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Raise the age of compulsory education in England to Six & reform Early Education

Submitted by Zara Kadir on Wednesday 21st May 2025

Published on Friday 6th June 2025

Current status: Closed

Closed: Saturday 6th December 2025

Signatures: 778

Relevant Departments

Tagged with

Child ~ Children ~ Children in England ~ Compulsory ~ CORE ~ Driving ~ Early Years ~ Education ~ England ~ Face ~ learning ~ mentalhealth ~ Raise ~ Reform ~ Self-esteem ~ system ~ Teachers ~ Theory ~ training ~ Wellbeing ~ Years

Petition Action

Raise the age of compulsory education in England to Six & reform Early Education

Petition Details

We urge the Government to raise the age of compulsory education in England to six, and reform early years education by prioritising play-based, developmentally appropriate learning, and requiring teacher training courses to include core modules on child development and attachment theory.

Additional Information

We believe children in England start school too early, often before they’re developmentally ready, which we believe harms mental health and self-esteem. We feel many teachers, often without training in child development, face unrealistic expectations—impacting their own wellbeing and driving many to leave the profession. We believe countries with later school starting ages and play-based learning see better outcomes for children and teachers. We believe we need a system that supports both.


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