FSFRebecca

In our nursery staff have 1/2 hour unpaid lunch, away from the children if they work 6-7 hours, they have an hour if they work 8+ hours and they can choose either 1/2 an hour or an hour if they work 7-8 hours.

I think in school situations it is slightly different: Statutory framework says at p26:3.39 and footnote 45.

Does this help?

Since the session Frontier Economics has released a research report "Early years providers cost study 2018" which analyses detailed cost and income data collected from 120 early years providers during March to July 2018. You can read the report here. There have been various responses to the report, some which we have collected for you below:

• Government-funded research shows rising costs for nurseries and childminders (Nursery World)
• Government research reveals rising cost of providing childcare (Early Years Alliance (formally PLA))
• Research into Childcare Costs Needs to be More Robust (NDNA)

Last Monday Helen and I attended the second inquiry session for the Childcare and Early Education APPG at Westminster. The meeting was chaired by Ruth George MP (in the absence of Tulip Siddiq MP who is on maternity leave). We were pleased that the following MPs and members of the House of Lords attended:

• Ben Bradley MP (Con)
• Andrea Jenkyns MP (Con)
• Liz McInnes (Lab)
• Karin Smyth (Lab)
• Baroness Deech (CB)
• Baroness Howe of Idlicote (CB)
• Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (UUP)
• Baroness Prosser (Lab)

This inquiry session was to put questions to a panel of witnesses who have specific knowledge about the finances involved in the PVI sector. The panel were as follows:

• Nicky Morgan MP, Chair, Treasury Select Committee
• Gillian Paull, Senior Associate, Frontier Economics
• Cllr Gillian Ford, Deputy Chair, LGA Children and Young People Board

The Treasury Select Committee had previously found that the Government’s funding of the 30-hours policy is lower than the cost of delivery. In March 2018 it called the Government figure of £4.94 per hour “misleading”. The Committee has also suggested that the Government’s calculations on how much it costs to deliver childcare are out of date and inaccurate, stating that “setting the funding level with reference to wage and overheads data that is more than five years old is unsatisfactory”. Finally, regarding the increased charges for goods and services that providers have introduced, the Committee said these “consequences could be avoided were the Government to pay a higher hourly rate to providers and ensure that all the money provided to local authorities was passed on to childcare providers”.

Frontier Economics, in a Government report, ‘Evaluation of the first year of the national rollout of 30 hours free childcare’, published in September 2018 found that 39% of providers who took part in the evaluation reported that there had been a reduction in their profit or surplus due to the extended hours. 25% of providers either moved from making a profit to breaking even, or from breaking even or profit into making a loss as a result of offering the extended hours. The 30-hours offer was "not completely flexible or free for all parents” with 'substantial proportions' reporting that there were some restrictions on when they could use the hours (48%) or that they had to pay charges for additional items or activities (56%). Local authorities who took part in the evaluation argued that many providers "can only be financially viable if they adapt their business models to offer the extended hours, for example, through additional charges for extras and parent paid hours". It continued that that they "expected the pressure to develop these delivery models to become greater because the funding rate is planned to remain unchanged, while costs will increase", and that they believed "that the word 'free' should be dropped from the policy”. 

In the session MPs heard how the introduction of 30 hours had decreased flexibility for parents, with providers restricting their hours to particular times of the day. They were told that there was evidence of increased ratios and lower levels of qualifications amongst staff. MPs wondered whether the 30 hours initiative was about getting parents back to work (thereby a Dept. Work and Pensions scheme) or was it about providing care and education for children (thereby a DfE scheme)? It was commented by Cllr Gillian Ford that one concern of Local Authorities was that their funding did not allow them to support quality improvement in settings and so quality would decline over time. Similarly, despite research (e.g. EPPSE) finding that it was the work of high-quality early years  staff that led to the best outcomes for children the funding rates settings received for the 30 hours provision meant that they could not afford to pay for highly qualified staff. The point was made that it needed not to be just childcare and education that was provided but high quality childcare and education.

At the end of the session the witnesses were asked; "If the Department for Education were here today, what one policy recommendation would you make to them?" It was clear that there was agreement - in the comprehensive spending review the DfE must make the case for sufficiency of funding to cover the ongoing costs faced by providers including rises to National Minimum Wage, Pensions and Business Rates. 

