News items: News items

150 Children's centres closed last year (BBC report)

Mon, 12 Dec 2016 10:12:54 +0000

Yesterday the BBC reported on the closure of 150 children's centres last year. The figures were obtained by Labour's Dan Jarvis via a written parliamentary question to junior education minister Caroline Dinenage. You can read the article here.

Sean Harford, National Director Education (Ofsted) has written a pertinent end of term reminder

Fri, 09 Dec 2016 15:29:57 +0000

In his blog Sean clearly identifies the changes and pinpoints for school leaders exactly what the new requirements entail. You can read his blog here. Gill Jones, Ofsted's Deputy Director of Early Education, contributes to the discussion in her own blog. Gill reminds those with EY registrations of how the changes affect them and which part are, and are not, statutory under the existing EY framework. You can read Gill's blog here. We are discussing this on the forum in this thread.

Caroline Dinenage praises number of consultation responses received

Fri, 09 Dec 2016 15:17:59 +0000

On her Twitter page (@cj_dinenage) today the minister for early years reported that DfE (@educationgovuk) had "received an amazing 4074 responses to (the) consultation on maths/english skills for early years staff". FSF responded saying that we were looking forward to hearing the results of the consultation.

Telephone scam alert!

Wed, 07 Dec 2016 12:54:02 +0000

FSF members have this week been reporting telephone calls from people claiming to be from the DfE. Members are sure this is a scam and so be careful! You can read about it here, on this thread.

The team at 'Foundation Years' have released their December newsletter

Wed, 07 Dec 2016 12:53:11 +0000

There are many useful links and updates about all the changes and discussions that are currently ongoing in early years. It would be useful for you to read it and make sure you are 'on top' of all the news. You can add yourself to their mailing list if you are not already on it. You can access it here.

Impact of minimum wage increase for the early years sector

Wed, 07 Dec 2016 12:52:10 +0000

The low pay commission has released their Autumn report and has highlighted clearly the impact of the ongoing statutory wage increases for workers. The early years sector, as a care industry, is identified as one of three sectors that will find it particularly challenging to meet the requirements of the minimum wage increases. NDNA have responded to the report. You can read their response and the report from here.

FSF at Petitions Committee debate

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 11:41:41 +0000

We attended the Westminster debate on Monday and listened with interest as MPs discussed the current situation in early years with the Minister Caroline Dinenage. You can read about our involvement and watch the debate on Parliament TV from here.

FSF at the Childcare works 30-hours special

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 11:40:45 +0000

On Monday 21st November we attended the London meeting to hear from the Childcare works team and the DfE about the 30 years pilots and the full roll out in September 2017. You can read our notes and download the presentation documents from this thread.

Helen Jones MP calls for cross party early years inquiry

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 11:38:42 +0000

Helen Jones MP calls for cross party early years inquiry: At the Petitions Committee debate on Monday 21st November FSF watched as Labour MP Helen Jones called for a cross party EY inquiry to examine the issues facing the sector from all stakeholders - the providers, the parents and the children. The Labour MPs all agreed this would be desirable and were keen for such an inquiry to be set up. The Early Years Minister, Caroline Dinenage, did not reference the request in her response to Helen Jones MP. You can review the debate here.

Family and Childcare Trust calls for Early Excellence Fund

Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:29:38 +0000

In their report 'Putting quality at the heart of early years' the Family and Childcare trust report calls for the introduction of an Early Excellence Fund to support four aims. The aims are: 1) Ensuring there is at least one experienced early years graduate in every setting delivering free childcare, prioritising settings delivering free early education for the most disadvantaged two year olds. 2) Providing financial incentives for small childcare settings to provide training and professional development for non-graduate staff. 3) Establishing new quality networks to share expertise and link childcare providers with early intervention services. 4) Increasing the number of qualified early years special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) to provide advice and support to childcare settings.

Sector outrage following Good Morning Britain report

Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:28:49 +0000

Professional bodies across the sector are outraged at the conclusions drawn by Good Morning Britain (GMB) following their undercover story which cast doubt on the safety of children in nurseries. Using an undercover reporter GMB found a nursery where a manager had not followed statutory procedures when employing new staff. In this nursery, children were not well protected and were exposed to elements of risk. The GMB report implied that Ofsted were not 'picking up' on such nurseries and concluded therefore that children in nurseries were potentially at risk. You can watch the report and read the responses from this FSF thread.

ICO rules against DfE in childcare cost data FOI case

Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:27:54 +0000

The Pre-school Learning Alliance (PLA) submitted a Freedom of Information request regarding the Deloitte data referred to in the Government's 'Review of childcare costs' document (published November 2015). The ICO has today ruled in favour of the PLA giving the Government 35 days to respond to the original request. You can read the PLA's statement here

Ofsted release official statistics to August 2016

Fri, 18 Nov 2016 10:30:44 +0000

Ofsted have released the statistics gathered regarding childcare inspections up to August 2016. The key findings are that 'the proportion of providers on the Early Years Register (EYR) judged good or outstanding is at its highest ever', that 'the number of places offered by childcare providers on the EYR has decreased slightly' and finally that 'The number of childminders registered with Ofsted has continued to decrease'. You can read the report here.

Tax-Free Childcare

Wed, 16 Nov 2016 11:55:55 +0000

The Government has today updated their 'Things providers need to know' document. You will find links to registering your provision online as well as an explanation of how the scheme will work. You can read the update here.

FSF have been asked by MPs to contribute to petition debate

Wed, 16 Nov 2016 11:51:57 +0000

We have been asked to collect and submit our views on a series of questions that are due to be discussed in Westminster on 21st November. Please share your thoughts here.

