Helen

The advertising criteria for FSF are as follows: We will advertise courses that are free or from other national providers with whom we have a connection: NDNA, PLA, Early Ed, Ofsted, DfE etc We will advertise accredited courses run by charities The FSF Admin team reserve the right not to post any course or event at their discretion You can use the search bar above this text on the right hand side - search by key words for subject, town or county to find courses near you. If you need any help or guidance then please email sue@eyfs.info

I look forward to that, Looby Loo! I think you've summed up the feelings of most people working in the early years and primary sectors. Exhausting and challenging times. 😟

I'll start us off, then! And I'll begin by telling the story of the birth of the FSF 😀 After teaching in a primary school for a while, and after the birth of our second child, I decided to set up my own nursery. It immediately became apparent that I missed the support and camaraderie of the school staff room- somewhere to seek and offer advice, etc. Leaders to support my professional learning and development as a new leader myself. So my husband, Steve, who knew about this stuff, set up the forum. Forums, in those days, were pretty much the only way to communicate with like-minded individuals- no facebook, twitter, etc and they were often very popular this one included! At its most lively, we had over 30,000 members- many of whom quietly sat on the sidelines and read all the interesting discussions that were going on. This was a real highlight in my teaching career and such a supportive, and often hilarious, place to be at the end of the working day or week. I learned all sorts of wonderful tips and tricks when running my nursery for 20 children in East Sussex. Several individuals on here really took the time and made such a huge effort to support others- you know who you are- many of you are still here even though you've retired! And we can't thank you enough. In recent years, social media has attempted to replace forums and in some cases, has been successful. But it's still my belief that the likes of twitter/facebook, etc are really not conducive to a professional discussion; one that can go on over a few days or weeks, which allows participants to really think about issues. And not just blat out the first response that comes to mind, at the risk of sounding irritable at best and rude at worst. I'll end with a wish for the future- that forums such as this one start to grow again so that we can support each other in the early years and primary sectors, both of whom are really struggling under these challenging circumstances. 🙂

I've just had the luxury of half an hour on a Friday afternoon catching up with the website and watching this really beautiful short video, celebrating the first 5 years of a child's life. Until today, I hadn't really had time to learn the details around the focus of the Centre's work in years to come. I feel pretty upbeat about it! Apart from the stats that say only a quarter of the population understand the unique importance of the first five years, obviously....😧 I particularly liked the phrase 'positive protective factors' that a high quality early years experience can bring to children, particularly those in difficult and deprived circumstances. Have you had a chance to watch these? What do you think? Is change and recognition of the importance of the early years about to happen? And what can we all do to help make that change? https://royalfoundation.com/early-childhood/ https://shapingus.centreforearlychildhood.org/ 'Not for the quick win, but for the big win'. Princess of Wales, 2022.

Hi Chelsea, How did your research go? We'd love you to share your findings with us! 😀

Hi, I was wondering how things are going, littlerainbows? Were you able to support staff in reducing their time on their ipads?

Do you have an idea of size and venue? Where are your nearest settings- do you think there are enough children in the area, and that there is a need for another setting? They would be my first two considerations. 😀 How familiar are you with the EYFS and working with young children? How exciting! I ran my own nursery for 10 years (also retired from that, now!)

We used to provide toast and crumpets and fruit- with 20 children 2-4 all sitting at 3 small tables with an adult at each. Children may have baked something that morning that we share, but generally, an adult prepared the food and children helped to serve it.

As co-sponsors of the APPG, we are pleased to invite you to the next meeting of the APPG for Childcare and Early Education on 14th December at 2pm. This session will explore different pedagogical approaches in early education and hear from experts and proponents on their benefits. Please let us know if you would like to attend, and you will receive the joining details in due course. If you're wary of attending an APPG- not sure what is involved or whether you will be asked to say something- don't worry! You don't have to say anything, you can have your video off so you can relax, watch and learn. Usually, APPG meetings are held in Westminster but for obvious reasons, they have been online for quite some time. 🙂 This is the opportunity to see how MPs are informed about the early years sector, and what the process is in raising awareness of the successes and challenges in early years provision. Please come! Anyone is welcome to attend and we look forward to seeing you there. Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you have any further questions. Best wishes, The FSF

Tilly was amazing! It was so refreshing to hear a headteacher share her understanding of, and enthusiasm for, the early years. You don't get that very often.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience- that's really kind of you. Was there much talk about your curriculum- progression skills, etc? There are a number of posts on facebook saying their inspector was asking for those.

Hi Olivia, We have a tutorial here which I think might help : If that doesn't fit the bill, do get back to us with the kind of thing you're looking for. 🙂

What an inspiring article- thanks so much, Francesca. I can feel your delight in winning over those reluctant readers! Our son adored being read to from a very early age, getting totally absorbed by the story. But in Year 1 he was totally put off by the dreaded reading scheme books. His Dad and I were worried he would be turned off books forever and asked him why he didn't seem to like reading books anymore. He replied, 'I do, but there are more funner things to do'. He's 26 now. And reads more than me!

