Leadership

Working with parents in the EYFS

All parents are unique, and sometimes, what they want from their child’s early years provider is very different to what the practitioner feels is appropriate. In light of the increased emphasis in the updated EYFS on developing strong parent partnerships, Vanessa Linehan considers how to strike a balance.

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      string(5319) "parentpartnership10,11 and certainly the new Early Years Teacher standards fail to emphasiseparent partnership. Practical guides to parent partnership in the early years tend tofocus on aspects such as sharing policies with parents, home visits and includingfathers. They do not delve deeper, encouraging practitioners to consider the beliefsthat parents hold about the way that they wish to bring their child up. If practitionersdo not do this, they are in danger of making tokenistic gestures while failing to enterinto a meaningful dialogue with parents about what sort of partnership they would liketo have with their child’s key worker and other staff at the setting.This research took place in one particular playgroup and therefore the findings andrecommendations may not apply to all settings. But looking at parent partnership ina broader context, professionals working in early years should consider the attitudesof parents who may have strong beliefs about over-formalisation of the early years. Aspractitioners, I would argue that this view needs to be respected and practice adaptedaccordingly.90Vol 6.1School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comPrimaryFileLeadershipResourcesKnowledge trails1) The magic ingredient: parents! – A range of practical ways to involve parents in schooldecision-making.library.teachingtimes.com/articles/parental-engagement-pupil-achievement-school2) Reach a little further – Schools sometimes speak of ‘hard-to-reach’ parents but, says MargaretBooth, we should recognise that many parents find schools formal and inaccessible – and dosomething about it.library.teachingtimes.com/articles/reach-a-little-furtherReferences1. Brunton, P. and Thornton, L. (2010). The parent partnership toolkit for early years. OptimusEducation: London.2. Lindon, J. (2009). Parents as partners: Positive relationships in the early years. Practical Pre-School Books: Salisbury.3. Nutbrown, C. (1999). Threads of thinking: Young children learning and the role of early education.Sage: London.4. Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Taggart, B. (2004). The final report:Effective pre-school education. [online] Institute of Education. Available at: <www.ioe.ac.uk/EPPE_TechnicalPaper_12_2004.pdf> [Accessed 06/06/2014]5. Desforges, C. and Abouchar, A. (2003). The impact of parental involvement, parental support andfamily education on pupil achievements and adjustment: A literature review. [online] Departmentfor Education and Skills. Available at: <bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/filesuploaded/uploaded_resources/18617/Desforges.pdf> [Accessed 06/06/2014]6. Sylva, K. et al. (2004) op. cit7. Hughes, A. and Read, V. (2012) Building positive relationships with parents of young children: Aguide to effective communication. Routledge: London.8. Department for Education and Skills (2007) Every parent matters. [online] Available at:<webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFES-LKAW-2007> [Accessed 06/06/2014]9. Hobart, C., Frankel, J. (2003) A practical guide to working with parents. Nelson Thornes:Cheltenham.10. Nutbrown, C. (1999). op. cit11. Whalley, M. (2007) Involving parents in their children’s learning. Sage: London.This area has not been highlighted in other research and as a result, has not beenconsidered by policymakers. The EYFS does not distinguish between nurseries andplaygroups. The guidance that it gives on parent partnership applies to all settingsregardless of whether a child attends a nursery 50 hours a week, or whether they are ata playgroup for three hours each morning.Although the standard of care and opportunities for learning and developmentshould be the same, I suggest that it can alter the way that both staff and practitionersperceive parent partnership. And this is why it is important that parents are treated asindividuals and are asked about their views and expectations when their child starts ata setting. While one parent might expect a formal review every half term, others mayprefer an informal chat at drop-off and pick-up. While some might prefer to attendgroup meetings to find out information, others may prefer written communication.Policymakers and practitioners need to acknowledge individual attitudes andneeds. It is not just children who are unique. Parents are too.Vanessa Linehan is an Early Years Business Manager and practitioner with an MAin Early Years from Canterbury Christchurch University.library.teachingtimes.com/articles/parental-engagement-pupil-achievement-schoolhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/reach-a-little-furtherwww.ioe.ac.uk/EPPE_TechnicalPaper_12_2004.pdfwww.ioe.ac.uk/EPPE_TechnicalPaper_12_2004.pdfbgfl.org/bgfl/custom/filesuploaded/uploaded_resources/18617/Desforges.pdfbgfl.org/bgfl/custom/filesuploaded/uploaded_resources/18617/Desforges.pdfwebarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFES-LKAW-2007webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFES-LKAW-2007"
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Leadership

