Teaching in the early years is more difficult now than at any other time as educators strive to balance best practice initiatives with the requirement from legislators to be more accountable. Early years educators endeavour to develop best innovative practices that nurture children’s holistic development. However, they are also having to contend with greater scrutiny and accountability from legislators to provide data that reports children’s progress leading to more measurable teaching practices. The dichotomy between approaches is leading to many in the early years questioning how they can reconcile their beliefs about what early education should be with the requirements to produce paperwork and evidence to meet the demands of increased reporting. This session discusses the conflict experienced between making organic progress to best early years practice against meeting the demands of legislators.
