Guest Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hi It has been suggested that i should do an Audit of my environment using Ecers. I just wondered if anyone else has done this, i have been on Amazon and there are loads of books linked to this. Just wondering whether it is worth purchasing one as i have never done anything with Ecers before....................Wondered if anyone had some advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gezabel Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Me too! I was looking on amazon earlier today and was debating over the 'yellow book' version or the extensions one. I couldn't see when they were published and don't know whether I need one, both or neither! I would love to know the most recent version and whether it is a case of buy the book and do it yourself and I have a feeling Happymaz may have the answers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I have also been looking at them and i just don't know which one to get, i too was wondering about the yellow one.... be interested to hear what others have to say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mps09 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) Um - not sure why as they can be purchased on Amazon..... but our Early Years Advisory Teacher gave us one the first time we used it, we certainly didn't pay for it! we are a committee-run pre-school #They are really good to do - helps you focus on good, and not so good, parts of practice and provision. But would be worth asking EYAT first! quick edit to say that our EYAT actually came in and did the first audit with us - which was very useful! Edited February 20, 2011 by mps09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 http://www.ecersuk.org/resources/EYFS_ECERS+TCmap_Ap09.pdf http://www.ecersuk.org/index.html Have you visited this website? Might be of use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I'm a real ECERS advocate. The book you need depends on your settin:- ECERS for over threes ITERS for under threes FCCERS for children in childminding settings SACERS for children in after school club settings I'd say go for it - once you understand how the scales work and what each scale point looks like in practice it can provide a really good way of auditing your environment to draw up an action plan. Mrs Ofsted loved mine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mundia Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I have to say Im not personally a big fan of ECERS, although I am trained to use it. We use mostly ECERS R and E, and so spend a whole day in settings. We use ITERS in our baby rooms, and our family services use FFCERS. The ECERS R is more about the environment and looks heavily into resources, daily routines etc, whereas the ECERS E is more curriculum based around literacy numeracy and science, although there is also a diversity scale which I have used independently of the others. I know there are many settings which use some scales themselves, but its one of those tools, where an objective view is probably more beneficial, especially if you are unfamiliar with it.. bare in mind the training to do this takes a full week! There is a Uk addendum, as the original ECERS is American. I know there are many members who do like ECERS, it isn't for me, so Id be tempted to say 'do your homework' before you decide to launch into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 mundia makes a good point here - the five day training is quite exhaustive, and the objective view can be hard to achieve when you're auditing your own setting. Unless you're me of course, when I was far stricter on my own setting! There's a national conference in June this year where the authors of the scales will be leading workshops etc in conjunction with the company who provide the training and have been involved in drawing up the UK addendum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gezabel Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Maybe this is a silly question but here goes! I understand ECERS R relates to environment/ resources etc and that ECERS E is more curriculum relevant but do these two books have 'more' than in the yellow book just called ECERS? I almost bought the yellow one on amazon but it then came up saying other people who bought it also bought the R and E versions. Are all three necessary?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gezabel Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 OK so another trip to amazon and i see the yellow book is ECERS R and titled Early childhood environment rating scales with new copies available for £14 ECERS E is available for £16 and described as being a curricular extension to ECERS but then there is one called Assessing quality in the Early YEars:Early Childhood ENvironment rating scales by Kathy Sylva et al and used copies available from £64 so if i want to give it a go what shall i buy? Preschool setting 2 -5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 When we did our training we were told by A+ Education that they start off auditing settings using ECERS-R, and once the setting is confident that they are working well to those scales, and have identified and actioned all their areas for improvement they then move onto the ECERS-E. Depending on the kind of group you're in there may well be things in the ECERS-R that you are just not able to achieve - for example we as a packaway setting can't offer a dedicated staff room, or an office and so will never score the maximum for that scale point. What I like about ECERS is that the scale descriptions are there for all to see, so when you go into audit a group they know exactly what you are looking for for each scale point. Although that said, it can still be unnerving for practitioners when you start rooting around in drawers and cupboards to look for evidence of the range and quality of resources on offer but not available to children that day! So I'd advise starting off with the ECERS-R and seeing what you think. There is no need to buy all the publications, in my opinion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mundia Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 The 'assessing quality blah blah' is the ECERS E which has now been updated if you decide to buy this, go for the 2010 version. Otherwise its the yellow book you need to begin with. When we audit we generally do both ECERS R and E, is 2 different sessions, but there are times when we do just one. Im not keen on the notion of measuring quality on how many books or cushions you've got or what type of blocks you use, whether you have a chair for every child, and how many sand trays you have. Im much keener of how people use what they have got rather than having fantastic resources, but plenty of resources will always score more highly overall, and sadly I have seen some fantastically resources places where interactions with children are poor. So Id say use with appropriate caution, especially if you are planning on making comparisons with other settings. I think it is probably a good resource if you're starting out with a new setting and t gives an idea of how you could resource it, and it might help if you have a particular area you feel isn't well resourced. But it doesn't tick my box as the measure of quality. Maz I think some of our team are going to the conference, are you going? Good luck wit it, whatever you decide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gezabel Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Thanks as always for helpful advice I have ordered the yellow book! I might be back saying 'hellllp' once it arrives