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Parent Consultation is sent...


... asking for feedback.


This consultation is going out to all parents. For many of you that means I have been supporting you and your family over many years, but for some it is a new partnership. Please give as much feedback as you can. It is parents’ comments that will shape much of ‘what’ you will receive documenting your child’s time here moving forwards.


As of the 1st of September 2019, Ofsted have started to inspect state schools, further education and skills providers, non-association independent schools and registered early years settings in England, using the EIF (Education inspection framework).


Ofsted conducted a very large consultation in making this inspection framework, addressing many concerns across the sector.


From an early year’s perspective statistics show a 29% fall in childminders since the end of August 2012 and more alarmingly 1000 childminders leaving the profession between 31st December 2018 and the first three months of this year. Whilst there are many contributing factors to this decline including fundamental issues around sustainable funding for 2, 3 and 4-year olds, a major reason childminders’ leave the profession is the amount of paper work.


In the new EIF (Educational inspection framework) there is a move away from internal progress data, with a focus now on observing and discussing during an inspection. Ofsted are resolved to put the focus back on the child and closing the gap for the most disadvantaged children. They will do this by looking at the quality of the curriculum and education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. They will ask what I would like each of your children to learn and how I will implement my curriculum so that your child makes progress. They will want to know about the choices I make, the playthings I provide, the games I play, the words I use, the stories I read, and the songs I sing and how they impact on your child’s learning and development. They will listen to me, watch and listen to the children and may talk to them about what they are doing; but they will not be looking for data.


Moving forwards all early year’s settings will be required to ask parents for a ‘Starting Point’ before their child joins a setting and the setting must complete a ‘2-year Integrated Review’ for the child. However, settings will no longer have to complete written weekly observations, assessments and planning or provide parents with weekly reports; they will not be required to provide parents with reports at the end of term or complete school transition reports.


This leaves me with the dilemma of what I keep and what I don’t. As a parent, leaving my most precious little one with a setting, I would want to see the pictures and read about what they had ‘got up to’ through the week. I would find it comforting seeing the links to my child’s learning and development and sharing regular reports, because it would help me recognise my child’s progress in terms of developmental milestones and understand whether their progress was on track. I would also be reassured that my child’s setting was picking up and planning early intervention when things weren’t on target.


So, could you please email me with your thoughts on the following:


1. Would you like to continue receiving weekly reports through 2 Build a Profile?

(Please give feedback on their importance to you; whether the pictures are the most important; whether you want to read about what your child’s day – activities, outings, what they’ve said etc. The more comments I receive as feedback, the more of an informed choice I can make moving forwards).


2. Would you like to continue receiving the termly Comic Life?


3. Would you like to receive termly reports on your child’s learning and development?

(Please give feedback on their importance to you. If you value these reports would you like them to be termly, biannually or annually).


4. Would you like me to complete a school transition report?

(Please could the parents of children who have recently started school comment on preparations for school transitions including the All About Me Passports and the School Transition Report and the importance you put on these, as moving forwards they are not a statutory requirement).


Other internal progress data has included ‘Cohort tracking’ your child. Each cohort has been divided into demographic or statistical categories such as by age, race, gender, SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) and children who qualify for the Early Years Pupil Premium. I have personally found these to be highly effective over the years.


As I will be talking to an inspector about your child as an individual and how they have developed from their ‘Starting Point’ and where and how I would see your child’s development progressing:


5. Would you like me to continue Cohort tracking for children in setting?


What is clear is that Ofsted understand that your child will be best supported by a healthy work force and so this will be part of the inspection as the inspector talks about staff well being and leadership and management. They will not want to see pressures on staff because of unnecessary heavy paper work loads.


Ofsted will be looking at how settings support home learning and especially how they support their most disadvantaged children.


6. Please tell me about any specific help you would like in supporting your child’s learning and development at home.


In the EIF there is an increased focus on reading, language and communication. Simply put, vocabulary size relates to academic success or knowing more words makes you smarter! Children with poor language and communication skills at aged 5 are six times less likely to reach the expected standards in English aged 11 and twice as likely to be unemployed aged 34. 10% of all children will have long term speech, language and communication needs.


Dr Seuss said:

· The more that you read, the more you will know

· The more that you learn, the more places you will go


Supporting home learning has always been at the heart of my setting’s ethos. I hope you enjoy the games that I send to support your child’s speech, language and communication and other suggestions for fun games to support their seven areas of development. Moving forwards if I see parent information that I think is beneficial, I will share it via email. The subject heading will be ‘Daisy Dolls – Home Learning’ so please look out for the emails.


Finally, I appreciate this is a long email and I am asking for lots of comments. Please share as much as you can. I want to continue to build a stronger setting, with better parent partnerships and most importantly better outcomes for your child.


Thank you.


Denise

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