35 minutes ago, hali said:

Really not worth attending 

Oh, really? That's disappointing ... what was it like?

Welcome to the FSF MelH73! Lovely to have you! I'm going to move your post to the Tapestry user conversation area as you might get more replies there - in my nursery we use the Amazon Fire tablets and, as Mouseketeer says, they are cheap and cheerful. I tend to 'stock up' when they are on special offer and this has worked well for the last few years. As others have said the image quality isn't as good as iPads but they are perfectly adequate for what we need. 

Invite for early years engagement events - curriculum workshops

At Ofsted, you will know that we are developing a new Education Inspection Framework (EIF) for September 2019. We launched the formal consultation on our proposals in January 2019. You can let us know what you think about our proposals for early years by completing the on-line consultation.

HMCI is clear that the ‘curriculum’, the educational choices we make for children, will be at the heart of the new framework. We use that word in the current early years inspection handbook, but have come up with a working definition so we are clear about what this means.

• The EYFS (educational programmes) provides the curriculum framework that leaders build on to decide what they intend children to learn and develop.
• Leaders and practitioners decide how they will implement the curriculum so children make progress in the seven areas of learning – we will keep our definition of ‘teaching’.
• Leaders and practitioners evaluate the impact of the curriculum by checking what children know and can do. 

We recently focused a training session for our inspectors on what the ‘curriculum’ means for early years. Our serving practitioner inspectors told us they found this useful and thought provoking. Therefore, we are keen to share this session with local authorities and registered early years providers as well as answer some questions you may have about our proposals for the EIF.

The decisions we make about what we want very young children to learn and develop are so important – we are talking about the experiences we provide, the games we play, the words we use, the stories we read and the songs we sing and everything else!

We would like to invite you to attend one of our Early Years Curriculum Workshops, which are taking place on various dates and locations. All details, including timings, can be found during registration. Please register for these events here.

Here is the agenda for this 2 ½ hour workshop.

• What does the ‘curriculum’ mean for early years?
• Distinguishing the ‘curriculum’ from teaching and assessment.
• What is knowledge? (considering the building blocks of knowledge children need to learn)
• Proposals for the new EIF – the quality of education.
• Busting some of those ‘myths’ about inspection.
• Questions.

And don’t forget to let us know about our proposals for EIF – the consultation is open until 5 April 2019.

Best wishes

Ofsted Events team

If you find yourself wondering why your children have too much energy and you, 'not enough', this piece by Dr Lala Manners will really get you thinking! Energy, by Dr Lala Manners

Hi! Welcome to the forum - yes, my forum colleagues are correct the daycare standards were pre EYFS . I can't find anything post-2003 either! 

Happy birthday to us ... 

I've just put a little piece on the front page 

"16 years of mutual support, wisdom and fun: This week saw The Foundation Stage Forum celebrate 16 years of providing a professional place for questions, discussions, research queries and pedagogical musings! In that time we have shared joy, despair, laughter and tears . We have supported each other through the excitement of opening new settings and the desolation of closing much-loved old ones. We are a very close team at FSF HQ and we see each other and work together both as friends and colleagues - you, the FSF members are thought of in very much the same way. Thank you "

.... "No, you're sniffling, I've just got a balaclava thread up my nose" 

On 10/02/2019 at 14:57, Cait said:

Ah I remember that printer!!! One of the first home printer/scanners if I am correct ... I've probably got some spare inks for it!!

On 10/02/2019 at 15:03, Leanne_Badderly said:

Leanne

Hi Leanne,

Welcome to the forum!

Do you have a question that you needed help with? We're ready to assist, support and/or mop up as required 

On 12/02/2019 at 10:59, Stargrower said:

I would welcome a switch to monthly payments.  For the first time this term, I was unable to pay the January wages without arranging a £10,000 overdraft with the bank.  We are still waiting for the balance of our funding to be paid and have been told by email this morning that it will be the end of next week.  Meanwhile, I have a pile of bills I cannot pay and am accruing costs for staying overdrawn.  It makes me blooming mad!

That's just awful, I really feel for you 

On 01/02/2019 at 18:04, Froglet said:

Ooh you’re getting technical (and relevant)! You can definitely have a medal. It was more along the lines of:

Can I have a drink/tissue?

 I need to take my cardigan off/put it on

Can I go for a toilet?

I haven’t got the paper/book/work.

