This article has been brought to you by Slough Borough Council’s Interim Senior Advisory Teacher, Sharon Rose, for the attention of Early Years staff in schools, private, voluntary and independent settings and childminder settings.
Welcome to the May edition of the Foundation Years newsletter!
We hope you're all well.
The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that, since last April, there have not been any new updates to the Foundation Years Facebook page. Due to an administrative problem in the Metaverse, we have not been able to access this page and connect with you all on Facebook. We apologise for this.
However, as we know that not everybody uses Twitter, we're happy to say that we now have a new Facebook page and we'd encourage you all to like the page, share it far and wide with your peers working in the early years and keep an eye out for Foundation Years updates!
Unfortunately, as we are locked out of the original page, we have no way of taking it down. We'd urge you to 'unlike' that page and move on over to the new one if you are on Facebook!
On 16 May, Foundation Years published its latest vodcast exploring the benefits of outdoor learning in the early years. Watch here
Gill Holden, Principal Officer of the Early Childhood Unit at the National Children's Bureau (NCB), spoke to Jo Gordon and Jacqui McDermid, Early Years Consultants, Communication and Language Development Leads at the Lambeth Early Action Partnership (LEAP) and co-founders of the Natural Thinkers programme.
They discussed how to plan your curriculum to ensure that outdoor learning is effectively included, how to support and enthuse staff and families, and much more on how outdoor learning can benefit the youngest children.
As the summer gets closer, Jo and Jacqui's advice may seem like it's more appropriate. However, as they explain in the vodcast, outdoor learning can be practiced in all weathers!
As always, if you have any questions, comments or feedback, please do get in touch.
The Foundation Years Team, NCB
foundationyears@ncb.org.uk
Contents:
Government Updates
DfE's Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy published
DfE has published its Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy to empower children, young people and those working in education to fight climate change.
All education settings will have a nominated sustainability lead and put in place a climate action plan. To support this, DfE will roll out carbon literacy training for at least one person in every locally maintained nursery, state-funded school, college and university. They will also support settings to reduce waste, moving away from single-use items and towards reusable alternatives where possible.
Later this year, the National Education Nature Park will launch. By considering the whole physical education estate as a virtual National Education Nature Park, we can engage children and young people with the natural world and directly involve them in improving biodiversity in their setting.
If you would like to receive further updates about the development and delivery of DfE’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, you can sign up to the mailing list by completing this form.
Launch of the National Professional Qualification for Early Years Leadership
The DfE has announced the launch of the National Professional Qualification for Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL) which will be available from autumn 2022.
This professional development offer will support early years leaders to develop expertise in leading high-quality education and care, as well as in effective staff and organisational management, working with and through their colleagues so that every child gets the best start in life.
Read more about National Professional Qualifications on GOV.UK here.
A message from the DfE on staff:child ratios
Following recent media attention, the Minister for Children and Families at the Department for Education (DfE) Will Quince has confirmed plans to consult the sector in the summer on mirroring the Scottish model of a ratio of 1 to 5 instead of 1 to 4 for 2-year-olds in early years settings.
The Minister emphasised that he wants to work closely with the sector, hearing from providers and parents/carers on the issue before any decisions are made. The DfE will share information on how to make your voice heard in due course.
New guidance on the progress check at age two
The Department for Education (DfE) has published new early years foundation stage (EYFS) guidance to provide support for early years practitioners when completing the progress check at age two.
This non-statutory guidance will help all early years practitioners working with children between the ages of two and three to make an accurate assessment of a child’s development and work closely with parents and other professionals to put in place appropriate support and intervention where it is needed.
The guidance informs, supports and offers suggestions that can help practitioners review children’s development across the three prime areas of learning. It does not replace the professional judgement of practitioners but aims to support it. The guidance is clear that you do not need to spend a long time away from the children to complete the progress check or carry out excessive tracking or evidence collection.
The DfE has also published a vodcast to explain the new guidance to early years practitioners and a blog that highlights why the progress check is important now, more than ever as we support children to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learning Language and Loving It™ - The Hanen Program® for Early Childhood Educators (Hanen LLLI)
Learning Language and Loving It™ – The Hanen Program® for Early Childhood Educators (Hanen LLLI) is a training programme to promote opportunities for social, language and literacy learning in Early Years (EY) settings. In this project, the focus was on children aged 3–4 years and the staff in the 131 state-maintained nursery settings that supported them.
The implementation and process evaluation (IPE) report for this project was published last month, April 2022, and can be found here.
The report found the vast majority of nursery staff surveyed agreed that children’s exposure to Hanen-trained staff had increased the amount of high-quality child-staff interactions (88%), child-initiated interactions (86%) and the frequency of children’s turn-taking interactions (86%). Ongoing Covid-19 disruptions throughout the trial meant that it was not possible to assess the impact of LLLI on children’s language outcomes with standardised measures.
State-maintained and PVI nursery settings interested in the LLLI programme can now register to receive the programme as part of a new research trial starting in Sept 2023.
