News items: News items

Ofsted annual report published

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 12:44:42 +0000

Amanda Spielman's report was published last week. The headlines from the early years section summary are as follows: "Inspection outcomes for providers on the Early Years Register (EYR) remain strong. More than nine out of 10 were good or outstanding at their most recent inspection. The total number of early years and childcare providers registered with us continues to decrease over time. This can be attributed to a large decrease in childminders and smaller decreases in the number of nurseries and pre-schools. However, the number of places in early years providers has remained relatively stable, at around 1.3 million. Nurseries and pre-schools operating as part of a group under a single registration are more likely to be judged outstanding than those operating alone. The quality of provision is also linked to other factors, such as levels of local area deprivation."

You can read the report in full and comment on the points raised on this thread.

Ofsted Early Years Pedagogy and Practice Forum members announced

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 11:42:29 +0000

Ofsted have announced those that they have chosen to be on their early years pedagogy and practice forum. There is a wide range of knowledge and expertise amongst the forum members. It will be extremely interesting to hear how their discussions progress and to follow the outcomes of their meetings. We (FSF) applied to be on the panel, unfortunately we were not chosen to participate but are looking forward to being part of the webinars in the new year.

Ofsted Early Years Pedagogy and Practice Forum members announced

You can discuss the panel here

Disturbing research published regarding ITT for Early Years

Mon, 10 Dec 2018 11:13:43 +0000

Figures released by the DfE at the end of last week (29/11) highlighted the fall in new entrants to an early years teacher training course in the 2018/2019 academic year. Figures this year, at 365, are down from 550 last year. You can read the figures here (p13 pertains to early years). In their report 'It all starts here' Save the Children describe the fall as indicative of the EYT workforce crisis and they urge the Government to act before it is too late. You can discuss this report and how your own provision is managing on this thread.

Updated Ofsted registration documents

Mon, 26 Nov 2018 15:18:50 +0000

On October 30th Ofsted released a series of updates and reviews to their registration regulation and requirement documents - the link to the Ofsted site is here, the link to the single registration and regulation document is here and the links to the various 'chapter' documents are included in this FSF thread.

Autumn term 1 newsletter published

Fri, 02 Nov 2018 10:26:24 +0000

We have just published our half-termly newsletter. If you want a 'whistle-stop tour' of what has been happening on the forum since the end of July then the newsletter is a really good place to start. You can read about all the updates and changes that have been announced and contribute to forum threads on some of our hottest topics! You can read the newsletter here.

Gill Jones (apparently) bemoans the lack of singing in nursery

Mon, 15 Oct 2018 09:39:16 +0000

You may have read some of the furore in the EY press over the weekend regarding Gill Jones' comments on singing in nursery. Gill, Ofsted’s deputy director of early education, told an NAHT conference that the demise of singing in nursery impacted on children's emerging reading skills, she said: “Children that can sing I’m sure read better, though I have no research to prove that whatsoever, but I’m just putting it out there because I’m sure it’s right.” [TES. 05/10/18] Her comments provoked quite a Twitter storm which Gill addressed online saying: "This storm is an unintended consequence of me highlighting the importance of singing with young children during questions from delegates. I was talking about rarely hearing solo voice singing and importance of it, not saying that nurseries don’t sing!" You can read the full TES article here. Gill's response to Kym Scott on Twitter can be read here. We are discussing this on the forum, here.

New Ofsted inspection reports website going live

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 08:45:50 +0000

Ofsted’s new inspections report website is going live on Tuesday 2 October, after which the existing reports site will no longer be available. The new site has been in BETA (testing) for a number of months alongside the old site. The new inspection reports site uses up-to-date technology and is compatible with non-desktop devices. The content is more streamlined and uses less jargon. The site is accessible to a range of people with varying digital needs. Users can search by category and then filter results. The upgraded search functionality makes it easier for users to find and use the information they need about providers and Ofsted’s inspection reports, ratings and publications. As part of this upgrade, email alerts from the old site about inspection reports will stop. If you want to continue to receive email alerts when new inspection reports are published, you will need to re-subscribe on the new site. On the new site, you can subscribe to receive email alerts when Ofsted publish a new inspection report about a single provider or when they publish new inspection reports for any provider under a search result, such as any provider within in a local authority or region. The new site is here

