eprintid: 10082971 rev_number: 18 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/08/29/71 datestamp: 2019-10-15 12:49:39 lastmod: 2021-09-26 22:43:53 status_changed: 2019-10-15 12:49:39 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Roberts-Holmes, G title: School readiness, governance and early years ability grouping ispublished: inpress divisions: UCL divisions: B16 divisions: B14 divisions: J82 keywords: School readiness, governance, ability grouping note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: Compliance to government-prescribed national ‘school-readiness’ performance measures, particularly in early numeracy and literacy, readies and governs early years children for primary schools’ test-based culture. Performance measures, such as the Early Learning Goals and the Phonics Screening Check, govern and steer early years teachers towards inappropriate ability-grouping practices to obtain required outputs and results. This research draws on the findings of an English nationwide survey of early years and primary Key Stage 1 teachers (n = 1373), four focus groups and four case study schools with 12 in-depth interviews. Early years teachers’ attempts to meet nationally imposed school-readiness performance measures are analysed as Foucauldian governance. Finally, the article examines ability-labelling and ability-grouping impacts on children’s well-being and aspirations. date: 2019-07-22 date_type: published official_url: https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949119863128 oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1682825 doi: 10.1177/1463949119863128 lyricists_name: Roberts-Holmes, Guy lyricists_id: GPROB76 actors_name: Roberts-Holmes, Guy actors_id: GPROB76 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood issn: 1463-9491 citation: Roberts-Holmes, G; (2019) School readiness, governance and early years ability grouping. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 10.1177/1463949119863128 <https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949119863128>. (In press). Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10082971/1/School%20readiness%2C%20governance%20and%20ability%20grouping.pdf