26
Early Years Quality Framework 2009
Early Years
Quality Framework
2009
Comms/1313/FEB2009 5250
If you know someone who would like this information in a different format contact the communications team on 0191 424 7385.
01 Contents
02 Visionary Statement & Introduction
03 Purpose of the Framework
04 Glossary of Terms
05 Guidelines for Use
06 Links to Every Child Matters
07 Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Principles & Terminology
08 Key Elements of Effective Practice (KEEP) Principles
09 Leadership & Management
10 Learning & Teaching
11 The Learning Environment
12 Working in Partnership
13 Resource List
14 Development Plans
15 Meeting Schedule
16 Setting Notes / Evidencing
17
18
19
20
Contents
“It is not possible to ‘grow’ people unless you nurture their roots. You cannot lead them into the future without treasuring the past”
Martin Luther King Jnr.
Our vision in South Tyneside is that every child and young person will have the opportunity to achieve their full potential through the provision of high quality, child-centred, integrated services; services which are flexible enough to ensure each family is well supported to build upon it’s unique foundations. In this way, we believe, we will act to reduce inequality by providing the right climate to nurture each child and young person towards adulthood.
This working document underlies our continued commitment to improving outcomes for all children and young people by providing a framework of shared values that will ensure coherence and continuity of provision across partner providers.
Our vision is that the framework will support practitioners as they strive towards excellence, ensuring our children and young people: enjoy good health, remain safe and secure, are able to enjoy life while achieving their potential, positively contribute to a society of which they are a valuable part and ultimately lead independent, fulfilling lives.
Historically, South Tyneside has been recognised as a provider of high quality services for children and young people. Our vision is that this document will support services to build upon this further as they continue to strive towards outstanding practice. We hope that this framework will support providers to gain an overview of their service and, in so doing, allow this knowledge to lead them confidently into the future.
Vision StatementVisionary Statement & Introduction
Helen Watson
Executive Director Children & Young People
Cllr Jim Foreman
Lead member for Children and Young People
The purpose of this Framework is :• To provide, for all children, a common entitlement to
high quality integrated care and education in their formative years.
• To provide a clear direction towards outstanding provision and practice for all those working with, and making decisions about, children in the early years.
• To provide a Framework to support strategic planning to meet the needs of individual children in the Early Years Foundation Stage.
• To provide a shared understanding and common focus for the development and monitoring of the Early Years Foundation Stage provision and practice in South Tyneside.
The Framework is intended to be used by :• The Local Authority to support strategic long term
planning in the pursuit of high quality provision and practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage.
• The Local Authority as a common monitoring tool to review the early years provision
• Local partnerships, as a set of agreed values for the Early Years Foundation Stage
• Head teachers, Governors, managers, owners and committees in collaboration with practitioners as a monitoring tool supporting self evaluation in order to plan for improvement in their setting
Use of the Framework at these levels will help us to : • Articulate a Local Authority shared understanding
of quality in Early Years Foundation Stage
• Provide consistency of approach
• Provide an audit tool and assist the targeting of cross sector support
• Support settings moving from good to outstanding within Ofsted
• Identify excellent practice in settings
• Support continuous improvement
• Inform continued professional development (CPD)
• Enable structured setting action planning
• Encourage practitioner reflection
• Focus and rationalise Local Authority priorities
Purpose of the Framework
Focusing InadequateNever
Rare
Rarely
No
Little
Very few
Scarce
Scarcely
Insufficient
Unprepared
Inflexible
Rigid
Poor
Inappropriate
Ineffective
Unsuitable
Lacking in Confidence
Unclear
Lack of
Developing SatisfactorySometimes
Some
Occasional
Infrequent
Few
Limited
Restricted
Sufficient
Limited variety
Average
Beginning to
Enabling GoodUsually
Good
Many
Regular
Regularly
Frequent
Frequently
Most
Often
A variety
Established
Enhancing OutstandingAlways
Detailed
All
Excellent
Multiple
Plenty
Always prepared
A wide variety
Effective
Suitable
Highly
Well equipped
Clear
Well established
Confident
Thorough
Thoroughly
Glossary of Terms
The following guidelines for use are suggested:
