early years alliance - PDN News

Case Study: Jurgen Rramani — IT Apprentice

sarah.geekie — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 10:40:51 +0000

Case Study: Jurgen Rramani — IT Apprentice

Jurgen Rramani completed his apprenticeship in Information Technology (IT) at the ��. He started his career in October 2017 after joining an IT recruitment company.

Jurgen’s experience of being an IT apprentice

I chose to do an apprenticeship because I was interested in working with computers and wanted to gain some experience in an organisation that would support me with my first job in my IT career.

When I first began my current role as an IT apprentice I believed knew a lot about IT — how wrong was I?

My knowledge and skills were limited but throughout my work experience I gained a greater understanding about how to solve common IT problems. Now I know there are thousands, if not millions of things that can go wrong with a computer!

When supporting staff members of the �� I would come across frequent problems, for example, staff members who couldn’t log on into their computer. Although the problem may initially appear the same, the solutions to the problem can vary. After attempting to log on with the correct details I would check that there was an active connection with the domain. By then setting up a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection this would resolve the issue.

I now know what it means to part of a team in a large organisation and to ask for help if I am unsure of what to do. I would like to say that I greatly appreciated my colleagues in the IT department who helped me. As a member of this team I had a lot of fun and made great friends with them as we carried out our work responsibilities.

While working at the ��, I also had to study for my apprenticeship exams. To help me utilise my time more effectively I decided I would study whilst traveling on the train between work and home and also during my allocated personal study time. At times it became more of a challenge to manage my work and study when revising for my final exams and being a first line technician. Despite this I passed my exam and felt proud of what I achieved.

I can happily say that during my 15 months of training and learning my ability to communicate with my colleagues has greatly improved. I now feel more confident when speaking to others and when offering them IT support.

Before I left the ��, I was able to meet the new staff members of the IT team. As an experienced member of the team I was able to introduce the IT systems to my new colleagues. I realised I am able to teach and show others what to do when people ask for some help with any IT problems.

I am very thankful for all the assessors and teachers that have supported and taught me, especially Everett Scott who was extremely helpful. He was always willing to make sure I learnt as much as possible during my training and studying weeks.

Now that my apprenticeship is finished, I have secured a new job, a Junior IT Technician at a new company. The company is fast growing and I am keen to start learning and working through the next stage of my career.

Feedback

Other staff members at the �� noticed how Jurgen's confidence grew. Rob des Forges, IT Manger at the �� said: “Jurgen's IT skills have developed during his time at the �� as an apprentice. He has learnt how to support staff with a wide range of IT problems and how to communicate effectively to help others. He will always try to independently complete any task, but knows he can ask others for help. I wish him every success in his new job.”

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Council for Disabled Children and partners works to improve access and inclusion in the early years

sarah.geekie — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 11:17:45 +0000

Council for Disabled Children and partners works to improve access and inclusion in the early years

The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) and partners, collectively known as the Early Years SEND Partnership are working across five English regions to improve access and inclusion in the early years by providing a programme of support on SEN and disability to early years settings and local authorities.

Each partner brings specific expertise to the project, and will be working on different aspects of early years, SEN and disability:

nasen on a whole setting approach to SEN and disability;
I CAN on early identification and an early response to speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) in young children;
the Communication Trust on the development of a local SLCN pathway;
contact on working with parents in the early years;
CDC on regional and local area strategic planning, and specific aspects of the local offer.

How the programme will work

Between November 2018 and March 2020 the Early Years SEND Partnership programme will be delivering:

A series of three regional action learning sets (ALS) in each of the five regions, which will take place over the 18 months of the Programme. More information can be found here.
Specialist support to local actions learning sets. More information can be found here.
A broad programme of training to professionals and parents across the five regions. More information, including an overview of the training programme can be found here.
A number of resources that will complement this training and support, some of which can already be accessed here.

A general overview of what’s available can be found here.

Activity so far

The Early Years SEND Partnership had its official launch event in January 2019. This public event was an opportunity for the Partnership to discuss the aims of the programme, and showcase the support that is being made available. In attendance were chief executives and senior leaders from national organisations, regional SEND coordinators and strategic leads and early years practitioners from local areas. It was chaired by Bob Reitemeier, Chief Executive of I CAN and programme partner. Find out more information, including slides from the day, here.

The Partnership has now completed the first round of regional Action Learning Sets (ALSs) in each of the five regions. These events have provided a fantastic opportunity to work with and hear from professionals and parents who are all keen to develop and progress effective support for children with SEND in the early years. The next round will be taking place from June onwards.

How to access support

All the information about the programme is available on the CDC's website.

To receive the most up-to-date information, sign-up to the EYSEND newsletter.

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Staff achieve exceptional professional development with The Skills Network

caroline.graham — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 12:56:11 +0000

Staff achieve exceptional professional development with The Skills Network

Since August 2018, the �� has been working with leading distance training provider The Skills Network, to provide our staff with access to some amazing professional development opportunities.

The Skills Network Level 2 qualifications complement and align with the ��'s own training opportunities offered through EduCare, workshops and Level 3 and 4 qualifications such as the Early Years Educator and Advanced Practitioner.

