Changes to EYFS pre school and Reception please

[waveawand]

Hi one and all,

 

It has truly been an AGE since I was last on here so firstly Hello again ! and a heartfelt Happy New Year to you all😃

I have recently taken a temp position as a TA in preschool and reception class of small rural setting.  I have been everwhere since my childminding days from EYFS to Key Stage 5!

As it has been a while - I just wanted a quick overview of current practice re recording of developmental stages, evidence collating etc  Whats new? Whats gone and some links to reading pretty please.

Many thanks in advance

 

[louby loo]

Hi, good to see you back again.

Lots of recent changes, you need to look at the revised EYFS that came into force September 21.  No need for so much written paperwork anymore - more of a case of 'you do you' for each setting! 😁😁.

[Jules]

Hi there! 

Lovely to have you back on the Forum, and Happy New Year to you too!

Here is a link to the new Development Matters

The education team here at the FSF and Tapestry also created this guide to preparing for the EYFS 2021, written with SLT in mind, but might be a useful and quick way to see where the changes are in the EYFS ethos.

You might also find this webinar helpful - hosted by the Early Years Early Adopter Schools 2020, Dr. Julian Grenier, Rahima Begum, Wendy Ratcliff HMI, and Gill Jones HMI discuss the intention behind the reforms: curriculum, assessment, and the focus on secure learning rather than tracking. Again, it will give you an idea of what is expected and what has changed.

And this might be useful too – some slides about what the revised EYFS means for children with additional support needs.

Good luck with your new role! 

[Cait]

That’s the first proper look at it I’ve had.  It looks a lot more workable than the previous incarnations.  How’s everyone finding it? 

[Mouseketeer]

On 26/01/2022 at 11:39, Cait said:

That’s the first proper look at it I’ve had.  It looks a lot more workable than the previous incarnations.  How’s everyone finding it? 

In theory it is Cait, we are much more about monitoring who is on track and with the right provision/resources/enhancements they’ll continue to progress naturally and putting more focus on how we can support the chn who aren’t progressing as we’d expect, we are more about what will the adults next step be than having hundreds for all the chn but it’s quite worrying this week to see how many managers are saying their Ofsted inspectors are giving recommendations because they don’t have written next steps, when all the webinars Jules mentions above are enforcing moving away from all that paperwork 🥺

[Cait]

3 hours ago, Mouseketeer said:

In theory it is Cait, we are much more about monitoring who is on track and with the right provision/resources/enhancements they’ll continue to progress naturally and putting more focus on how we can support the chn who aren’t progressing as we’d expect, we are more about what will the adults next step be than having hundreds for all the chn but it’s quite worrying this week to see how many managers are saying their Ofsted inspectors are giving recommendations because they don’t have written next steps, when all the webinars Jules mentions above are enforcing moving away from all that paperwork 🥺

Oh crikey that’s frustrating!   And I don’t expect they’d accept written next steps for the adults to support either!   That’s a kick in the teeth really.  

[sunnyday]

7 hours ago, Mouseketeer said:

In theory it is Cait, we are much more about monitoring who is on track and with the right provision/resources/enhancements they’ll continue to progress naturally and putting more focus on how we can support the chn who aren’t progressing as we’d expect, we are more about what will the adults next step be than having hundreds for all the chn but it’s quite worrying this week to see how many managers are saying their Ofsted inspectors are giving recommendations because they don’t have written next steps, when all the webinars Jules mentions above are enforcing moving away from all that paperwork 🥺

That is so frustrating - I have to say that however many times we read/hear 'this will mean less paperwork' or 'no need for this, that or the other to be written' it was never my experience when Ofsted came knocking

[louby loo]

8 hours ago, Mouseketeer said:

In theory it is Cait, we are much more about monitoring who is on track and with the right provision/resources/enhancements they’ll continue to progress naturally and putting more focus on how we can support the chn who aren’t progressing as we’d expect, we are more about what will the adults next step be than having hundreds for all the chn but it’s quite worrying this week to see how many managers are saying their Ofsted inspectors are giving recommendations because they don’t have written next steps, when all the webinars Jules mentions above are enforcing moving away from all that paperwork 🥺

To be fair this was commented on during our inspection early November- however it was more about (me/manager) being aware of all next steps in case staff went off sick especially during this pandemic.   Stupidly I mentioned that we'd missed couple of staff meetings where we discuss all children and share our knowledge!  She was fine with staff all just 'knowing' their key children.  Our next steps are all very basic (support toilet training/ encourage playing together etc)  and she was more than happy with that verbally from staff.  We've always just had a list of all children with one or two worded next steps... until this inspection😭

Still as easy fix for us inspection wise 😊

[BenTapestrySupport]

I think one of the points I've picked up from conversations I've had with settings that have been through an inspection, from Ofsted themselves and also my own experience when I was teaching (but under previous framework) is, whilst there is no need to have anything written down/recorded, staff must be able to talk clearly about the children, the provision put in place for them, and also why you have planned those next steps for them. 

If a conversation between the member of staff and inspector doesn't answer the questions clearly or is muddled, then the inspection team may want to dig deeper into this, and this is when having something written down may help. It shouldn't be a requirement though. 

The main issue is though, when an inspector asks someone a question, panic can set in and their thinking might not be as clear as if it was when they were just having a conversation with other staff. This can (unfairly) make it sound like they don't know their children. Also, as @louby loo mentions above, if the member of staff is away, what systems do you have in place to ensure that their key children aren't missed?

It certainly shouldn't be anything too detailed as it's just the backup and shows that you've thought about it.