• Focus on one aspect of the Framework at a time e.g. The Learning Environment
• Carry out an observation using the relevant pages from the Framework
• Highlight or underline which statements you think best reflect the practice you observe
• Make supporting notes as you go along—this may be on the page itself or on the Notes/Evidencing sheets at the back of the Framework
• As soon as possible after the observation discuss the outcomes with practitioners involved
• Identify strengths and agree which category is a best fit for the current practice
• Identify areas for development
• Use the Development Plan sheets to plan actions that will help develop the practice
• When completing the Development Plan, link it to the five outcomes in Every Child Matters, the themes of the EYFS and which aspect of the Quality Framework it links to
• Set achievable dates and plan a review meeting – record in the meeting schedule in section 15
Guidelines for use
Stay safe Be healthy Enjoy and achieve Make a positive contribution Achieve economic well-being
A Unique Child 1.3 Keeping Safe
A Unique Child 1.4 Health and Well being
Enabling Environments 3.1 Observation, assessment and planning
A Unique Child 1.1 Child Development
Positive Relationships 2.4 Stay Safe
Enabling Environments 3.2 Supporting Every Child
A Unique Child 1.2 Inclusive Practice
Enabling Environments 3.3 The Learning Environment
Positive Relationships 2.1 Respecting each other
Learning and Development 4.1 Play and Exploration
Positive Relationships 2.2 Parents as partners
Learning and Development 4.2 Active Learning
Positive Relationships 2.3 Supporting Learning
Learning and Development 4.3 Creativity and Critical Thinking
Enabling Environments 3.4 The Wider Context
Links to Every Child Matters
Child-initiated learningA child-initiated or self-initiated activity is an activity wholly decided on by the child itself and is the result of an intrinsic motivation to explore a project, or express an idea. In doing this they may use a variety of resources and demonstrate a complex range of knowledge, skills and understanding.
Independent activitiesActivities that practitioners set up for children to experience which have been planned, but which children will be expected to carry out independently for most of the time, indoors and out.
Adult-led / adult directed activitiesAn activity or experience that the adult has selected to encourage or develop a particular aspect of learning. It is a time for adults and children to work together.
Adult initiated activityAn activity or experience where the adult introduces a particular material, skill or strategy so that children know what is on offer or how to access something. Here the adult is acting as a mentor, sharing knowledge and expertise in order to develop children’s development and learning.
Adult supported activitiesAdult supported activities or experiences suggest that the need for the adult’s involvement varies from time to time, moving from high to low.
Continuous provisionContinuous provision describes what is on offer for children on a daily basis. This usually includes provision of indoor and outdoor experiences; sand, water, small world, role play, construction, imaginative play, mark making and so on.
Enhanced provisionEnhanced provision is often used to describe the additions made to continuous provision to support individuals or groups of children with a particular interest. The continuous provision may also be enhanced with seasonal events and celebrations.
Free-flowA way of offering unrestricted experiences to children commonly used to describe the unrestricted access to the outdoors. However it is also used to describe the focus given to play. Free-flow play allows children to identify their particular interests and follow these through in ways that are meaningful to them. When children engage in free-flow play, they are able to learn at their highest level, intrinsic motivation leads to deep level involvement and good learning.
Terminology of the Early Years Foundation Stage
Reflective practiceThe process of reviewing the how and what of work with children and their families. It helps practitioners to evaluate their own actions and interactions and the impact of these on children’s development and learning. Reflecting on our practice helps us to focus on how we can work more effectively.
ObservationsAn observation (in the context of making a judgement for the Foundation Stage Profile (FSP)) is the process of watching and listening to a child as they engage in an activity and demonstrate specific knowledge, skills and understanding. Sometimes these can be very short and can occur as part of another activity and practitioners may be observing children alongside their ongoing interaction. Sometimes observations may be longer and are the result of targeting a scale/scale point or child to gain specific knowledge.
Formative assessmentOften referred to as assessment for learning, formative assessment is what you do everyday when you observe children and note their interests or abilities.
