Early Years Leading the Agenda

22.10.15

Successes and Achievements

Edinburgh Playday 2015

• Edinburgh’s Playday on 29th July was attended by up to 3,000 people

• The event aims to highlight the importance of play in children’s development

• Activities were provided by Early Years Play Development and Edinburgh Play Forum partners

• Sand, water, mud, potions, loose parts play, junk drumming, stories, games and baby heuristic play were on offer

• Edinburgh’s Playday provides lots of fun activities for children and their families on a large scale and in an exciting environment which parents can replicate at home for little or no cost

Review of the early learning and childcare workforce Professor Iram Siraj

Purpose of the review: To identify and make recommendations on how the skills, qualifications

and training of staff working within the early learning and childcare and out of school care sectors, from birth to age 14, can contribute to improved outcomes for children, help to reduce social inequality and close the attainment gap, based on the evidence gathered in the course of the Review and wider research evidence.

Key areas of review :• Skills, training and qualifications of the early learning and childcare workforce,

including teachers, Childhood Practitioners and all other levels of the workforce

• Recruitment and retention in the workforce, to ensure the right people are attracted to working in the sector

• Career Pathways, including continual professional development pathways, to ensure that staff are encouraged to progress their careers within that sector

• Status of Early Learning and Childcare Workforce, in recognition that working with young children is vitally important work, and should be valued as such

• Workforce Planning, to identify the steps needed to grow the early learning and childcare workforce over the next decade, including consideration of the level of qualifications and training that should be aimed for, to enable a significant expansion of high quality provision in this timescale.

• Status, skills, training and qualifications of the out of school care workforce.

Findings

• 31 Recommendation-short/medium/long term – over a 15 year time span

• Ensure that all staff in ELC settings are highly qualified and knowledgeable “lead learning and sensitively support families”

• “The City of Edinburgh Council is one of the best early learning focuses within Scotland.” P110

Inspections – Education Scotland 2014 – 2015

• From June 2014 Education Scotland carried out inspections in 4 partner providers and five nursery classes.

33 grades were awarded as follows:

1 excellent 9 very good 14 good 5 satisfactory 4 weak

• Is there any relationship between the characteristics of the pre-school setting that a child attends and the change in their cognitive or social development?

Only the grading on the Care Inspectorate’s theme of ‘care and support’ was found to be associated with child outcomes, after controlling for differences in children’s backgrounds.

Children who attended providers with a higher care and support grade were more likely to show higher vocabulary skills by age five, irrespective of their skills at age three and their social characteristics.

Education Scotland Inspections 2014 - 15

Care inspectorate grades

EELCA

Feedback from modern apprentices, trainees and schools.

I personally just wanted to take the time to thank you for all your hard work in the

first year of this programme. Our Trainee has been an absolute pleasure to support and work with this year and I know she will make a brilliant early years practitioner. She has ensured a very smooth transition to the 600 hours for my team at Pentland

“The best thing about being a modern apprentice is that you do the job you love everyday whilst constantly learning and developing your knowledge and understanding.” Cally Little

• The greatest thing I've learnt is that I can make a positive impact on children's lives.” Katie McDonald

New Provision

New Provision

WardieFox CovertDuddingston

Building the Ambition

See Newsletter or CPD directory for new training dates

Early Years Collaborative

• RAFA – Raising attainment for all

• Bedtime Stories

• Outdoor – physical exercise