Birth To Three Matters & The Foundation Stage

[SueFinanceManager]

Well Done Juliet, really enjoyed reading your article. Find it here

 

I think you have hit the nail on the head when you say:

 

'The new EYFS is promising a lot, and rightly so. Its challenge will be to create a comprehensive document that can successfully marry the four ‘Aspects’ referred to in Birth to three matters with the areas of learning identified for three to five year olds; a document that can cover all the aspects of this fast track period of childhood development; and a document that will support all early years practitioners, whatever the setting. One that they will want to refer to again and again. Mission Impossible? I certainly hope not.'

 

I wonder in the final document whether the 0-3 statements will almost just be put in front of the exsisting stepping stones so that you have 5 coloured bands instead of four. The fact that that they are planning to do 'some reworking in structure' is however encouraging as I feel some of the stepping stones are in a strange order and I find children able to do things in the blue band before the orange and so on.

 

I am trying o stay really positive about these proposed changes. It is great that Early Years is gaining the recognition that it deserves and people are realising we do more than just play all morning but it is really important that time is taken and they get this new guidance right. Money can't keep being spent on 'nice looking folders' to sit on practitioners shelves. I am sure all of us would welcome a well thought out document that is easy to use and understand and help us to improve provision for all children in our care.

 

The next few years are going to be interesting. This article has pointed out just a few of the difficulties facing the National Strategy team really well and frankly I'm just a bit glad I'm not one of the people having to do it

 

Sue

[AnonyMouse_832]

The answer to this is just about yes! Went to a seminar about the new eyfs and the draft documenatation does just that! It puts the four aspects from BTTM into the six areas of the foundation curriculum as "steps" before the stepping stones!

The consultation stuff will be coming out soon so you need to keep an eye out for it!

[Guest]

I agree with much of what has been said although I do have some reservations. Whilst I think it is possibly a good move I also think that with the new EYP status along with the common core skills and integrated qualifications framework - that some of what is trying to be achieved currently may just get lost in all these new initiatives coming on board. I just hope that they try and tie all these together in some shape or form rather than dealing with each area separately but with the CWDC being funded with £49 million over the next three years and the transformation fund only running at about £125-£250million a year, the additional training that will now be required it seems everyone in early years means that we need to keep a close eye on what is actually happening and how it all ties together.

Nikki

[AnonyMouse_75]

sounds promising

hope it is as just practical to impliment

[AnonyMouse_5475]

I think Sue is right about how good it is that the Early Years is getting so much attention now. I hope in my next few articles to address some of the more practical issues to do with planning and catering for children across this mixed age group. Which isn't easy when it is such a fast and diverse period in a child's development! Please let me know of any areas you want to me to tackle - I know planning is one.

Juliet

[Guest]

Did any Kent members get to go to the Birth To Three Foundation Conference at the Ashford International Hotel, it was a brilliant conference with loads of outside agencies to talk to, gave me a good insight of how to go forward

[AnonyMouse_5375]

I'm from Kent and I didn't even know about this conference!

[Guest lucyevans]

There's an article on the NW website & in PPCC about the proposed amalgamation. Apparently the 4 aspects will be scrapped!

 

http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/

[Guest]

Strangely enough, when I opened my preschool 5 years ago and looked at planning for the six areas, I also wrote pre-yellow band developmental steps to precede the 1st yellow stepping stones for our under 3's. I later ditched these for a more holistic approach for my under 3's. Then BTTM was published.

 

1/ I wish I could find the disc that I saved these pre-stepping stones on ( just to compare them to what they publish when the new document is completed)

2/ I wonder how much I would have got paid if I had published (before the BTTM framework was written) my work on linking stages before the 3+ stepping stones of the FSC and called it the EY framework (tongue in cheek)

 

I just feel that if, as we should be, are all suitably trained in child stages of development from 0-8yrs, why do we need all these headings, aspects, areas of learning, components etc to know what stage our children are at. oh yes, of course, I forgot, we need to continuously justify our knowledge and put all our young children into specific measurable boxes. ( silly me)

 

Peggy