School choice

Mainstream state or Reggio Emilia?

The difference between Mainstream state and Reggio Emilia is mostly one axis: where the curriculum comes from. Mainstream state sits toward a fixed body of knowledge, set in advance; Reggio Emilia sits firmly toward it emerges from the children. They agree, more than most people expect, on technology at school and a view of the world. Neither is the correct one. What follows is what each asks of a parent, and where the difference actually shows up on a Tuesday.

Mainstream state

A national curriculum, same-age classes, regular assessment, and an intake drawn from whoever lives nearby. It is the default rather than a philosophy, which is exactly why it belongs on this list: choosing it deliberately is a different act from ending up in it. The mixed intake is a real feature and, for many families, the main argument in its favour.

What it asks of you

  • Accepting that you get the school you get, and that teaching quality varies inside it
  • Being willing to supplement at home where the school is thin
  • Sometimes, moving house — which is how selection works in a system without fees

Reggio Emilia

There is no curriculum set in advance. Teachers watch what a group of children is drawn to, document it obsessively, and build long projects out of it — which may run for months. The environment is treated as a third teacher, expression takes a hundred forms, and the documentation on the walls is the record of the thinking rather than display work.

What it asks of you

  • Tolerating genuine uncertainty about what your child will study this term
  • A school with the staffing to do it, since the method is expensive in adult attention
  • Reading the documentation, which is where the learning is visible and is easy to walk past
  • Accepting it is an early-years approach; few Reggio schools run past six
Side by side

Where they differ

Mainstream state is the filled marker, Reggio Emilia the hollow one. Widest difference first.

L4Where the curriculum comes from
it emerges from the childrena fixed body of knowledge, set in advance

Mainstream state sits toward a fixed body of knowledge, set in advance; Reggio Emilia sits firmly toward it emerges from the children.

C2Money and distancewhat your life allows
free and local, or it is not an optionwe can pay, and we can travel

Mainstream state sits firmly toward free and local, or it is not an option; Reggio Emilia sits toward we can pay, and we can travel.

L3Measuring it
no grades, no testsgraded and tested regularly

Mainstream state sits toward graded and tested regularly; Reggio Emilia sits firmly toward no grades, no tests.

C1What the family can put inwhat your life allows
school has to run without the parentsbeing in it, daily

Mainstream state sits toward school has to run without the parents; Reggio Emilia sits toward being in it, daily.

L1Who directs the day
the child chooses what to dotimetabled, and directed by adults

Mainstream state sits toward timetabled, and directed by adults; Reggio Emilia sits toward the child chooses what to do.

L5What a teacher is
a guide who steps backan authority who instructs

Mainstream state sits toward an authority who instructs; Reggio Emilia sits toward a guide who steps back.

E1Mixed ages
classes of the same agemixed-age groups

Mainstream state sits firmly toward classes of the same age; Reggio Emilia sits between the two.

E2Outdoors and the body
learning happens at a tableoutdoors and hands-on is the point

Mainstream state sits a little toward learning happens at a table; Reggio Emilia sits toward outdoors and hands-on is the point.

V3What it is for
childhood is the pointit should set up university and a career

Mainstream state sits a little toward it should set up university and a career; Reggio Emilia sits toward childhood is the point.

L2When formal academics start
when the child is ready, and late is fineearly, and ambitiously

Mainstream state sits a little toward early, and ambitiously; Reggio Emilia sits toward when the child is ready, and late is fine.

V2Who else is there
a broad, mixed intake matters mosta community that shares our values matters most

Mainstream state sits toward a broad, mixed intake matters most; Reggio Emilia sits between the two.

Where they agree

Usually more than the argument between them suggests.

  • Technology at school. Both sit between the two.
  • A view of the world. Both sit toward school should stay neutral.

Neither of these is the correct one

Which fits depends on what you value and on what your week actually allows — and the second of those is the half nobody writes about. The questionnaire scores both.

See which one you are already doing