Transcript The New Early Years Foundation Stage

Presented by Jenny Trapp
Why make changes to the
EYFS?
 It was due to be reviewed after 3 years : this is to
identify what is effective and what may not be
necessary
 It enables us to check the quality and
effectiveness of our provision
 Changes can encourage us to re-engage with
the early years curriculum and avoid paying ‘lip
service’ to what we do and the guidance we
use
How can we describe what
quality provision should be
built upon?
 Our planning is relevant to the individual child
 Children learn from personal experiences
 Children learn through play
 Learning opportunities occur indoors and
outdoors
 Independence is promoted
 Strong relationships with parents occur
 Planning and assessment of the children and for
the children is based on observation
10 principles of early
childhood education
Bruce 1996










The best way to prepare children for their adult life is to give them what they need as
children
Children are whole people who have feelings, ideas and relationships with others, and
who need to be physically, mentally, morally and spiritually healthy.
Subjects such as mathematics and art cannot be separated. Young children learn in an
integrated way and not in neat tidy compartments.
Children learn best when they are given appropriate responsibility, allowed to make errors
,decisions and choices, and are respected as antonymous learners.
Self-discipline is emphasised. Indeed, this is the only kind of discipline worth having.
Reward systems are very short term and do not work in the long term. Children need their
efforts to be valued.
There are times when children are especially able to learn particular things.
What children can do ( rather than what they cannot do)is the starting point of a child’s
education.
Imagination, creativity and all kinds of symbolic behaviour ( reading, writing, drawing,
dancing, music, mathematical numbers ,algebra, role play and talking ) develop and
emerge when conditions are favourable.
Relationships with other people ( both adults and children) are of central importance in a
child’s life.
Quality education is about 3 things : the child, the context in which learning takes place
and the knowledge and understanding which the child develops and learns.
The new EYFS places a greater
emphasis on
‘school readiness...what is school
readiness ? discuss
 ‘Fundamentally , it will make sure we are
preparing our children for the challenges of
school and beyond. This isn’t just about making
sure they can hold a pencil....children need the
resilience, confidence and personal skills to be
able to learn.
 Sarah Teather : 2011 Response to the Tickell
review
Changes to the areas of
learning
 There used to be 6 areas
 There are now 7
 3 are PRIME areas and four are SPECIFIC areas.
Prime
 Personal ,social and emotional development
(PSE)
Making relationships , self confidence and self
awareness managing feelings and behaviour
 Physical development (P)
Moving and handling, health and self care
 Communication and language ( CL)
Listening and attention, understanding and
speaking
Specific
 Literacy ( L)
Reading, writing
 Mathematics ( M)
Numbers, shape, space and measure
 Understanding the world ( UW )
People and communities, the world, technology
 Expressive Arts and Design ( EAD)
Exploring and using media and materials, being
imaginative
How should we interpret
these areas?
 Practitioners working with the youngest children
are expected to focus on the 3 prime areas
when assessing and observing children.
 All children will now be assessed from the age of
2.
 Each child will be assessed under the 3 prime
areas.
Progress check at the age of
2
 This does not have to happen as soon as a child
turns 2 but must be undertaken between 24-36
months
 The check does not have to be undertaken in a
proscribed or rigid format.
 It’s core purpose is to identify early on any
developmental needs so additional support can
be offered to child and family / carers.
 The role of the Key Person is central to the
progress check and subsequent individual
planning
How do we know when to
carry out a progress check?
The following points may be considered:
 The child’s entry point to the setting ( during the settling in




period + )
Individual needs and circumstances ( if a child has been ill,
bereaved, new sibling....the process can be delayed)
Parental preferences : should be agreed with parents...where
possible in time for the 2 year health and developmental
review with the health visitor
Pattern of attendance:
Non attendance or poor attendance can affect the key
person’s ability to build a clear picture of the child
The aims of the Progress
check
 To review a child’s development in the prime areas
 Ensure parents have a clear picture of their child’s




development
Enable practitioners to understand the child’s
individual needs and plan specific activities for
these
Enable parents and practitioners to work together to
enhance development in the home
Note where a child is progressing well and identify
any areas of concern
To describe any actions decided to address any
developmental concerns ( working with other
agencies also)
Key Principles of the Progress check
( how can this be achieved? discuss)
 Should be completed by the key person ( knows the





child well)
links directly to ongoing observation in everyday
practice
Is based on skills, knowledge ,understanding and
behaviour that the child demonstrates consistently
and independently.
Always includes views of parents and carers
Takes into consideration input from others
( colleagues, professionals)
allows where possible the child to contribute to the
whole process
A reminder of the
observational assessment
cycle
Observe child’s
interests,
achievements,
actions
Key person plans
appropriate and
motivating
activities and reobserves /
evaluates the
outcomes
The
individual
child
Key person works
with parent to
identify learning
opportunities
Key person
evaluates what
they have seen
and observed
from a
developmental
aspect
Working in partnership with
parents : how can we do
this?
 Recognise that parents know their children best
 They are the child’s enduring educators
 Parents and practitioners should together discuss:
 What the child likes to do
 What he or she is trying to master or has just learned
 New words/ language or sentence structures which
are emerging
 Particular interests or patterns in play and
exploration emerging
Challenges in achieving this
 Within the new EYFS parents must be involved in
the assessment process
 Some parents will find this more difficult than
others
 There are time constraints on busy staff
especially at dropping off and collecting times
 Draw up together ideas of what challenges you
think might exist but also identify ways or
strategies to get around these
Information sharing and
parental consent
 The Progress check is a statutory requirement of
the EYFS
 Settings must seek the consent of parents and
carers before sharing information directly from
the check with relevant professionals
 Practitioners must be familiar with their setting’s
policies and procedures on Safeguarding
children
 Where a child attends more than one setting,
the check should be done by the setting where
the child attends most
What do these changes
mean for you?
 Your role as a Key person has become more
important
 You will be responsible for ensuring you
regularly do spontaneous and planned
observations
 You will need to plan with each other how you
will each build-in ways and times to meet and
discuss with parents your next step planning
and evaluations
 Your observations will form the progress checks
Looking at ways to achieve
all this
 Contact time with the children is our most
important use of time, so we can still use ‘post
its’ to record important learning events
 We will look at various forms of paperwork
together and decide over time , through trial
and error, which formats suits us best
 Your feedback along the way, both now and
when using the Development Matters book and
guidance , is all important to reviewing how
effective we are being
It is a smaller EYFS...so let’s
get to know it!
After so much information, be cheered by the fact
that :
 Instead of 69 Early Learning Goals there are now 17
 We should have stronger partnerships with parents
 We will focus on the 3 Prime areas when observing
 We can intervene where necessary from a young
age where we have concerns regarding a child’s
development
 Many thanks for all your input and thoughts
Watch this space! Changes
on the way : new policies
coming on:
 Use of mobile phones and cameras
 Frequency and type of Safeguarding training
 Causes for concern ; signs of abuse
 Risk assessment