Can I go and work with Mrs C (not even in school today).

or my current favourite because it appears helpful but takes ages and drives me mad is to wander slowly yet purposefully round the classroom pushing every chair in very precisely!

These children grow up to be adults who walk around holding a clipboard and looking at papers intently ... or they spend ages 'fixing' the photocopier 

22 hours ago, Caitlin Mitchell said:

Wow thanks for this!

I have been trying to get my head round documentation for in the moment planning for a few months now and disseminate what I know to my staff... and in one post I read on a lazy Sunday morning it suddenly makes perfect sense and I feel like this is a fab way of explaining it too!

Thank you so much Rebecca! 

Thank you for being so positive! I'm delighted you think this is useful - actually, since I wrote this my staff have taken this to the next level: They now put a little cloud round an activity when they have done it with all children / when the resources have run out / when they think it's exhausted all possibilities - that way, other staff can see which ideas and activities are 'live'

: 

Oh Cait,

You'll be sorely missed - you always have such valuable things to say .... can't we tempt you? Sometimes having a voice of reason from someone who isn't having to go through it themselves but who totally 'gets' the trials and tribulations is what we need 

The presentation was led by Chris Russell, the SE Regional director, Sue Mann , the Senior HMI for the region and Wendy Ratcliffe from the National policy team. The aim of the session was to introduce the key aspects of the proposed new framework and discuss in detail how the proposals affect the early years sector.
The draft Education Inspection Framework document relates to Ofsted’s full education remit: from early years to further education and skills provision (and everything else in between). Obviously different aspects are more / less relevant to different parts of the sector and the separate presentations to sector groups (following HMCI Amanda Spielman’s national launch of the whole framework) sought to address these known differences.
The overarching feeling in the room was one of openness and commitment to working together. I have read some cynical posts on social media suggesting that this willingness to consult and share is not all it seems and that minds are already made up – however, in the spirit of optimism, I didn’t feel that this was the case.
We were told that the consultation period (ending 5th April 2019) was genuinely planned engagement and that although there had been informal conversations with the sector about emerging thoughts and themes Ofsted needed to hear feedback on their draft documents as it is ‘by no means finished’ and they are keen to hear ideas and views.
We were reminded that Ofsted’s mission is to be “A force for improvement through intelligent, responsible and focused inspection and regulation”. To this end there has been a lengthy research process behind the new framework and the research is openly published alongside the draft documents.
The headline note that Ofsted sought to ‘do away with data’ was the first issue tackled. Both Sue Mann and Wendy Ratcliffe referred often to the industry that has evolved around assessment. They stressed the importance of knowing the children – where they came from, and where they are going as being paramount. The focus on the child is evident throughout the proposed framework – staff must not be so overwhelmed with data collection that it takes them away from the children. The message was clear: data should help children learn, not detract from it. It is therefore important that we think about how staff are using the data – are they collecting it for their own benefit (to confirm their professional understanding?) or are they collecting it to show someone else? If staff need data to help them see patterns of progress that is different to producing data to evidence ‘how hard they work’. 
The primary aim of the new framework, we were told, is to look at the quality of the education children are receiving. For those of us who have been doing this a while it felt very much like the ‘What is it like to be a child in this place?’ message of a few years back. Whilst discussing the inspection of education ‘Quality’ we were reassured that we should not view the new framework as a time for ‘panic stations’ the EYFS remains our statutory document. We were told that although there were new ELGs being piloted by the DfE, until the EYFS was reviewed as a result of these pilots then Ofsted would be inspecting as per the EYFS as it stands, there is no new agenda.
Having laid the foundations for our discussion we were given the following to think about: Ofsted will be looking at what is being taught and how it is being taught. Ofsted will be keeping the definition of teaching [Ofsted. 2015. P35, footnote 14] that we have now as the sector has found it a useful tool to work with. However, a noticeable change is the recognition that a single early years setting can only do so much for a child. There is recognition that children might attend several settings, or just one. They might attend for many sessions, or very few. They might have proactive parents who enrich their lives, or they may not. The message from Ofsted is that they will be looking to see how well do settings know their children? How well do they know and understand their individual circumstances? How well do they know and understand their starting points and consequently what are they teaching? Why are they teaching what they are? And how is what they teach going to make a difference to the child? Again, we were reminded that the curriculum (what you are teaching, why you are teaching it, and how you are teaching it) needs to be ambitious. It is the curriculum itself that is important, not the data. In the context of being a single setting with the child, this emphasis shift away from the data means that settings can’t take the benefit (or feel the consequences) of the other experiences (educational or domestic) that child might have. There was a clear emphasis on the importance of a strong curriculum for all SEND children, children who are disadvantaged and the most able children.
The practicalities of the inspection remain the same. The ‘Overall Effectiveness judgement’ remains with the 4 point grading scale applied according to the standards of the EYFS. Overall, we should consider the child:

“Is how I am a result of what I am receiving here?”

