:

They will be taught mathematics, reading and writing, according to Beverley Hughes, the Children’s Minister. She argued that research showed that earlier education helped children to develop faster both socially and intellectually.

But parents will not be guaranteed childcare under the Bill, despite government promises of a universal service. Instead, local authorities will have a legal duty to provide childcare facilities for working parents only where it is “reasonably practicable”.

"Ms Hughes said yesterday that the Bill was a bold move, adding that it would provide a “coherent framework that defines progression for young children from nought to five”."

Ms Hughes said: “It is a truly radical Bill enshrining in law the duty of local authorities to reduce inequalities amongst the youngest children and improve outcomes for all... “It brings, for the first time, the provision of integrated early years education and care into the mainstream of the modern welfare state.”

Read the London Times article.

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