Summative assessment As it suggests this type of assessment is used to summarise a child’s achievements at a particular point in time so that their progress can be tracked. The EYFS Profile is a summative assessment of each child’s achievement at the end of the EYFS.
Learning journeysLearning journeys describe both the exchange of information that takes place about a child and the process of every child’s development and learning
The Key Elements of Effective Practice (KEEP)emphasise that effective learning is dependent on secure relationships, an appropriate learning environment and high quality teaching.
Each of the six areas are ‘key’ to effective practice and each ‘element’ in its own right. Each is dependent on all the others and each contributes to the whole.
KEEP – the key elements of effective practice
Effective practice in the early years requires committed, enthusiastic and reflective practitioners with a breadth and depth of knowledge, skills and understanding. Effective practitioners use their own learning to improve their work with young children and their families in ways which are sensitive, positive and non-judgemental. Therefore through initial and on-going training and development, practitioners need to develop, demonstrate and continuously improve their:
Primary National Strategy / Dfes 1201-2005 G / Crown copyright 2005
Understanding of the individual and diverse ways that children
develop and learn
Work with parents, carers and the wider community
Knowledge and understanding in order to actively support
and extend children’s learning in and across all areas and
aspects of learning
Practice in meeting all children’s needs, learning styles
and interests
Relationships with both children and adults
Work with other professionals within and beyond the setting
The Key Elements of Effective Practice (KEEP)
Focusing Developing Establishing Enhancing• Lack of opportunity to learn through
exploration, play and real life experiences and in a variety of places e.g. indoors and out.
• Unrealistic expectations for the amount of time children have to sit.
• Discontinuity in learning experience• Over rigidity of planning and routines• Lack of time for children to explore or
return to ideas.• No established systems, protocols and
procedures • Lack of opportunities to meet as a team to
plan/discuss children’s development• Staff are not encouraged to evaluate their
practice and to identify training needs• Poor practitioner role models• Lack of consistency in the setting• Poor communication amongst staff• Limited training accessed• Staff do not use evaluation of their
practice for personal development• Training not reflected in practice• No dissemination from individual training• Staff lack curriculum knowledge
• Adults are aware of children’s learning styles and child development
• There is a shared understanding of the aims and values of the setting
• Practitioner facilitates children’s choices in learning
• Systems, protocols and procedures are in place but inconsistently applied
• Clear evidence of risk assessments having been carried out
• Appraisal/performance management systems in place
• Training is cascaded• Practitioners are motivated to implement
what they have learnt• Staff plan as a team
• The setting provides for children’s needs and learning styles recognising that children learn in different ways and at different times
• The setting provides a range of challenging opportunities for children to learn through all their senses
• Staff are deployed effectively to support differentiation
• Active learning opportunities are planned in a wide variety of situations both indoors and out as well as beyond the setting
• Adults observe children’s interests and plan to support and extend these areas to facilitate learning
• Successes are identified, shared and celebrated
• Children have time to explore ideas and interests in depth
• CPD planned according to the identified needs of the setting and set out in the action/improvement plan
• All staff have shared high expectations of children’s achievements and well being.
• All staff are involved in creating conditions for effective learning including emotional resilience.
In this section, we will be considering:Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Daily routine
Planning the environment Planning, monitoring, auditing, replenishing of resources
Risk assessment Health and safety
Consistency of staff Confidence, understanding, knowledge of staff
Support of manager, head, lead Curriculum knowledge
Key Elements of Effective Practice (KEEP) Statutory requirements for the EYFS
Application and delivery of the curriculum across all six areas
Foundation Stage Profile
Questions for reflection:• What is the adult’s role in your setting?• How do you ensure that everyone contributes to a positive attitude to learning?• What does being a good role model entail?• What is it like for a child in your setting?• How is learning recognised and celebrated?• How do adults create a positive climate for learning?• What support is provided for newly qualified staff or staff new to your setting?• How do you prioritise CPD for staff?• Who is responsible for maintaining and selecting resources?• Does the setting fulfil statutory requirements, as defined in the EYFS?
