The Standards and Testing Agency has approved the following providers for the reception baseline assessment:
Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, Durham University (CEM) Early Excellence GL Assessment Hodder Education National F…
Chief Inspector Michael Wilshaw has this week written to all early years inspectors, giving instructions on the focus of future inspections. He criticises current inspection reports, saying, 'Too many reports focus on describing the provisi…
Elizabeth Truss, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare, has written in a letter to Norman Baker, MP for Lewes, that 'Development Matters' may still be used in early years settings. Her response follows a request…
Ofsted's consultation, closing on 21st March 2014, has followed the Children and Families Bill 2013 which includes provisions for the creation of childminder agencies. The Bill also includes regulation-making powers that will determine how …
Ofsted have published the arrangements for taking action where an inspection is flawed.'Flawed inspections' , published in January 2014, sets out the procedures to be taken in the event of an inspection being so seriously flawed that it is …
We are delighted to welcome back East Sussex LA who have just renewed their LA scheme for the 8th year and West Sussex LA who have just renewed for the 4th year. If you already belong to the forum as a East or West Sussex member you need d…
Department of Education have released the national statistics for Early years foundation stage profile results: 2012 to 2013 find them here and join in the forum discussion here
We are delighted to welcome back Birmingham LA who have just renewed their LA scheme for the 9th year. If you already belong to the forum as a Birmingham member you need do nothing, your account will automatically be renewed If you work…
Welcome back to members from Oldham for a 3rd year, Northamptonshire & Richmond for a 7th year, Worcestershire for an 8th year. For details of how to join as part of a Local authority scheme see here
A non-statutory guide for practitioners and inspectors has just been released by the Department for Education. Comprising the first column of the original Development Matters document, Early Years Outcomes has been published so that it can …
20% of 2-year-olds from some of the poorest families are now eligible for free childcare – this number will double next year. The Deputy Prime Minister has announced how free childcare for 2-year-olds is being doubled so that 40% of fam…
This is a report on the outcomes of the consultation regarding the proposals to make revisions to the framework for the inspection of early years providers from November 2013. You can access the report here
Ofsted has announced a toughening up of early years inspections, making it clear that only provision that is ‘good’ or better is good enough for very young children. From 4 November 2013, a judgement of ‘requires improvement’ will re…
This consultation closes on 30th September, 2013. The government proposes to:
remove burdens and simplify processes, enabling providers and parents to more easily navigate the system; replace the General Childcare Register with a Child…
If you have not yet seen Professor Nutbrown's response to the report issued by Elizabeth Truss then find it here and join in discussions about its content.
The PSLA's Neil Leitch has launched an e-petition to try to force a parliamentary debate on proposed changes to staff ratios. You can find this here, and discuss your views in this forum topic.