Working with parents in the EYFS

27 Jun 2014

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      string(5648) "Children in the UK are amongst the lowest age in the world when they start school. This was a decision first made in 1876 on the Factory Act’s recommendation, to stop child labour, resulting in making school compulsory for children aged between five and ten in 1880. In fact, only 22% of the world’s children start school so early and almost all come from former or current commonwealth countries, as the British influence spread. Since that date we have steadily increased the school leaving age, so that more children have a wider range of opportunities to support them into work. This begs the question why has no one looked at the other end, the starting point? Why are our children starting so young, with what is, after all, the legacy of Victorian decision-making based on an emerging need for safeguarding?Some would argue that the earlier they start, the better; it gives parents more opportunity to work and there may have been some merit in the economic argument in the past, but now that most working parents in England are entitled to 30 hours funded childcare from three years of age, this is somewhat outdated. There is no evidence to support that starting school earlier improves educational outcomes; if it were true the UK would have one of the highest performing education systems in the world.  According to the PISA1 results published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD) in 2016, we are currently ranked in 15th place for Science, 26th place for Maths and 23rd place for Reading.   Of course, there are many other factors at play as to why our children are not doing as well as they could be, but it is clear to see that them being there earlier is not giving them any advantage.Why does this matter? It matters because we now have a clear understanding of how children develop and learn that we perhaps were not so clear about in the Victorian age, and that the systems, culture, pedagogy and practice that are commonplace in schools do not always support the developmental needs of children nor do they enable their learning. You could argue that the building is not the important factor, but what happens inside and the culture ethos and vision that the school holds around early education, and, indeed, there are examples of good practice.However, this is not the norm and it is not uncommon to see reception aged children in school sitting for long periods of time on the carpet or at tables doing their ‘work’ and made to complete tasks for which they are not developmentally ready, inhibiting their development and preventing them from learning. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is built on the characteristics of effective learning, playing and exploring, active thinking and creating and thinking critically. If you think about it this is how we all learn isn’t it? Think learning to drive, or baking a cake or learning to sail, you learn by doing not by sitting and watching, or by cutting out and labelling pictures.The increasing pressure schools feel under to improve their results is resulting in a top down approach whereby children are required to sit still, hold pencils and complete a range of, often inappropriate, adult-initiated tasks in order that they are better prepared for Key Stage One. Indeed, the new baseline that is being developed, has conceded that learning in Reception classes needs to be more in line with Key Stage One, because a significant number of children are still not meeting the early learning goals, which are deemed to be the benchmark for school readiness and the national curriculum. No one appears to be asking the question why this is the case, nor are they considering the possibility that it is the Key Stage One curriculum that needs to be brought in line with the EYFS, so that more children can develop at their own pace and succeed.Of course, many schools do value play-based learning, but they are increasingly torn by the real challenge and pressure to improve results, so they make every effort to get children ready for the demands in Key Stage One in the hope that this will improve results. This is a flawed approach, as we know that, to learn, children need to have their needs met and that means ensuring their physical and developmental needs are met too.Physical development is a prime area of the EYFS, that means it is as important as communication and language and personal, social and emotional development. The three prime areas are the building blocks for learning, yet too often the physical needs of the growing child are overlooked, or take a lower priority.Children need to move, they are programmed to do so, it is an innate need and they know it is good for them. Watch any small child who is awake and well and they will be moving all the time. They do it because they are exploring their bodies and learning to be in their surroundings. They are growing so fast that this is a constantly changing relationship, things they couldn’t reach before are suddenly easy to get; skills they were unable to complete become manageable, every day they need to reprogramme their internal body map and develop their sense of personal space. They move to develop a control of their bodies and to learn to refine their movements and this takes lots of practice, but, most importantly, they move to learn.  Connell and McCarthy state “all learning begins with the body”1 and explain the link between the development pf ‘muscle memory’ in the brain to that of cognitive brain development. They argue that moving develops the predicting and sequencing"
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Special Needs