The Confucian quote that Sue mentions in her comment is so relevant to today's pressures towards a knowledge-based curriculum for our youngest children, where they are required to remember 'stuff'. How many times does the new EYFS mention learning about things 'from books'? It's so obvious we learn so much more from doing than passively absorbing information. Thanks for this, Rachna-an interesting read. I haven't come across the Vedic ideas of learning by doing but, like Leedslassie, I'm keen to find out more. I've always loved the idea of yoga sessions for very young children.

The process of labelling is linked very strongly, I believe, to assessment and giving judgements and levels to children's learning and 'performance'. The incredibly hard process of gaining an EHCP, or even extra help/resources, to give a child access to what they really need, means that we are tied into this constant assessment and labelling cycle. As the move in mainstream is away from assessment levels and tracking, we now need to move away from labels and write, in a narrative fashion, about each individual child. Exactly what their strengths and needs are, without putting a label to them. I can dream!

Giggling might be effective, too! Yes, by all means- I'm pretty sure June published it so that anyone can use it/tweak it etc.

This is the letter June O'Sullivan from LEYF has shared. You might want to adapt it and send to your MP before Tuesday's debate: Dear (Insert Name of Local MP) As my local MP and on behalf of the UK’s Early Years sector, I am writing to urge the Government's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to vaccinate ALL nursery and childcare workers as a matter of urgency – along with immediate access to free testing, currently available to other essential workers. So far, ministers have failed to give any valid explanation as to why the Early Years (where cross infection is high) is not being prioritised after society's most vulnerable groups and NHS workers have been given the jab. This is especially pertinent considering many childcare workers are aged 50+. Nurseries are the lifeline in keeping both people in work (especially front-line NHS staff) and the economy afloat which is why this essential service must be fully supported by Number 10. The country needs an Early Years workforce that is immune from the virus rather than one which is seriously debilitated by illness. Yours sincerely . At the Newham conference this morning, Alison Peacock (CEO Chartered College of Teaching) reported that Dr Jenny Harries (Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England) said that very young children do not transmit the virus as much as older children. I can't find any evidence for this, so it might be worth mentioning this in your letter too. 🙂

So now parliament are going to debate on Monday, priority vaccination for teachers, school and childcare staff. We'll all be watching closely, I'm sure.

There is a debate in Westminster Hall next Tuesday afternoon titled 'Effect of COVID-19 outbreak on EY settings'. The chair of the APPG the FSF co-sponsors, Steve Brine MP, will be speaking on behalf of PVI settings. Do get in touch with your MP and express your concerns. This is gathering momentum now and needs everyone to voice their opinions and worries.

Hi there, We won't be adding extra steps to the DMs in Tapestry- we're very keen to honour the ethos of the document and not create another ticklist for assessment purposes. However, we are creating some monitoring screens, so you can record whether children are on track, or whether you have any concerns about their learning and development. I wonder if you've come across any of the video recordings and podcasts we've made with Julian Grenier and Gill Jones and Wendy Ratcliff from Ofsted? Or if you've read Dr Grenier's additional guidance and blogs? He has recently explained how his nursery has created a curriculum which focuses on skills progression. This might be really helpful to you and your staff; you are free to decide what you want your children to learn and you can decide what resources and activities you will provide to help them get there. It's a very different approach to looking at what's next in the list to teach, but it's a great way of working with our youngest children and is far less time consuming that the ticklist approach.

So sorry we missed this post- I'll move it into the Tapestry section! Tapestry looks at each of the assessments you've made and averages them. So, if you had one at 22-36 emerging and one at secure, the result would be 22-36 developing. Does this explain what you're seeing in your summative assessment screen?

I am in awe of teaching and support staff in schools and settings. Nobody could have ever been prepared for what they've had to deal with and they have coped superbly, with such positivity and support for each other.

I absolutely love the phrase 'Energy never dies, it is transferred'. How true that is. I'm sure we can all remember colleagues who radiate energy that we can absorb and hopefully pass onto others. What a wonderful image!

What struck me with this article was the 'expectation' element and how we might not always have the same high aspirations for all children. I remember when I had my very first class as an NQT, the children's previous teacher gave me a sheet of paper with the children's names, and then a brief description of them. I was horrified to see words such as 'lazy', 'disinterested', and 'bright' against the children's names. This was 30 years ago, and I would sincerely hope that sort of attitude isn't held by any teachers now. I wonder how on earth she thought this might help me?

Yes, absolutely, you can. Using the new DMs won't have any affect on your assessments using the existing DM framework. But to be honest, I'd just leave it until next year- you have enough to deal with at the moment. Maybe if things settle down in the spring, you might be able to look at it then? That will still give you 6 months to get to know it before you make the decision whether or not to use it in September. 🙂