SEED report confirms that children do better when they have access to quality EY provision

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 10:00:50 +0000

The Study of Early Education and Development (SEED), commissioned in 2012, includes a major longitudinal study designed to help the Department for Education (DfE) by providing evidence on the effectiveness of early years education and by identifying any short- and longer-term benefits from their investment.This current report, written by Edward Melhuish and Julian Gardiner, examines the ongoing effects of Early Childhood Education & Care (ECEC). There are a range of conclusions, nevertheless, in line with findings from the same sample at age three the advantages of a more stimulating and responsive Home Learning Environment and the beneficial effects of time in ECEC are largely independent. This suggests that even children with the most stimulating home learning environments still stand to benefit from spending time in ECEC. You can read the report in full here. You can discuss the report on this thread

Evaluation of the first year of the national roll out of 30 hours free childcare

Tue, 18 Sep 2018 10:45:27 +0000

The DfE has today released the research report "Evaluation of the first year of the national rollout of 30 hours free childcare" . There is an awful lot of data to digest! The key findings are detailed on this thread

CoEL will remain statutory in the new EYFS framework

Tue, 11 Sep 2018 15:06:15 +0000

Following a request for clarification from the experts at Early Education it has now been confirmed that the Characteristics of Effective Learning will remain statutory in the new EYFS framework. You can read Early Education's response to the draft ELGs here

Ofsted calls for early years experts:

Tue, 04 Sep 2018 13:46:39 +0000

Ofsted is setting up a forum for academics, practitioners and researchers to talk about a wide range of early years issues.

How do young children learn to read?
What is the best way for them to develop physical skills?
And how can early education theory translate into practice in the nursery, the childminder’s home and the Reception year?

These are the kinds of issues that will be discussed at the Ofsted Early Years Pedagogy and Practice Forum, which will meet for the first time this autumn. Ofsted is calling for academics, practitioners and researchers to express their interest in attending the forum, which is an opportunity to help shape Ofsted’s policy and priorities. The forum will meet to talk about early years teaching theory and practice, and to review the kinds of topics that Ofsted will consider in planning its survey programme.

Gill Jones, Ofsted Early Education Deputy Director, said:

The way young children learn and develop is a source of endless fascination. And research on early education is growing all the time. So it is timely to have a forum where early years experts can come together and discuss the latest findings. I hope those with experience in leadership and research will consider applying, so that they can take part in some lively discussion about early education.

Interested parties must have a track record of early years leadership, be willing to take part in constructive debate, and be able to present evidence to support their views at the meetings.

Discuss this initiative on this thread

Ofsted. Updated EY3 form

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 13:03:22 +0000

Ofsted have today released the new EY3 form for childminders and other childcare providers to tell them about changes to childminding assistants, household members or certain people in organisations. You can download the form here and discuss the implications on this thread.

New 'Working together to Safeguard Children' document published

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 14:17:56 +0000

The new document replaces Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015). There are some amendments that will need to be written into policies and procedures, the NSPCC has provided an extremely useful guide to the changes. Additionally, there is an excellent advice document covering our responsibilities when it comes to information sharing. You can discuss all these new documents on this thread.

Government response to L2 consultation released

Tue, 31 Jul 2018 09:01:52 +0000

On 3 March 2017, the Department for Education (DfE) published the early years workforce strategy that included the intention to work with the sector and awarding organisations to develop criteria for the content of level 2 childcare qualifications. This piece of work has now been completed. The new criteria will set the minimum requirements for knowledge, understanding and skills that individuals must demonstrate to achieve a level 2 early years qualification. They will be used by awarding organisations to develop new qualifications for delivery from September 2019. The criteria will enable early years workers and employers to recognise suitable level 2 training and qualifications more easily. You can access the document here. Annex D, at the end of the document details the proposed changes and compares them to the existing requirements. You can discuss the proposals on this thread.

Amendments published to the childcare disqualification arrangements

Thu, 26 Jul 2018 10:36:09 +0000

The announcement means that childcarers will no longer be disqualified from providing childcare or working in non-domestic childcare settings simply because someone who lives or works in their household is disqualified. The new rules do not apply to childminders. It is important to remember that ongoing staff suitability checks and robust risk assessments of all staff working with children are still good practice. You can read the amendments here. You can discuss it on this thread.

