Yesterday the BBC reported on the closure of 150 children's centres last year. The figures were obtained by Labour's Dan Jarvis via a written parliamentary question to junior education minister Caroline Dinenage. You can read the article here.
In his blog Sean clearly identifies the changes and pinpoints for school leaders exactly what the new requirements entail. You can read his blog here. Gill Jones, Ofsted's Deputy Director of Early Education, contributes to the discussion i…
On her Twitter page (@cj_dinenage) today the minister for early years reported that DfE (@educationgovuk) had "received an amazing 4074 responses to (the) consultation on maths/english skills for early years staff". FSF responded saying that …
FSF members have this week been reporting telephone calls from people claiming to be from the DfE. Members are sure this is a scam and so be careful! You can read about it here, on this thread.
There are many useful links and updates about all the changes and discussions that are currently ongoing in early years. It would be useful for you to read it and make sure you are 'on top' of all the news. You can add yourself to their maili…
The low pay commission has released their Autumn report and has highlighted clearly the impact of the ongoing statutory wage increases for workers. The early years sector, as a care industry, is identified as one of three sectors that will f…
We attended the Westminster debate on Monday and listened with interest as MPs discussed the current situation in early years with the Minister Caroline Dinenage. You can read about our involvement and watch the debate on Parliament TV from here.
On Monday 21st November we attended the London meeting to hear from the Childcare works team and the DfE about the 30 years pilots and the full roll out in September 2017. You can read our notes and download the presentation documents from th…
Helen Jones MP calls for cross party early years inquiry: At the Petitions Committee debate on Monday 21st November FSF watched as Labour MP Helen Jones called for a cross party EY inquiry to examine the issues facing the sector from all sta…
In their report 'Putting quality at the heart of early years' the Family and Childcare trust report calls for the introduction of an Early Excellence Fund to support four aims. The aims are: 1) Ensuring there is at least one experienced earl…
Professional bodies across the sector are outraged at the conclusions drawn by Good Morning Britain (GMB) following their undercover story which cast doubt on the safety of children in nurseries. Using an undercover reporter GMB found a nurse…
The Pre-school Learning Alliance (PLA) submitted a Freedom of Information request regarding the Deloitte data referred to in the Government's 'Review of childcare costs' document (published November 2015). The ICO has today ruled in favour …
Ofsted have released the statistics gathered regarding childcare inspections up to August 2016. The key findings are that 'the proportion of providers on the Early Years Register (EYR) judged good or outstanding is at its highest ever', tha…
The Government has today updated their 'Things providers need to know' document. You will find links to registering your provision online as well as an explanation of how the scheme will work. You can read the update here.
We have been asked to collect and submit our views on a series of questions that are due to be discussed in Westminster on 21st November. Please share your thoughts here.
The Government has published it's response to the 30 hour free childcare entitlement delivery consultation. You can read the response here. We are discussing their response here, on the FSF.
She has said "I welcome views from a broad range of stakeholders on the questions posed in this consultation and I look forward to considering them. I plan to respond to this consultation as part of the forthcoming workforce strategy, which w…
It has been announced that the results of the pilots will be delivered in July 2017, which is two months before the national roll out. If you would like to read the announcement you can do so from here. You can follow the ongoing 30 hours di…
The report calls for the DfE to conduct a full review of the Reception year. You can read the report here. You can discuss the report and share your thoughts on this thread.
The 'Untapped Potential' report expounds the need for a high-quality childcare workforce to enable every child in early years to get the best possible start. There has been a mixed response across the sector. You can contribute to the FSF dis…
The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) will remain in place as the EYFS mandatory assessment for 2016/17, instead of the Reception Baseline Assessment, introduced experimentally in 2015.
Baseline Assessments were judged to be in…
As previously discussed in forum conversations we'd like to confirm that we are officially retiring PRAMS at the end of this academic year (2016). PRAMS is no longer being actively developed, and from 31st July 2016 we will no longer be suppo…
Shimmy with Timmy for Sport Relief!Sport Relief is back on Friday 18 March and it is going to be extra special as Timmy from Timmy Timeis joining nurseries for a bit of a shimmy to raise money. So don’t be sheepish, download your free Nurs…
Sam Gyimah, Childcare Minister,has announced that LAs will receive an additional £1.5 million to support them in preparing for the introduction of the EYPP. The EYPP, at a value of £50 million for 2015-2016, will be given to providers deliv…
The Department for Education have released a model form and letter for parents, to help providers identify which children are eligible for the EYPP.
Find it here
