EYFS Becoming Optional For Independent Schools?

[Steve]

If you read these news articles with the usual degree of caution, and shield your eyes from references to 'nappy curriculum' etc., the following make interesting reading:

 

The Daily Mail

 

The Daily Telegraph

[Pimms o'clock?]

I have nothing against the EYFS being "guidance" at all, but what I object to is having a compulsory curriculum for children that are not yet of compulsory school age; to me this is very contradictatory. Babies, and I class 4 year olds as babies, should not be subjected to anything compulsory. I guess if the statute was taken out of the equation then Independent schools might be more accepting of EYFS, I know I would!!

[catma]

In my LA we have gone from somewhere like 35% of children getting a good overall outcome in EYFSP in 2008 to over 62% in 2012. This is a direct result of the EYFS being delivered in all settings through to Reception, with a single focus on supporting children to develop and learn in appropriate ways, so they can attain what most 5 year olds are capable of attaining. I don't thnk we would have achieved that without a unifying pedagogy.

 

I don't think there's a setting out there which doesn't want their children to have social skills and confidence, creative, literacy and numeracy skills, good physical development and a wide basic knowledge by the time they are 5. That's what the EYFS requires us to do, but we are free to deliver it in any way we choose. Why would an Independent school be doing anything different to the rest of us? I'm completely in agreement with Bernadette Duffy. I have seen, first hand the level of formality even now in some Independent schools, so I would hate to think what might happen if they are permitted to get exemptions.

 

Cx

[finleysmaid]

interesting that the slant is slightly different from each paper! i was a bit fed up with the following quote from MR hanson IAPS) though.....

Undoubtedly the EYFS has improved the poorest settings, but at the same time it has frustrated the best practitioners.’

 

the suggestion here seems to me to be that all independent settings are better than maintained or pvi ones!

 

I think the eyfs has challenged the independent settings to offer more of a play based curriculum and has smoothed out the playing field a little.

 

we work with quite a few private settings and the eyfs has given us common ground to work on and has improved the links for transition for the children, without it i'm not sure what will happen but i'm sure it will not help the children!

Interesting to hear that statistical info catma perhaps you should send that to Mr Hanson!!!

[catma]

the suggestion here seems to me to be that all independent settings are better than maintained or pvi ones!

I think the eyfs has challenged the independent settings to offer more of a play based curriculum and has smoothed out the playing field a little.

 

I agree completely on both counts. If Good or better independent schools can opt out, I have several outstanding settings so can they too? What's the difference?

[HoneyPancakes]

This is what Registered Childminders are being faced with at the moment - but an 'opt in' rather than an 'opt out' situation. The proposal is that we could register with a coordinating agency and provide the EYFS - in which case parents can access funding through tax credits or childcare vouchers. Or...parents can choose independent providers, but not access funding.

 

Interesting times,

 

Honey

[mundia]

It will still be up to LAs to decide if they want to fund places for 3-4 year olds if independent schools opt out, just as it is for Steiner settings now who apply for exemption.

Schools are inspected under ISI and new regulations covering children under statutory age will come into effect. If the schools don't meet the expected requirements in the prime areas and in certain areas throughout the whole school (not yet know exactly what these will be but aspects of PSE will be one), they will revert to having to meet the LD requirements. None can be exempt from welfare requirements.

 

In my LA, the formality I've seen isn't by any means exclusive to the independent schools, Ive seen equally formal PV settings, and fantastic play based independents, so we cant really make generalisations, as always, good and bad exists in all types of provision.

 

There was a consultation about this, but I think it may have closed by now. It will be interesting to see what the response is.

[catma]

In my LA, the formality I've seen isn't by any means exclusive to the independent schools, Ive seen equally formal PV settings, and fantastic play based independents, so we cant really make generalisations, as always, good and bad exists in all types of provision.

 

I agree too, but I have been told by practitioners in Independents that often the pressure to be formal from both school owners or parents is only deflected because of the EYFS statutory framework.

[Pimms o'clock?]

I hear everything everyone is saying but Catma you seem to be privy to information from your LA the my LA don't appear to make available or public, if they do it is hidden somewhere as I have never seen it. So I'm in Kent, if anyone can point me in the direction of any evidence to show that these figures have been raised just by EYFS and not the increase in Ofsted ratings or due to the increase in qualification thanks to GLF and FD's, BA's and EYPS then I might just be convinced. But it still doesn't was well with me that it is compulsory for children not of compulsory school age - if so it should be compulsory for children who do not attend pre-school, impossible???

[catma]

I've noticed it should be between 2008 and 2011 in my first post as obviously we haven't completed 2012!!

Knowing the data is part of my job in the LA, but we do share the outcomes widely.

I would say that the children in the 2011 data have probably, in the main, been through several settings between 2008 (when the 2011 EYFSP children would have been 2sh) and 2011 when the same children were 5 and finishing the key stage. In that time more of that 2008 cohort attained a good overall level of development than in 2010, which was better than 2009. So the EYFS must have been supporting more children to achieve the expected standards. The national figures, have also increased over the same period: "Since the implementation of the statutory EYFS Profile in 2009, there has been an increase in the percentage of children working securely across all scales, with the largest increase 5 percentage points which was seen in 3 scales (Communication, Language and Literacy: Linking sounds and letters and writing and Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy: Calculating)." DfE statistical release for EYFSP 2011

 

As the EYFSP is an assessment that is moderated, it provides a reliable national dataset on the effectiveness of the quality of a child's learning experiences in the EYFS. Yes this will have been improved because of better qualifications, better understanding of how to teach young children but all within the framework of the EYFS, which is the common factor for all settings.

Cx