Sef

[bgfrancis]

Hi,

I'm working as a Reception Teacher in a mixed class and so don't really have anyone to ask for advice with EY things! The Early Years governor has asked to have a meeting with me to discuss the Early Years SEF. I must admit that it hasn't been my top priority so far this year and I was just wondering how often other people look at and edit their ones?

 

Thanks x

[Cait]

Hi, do a forum search for 'exemplar sef' and you'll find that loads of us have uploaded ours. They should give you a starting point for inspiration. Speaking as someone who has completed it, I'd just say that it's like a huge pile of ironing - the hardest part is getting started!!

[mundia]

Hi bgfrancis

Please bear in mind that the school SEF is not the same as the early years SEF.

You don't complete the early years SEF for reception, you complete the relevant sections for the school SEF.

[Cait]

It would give some ideas though, wouldn't it Mundia? I've not seen a school one so don't know how they differ, but there just may be something that could be useful.

[JacquieL]

I'm a bit surprised that you are being asked to discuss the SEF with a Governor as I would expect this section of the SEF to be done by the SLT, possibly after some consultation with you. There is a lot of data required for your SEF so do you produce this? When I was SLT I did contribute the section for early years but we completed the school SEF together. Is there an agenda for your meeting with your Governor? Is there a monitoring pro-forma to fill in with headings for your discussion? I'd have a chat with the HT to clarify exactly what your meeting is about. It may be that the Governor wishes to discuss a section of the SEF that has already been written.

[Guest]

Having just gone through our schools Early Years Section of the SEF I would agree thats its different. The head consulted us on his interpretation of all the data from profiles/entry data etc also his personal judgement of Foundation stage effectiveness. Its the head who submits the SEF and his judgements that will be examined by OSFTED when they visit. It was a length process to go through statements listen to the heads judgements and discuss coalface judgement.

 

I have to say it was flustrating being asked to veriify someone elses judgements many of which I disagreed with and still do!!

[Guest]

Hi

I am Foundation Stage Co-ordinator and have been trying to fill in the Early Years part of the Primary School SEF since September!!!

 

I did sections A5.1 Outcomes for Children in the EYFS

A5.2 The Quality of Provision in the EYFS

A5.3 The effectiveness of leadership and management in the EYFS

 

I just didn't know how to fill in A5.4 Overall Effectiveness: how well does the school meet the needs of children in the EYFS? - without repeating the other 3 parts.

 

Our QDD Adviser then said the first 3 parts I'd done were far to long and needed to be brief. I just don't know what to cut out!!

 

I have managed to rewrite part A5.1 with 6 quite brief bullet points, lifted from the school SIRR.

 

When I have written this dreadful thing - I will upload it onto here, as I have trawled the Internet but cannot find any sample SEFs for Primary schools. (Well there is one on 'The Key' website but it doesn't include the whole SEF and misses out section A5.)

 

My head went on a SEF course on 29/01 and is now in panic mode - this has rubbed off on me and I am stressed beyond belief about this, I haven't slept more than 3 hours a night since last Monday, worrying.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thank you

 

Lis x

[Guest]

I think I went on the same course a little earlier in Jan!

 

I am our EYFS Leader and I am writing it together with my head which is really useful.

 

Ask your head for the stuff they gave you on the course, if it is the same stuff I had it gives you examples of satisfactory, good etc so you have some idea where to place yourselves. If you can't get hold of anything let me know and I will try and get you some of the notes.

 

It is not worth losing sleep over! xxx

[Guest]

I'm trying to do our section on the school SEF as well, and its hell. I've read the document 'Tackling the SEF' and in there it says about not being descriptive and being evaluative and concise. That is so hard. I've not been on any training with regard to filling it in so am really struggling. I've finished A5:1 and split it into the 5 outcomes of ECM to help me structure it, but I know it will be too descriptive. I've stuck it into the form and will just wait and see what my head thinks when I see how she edits it!

