Welcome to the FSF July Newsletter

July brought red and amber extreme heat weather warnings issued by the MET Office for parts of the country, and guidance released by the Department for Education (DfE) for early years providers in preparation for the rising temperatures. As the air cools a little, the discussion will continue about how equipped our learning spaces are for coping with extreme heat.

We experienced another turbulent time in government over the last few weeks, not least in the DfE. The Secretary of State for Education chopped and changed over just a few days, from Nadhim Zahawi to Michelle Donelan to James Cleverly. At the same time, children and families minister Will Quince resigned, and has been replaced by Brendan Clarke-Smith, whose role includes responsibilities for early years and childcare. The sector will watch closely as these new policy makers find their feet.

Just before these changes occurred at the top of the DfE, the government announced proposals to increase the number of childminders in England. The suggested measures included allowing childminders to spend more of their time working from a greater range of locations, and working with Ofsted to reduce inspection of childminders. You can take part in the consultation about the proposals from this link, and read a summary and response from PACEY (Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years) here.

Here on the FSF we have two new articles for you: Sejal Payne shares a second piece, reflecting on how we can support our young EAL learners; and Caroline Vollans begins a three-part series about intergenerational learning, looking at The Together Project. You can find them both on our Articles page.  And in our Coffee Break this month Stephen reflects on a talk given by childminder Doreen Barton at a recent All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Childcare and Early Education at Westminster.

Our podcast guests were disability lifestyle blogger Gem Hubbard who reflected on her lived experience as a disabled person and the power of the language we use when we talk about disability; and children’s author Maisie Chan, who discussed her writing process, and how stories can help children to develop empathy. You can listen to these, and all our podcasts here, or wherever you usually listen.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the annual Tapestry survey. The findings gave us interesting insights into teaching and learning, including professional development, the use of technology, and supporting children to think and talk about their learning. You can read a summary of the findings by following this link.

The Tapestry team are very pleased to announce the first release of the Management System. Available on all Tapestry accounts now, you can access booking and printable registers. Future releases will include further occupancy planning, billing and invoicing, and digital registers. You can find out more about the Booking feature here, and the Booking tutorials are ready to help you get started. 

Wishing you all a safe and happy month,

Helen, Steve and all of us at the FSF and Tapestry