Let boys play with toy guns, Nurseries told
By Graeme Paton, Education Editor
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml%3Bjsessionid%3DU4DEXQDDYIOU5QFIQMFCFFOAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/12/29/nguns129.xmlYoung boys should be encouraged to play with toy guns and other weapons at nursery to get them interested in education, according to Government guidance.
Nursery staff are told in official advice to resist their "natural instinct" to stop under-fives playing with weapons in games with other toddlers.
A new document issued by the Department for Children, Schools and Families said children should be encouraged to take part in play which "involves more action".
advertisementLast night teachers condemned the advice, warning that toy guns "symbolise aggression".
But ministers said education needed to be tailored towards the needs of boys to ensure they do not fall behind from a young age.
There is continuing concern over the gap in standards between boys and girls, which has failed to narrow in recent years.
Boys lag behind at every age, and a report published earlier this year warned that inability to read and write properly at primary school was fuelling an "anti-education culture" which became more pronounced as boys progressed through the system.
The new guidance aims for improvement by "creating the right conditions for boys' learning" before they start formal primary education.
Making use of boys' interests can help them become more interested in school, the document suggested.
"Sometimes practitioners find the chosen play of boys more difficult to understand and value than that of girls," it said.
"They may choose activities in which adults involve themselves least, or play that involves more action. Images and ideas gleaned from the media are common starting points in boys' play and may involve characters with special powers or weapons.
"Adults can find this type of play particularly challenging and have a natural instinct to stop it.
"This is not necessary as long as practitioners help the boys to understand and respect the rights of other children and to take responsibility for the resources and environment.
"Creating situations so that boys' interests in these forms of play can be fostered through healthy and safe risk-taking will enhance every aspect of their learning and development."
But the National Union of Teachers criticised the advice on toy guns. Steve Sinnott, the NUT general secretary, said: "The real problem with weapons is that they symbolise aggression. We do need to ensure, whether the playing is rumbustious or not, that there is a respect for your peers, however young they are.
"The trouble with weapons is that the toy gun is often accompanied by aggression."
Chris Keates, the general secretary of the NASUWT teachers' union, warned that nurseries following the guidance risked incurring the anger of parents.
"Many parents take the decision that their children won't have toy weapons," she said.
"In addition to that, I think this is a clear example of gender stereotyping."
But Beverley Hughes, the Children's Minister, defended the advice.
"The guidance simply takes a common-sense approach to the fact that many young children and, perhaps, particularly many boys, like boisterous, physical activity," she said.