 

Have started A5:2 and was going to do more today but am really struggling! What I also find hard to swallow is that the KS1 coordinator isn't expected to write anything separately as KS1 is included with the rest of the school. Why is it that heads seem to be passing this responsibility onto us. Why don't they know enough about what happens in the EYFS compared to the rest of the school?

[Guest]

Hi all,

 

Thank God for this forum - i've only just discovered you all whillst attempting the impossible task of writing the early years part of our school SEF! I thought i had found some great examples but then realised that the early years SEF is something different to the School one!!

 

I haven't found sny school examples either. . . .yet - i am on a mission though! (avoidance tactics set in!!)

 

Any info, support, ideas etc etc to help me get started or do this thing would be gratefully accepted!

 

Thanks,

 

Bradders.x

[Cait]

Welcome to the forum Bradders. Hopefully by now you've worked out how to navigate around and search the site for helpful stuff. After a week or so you'll wonder how on earth you managed without us all !!

[Guest]

Hah! Thanks!

 

I'm beginning to wonder already!! I've been teaching for 11 years and only just discovered this place!! What have i been doing??!! (Apart from trying to fill in a SEF!!)

 

xx

[mundia]

Hi Bradders, welcome to the forum, its good to see you dive straight in there.

Are you working in reception or a nursery class?

 

You probably wont find too many actual examples of completed SEFs for schools because they do contain confidential information and belong to the school so you should really get permission from your Head to share it.... which is probabaly why people dont.

 

However Im sure you have found by now a few threads on this, so get that SEF out and ask away, there are many experienced peeps here who can advise the sort of things that have in their SEF.

 

Of course I am assuming you have seen the guidance?

[Guest]

Hey there Mundia,

 

I'm the Foundation Stage Manager but teach in Year 1/2.

 

I've seen the guidance - presumably you mean the Ofsted stuff i've downloaded??! All i've done so far is go through each judgement and highlighted important info that i can use as a sub heading and listed anything i need to gather from the FS team in school next week - assessment data; planning etc. I've got a day next week to work on it, so i'm hoping i will have made some sense of it all by then!

 

It's the first time i've been given anything as big as this to do and when it's just thrust in your hand and you're told here you go, with no other support, it's a little daunting when you try and start!!

 

I'm sure it's the starting bit thats the hardest!

 

xx

[Cait]

Oh it absolutely is!!! till you start, even the dreaded ironing pie looks appealing!

[mundia]

Hi Bradders, Im interested in you saying that you are FS manager and yet teach in year one/two. How do you find that? DO you get a real handle on what goes on in foundation if you are not based there? Just curious as my old Head was always of the view that you could manage a phase you didn't work in, and I was never keen on the idea myself.

 

That aside, which was just me being nosey, as you say you will have lots of information to gather from colleagues. A good place to start will be profile data, for the past 2-3 years, induction/settling in procedures (eg home visits, visits to other providers etc); and any development plan in place for foundation. This will keep you going for a while anyway....

[Guest]

Hi Mundia!

 

I was based in Foundation for 4 years which was when i became the FS manager. Then a new Head took over and began to turn the place upside down. . . unfortunately for me I went off sick shortly after she arrived in the Easter. I had a phone call at the end of term to say that i would be working in KS1 rather than foundation from the September. (Thats another story about how i dealt with that one!! :wacko: ) I was completely with you, (and still am) that the only way to do my job properly was to be actively involved in the setting. I feel thats the place i can make a real difference on a daily basis. The new head, however, feels very differently, and i have been in many a, what felt like, controversial, and definately heated conversations with her about it! Sadly to no avail. That was nearly 3 years ago!

 

To answer your question - NO! I really don't get much of a handle on whats going on in Foundation - mainly due to the fact that there is no time to give to it. It's VERY frustrating. It doesn't help that i am now only working part time (3 days a week), as i returned in September from maternity leave having had twins. As you can imagine my life is mega hectic now!!!

