Improving Early Year's Quality
Improving Early Year's Quality
Early Years Side by Side: Providers in Partnership (PiP)
The Early Years Side by Side: Providers in Partnership (PiP) programme was established in 2018 to provide regular opportunities for practitioners to work together; focusing on partnership working between settings and schools, support and development of EYFS leaders and best practice sharing. The objective being to proactively raise outcomes for vulnerable children.
These PiPs have shown how the EY Side by Side programme promotes collaboration and a collective responsibility approach. They have come together to develop a shared understanding of successful strategies, through which they are working jointly to close achievement gaps between vulnerable groups of children. Through challenging current practices and identifying pathways for improvement, the PiPs are providing support to those who are most at risk of not having the opportunities and experiences they need to succeed.
From January, the programme is expanding with the creation of Childminder PiPs. Childminders participating in the programme have been chosen with regard to our most vulnerable wards spread across Buckinghamshire and are also on the Ofsted and Early Years registers.
Narrowing our achievement gap at the end of the EYFS is a high priority for Children’s Services and if you would like to discuss further how you can take steps to achieve this end, please speak in the first instance to your Key Contact.
Supporting families in the home environment.
"Parents play a crucial role in supporting their children’s learning, and levels of parental engagement are consistently associated with better academic outcomes."
Education Endowment Foundation 2018
Working with parents and carers to influence the home learning environment is a key aspect of Early Years practice. The home learning environment is very important in influencing a child’s development and achievement. Some children get much less support than others with their learning at home. By getting to know your families, settings can adapt the support provided and offer extra help to those who need it most.
Self Evaluation Meeting
Self-evaluation is an important element of effective early years practice. Leaders and Managers need to ensure they have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their setting so that they can plan sharply focused improvements which make a real difference to children.
You may already have a process for self-reflection and evaluation in place which works for your setting. If not, there are lots of tools that can be used to evaluate your practice.
The EY team support settings by facilitating a Self Evaluation Meeting (SEM) annually or as requested to help identify areas for development and celebrate aspects of good practice.