Politicians are being urged to significantly raise the age at which children start school in Scotland.
A nationwide lobbying campaign will call for the introduction of a continental-style kindergarten system for children aged between three and seven.
Dozens of academics and educationalists, including one of the architects of the Scottish government’s Curriculum for Excellence, have backed the proposal. They point out that the top three western countries in global league tables — Finland, Estonia and Switzerland — all encourage infants to focus on play and begin their formal education later.
The campaign, called Upstart, will be officially launched in May.
Regional groups have already been set up in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Fife, while others in Aberdeen, the Highlands, Dumfries and Galloway and Moray are due to be set up within weeks.
Advertisement
Sue Palmer, chairwoman of Upstart, claimed that the existing starting age was a needless relic of the Victorian era.
She said: “Only 12 per cent of countries send children to school at four or five and they are all ex-members of the British Empire.
“It’s a historical accident that keeps going simply because it’s the way it has always been done.
“We are putting our children into school very young, despite all the evidence suggesting that they do better, and are healthier, if we take a more play-based approach until they are six or seven.
“It is becoming particularly urgent because of the stunning decline in children’s active and creative play over the last 20 years or so.”
Advertisement
Ms Palmer, a former teacher, author and member of the Scottish government’s early years task force, claimed Scotland’s children were being let down by a system that focused too much on formal learning.
“Increasingly children live sedentary lives and an enormous amount of their time is spent on screen-based activities,” she said.
“A recent study suggested that 91 per cent of children in the UK are not getting the required amount of activity in their everyday lives. Children’s social, emotional and physical development is the key thing you need to focus on up to the age of six or seven.
“This seems to explain why countries like Finland and Switzerland are doing so much better than other western nations in international educational results.”
Ms Palmer claimed that there was growing support for converting formal infant classrooms into play-centred kindergartens. “We are looking to make this the year where our case for change comes to the attention of the Scottish public,” she added. “We need to make our politicians see that little children need more time and space to learn through play.”
Advertisement
David Cameron, the educational consultant who sat on the board of the Curriculum for Excellence, has given his backing to the campaign.
“There is a powerful case for delaying formal schooling and adopting high quality kindergarten provision,” he said.
Other prominent supporters include John Carnochan, a former detective chief superintendent who founded the pioneering Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, and Lesley Riddoch, the author and broadcaster.
The Scottish government insisted that ministers had no plans to change the current system.
A spokesman said: “The Curriculum for Excellence is in place to provide a better and more flexible curriculum for pupils between the ages of 3 and 18, and it is important they are given every opportunity to flourish within that framework.
Advertisement
“Scottish ministers are confident that the legislation setting out the school starting age in Scotland is appropriate and there are no plans to change it.”