 

Thanks for the advice, i'm going in tomorrow with a memo for my FS team with a list of things for them to give me!!

 

Are you based in a school or nursery setting?

 

xx

[mundia]

These days I'm an advisory teacher, but in a previous and not too distant life, I was nursery/reception/foundation stage coordinator. In my latter years int eh role I was supernumerary and like you worked just 3 days, but I had a completely inexperienced team of teachers and so spent my time team teaching/mentoring/covering release time etc.

[Guest]

Hello!

 

Wow, I thought I was slowly tapping away at the SEF trying to narrowly avoid the avalanche of worry, but now Im not so sure I have escaped!

All your comments are so helpful and I dont feel so alone now at being asked to do the SEF, by myself, without any guidance, support (so far), courses, explanations or ANYTHING!!!!!!!! But now worry even more that what I have written is complete rubbish and all my time has been wasted. I wasn't able to find any useful sites at all on writing it, so I just went into explanation overload which is probably far too much.

The thing which worried me the most is that I shouldnt even be filling in the section I have done anyway!

I am a Reception teacher and have been doing the EYFS/6th Form/Boarding section. Is that not right??

 

I am now off to search further into this wonderful site for more inspiration and hopefully some more guidance.

 

Thanks for the lifeline!!

[Guest]

 

Hello,

 

I am a new one on the forum. I have to say it is great and I have found some good advice on SEF. I am struggling to fill that in without repeating myself million times...and somwhow it is quite long. I will update it for people to have a look at.

 

[HappyMaz]

Welcome to the Forum, Mona. It is lovely to hear how supportive you're finding it! Just a word of caution though - make sure you have your school's permission before you upload your SEF here, just in case!

 

Maz

[Guest]

Oh, are you serious about asking my school? Hmm, I am not mentioning any names or anything...My SEF does give examples / evidence of how thigs were achieved but no names as such I feel like I want to be naughty and just post it. I have one part kind of ready, 3 to go...

[HappyMaz]

Oh, are you serious about asking my school?

I'm not telling you that you shouldn't upload your SEF, but it is worth considering whether your head teacher would give permission to do so if asked!

 

If you decide to upload it, then I'd suggest that you check to make sure neither you or your school can be identified from your document though. Sometimes the document's author's name appears in the 'properties' of the document, and if you use a school computer to type it up then perhaps the school's name will be displayed too.

 

For anyone who doesn't know how to do this, if you're using Microsoft Word 97-2003 you can check by clicking on 'file', selecting 'properties' and then looking at the document summary. If you're using a newer version of Word you can check by clicking on the 'start' icon at the top right of the screen, select 'prepare' from the drop down menu and click on 'properties' and then the document's properties are displayed along the top of the document.

 

Good luck with the SEF!

 

Maz

[JacquieL]

You probably wont find too many actual examples of completed SEFs for schools because they do contain confidential information and belong to the school so you should really get permission from your Head to share it.... which is probabaly why people dont.

 

However Im sure you have found by now a few threads on this, so get that SEF out and ask away, there are many experienced peeps here who can advise the sort of things that have in their SEF.

 

Of course I am assuming you have seen the guidance?

 

I just thought I'd flag up mundia's post as a school SEF contains a lot of confidential data and I would agree that it would have to be done without identifying the school.

[Guest]

Hi, do a forum search for 'exemplar sef' and you'll find that loads of us have uploaded ours. They should give you a starting point for inspiration. Speaking as someone who has completed it, I'd just say that it's like a huge pile of ironing - the hardest part is getting started!!

I tried putting in exemplar SEF and all it did was refer back to your post. This is my first visit to this forum, please could you point me in the right direction?

 

Thank you

[Cait]

http://eyfs.info/forums/topic/17716-exemplar-sefs/?hl=exemplar. Here you are. Welcome to the Forum