Views from the Sector
Nurturing in the Early Years
Aaron Bradbury looks at how nurturing in the early years lays the foundation for empathy and how you can embed this in your practice
Source: famly
Promoting kindness in your setting
In light of National Childrens Day UK 2022, which had a theme of 'Choose Kind', PACEY speaks to some of its advisors about how to promote kindness in your setting.
Source: PACEY
Exploring the key principles of effective assessment
Early Excellence looks at the key questions to consider if you're looking to improve processes for effective assessment.
Source: Early Excellence
Early years sector unites around the 'vital work' of anti-racism
Read about how the sector has rallied around Liz Pemberton and her work on anti-racism in the early years.
Source: Nursery World
Stakeholder updates
News from the A Better Start projects
A Better Start is a ten-year, £215 million programme set-up by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. The five A Better Start partnerships, based in Blackpool, Bradford, Lambeth, Nottingham and Southend, are working with families so they play an active part in deciding on and designing the services and support they get so they can give their babies and very young children the best possible start in life. Sign-up to receive the A Better Start newsletter here.
Swapping roles, clothes and toys: when four parent volunteers ran their own event
Emma, Isla, Selam and Cara are Parent Representatives volunteering at LEAP in Lambeth. In their own words, they explain how they planned and delivered a ‘Pre-loved Clothes and Toys’ event to support families with very young children.
Data-informed decision making in the early years
Claire Dorris, Principal Research Officer at the National Children’s Bureau, considers the importance of data in shaping support for families.
Work skills for parents
Carolyn Smith, A Better Start Southend’s Project Manager, explores how parents are being supported to move into work, volunteering and education.
Breastfeeding initiatives: Sharing our expertise
Jennifer Nicol considers how expertise in supporting breastfeeding mothers is being shared with the next generation of public health professionals.
Developing the future workforce
Volunteer Co-ordinator, Emma Goff, explains one of the new ways that Better Start Bradford has developed to educate the future workforce.
Health Visitors Matter - from the First 1001 Days Movement
On Tuesday 10th May, the First 1001 Days Movement released a new report called Why Health Visitors Matter. The report is a compilation of short pieces by parents, professionals, and charity leaders. They describe how health visitors support children’s development and help to keep them safe.
Through these testimonies, we see the breadth and depth of health visitors’ work and its importance. It is also clear why this is a role that needs to be performed by skilled professionals, who have the time to engage and build relationships with families. The report has been sent to all English MPs. Please do use it to make the case for well-resourced, face-to-face health visiting services in your area. You can read more about the report here.
Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 13-19 June
It’s time to start planning what you can do during Infant Mental Health Awareness Week, which runs from 13-19 June. The week is an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of parent-infant relationships, and babies’ social and emotional development.
This year’s theme is “Understanding Early Trauma”, enabling us to increase understanding of the impact of adversity on babies and young children. Subscribe to the First 1001 Days email list here for more information and check out their communications pack, designed to help you make the most of the week.
Project Butterfly COVID-19: Another Year On
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh are conducting a research project to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected early years professionals and the families they work with.
To be eligible, you need to be a professional working with parents and babies in the UK. You can find further information on the study, and how to take part, here.
Events
Ofsted curriculum roadshows
Ofsted is running a series of Education Inspection Framework (EIF) curriculum roadshows for early years settings across the country, between June and July, followed by a specific roadshow for maintained nurseries later in the year.
These FREE half-day events will offer the opportunity to learn more about how Ofsted looks at language and communication at inspection. Ofsted will also share what they’ve learned from inspection about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Invites will be sent to all registered early years providers by email, via their local authority, and two representatives from each setting are welcome to attend. Places are limited and offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. The events will be held on the following dates/times:
- Wednesday 22 June: 9.30-12.30 & 14.00-17.00 in Southampton
- Thursday 23 June: 9.30-12.30 & 14.00-17.00 in Nottingham
- Friday 24 & Saturday 25 June: 9.30-12.30 & 14.00-17.00 in London
- Tuesday 28 June: 9.30-12.30 & 14.00-17.00 in Leeds
- Wednesday 29 June: 9.30-12.30 & 14.00-17.00 in Birmingham
- Friday 1 & Saturday 2 July: 9.30-12.30 & 14.00-17.00 in Manchester
- Thursday 7 July: 9.30-12.30 & 14.00-17.00 in Cambridge
- Wednesday 13 July: 9.30-12.30 & 14.00-17.00 in Taunton
Advancing Social Justice through Education
The International Montessori Institute are hosting a conference exploring how to advance social justice through education.
The conference will include a diverse range of presentations from educators, sector leaders and researchers who will share their work on anti-racist approaches, tackling the injustices of poverty, and developing policies and programmes which address inequalities. It will:
- Draw on national studies to illustrate the current policy and practice landscape
- Showcase diverse perspectives from research and practice on the impact of education on social justice
- Offer case studies of education, including Montessori education, for social justice in action
- Provide opportunities for discussion and debate on equity of access and outcomes for young children.
You can sign up for the conference here.
Foundation Years is funded by DfE and brought to you by the National Children’s Bureau.
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