and I have had a read. I like your point Mundia about provision being more than resources. I visited the most superb purpose built setting once and they had 'no expense spared' resources but sadly the 'atmosphere' was sadly lacking and I would have sent my child to a poor equipped setting with great staff rather then the all singing and dancing setting. I 'pulled our practice apart' when doing the SEF but just wanted something more specific to kind of guide my reflection on practice and am hoping the ECERS might fit the bill, we have been unable to find a QA scheme that we considered worth doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Maz I think some of our team are going to the conference, are you going? Yes, I am - using some of our GLF to pay for me and my deputy to go, with half an eye on our futures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mundia Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Gezabel, my tool of preference is EEL, for me it had the single biggest impact on my setting than anything else Ive ever done really. But that's why its good that there are so many tools out there, as an LA, we dont recommend one, we support several, because we know that everyone will get different things from different tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I much prefer ECERSR to EYQISP. I found it much more explanatory and the scales really show how you can improve your practice. We found that EYQISP was a bit more 'yes-no' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louby loo Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Gezabel, my tool of preference is EEL, for me it had the single biggest impact on my setting than anything else Ive ever done really. I have to say that after being invloved with the EELs project many moons ago - it is my prefered tool too. xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redjayne Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I have just reviewed a few of these evaluation tools (ECERS being one of them ) to use in my setting, and I have settled for the Featherstone book by Soni and Bristow callled 'The EYFS - Am I getting it Right' What sold it to me was the parent/staff questionairres and the format - its much more user friendly than ECERS seems and I love the way it looks at aspects from the view of parents, staff and the children. It's on Amazon too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redjayne Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Am losing the plot here - too much studying ! If it's just an environment audit you want to do the above book does do this as part of the whole EYFS evaluation, but not in the depth that ECERS goes into, the book looks at all areas of the principles and the learning and development and covers the environment as part of the whole ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlettangel Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 We are having an ECERS audit on 7th March....... over 300 have ben done in the last year in our county!!!! It will be used as one of the quality indicators along with the OFSTED grading and something else to do with training..... The audit is all day, with up to 2 hours following it for questions and then 2 hours for feedback!!!!!!!! Lovely!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 The whole process is designed to be supportive, Scarlettangel and should provide you with lots of positive feedback as well as identifying areas for development. I hope you find it an enjoyable experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Not a big fan of ECER's E not really applicable for pre-school it was devised for school We have had an ECER's E - Kent were really into this and we all had one done i believe, We scored highly on ours and a couple of things flagged up went into an action plan but then what do i do with it? We decided to use our own self evaluation of what we have and we use WBI tool to score areas and then change etc depending on what we find, all staff do this on a rotaional basis, works well and keeps things fresh and challenging Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubblejack Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 My early years are not using ECERS but I think I might try it. Which is the correct book to reference it with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 My early years are not using ECERS but I think I might try it. Which is the correct book to reference it with? How old are the children? Earlier on in this thread I posted the different books and the ages/kinds of groups they relate to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I have ordered the yellow one, just waiting for it to arrive, i think they must have had a run on them after this thread as they were out of stock when i ordered it!!!!! But i heard yesterday it is due the 9th March Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alis2son Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Has anyone got the link to the EEL resource? i cant seem to find it, unless i cant see the wood for the trees, which is possible right now! thanks, Ali x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Has anyone got the link to the EEL resource? i cant seem to find it, unless i cant see the wood for the trees, which is possible right now! I may be wrong (mundia will know) but I think you can only access the EEL materials when you have been on an approved training course and know how to use them effectively. A few years ago when our LA was looking to use EEL I think they told us the materials cost £200 - £300. It might be worth asking your Local Authority if they have plans to use it in your area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 We decided to use our own self evaluation of what we have and we use WBI tool to score areas and then change etc depending on what we find, all staff do this on a rotaional basis, works well and keeps things fresh and challenging Do explain Steve, sounds interesting!?!?! Did a full ECERS audit today, I like it as you can clearly evidence progression using the scoring system. Was quite reassuring to see that it told me what I already knew but now have the back up of the audit to impress changes with the team! I'll review sections termly now I think, also use EYFS welfare audit, CLL, PSRN and about to drop SEAD back into the mix!!! I don't think there is one tool that covers everything so a mix up is the onloy way I've been able to evaluate all areas of focus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Hello, I am a student doing level 4 and 5 early childhood studies and wondered if anyone would be kind enough to please help me with my module enabling environments. I have just been offered a new post as deputy manager at a brand new setting that is not yet open but I need to assess the environment for my uni work! Has anyone got any ideas how I could do this ? I have tried the ECERs but it includes staff, children and routines so it has got half of the assessment missing as it isn't up and running yet ! Is there an assessment I could carry out when starting a new nursery to see if you have everything you possibly need ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chez29 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Why not just pick a few of the scales to assess the setting on. I would choose about 4 or 5 scales at time. We had a full audit a few years ago but they don't done them now but I just choose a few scales to focus on. We review them and put an action plan into place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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