Leadership and Management
In this section we will be considering:
Learning and Teaching
Practitioner’s Role
• Interactions – adult/child, child/child, adult/adult
• Setting up the environment – indoor and outdoor
• Groupings
• Developmentally appropriate meaningful opportunities
• Resources
• Sustained shared thinking
• Direct teaching in skills and knowledge
• Rights of the child
• Valuing and respecting children’s choices
• Knowing children’s interests
Children
• Children’s unique learning needs
• Children making links within their learning
• Equal balance of adult directed / child initiated activities
• Development of thinking skills / valuing process of learning
Observation/Assessment
• Cycle of observation / assessment / planning
• Sharing learning outcomes
• Listening to children’s voices
• Knowing the children
• Meeting the needs of the children
• Assessment for learning
• Observations - look, listen, note
• Foundation stage profile
Questions to support reflection:• How do children know what to do and how to do it?
• What choices are children given and how do these impact on their learning?
• What is a typical daily routine and how does it support children’s learning?
• What types of activity are continuously available?
• How do you support learning through this continuous curriculum?
• How do you plan for children’s learning?
• How do you ensure there is an appropriate level of challenge?
• How do you take account of children’s individual interests, needs and learning styles?
• What is it like for a child in your setting?
• How is learning recognised and celebrated?
• How do adults create a positive climate for learning?
• What support is provided for newly qualified staff or staff new to your setting?
• What does direct teaching look like in your setting? (when, where, who, how, what ?)
• How do you decide which aspects of the curriculum will be directly taught?
• Do you know what resources they have?
• How do you organise and share resources?
• How do children select and use resources?
• Who is responsible for maintaining, selecting and providing resources?
• How do you ensure the quality of resources?
• How do you assess children’s learning?
• Are children aware of what they are learning?
• What is the purpose of your assessments?
• How does assessment impact on the quality of your provision?
• How do you ensure all children’s needs are met in direct teaching sessions?
• Do you know what you want the children to learn?
Focusing Developing Establishing Enhancing• Adults direct children’s activities• Adults spend their time in admin-type tasks
rather than engaging with the children.• Poor practitioner role model• Practitioners do not value/respect the children• Practitioners do not interact with children• Practitioners dominate the children’s play /
conversations
• Interaction strategies are superficial• Practitioners are beginning to scaffold
children’s play• Developing good role models• Staff are enthusiastic and engaging across
the setting
• Appropriate strategies are employed by adults to support children’s planning
• Adults work at a child’s physical level• Adults listen to and follow a child’s
interests• Value is put on children asking their own
questions
• Practitioners are good role models for thinking skills and value the process of learning
• Practitioners constantly reflect upon and evaluate their practice
• No understanding of what learning can take place in each area
• No links are made between areas of learning – learning is isolated
• Children’s needs are not taken into account in the planning and provision in the setting
• Children’s opportunities for learning are constrained by the environment
• Child initiated learning is dominated by the teachers rigid planning and provision
• The rigid and inflexible routine / curriculum does not allow for spontaneous social interaction
• Children’s choices are not valued• The setting does not create a warm secure
environment that would enable children to openly express their thoughts and feelings
• All 6 areas are given equal importance• Solid working knowledge of child
development and the early years curriculum
• Practitioners plan solely to child’s interests but to the detriment of other areas of learning development
• Children are becoming aware of a daily routine
• Children talk about what they are learning during play
• Creative and imaginative play activities promote the development and use of language
• Adults understand that movement contributes to children’s learning in all areas,
• Visible daily routine• Daily routine includes a balance of adult
led/child initiated learning• Opportunities for children to work alone,
in small / large groups • Direct teaching is seen across the whole
range of experiences and activities (not always in a large or small group)
• Opportunities are built in to allow children to explore at their own pace
• Opportunities are given for children to return to their learning at another time to develop their sustained shared thinking over time and to represent their learning
• Planning is flexible and reactive
• Practitioners do not know the children• Practitioners do not observe children• Observations do not inform planning• No planned observations• No informal incidental observations
• Observations are recorded but not used to inform planning or to enhance the learning environment
• Children are observed and assessed in their everyday routine indoors and out.
