To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what exemptions there are for (a) Waldorf and Steiner kindergartens and (b) Montessori pre-schools from the proposed new guidelines for working with pre-school children; and what consultations his Department has held on (i) these exemptions and (ii) whether the guidelines are legally enforceable. (147946)

[holding answer 9 July 2007]: Currently all Waldorf Steiner kindergartens and Montessori pre-schools offering the free entitlement to 3 and 4-year-olds must comply with the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage. No exemptions have been sought, or granted, from the Foundation Stage.

From September 2008 the Foundation Stage will be superseded by the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) which will be a statutory requirement for all early years providers and will be legally enforceable. The Government carried out a formal public consultation between 1 March and 24 May 2007 on the circumstances under which exemptions to the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements might be granted and the process for such exemptions. I am considering the responses to the consultation exercise and the representations made by Waldorf Steiner and Montessori and expect to publish the Government's response to the consultation this month and regulations will follow in the autumn. The Early Years Foundation Stage is a very flexible set of requirements which is designed to be inclusive and compatible with the vast majority of educational philosophies.