BERA publish analysis of new Reception baseline proposal

Thu, 12 Jul 2018 08:50:02 +0000

BERA's analysis of the proposed baseline assessment for Reception children does not look favourably on the intended system. They say: "In the panel’s view the proposed baseline assessment will not lead to accurate comparisons being made between schools, as policymakers assume. Perhaps most importantly, they will not work in the best interests of children and their parents."

You can read the full report here: A baseline without basis. The validity and utility of the proposed Reception baseline assessment in England. You can discuss BERA's report on this thread.

EYFSP pilot material published

Thu, 05 Jul 2018 13:44:31 +0000

The materials to be used by the EYFSP pilot schools have been published following the announcement by Children and Families Minister Nadhim Zahawi on Friday. You can read the full announcement here. From September, 25 schools across the country are set to trial revised Early Learning Goals (ELGs). The changes are aimed at reducing teachers’ workload to free up more time to support children’s early skills and produce engaging lessons. The changes to the ELGs are being discussed on this thread.

New guidance for local authorities on the provision of early education and childcare published

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 11:57:11 +0000

DfE have today published updated guidance for local authorities on the provision of early education and childcare. The guidance applies to the free entitlements for two-, three- and four-year-olds; securing sufficient childcare for working parents; providing information advice and assistance to parents; and providing information, advice and training to childcare providers. You can download the guidance here: Early education and childcare. Statutory guidance for local authorities. June 2018

Baseline assessment detail published

Thu, 21 Jun 2018 10:50:04 +0000

The DfE have published an information leaflet concerning the new baseline assessment (comes into effect from September 2020). You can read the leaflet from here and share your thoughts and comments on this thread.

Minds Matter 2018 conference:

Thu, 21 Jun 2018 10:48:43 +0000

If you were not able to attend the recent Pre-school Learning Alliance conference in London, we have completed a write-up of the key-note speakers. You can read it here.

Ceeda research team calculate £500 million shortfall in early years funding

Thu, 07 Jun 2018 10:13:11 +0000

Following the treasury select committee's damning comments on the early years funding calculations Ceeda have calulated that there will be a £500 million shortfall in early years funding. You can read the Ceeda report here. You can discuss the report in this thread.

DfE publish documents in support of the SENCO role

Mon, 28 May 2018 10:23:47 +0000

The Department of Education has issued guidance to support the appointment of SENCOs. The job description that has been published can be accessed from here. Additionally, a EY SENCO L3 qualification specification has been published. The qualifications are not mandatory. You can access the document from here. You can discuss these new publications on this thread.

Life chances inquiry launched

Fri, 11 May 2018 17:47:19 +0000

Chair of the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon MP, has announced an inquiry into the impact that the early years of a child's life have on their life chances. The Committee’s inquiry aims to understand the impact that early years education and social policy have on determining children’s life chances. The Committee will examine the Government’s current policies in these areas and make recommendations to promote social justice. The Committee invites written evidence on:

The role of quality early years education in determining life chances and promoting social justice
The importance of support for parents and families, and integration with other services, in prevention and early intervention; and
The importance of communication skills and language development

Discuss the inquiry on this thread

Multi-million fund to boost children's early language skills

Tue, 08 May 2018 12:03:49 +0000

New support to help parents improve their children’s early language and literacy skills at home before they start school have been announced today (30 April) by Education Secretary Damian Hinds. You can read about this funding boost and the project on this thread.

Federation of Small Businesses calls for business rates to be scrapped for nurseries

Mon, 30 Apr 2018 18:47:54 +0000

As we have discussed before on the FSF the business rates re-evaluation that happened last year created significant increases for many non-charity run early years settings. With the increasing costs of minimum/living wage, pensions and consumables many providers are struggling to make ends meet. Following research, the Federation of Small Businesses has published its report 'Handle with Care' which clearly sets out the impact that government policy is having on early years. They are calling for nurseries to be removed from business rates in an effort to ensure the sustainability of the sector. You can read how this has been reported in the press here: Nursery World and The Times. Join in on this thread to talk about how this would affect your setting.