• Children are observed and assessments made during child initiated activities and adult focused
• Observations/assessments made throughout the year inform the Foundation Stage Profile and are moderated within the setting
• Appropriate level of challenge built on the knowledge of the child
• Planning shows how practitioners use knowledge of child’s ability, learning styles and interests to inform planning
• Children are fully involved in their own assessment and planning the next steps of learning
In this section we will be considering:Indoor and outdoor environment Accessibility of resources
Vehicles for learning Six areas of learning represented
Continuous provision Enhanced provision
Display Documentation of learning
Stimulus to learning Rules and boundaries
Questions for reflection:• What do you display?• Who is it for?• How do you show the process of learning through displays?• How do you organise and share resources?• How do children select and use resources?• Who is responsible for maintaining and providing resources?• How do you ensure the quality of resources?• Who plans for / leads on what happens outdoors?• When do children have access to the outdoors?• What happens outdoors?
The Learning Environment
Focusing Developing Establishing Enhancing• There is no order or system to the
arrangement of the materials• There are no or few labels• Interest areas are not clearly defined or
named• Inadequate space limits the number of
children per area• The physical environment restricts
children’s movement• Lack of good quality resources• Lack of appropriate stimulus to promote
learning• No vocabulary/prompts in areas• Open ended materials are limited – most
resources lead to prescribed outcomes• No/limited outdoor space• No/limited materials for outdoor play• No space for children to display work• Work on display is adult directed and lacks
individual creativity• Sterile / disorganised environment• Resources chosen and set out by the
adult.
• Resources clearly labelled• Appropriate variety of materials• Environment is set up to allow children to
be independent and make choices about their learning
• Space / materials allow for some outdoor activities
• Displays reflect the process of learning as opposed to the outcome and are annotated
• Open ended resources available• Children show some respect of equipment
and environment• There is a comfortable homely feel to the
environment (provided within an area of the classroom)
• Free flow between indoors and out• Where there is no access to an
outdoor area there are daily structured opportunities planned to access the outdoors
• Interest areas are clearly defined, signs clearly posted, space adequate to accommodate groups; areas organised to allow for compatible learning
• A variety of labelling strategies which enable all children to understand and identify resources
• Multiple sets of materials are available• Resources for children to use in
imaginative ways• Positive images of children• Opportunities are built in to allow children
to explore at their own pace• Child initiated displays• Children have a place to display their
own work• Documentation of children’s learning
depicting the process as opposed to the outcome on the child’s level
• Rich language environment• The deployment of staff and staff/child
interactions demonstrate their knowledge of the importance of children’s learning outdoors.
• Substantial range of appropriate high quality open ended resources including real and authentic objects/ materials that reflect children’s interests/ home / culture/background
• Stimulating environment is well resourced, easily accessible, flexible and creative
• Staff consistently reflect upon practice• In addition to the continuous provision,
inside and out, staff enrich and support children’s learning through additional resources/stimuli
In this section we are considering:
Developing a dialogue Parental contributions
Pre-admission discussions Transition
Working together with the Local Authority, local community, parents and other agencies
Information sharing
Questions for reflection:• How do you involve parents in your setting?
• How do you encourage parents to be involved in their child’s learning?
• How do you show that you value and respect parental contributions?
• What Local Authority support do you access?
• When, and how effectively, do you work with other agencies?
• How do you engage with the local community?
Working in Partnership
Focusing Developing Establishing Enhancing• Occasional remark made to parents• Parents are not made welcome in the
school/setting• No settling-in period is planned• Little evidence of confidentiality• No opportunities for parents to become
involved• Inconsistent messages from staff to
parents• No thought or respect given to parents
needs• No respect of cultural differences• Practitioners are unaware of the need to
respond to the developmental needs of children
• Children are gently welcomed into the setting, home visits, open days, short days, key worker system
• Newsletter sent to parents• Visible noticeboard• Staff engage parents in conversation• Limited opportunities for parents to
become involved• Systems/protocols are developed and in
place but not consistently applied• Practitioners are well informed about
roles and responsibilities of colleagues from other agencies that work with young children
• Staff identify children with additional needs and seek out appropriate support from outside agencies
• There is a shared understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different agencies.