Moving to Learn

17 Apr 2018

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      string(5666) "The early years sector is complex and varied and often misunderstood as a result. Unlike other education sectors, the EYFS is delivered in place in a variety of settings including schools, village halls, nurseries, children’s centres and even childminders’ own homes. It suffers from an identity crisis, as many people are unclear about its purpose—education or childcare? If a child attends a day nursery, is that childcare? or if they go to a school-based setting, is that education? This confusion is further compounded by the different levels of qualifications—maybe it’s only qualified teachers that offer education?  And of course, there is also the deeply rooted perception that children under 5 are ‘just playing.’All of this has contributed to a culture where early years is often viewed as a stepping stone to school, somewhere children go to play and socialise or a facility for working parents. But Ofsted make the case that ‘Research has never been clearer—a child’s early education lasts a lifetime. Securing a successful start for our youngest children, and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, is crucial’.1Early years education is therefore important and is enshrined in legislation, but even the statutory requirements give the impression that the early years sector is about preparing for something else—’school readiness’. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework ‘promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s “school readiness” and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.’Real learning is not often associated with the EYFS, being perceived by some as starting in Key Stage 1 and being typically defined by a scenario involving a child sitting with a pencil in their hand, or on a carpet with an adult talking to them.How can we ensure that learning in the EYFS is valued and what principles can we take from the pedagogy?If we start by looking at teaching and learning and explore what those terms mean, learning in the EYFS becomes clearer. In its simplest form, teaching is about enabling learning and good teaching is about using the best method to make that learning happen. Learning is about the acquisition of a new piece of knowledge or skill and effective learning links to prior knowledge or skills and enables the child to apply the learning in context.In early years, it looks to the untrained eye as though children are ‘just playing’.  Play is a crucial element in good early years practice, but if you look carefully, you will see the child learning and practising new skills, extending their vocabulary, exploring and testing themselves and the world around them, developing socially, learning societal and cultural norms, expressing their needs and developing self-confidence. When you consider all this, it certainly looks like ‘real work’—indeed to the child there is no distinction between play and learning. So, what about teaching?  In early years settings, the adult plays a crucial role in their interactions with children at play using careful questioning techniques to promote discussion and encourage further exploration, as well as providing the resources needed for children’s next steps in their learning. This requires accurate assessment of children’s developmental stage and using their knowledge of child development to assess whether this was within typical development parameters or whether the child may need extra support. Planning is centred around what the child can do and what their next steps in learning are, usually incorporating the child’s interests and catering for their specific needs. Activities can be wholly or partially child- or adult-led, and may gradually move towards more formal teaching. But it isn’t a straight line of progression, as different desired outcomes require different methodology.  This is highly skilled work, as decisions need to be made on the spot about what each individual child needs next, including when to intervene and when to stand back, when to instruct and when to follow the child’s lead. And yet, we often hear it referred to as ‘only play’. This pedagogy is central to the EYFS, because it considers the holistic needs of the child, along with their age and stage of development. It does not separate play from learning—for young children, play is learning. Very few countries move away from this play-based pedagogy as early as we do in the UK, with many children not starting formal learning until they are 6 or 7. 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Inclusion

Capturing the Power of Play

6 Feb 2019

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Why are our children starting so young, with what is, after all, the legacy of Victorian decision-making based on an emerging need for safeguarding?  Some would argue that the earlier they start, the better; it gives parents more opportunity to work and there may have been some merit in the economic argument in the past, but now that most working parents in England are entitled to 30 hours funded childcare from three years of age, this is somewhat outdated. There is no evidence to support that starting school earlier improves educational outcomes; if it were true the UK would have one of the highest performing education systems in the world.  According to the PISA1 results published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD) in 2016, we are currently ranked in 15th place for Science, 26th place for Maths and 23rd place for Reading.   Of course, there are many other factors at play as to why our children are not doing as well as they could be, but it is clear to see that them being there earlier is not giving them any advantage.Why does this matter? It matters because we now have a clear understanding of how children develop and learn that we perhaps were not so clear about in the Victorian age, and that the systems, culture, pedagogy and practice that are commonplace in schools do not always support the developmental needs of children nor do they enable their learning. You could argue that the building is not the important factor, but what happens inside and the culture ethos and vision that the school holds around early education, and, indeed, there are examples of good practice. However, this is not the norm and it is not uncommon to see reception aged children in school sitting for long periods of time on the carpet or at tables doing their ‘work’ and made to complete tasks for which they are not developmentally ready, inhibiting their development and preventing them from learning. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is built on the characteristics of effective learning, playing and exploring, active thinking and creating and thinking critically. If you think about it this is how we all learn isn’t it? Think learning to drive, or baking a cake or learning to sail, you learn by doing not by sitting and watching, or by cutting out and labelling pictures. The increasing pressure schools feel under to improve their results is resulting in a top down approach whereby children are required to sit still, hold pencils and complete a range of, often inappropriate, adult-initiated tasks in order that they are better prepared for Key Stage One. Indeed, the new baseline that is being developed, has conceded that learning in Reception classes needs to be more in line with Key Stage One, because a significant number of children are still not meeting the early learning goals, which are deemed to be the benchmark for school readiness and the national curriculum. No one appears to be asking the question why this is the case, nor are they considering the possibility that it is the Key Stage One curriculum that needs to be brought in line with the EYFS, so that more children can develop at their own pace and succeed. Of course, many schools do value play-based learning, but they are increasingly torn by the real challenge and pressure to improve results, so they make every effort to get children ready for the demands in Key Stage One in the hope that this will improve results. This is a flawed approach, as we know that, to learn, children need to have their needs met and that means ensuring their physical and developmental needs are met too.Physical development is a prime area of the EYFS, that means it is as important as communication and language and personal, social and emotional development. The three prime areas are the building blocks for learning, yet too often the physical needs of the growing child are overlooked, or take a lower priority.Children need to move, they are programmed to do so, it is an innate need and they know it is good for them. Watch any small child who is awake and well and they will be moving all the time. They do it because they are exploring their bodies and learning to be in their surroundings. They are growing so fast that this is a constantly changing relationship, things they couldn’t reach before are suddenly easy to get; skills they were unable to complete become manageable, every day they need to reprogramme their internal body map and develop their sense of personal space. They move to develop a control of their bodies and to learn to refine their movements and this takes lots of practice, but, most importantly, they move to learn.  Connell and McCarthy state “all learning begins with the body”1 and explain the link between the development pf ‘muscle memory’ in the brain to that of cognitive brain development. They argue that moving develops the"
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Leadership

Moving to Learn

16 Apr 2018