Government consultation response

Mon, 14 Nov 2016 13:38:18 +0000

The Government has published it's response to the 30 hour free childcare entitlement delivery consultation. You can read the response here. We are discussing their response here, on the FSF.

Caroline Dinenage has launched a consultation on the L3 Early Educator Numeracy and Literacy requirements

Fri, 11 Nov 2016 14:36:43 +0000

She has said "I welcome views from a broad range of stakeholders on the questions posed in this consultation and I look forward to considering them. I plan to respond to this consultation as part of the forthcoming workforce strategy, which will also set out the Government’s wider vision for the early years workforce and a plan for how that will be achieved." You can read and respond to the consultation here. You can contribute to the FSF thread about this here.

Caroline Dinenage announces that the results of the 30 hour pilot will be published in July 2017

Fri, 11 Nov 2016 11:30:48 +0000

It has been announced that the results of the pilots will be delivered in July 2017, which is two months before the national roll out. If you would like to read the announcement you can do so from here. You can follow the ongoing 30 hours discussion on the FSF from here.

Teaching Schools Council report published

Mon, 07 Nov 2016 10:07:33 +0000

The report calls for the DfE to conduct a full review of the Reception year. You can read the report here. You can discuss the report and share your thoughts on this thread.

Save the Children: 'Untapped potential' report

Mon, 07 Nov 2016 09:50:46 +0000

The 'Untapped Potential' report expounds the need for a high-quality childcare workforce to enable every child in early years to get the best possible start. There has been a mixed response across the sector. You can contribute to the FSF discussion here.

Baseline assessment in Reception, The EYFSP and Tapestry

Thu, 08 Sep 2016 14:57:03 +0000

The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) will remain in place as the EYFS mandatory assessment for 2016/17, instead of the Reception Baseline Assessment, introduced experimentally in 2015.

Baseline Assessments were judged to be ineffective after the trial. They were designed to be made at the beginning of the reception year, and required completion and submission within six weeks of the beginning of term. EYFSPs, in contrast, are made towards the end of the school year.

Following this decision, Tapestry will no longer offer assistance with completing and recording the Early Excellence Baseline Assessment (EExBA), which was provided last year. The system we were able to implement was limited in its usefulness, as we were not given permission to use EExBA material to assist in recording assessments, meaning that observation assessments needed to be duplicated.

Tapestry will, however, continue to provide exportable EYFSP files from Tapestry observation assessments, which we have had in place for a number of years. Tapestry users can use this function to generate your EYFSP results in CSV format and submit them via your MIS.

Obviously we will keep a close eye on any EYFS government guidelines as they emerge.

End of the road for PRAMS

Wed, 06 Jul 2016 09:58:13 +0000

As previously discussed in forum conversations we'd like to confirm that we are officially retiring PRAMS at the end of this academic year (2016). PRAMS is no longer being actively developed, and from 31st July 2016 we will no longer be supporting the software, although those with it still installed will still be able to use it. However, we strongly recommend that current users explore other options for monitoring their childrens' progress. Our product, Tapestry, of course, is available, and if you would like to find out more, or organise a free trial, please visit our Tapestry website.

PRAMS has had a long and noble life, having first seen the light of day in 2009. From its first days it has been coded, supported and refined by our own Matt Kelly. It has been used in thousands of settings around the country and been much appreciated by early years professionals as an invaluable (and free!) aide to keeping up with the development of children in early years provision. We are bringing much of the experience we gained from PRAMS to our ongoing development of the analysis and tracking features of Tapestry.

Sport Relief suggestions for Early Years

Fri, 26 Feb 2016 17:10:52 +0000

Shimmy with Timmy for Sport Relief!Sport Relief is back on Friday 18 March and it is going to be extra special as Timmy from Timmy Timeis joining nurseries for a bit of a shimmy to raise money. So don’t be sheepish, download your free Nursery Activity Pack today from sportrelief.com/nurseries and start planning your dance party or sponsored danceathon.

It’s really easy to take part. Nurseries could plan a sponsored dance-athon for an hour, a morning,or even a whole day. And if dancing isn’t their thing they could join in the fun with Timmy and friends by setting up their own ‘Sheeplechase’ – an obstacle course for children to climb under, over and through while getting sponsored to take part.

Sport Relief Nursery Activity Packs are jam packed with fundraising ideas, posters, and stickers.Activities linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum will also help to ensure that Sport Relief helps little ones learn while they get active.

Pamela, Manager at Happitots Day Nursery in Glasgow Airport said: ‘Every Sport Relief we use fun,cross-curricular activities to introduce fundraising and get children thinking and learning about others. We always ask the children, staff and parents for their ideas - it’s a great way to get everyone on board and working together.’

The money raised this Sport Relief will help transform the lives of some of the poorest and most disadvantaged people both on your doorstep in the UK and around the world.

The cash really makes a difference: Just £50 could help pay for a child living in poverty in Peru to attend pre-school for a whole year.To find out more and download a pack, go to sportrelief.com/nurseries

Early Years Pupil Premium

Fri, 20 Feb 2015 09:12:41 +0000

Sam Gyimah, Childcare Minister,has announced that LAs will receive an additional £1.5 million to support them in preparing for the introduction of the EYPP. The EYPP, at a value of £50 million for 2015-2016, will be given to providers delivering the funding entitlement for 3- and 4-year olds.

Early Years Pupil Premium

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 18:00:46 +0000

The Department for Education have released a model form and letter for parents, to help providers identify which children are eligible for the EYPP.

Find it here