With an ever-expanding suite of funded online distance learning courses to upskill and enhance professional development, employees can now access six certified distance learning courses, which provide a fantastic learning opportunity for every employee within the �� to enrol onto a fully funded qualification of their choice.

Since the launch the �� has had over 60 employees enrol onto a nationally recognised qualification at no cost, to assist with developing their skills and furthering their career.

By far the most popular qualification has been the Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Common Childhood Illnesses course with almost half of all enrolees to date choosing the programme.

The programme helps understand how to better provide a safe and healthy environment for babies and young children, recognise when a child is unwell, and manage health conditions in an early years setting.

We have also seen employees study the Understanding Autism and Understanding Children and Young People's Mental Health courses, both of which are extremely pertinent to our day-to-day childcare settings.

The Skills Network supports learners in achieving their chosen programme, as well as offering additional development feedback through industry specialists tutors to reinforce their knowledge through “real-world” examples and references, ensuring they continue to improve and build their service around the learner’s needs.

Case study

Here’s a case study from �� employee Tracey Pender, who has taken the plunge to develop her career with a nationally accredited, funded qualification.

Name: Tracey Pender

Job Title: Pre-school Manager

Qualification: Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Children and Young People's Mental Health

Choosing the course:

“I chose to study this course because I wanted to upskill as part of my Continued Professional Development (CPD). I am aware of the importance of understanding mental ill health, but I wanted to be more knowledgeable about the conditions involved.

As practitioners, it is important for us to monitor the well-being of the children in our setting, and I thought this course would give me the extra knowledge as to why it is so important, what to do in certain scenarios and the impact it may have on that child.”

The quality of learning:

“It has been really brilliant – the booklets are well written, and the answers make you think further about your own experiences too. The deadlines are manageable, and I feel that I really understand the mental health conditions and the impact they can have on individuals without an early intervention.”

Studying via distance learning:

“Distance learning has allowed me to choose the right time/days to study in between being a mum and working full-time. I did not feel pressured at all during the course and the positive feedback given by Assessors spurred me on even further!”

What courses are available?

Our suite of funded opportunities now includes:

Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Autism

Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Common Childhood Illnesses

Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Children and Young People's Mental Health

Level 2 Certificate in Principles of Team Leading

Level 2 Certificate in Principles of Customer Service

Level 2 Certificate in Principles of Business Administration.

How does it work?

Visit alliance.theskillsnetwork.com

Select and apply for your course

Learn at a time and in a place that best suits you via distance learning

Your dedicated Learner Support Advisor and subject specialist Tutor will ensure to guide you through to success.

We look forward to seeing more and more employees taking up these amazing opportunities for professional development.

For more information on EduCare, workshops and level 3 and 4 qualifications, please contact the �� Training Centre on 01732 363070 or training@eyalliance.org.uk

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Working in the Early Years: The CACHE Career Map

sarah.geekie — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 13:22:35 +0000

Working in the Early Years: The CACHE Career Map

By Julie Hyde, Director of CACHE

At CACHE, we are continually investing in high quality qualifications for the care and education industry, making us the UK’s leading sector specialist.

Developed by experts, our qualifications help millions of learners raise professional standards across the sector.

As a result, we’ve gained a deserved reputation for excellence and leadership. Our continued dedication to those who care for children, young people and adults means that our qualifications and training continue to meet the needs of a modern workforce.

The Early Years Workforce Strategy was published on the 3 March 2017 and included a commitment by the Department for Education (DfE) to develop career pathways which said: “We want to support the workforce to develop, both professionally and personally, and want staff to understand how to achieve their career goals”.

The DfE has worked with stakeholders to undertake this commitment. In contributing to this collective approach we have all informed an interactive career map.

Beginning of the journey

Research confirms that the first five years of children’s lives are the most important period for laying the foundations for their learning and ongoing development. If active minds are nurtured in safe enabling environments and young children have access to high quality early years experiences they will do better in life. From the moment a baby is born they are actively learning about themselves and the world around them.

Working in Early Education and Childcare opens up a career path full of opportunities within a range of roles. You may start your career working in a setting as a practitioner. You may take on specific leadership, management or specialist roles within the setting or choose to develop your career and pursue further academic study or employment routes in schools or become a teacher, lecturer, social worker, speech and language specialist or you may decide to become self-employed.

Early years is, without doubt, a most rewarding and satisfying career, with many opportunities from such investment. Having the opportunity to influence the outcomes of children is a privilege and a responsibility.

A career in Early Education and Childcare is the chance to support young children as they learn, develop and prepare for school. It’s a career path that is rewarding, full of variety and offers progression and different pathways to follow as you grow in experience and confidence.

An introduction to the early years

The career map introduces those interested in beginning a career in early education and childcare through engaging case studies that explore diverse roles across the sector. Opportunities for career progression within the early years, including study at higher education are included conveniently within the career map, establishing clear routes and pathways for diversification or specialism along the way.

View the career map

The map signposts to the roles within the early year’s workforce and beyond, making this a useful tool for those just beginning their journey as well as a useful resource for professional development for those already employed in this wonderful sector. It identifies the varied routes through academic study and vocational learning through on the job training; equally valued and enabling of progression.

