Book excerpt: The child-centred principles of early years education - which emphasize play and holistic learning - are being challenged by the implementation of a subject-based National Curriculum. The contributors to this book explore this challenge and offer some ways of meeting it practically and productively. Issues covered include: pedagogical issues, such as the cross-curricular, topic-based teaching; teacher's attitudes to subject knowledge; assessment issues, including baseline assessment at the age of five; and parental attitudes to the National Curriculum and its content at Key Stage 1.