• The provision in the setting reflects, and is sensitive to, the identity of the local community
• LA supports setting• Mutual respect between setting and LA.
• Listens to parents and asks questions about children’s early development/ experiences
• Acknowledge parents as child’s first educator
• Actively approaches parents to build relationships
• Information for parents is available in appropriate formats
• Parents are given the opportunity to have impact on their child’s learning
• Parents are supported in their child’s learning
• Staff respond sensitively to children’s needs
• Consistent messages given to parents by all staff
• Staff seek support and advice from other agencies to inform their practice.
• Staff use their knowledge of the local area to plan for children’s learning.
• Staff involve people from the wider community to support children’s learning
• The setting regards the Local Authority as a critical friend
• There is a two-way flow of information, knowledge and expertise between parents and the setting
• Comprehensive arrangements for discussing children’s progress with parents
• The setting provides a variety of choices for parents to become involved in the setting
• Staff actively pursue opportunities for training with other agencies to enhance their professional practice
• The setting encourages different community groups to work together for the benefit of all
Leadership and Management Learning and Teaching Learning Environment Partnership• Edgington, M (1998) The Foundation
Stage Teacher in Action London; Paul Chapman Publishing
• DFEE (2002) Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage: London;QCA Publications www.qca.org.uk
• EPPE Research• SPEEL Research• Edgington, M (1998) The Foundation
Stage Teacher in Action London; Paul Chapman Publishing
• Wood E & Attfield J (2005) Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum London; Paul Chapman Publishing
• Drake, J (2001) Planning Children’s Play and Learning in the Foundation Stage London; David Fulton Publishers
• Edgington, M (1998) The Foundation Stage Teacher in Action London; Paul Chapman Publishing
• Wood E & Attfield J (2005) Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum London; Paul Chapman Publishing
• Duffy, B (2006) Supporting Creativity and Imagination in the Early Years London Open University Press
• Bilton,H (1998) Outdoor Play in the Early Years Management and Innovation London; David Fulton Publishers
• Drake, J (2001) Planning Children’s Play and Learning in the Foundation Stage London; David Fulton Publishers
• Miller,L & Devereux, J (2004) Supporting children’s learning in the early years London; David Fulton Publishers
• Learning Through Landscapes: www.ltl.org.uk
• Every Child Matters; www.everychildmatters.gov.uk • Garrick, R (2004) playing Outdoors in the Early Years
London; Continuum• Featherstone, s (2001) The Little Book of Outdoor Play
Husbands Bosworth; Featherstone Education• Featherstone, S (2003) The Little Book of Outside in all
Weathers Husbands Bosworth; Featherstone Education• Siraj-Blatchford, I & Clarke, P (2006) Supporting
Identity, Diversity and Language in the Early Years Glasgow; University Press
• DFEE (2002) Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage: London;QCA Publications www.qca.org.uk
• Foundation Stage Profile; QCA Publications www.qca.org.uk
• Edgington, M (1998) The Foundation Stage Teacher in Action London; Paul Chapman Publishing
• Miller,L & Devereux, J (2004) Supporting children’s learning in the early years London; David Fulton Publishers
Resource List
Date:
Key Theme / reference
What we want to develop What we will need Who will be responsible Completion Date How we will measure success / impact
• • • • •
• • • • •
• • • • •
• • • • •
• • • • •
• • • • •
• • • • •
Completion by Reviewed by Review date
Development Plan
Meeting Schedule
Date Topic / Element Attendee(s) Notes
Date Topic / Element Attendee(s) Notes
Notes Evidence
Action points
Signed : Reviewed by Dated
Setting Notes / Evidencing
Notes Evidence
Action points
Signed : Reviewed by Dated
Setting Notes / Evidencing
Early Years
Quality Framework
2009
Comms/1313/FEB2009 5250
If you know someone who would like this information in a different format contact the communications team on 0191 424 7385.
