At the same time as testing increases and we put ever more pressure on children to achieve high academic results we see rising rates of poor mental health in young people.
At the same time as schools are being put under ever increasing pressure of accountability, the curriculum is narrowing and potential off-rolling is raising serious concerns.
At the same time as exams have got harder, funding has got tighter and SEND support has been cut, behaviour is back in the headlines and exclusion rates are up.
At the same time as workload demands on teachers have got higher, and school funding has got lower, we have a serious recruitment and retention problem.
At the same time as child poverty has risen, children are in settings longer and parents are working longer hours, Ofsted talk about a rise in toileting issues in young children.
And in a stroke of genius, at the same time as we have a developing obesity crisis in children, they promote an approach to early education in which children have to sit still. (The obesity might not be their fault, but they could at least read the NHS Guidelines.)
We could argue forever about whether these things are linked – to what extent correlation or causation might be involved – but we’re talking about children here. So the DfE needs to get busy on joining the dots.
Freeing the Angel 
Thanks – Ross Greene http://livesinthebalance.org says the demands placed on kids – outstrip their skills & stage of development – sitting still for long periods, high stakes testing . And of course , ” conditional regard ” both in school & home Kids needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness aren’t met
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