OUTSIDE in the playground at Cranham Primary School, the reception class is having fun.

Some are building with plastic bricks, others are chatting over a toy house and some are playing with balls. Lauren is practising her writing and Amie is using the abacus.

You would have seen much the same thing in any infants' school anywhere for the past 50 years or so.

And, despite anxiety - even outrage - at new Government tests for five-year-olds, it looks like fear that tiny children will be turned into exam-taking robots might well be unfounded.

In a speech to a think-tank in London, the Education Secretary Ruth Kelly last week said more children needed to reach "a good level of development" by the age of five.

But, although she made it clear toddlers would not be sitting down at desks taking formal exams, the criticism has not stopped.

Ms Kelly said: "By 2008 we want to have seen improvements across the country in children's readiness for school at age five.

"I'm acutely aware that parents don't want their toddlers sitting exams or undergoing any form of assessment. Nor do I. This will not happen.

"Instead, teachers and childcare professionals simply observe children - looking, for example, for enthusiasm for learning and good communication skills."

That is what already happens in the reception class at Cranham Primary, in Warndon, Worcester, described by the Office for Standards in Education, as "consistently good".

The two teachers, Jacqui Maycock and Margaret Gaywood, have seen new initiatives for early years learning come and go over the years and are convinced any new assessments will not result in "sleepless nights for five-year-olds" as predicted by some.

"This is an exciting time to be in education," says Mrs Maycock.

"Things have come full circle really. The guidelines issued to us means we can be more flexible than when the national curriculum first came in, when there was a certain level of pressure.

"We don't have those constraints now. If a child brings in a worm from the garden for example, we can talk about it and go for a walk.

"These days children are encouraged to think for themselves more. They investigate things, discover things for themselves and they are encouraged to give their own views. They don't just write down things we tell them."

That is not to say assessment does not take place. But it is far from the 'five-year-olds taking exams' scenario predicted by some.

Teachers go round with clipboards assessing the children subtly. If the boys in the spaceship can do the countdown from 10 to lift-off, they know their numeracy is up to scratch.

When the girls playing with the toy house discuss animatedly what goes where, then their social interaction is on track.

"They don't know they are being tested because it's an ongoing assessment from day one," says Mrs Gaywood.

Schools have data on individual children coming out their ears these days. Impressive graphs track pupils' progress right through from reception year until secondary school and beyond. Headteachers can see exactly how children have developed and what grades they are expected to attain.

The higher targets for five-year-olds, part of the Government's Childcare Bill, include making sure they know writing styles differ for such activities as party invitations and letters to Father Christmas.

But Mrs Maycock warns targets are not the be-all and end-all of everything.

"Each child is so different," she says. "We build on every step they make."

However, Margaret Morrissey, of the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, says that the planned programme of assessment just adds unnecessary pressure.

"This is a terrible thing to do," she says. "It will be extremely stressful for young children and result in sleepless nights and bed-wetting for many youngsters."

But, at Cranham at least, these fears seem unfounded.

It is a sunny afternoon and, with the classroom ready to be repainted, the 30-odd five-year-olds are outside playing and learning by doing.

One little girl has discovered four shells in the earth and brings them to show Mrs Gaywood.

"Look I've found four of these," she says, proudly.

And her teacher knows she doesn't have to sit her down for an exam to check her ability to count.