The following is are explanatory diagrams from the *presentation slides (which will be freely available on the Ofsted website following all the consultation ‘launch’ events). These clipped slides have been taken from here.
1.    

         The 4 proposed inspection judgements
2.    

           The 4 proposed inspection judgements relating to the current judgements
The existence of a ‘Behaviour and attitudes’ judgement raised eyebrows in the room and required further discussion. It was made clear to us that Ofsted were not expecting to see developmentally inappropriate behaviour – the example of 2-year olds sharing toys being a case in point. We were clearly told that Ofsted would be looking to see what settings are doing to support and develop self-regulatory skills. Similarly, the example of some children with SEND not being able to control emotional outbursts was discussed in terms of Ofsted wanting to see how settings were managing behaviour, providing a consistent and shared support for children’s individual needs. The Characteristics of Effective Learning would also be significant in the new Inspection Framework as inspectors will want to see how children’s behaviours, attitudes and motivations for learning were being supported and developed in the setting. 
In the ‘Personal development’ judgement, we were reminded that Ofsted were looking at the child in the setting – not the child when they were away from the setting – in my notes I have written ‘what impact are Providers having on children? – Ofsted are not assessing impact if it is not happening at the setting’. 
There will be a raised profile for staff CPD and the impact it has on practice in the new Leadership and Management judgement. The recent Pre-school Learning Alliance report ‘Minds Matter’ has contributed to the concern we all have for staff well-being. This concern will be part of the new inspection framework, staff will be asked about their workload and how they feel supported in the setting. The question of ‘off-rolling’ was also discussed here; off-rolling is not something that particularly happens in early years settings – however it remains part of the inspection for ey registered providers. We discussed what this meant and were told that inspectors will be considering whether children are all able to access the care and education to which they are entitled – and in early years this is likely to mean is funding (such as EYPP) applied for and utilised to the child’s best advantage? Is external support and advice sought and actioned at the earliest possible opportunity to enable children to achieve their best outcome?
Safeguarding remains of highest priority in the inspection framework. Leaders and managers will be judged according to the settings ability to identify issues promptly following appropriate training, they will be judged on their ability to act, report and source help and on their ability to manage their statutory responsibilities. Safeguarding will still be judged as either effective or not effective. We were reminded too that safeguarding is not health and safety – they are different. We were reminded that children must take risks and must learn how to manage those risks for themselves appropriately. Gill Jones HMI wrote for FSF last year about the importance of risk in early years making it clear that risk, and the management of it, was a crucial skill for children to learn.
A new phrase ‘Cultural Capital’ was introduced to the inspection vocabulary. A phrase from the world of sociology, it refers to the essential knowledge and dispositions that all children, regardless of their background, need to progress in our modern world. It considers the opportunities that some children have by virtue of their background (access to books, conversation, music and out of home ‘experiences’ like museums, parks etc) and asks that the early years settings acknowledge the differences and seek to provide in-setting enrichment to help build the Cultural Capital for these children.
Throughout the presentation we were tasked with answering various polled questions and we were encouraged to ask questions throughout. As I said at the beginning, there was a definite sense of working together to get the framework right. Some of the questions raised by the room were as follows:

• How would the inspectors be trained? And how would the Ofsted regional hubs ensure that inspectors follow the new framework and don’t have their own personal agendas and preferences?

All the inspectors will be fully trained on the new framework – they will not be able to inspect until they have completed full training. All hubs will work to ensure that inspectors work objectively and only according to the new framework. The SE team were very keen to impress on us that they would make this point extremely clearly to their inspectors.

• How will Providers find out about the new framework and the inspection changes?                            

The team said that there would be curriculum roadshows aimed at Providers and Local Authorities

• The use of the word ‘Curriculum’ suggests something other than the EYFS?

