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'Mothers Consistently Alter Their Unique Vocal Fingerprints When Communicating with Infants' This research piece published in the research journal 'Current Biology' explains the following research findings: That infant-directed speech is an important mode of communication for early learning, that mothers shift the statistics of their vocal timbre when speaking to infants, that this systematic shift generalizes robustly across a variety of languages and notes that this research has implications for infant learning and speech recognition technology. The Guardian reported on the research saying: "Cooing to an infant might not seem like sophisticated speech, but it turns o…
Last reply by FSFRebecca, -
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The Sutton Trust released their 'Closing Gaps Early' report this week. There were several interesting findings highlighted. One key finding was that the new 30 hours scheme could widen the gap between disadvantaged children and those able to take advantage of the increased funding. The report says "neither the tax-free childcare scheme nor the 30 hour entitlement for working families are well-designed to promote social mobility, meaning longer hours in state-funded early education for children who are already relatively advantaged, which may be expected to widen gaps in child development at school starting age. Particularly worrying, these investments are coming at the ex…
Last reply by AnonyMouse_2157, -
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An interesting research piece has been published this week highlighting the correlation between a child's language skills and their sense of wellbeing. The report summarises: "Early language acquisition impacts on all aspects of young children’s non-physical development. It contributes to their ability to manage emotions and communicate feelings, to establish and maintain relationships, to think symbolically, and to learn to read and write. While the majority of young children acquire language effortlessly, a significant minority do not. The UK prevalence rate for early language difficulties is between 5% and 8% of all children, and over 20% for those growing up in low…
Last reply by AnonyMouse_30128, -
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You will remember the furore surrounding the L3 requirements regarding Maths and English GCSE. The workforce review changed the requirements and now the Government is reforming these functional skills qualifications with the aim of improving their relevance and credibility in the labour market. There is a consultation open asking questions on the proposed content for all five qualification levels in mathematics and English. The consultation will run from 12 September until 07 November 2017. You can access the consultation below: Reformed Functional Skills Mathematics and English Subject Content Nursery World have written an explanatory article about the consultatio…
Last reply by FSFRebecca, -
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This report finds that inflation and the benefit freeze are making it more and more difficult for families. Between 2012 and 2019, benefits will have risen by just 3% while prices are projected to have risen by 12%. You can read the full report here.
Last reply by FSFRebecca, -
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Here is Amanda Spielman's article about the health and safety culture in education settings: 'Amanda Spielman encourages school leaders to make decisions based on their experienced judgement.' "In the run up to the summer holidays, the streets around Ofsted’s offices were awash with eager young children on school trips. Like scores of children before them, they came into London to learn about their nation’s capital. What marked these children out from the generations that preceded them were the hi-vis jackets they were sporting, now standard issue for many school trips, like troupes of tiny construction workers – minus the hard hats. Now, I understand why schools m…
Last reply by FSFRebecca, -
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On Monday FSF met with Gill Jones (Ofsted's Early Education Deputy Director) and one of the conversations was about Ofsted's new 'mythbusting' campaign. Gill is very keen to hear from us regarding the myths surrounding inspections; we said we would help. So, on this thread please - what have you heard that may/may not be true? We will make sure that they are all received and hopefully we will be able to provide some clarity for everyone. Helen and I put our heads together and came up with the following to start you off: You have to have a display of British Values in your setting If you can't access your SEF then Ofsted have 'frozen' it because the inspector is readin…
Last reply by FSFRebecca, -
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The new Minister of State for Children and Families has written an open letter to providers, you can read it here
Last reply by AnonyMouse_19762, -
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The DfE have issued updated guidance regarding the 30 hours free childcare. This update is described thus: "Following feedback from local authorities, providers and sector organisations, we have re-ordered and clarified the text throughout the guidance. In addition, we have updated the sections on local authority audit process and the Chapters on Eligibility and Charging. We have reflected new information in some of the case studies." You can access the updated guidance here: 30 hours free childcare: LA and early years provider guide Also released are the "30 hours free childcare: early implementation evaluation" and the associated slide show presentation Slide…
Last reply by AnonyMouse_23964, -
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In the announcement of the new shadow cabinet, Tracy Babin MP (Batley and Spen) has been selected as Shadow Minister for early years. Elected to Parliament in October 2016, the Batley and Spen by-election was called in tragic circumstances, following the murder of sitting MP Jo Cox. You can read all about Tracy here: Tracy Babin MP
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