Teach Reception children how to grip a pencil, says Ofsted
Children in Reception class in England should be taught how to grip a pencil properly and how to sit correctly at a table, says the watchdog Ofsted.
Inspectors say a third of five-year-olds do not have the essential knowledge and understanding they need following their first year at school.
They say the picture for children from poorer homes is worse, with nearly half failing to gain necessary skills.
Heads said the good work of early years professionals should not be undermined.
Ofsted says primary-school teachers should be reading lots of stories, poems and rhymes out loud to children.
It says encouraging them to join in and learn them by heart introduces them to new vocabulary, language structures and ideas.
Providing children with the right reading books to practise what they have been taught in their phonics lessons will make sure they master the alphabetic code so they can read by themselves.
Reading should be the focus in the Reception year and reading “was at the heart of the curriculum” in successful schools.
Read the full article on the BBC.