No, the curriculum is not prescribed, and the definitions of teaching remains. There is no expectation of written plans. Children learn by making connections – linking together ideas and thoughts – we should consider how children learn from the ways in which the setting is teaching them to make such connections. How do you decide what your children need to learn and why? How do you know where to start?

• We were asked how confident we feel about talking to inspectors about how we plan for children’s learning – the group felt that although we, as owners and managers, felt confident, some staff might feel less so and it was of concern that if they were unable to get their knowledge of the children across (without relying on the data) our inspection outcome might be less favourable.

Ofsted agreed that this was problematic and promised to included training for inspectors that covered the sensitivities required when talking to different members of staff.

Practicalities of responding to the consultation

• The consultation is open until 5th April
• There is one consultation for the full education remit – some questions are general and apply to all sectors, others are early years specific.

The link for the consultation is here

(Rebecca, from The Foundation Stage Forum, attended Ofsted’s ‘South East’ launch of the new Inspection Framework consultation)

Certainly there was discussion regarding the ‘behaviour and attitude’ requirement. It was made very clear that it was not an expectation that children would all be behaving perfectly but rather that there was a well thought out, developmentally appropriate,  behaviour policy that was consistently applied by all staff. Therefore, were the children being taught skills and strategies for sharing? Was ‘waiting’ for a turn encouraged and taught fairly? Particular comment was made for children with SEND and other behaviour issues - inspectors would be looking for appropriate support being given - not simply ‘expecting’ them to conform. From what I heard yesterday. Ofsted’s attitude to behaviour was common sense and was what good settings do anyway. There are lots of ‘voices’ in the last couple of days shouting about the outrageous requirement that babies’ behaviour is judged- but we all have expectations of babies’ behaviour already and we all teach our expectations carefully- ‘gentle hands’, ‘share’ etc, my interpretation is that is what is being asked. 

I was in London  to hear from Ofsted's South East team regarding the proposed new Education Inspection Framework which opened for consultation yesterday. All the draft documents are available on the Ofsted website along with HMCI Amanda Spielman's speech:

• Draft Early Years Inspection Handbook
• Draft Education Inspection Handbook
• Education inspection framework: overview of research

The consultation briefing was informative and considerably more open than I had expected. I will put my notes on this thread over the weekend - when I have had  chance to write them up. In the meantime - this presentation gives a clear picture of what it is that Ofsted are aiming for.

There were several interesting questions raised which I am sure will lead to healthy debate in the sector - watch this space 

Presentation notes

1 minute ago, pooh said:

Hi all, a little help please! 

I’m needing to report on the entry assessments that were made in reception classes for the school SEF. Just wondering how people are deciding now if the children are at, above or below expected entry level when they start school as no official test (thankfully!) I know we used to use the Ofsted guideline that expected was secure at 30-50 and starting or higher at 40-60 to be at expected on entry level. I can’t find recent info and just wondered if this is still the guidelines. Always a bit woolly but we need a starting point! I know the children have made good progress but need some evidence!

Thanks all

I can't find any more recent guidance either - the Statutory Framework only discusses the 'Progress check at age two' and the end of Reception EYFSP. I would say therefore that it is for your LA moderation team to establish the 'expected' starting points - have you asked your moderators?

The Guardian have published an interesting piece of research today regarding the number of men currently employed within the early years sector. You can read the article here 

This useful document from Action for Children and DfE has been recently updated. It might be a useful link for your setting website or Facebook page: https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/what-to-expect-when-1.pdf

I have uploaded a copy to the resource area too  

Worrying times starsdance,

Your setting's insurance should also have access to a free legal helpline - both for employers and employees

1 hour ago, Stargrower said:

That's an inspiring article Rebecca, thank you.

Was the author visiting that setting in the role of an Ofsted inspector?  Are they inspection findings?

Jenny has come back to me - it was a 'mock' inspection

1 hour ago, Stargrower said:

That's an inspiring article Rebecca, thank you.

Was the author visiting that setting in the role of an Ofsted inspector?  Are they inspection findings?

Hi Stargrower, no, they are not inspection findings. I will ask Jenny what her remit with the setting was, she is an early years consultant. 

Are you aiming for 'Outstanding' this year? This article by Jenny Barber might help you think about your practice more critically

Being 'Outstanding' - Passion, with bucket loads of enthusiasm and commitment thrown in.