Those working in early years are committed professional practitioners who enjoy their work, reflect on the impact of their engagement with children and take responsibility for improving on what they do through regular participation in their own professional development. Children deserve to be cared for by a professional body and this map helps to get the right people on the right path to do the job well.

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Early Learning Goals review 2018

sarah.geekie — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 10:24:07 +0000

Early Learning Goals review 2018

In June 2018 the Department for Education published a revision of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

The new version is currently being piloted in a number of schools. The review includes a revised set of Early Learning Goals and the levels of attainment expected of children by the time they reach the end of the EYFS at age 5 years old.

The first part of this article details some of the major changes that are proposed whilst the second part considers their implications for the EYFS and early years provision in England.

Analysis of the changes

Examining the changes proposed in the draft new version against the existing April 2017 EYFS is not an easy task as the presentation of ELGs has altered. Some goals have been moved into different learning areas, some categories have changed and some disappeared altogether. As a result it is not possible to detail every change, so outlined below is an overview of the major technical revisions.

It is important to note that no changes are proposed to the safeguarding and welfare requirements, although it can be expected that if the new version of EYFS is approved the safeguarding requirements will need to be updated to ensure it is in line with any changes to regulatory requires such as disqualification by association.

Revised format of the ELGs

In undertaking this revision the government committed to not changing the number of ELGs from the existing 17. This has been achieved but in a curious way. The descriptive narrative that supports each Goal in the current EYFS is replaced with a series of bullet points each beginning with the statement ‘children at the expected level of development will:’ In effect the revised EYFS may be considered to have 45 early learning goals, presented in such a way that a teacher can answer whether a child has achieved each with a tick or cross. Each learning area is now introduced by a paragraph explaining the importance of the subject and how the educational programmes should be approached.

Changes to the areas of learning and development

Communication and language

The three goals within communication and language; ‘Listening and attention’, ‘understanding’ and ‘speaking’ have been altered considerably. ‘Attention’ is removed and ‘understanding’ is reworked as ‘comprehension’ within the ‘reading ELG (see below). Similarly the expectation that children will be able to anticipate key events is moved to the ‘reading’ goal as a requirement when they are listening to stories. Taken together it can be argued that the focus is on the child receiving the teacher’s input in a correct manner rather than being enthusiastically engaged with and stimulated by the story-telling process.

Physical development

The ‘moving and handling’ elements of physical development are now articulated as gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Greater detail is outlined for both the activities that children should do to ‘move energetically’ including running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing and that a pencil should be held comfortably using the tripod grip.

Personal, social and emotional development

The health and self-care elements previously in physical development are now moved to personal, social and emotional development. The headings here have changed from the generally nurturing and supportive tone of ‘self-confidence and self-awareness’, ‘managing feelings and behaviours’ and ‘making relationships’ to the more functional ‘self-regulation’, ‘managing self’ and ‘building relationships’. Within these elements there are some troubling changes of emphasis; self-regulation includes a requirement to ‘pay attention to their teacher and follow multi-step instructions’. Similarly the previous broad expectation that children know the importance for good health of physical exercise and a healthy diet and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe becomes simply ‘understand the importance of healthy food choices’ and the ability to work as part of a group or class and understand and follow the rules’ becomes ‘explain the reasons for rules and know right from wrong’ (italics added).

Literacy

Reading is divided into two dimensions, ‘word reading’ and ‘comprehension’. This draws in some elements from the ‘understanding’ requirement of communication and language in the current version. However, rather than understanding being an essential element of all aspects of communication, the focus is now that children ‘understand what they have read or has been read to them. . .’ The new requirements are more specific with children expected amongst others things to ‘say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs’ (ng, ch, etc.) and ‘write recognisable letters most of which are correctly formed’.

Mathematics

The proposed changes to mathematics have drawn the greatest criticism from specialists particularly the removal of the elements of ‘shape, space and measures’. Early years practitioners know that it is through these everyday applications of mathematical constructs; playing with shapes, positions, time and money and talking about size and weight, that young children develop an understanding of maths. These are now replaced by functional requirements, under the headings of ‘number’ and ‘numerical patterns’ which include; ‘have an understanding of number to 10 (this is reduced from 1- 20 in the current version) linking names of numbers, numerals, their value and their position in the counting order’, ‘subitise (recognise quantities without counting) up to 5’ and automatically recall double facts up to 5 +5’.

Understanding the world

Concern has been expressed about the removal of the technology element from understanding the world which seems to deny the importance that children engage with a range of technologies in settings, at home and schools.

Expressive arts and design

Similar concerns about the limiting nature of the revisions have been levelled at the replacement of ‘being imaginative’ with ‘performing’. Where the former encouraged children to ‘represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design, technology, art music, dance, role play and stories’ they are now required to merely ‘sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs’ and perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others and – when appropriate – move in time with music’.

Implications of the proposed changes to the ELGS

There is concern within the early years sector that the revised ELGs are deeply concerning and threaten to undermine the very principles on which the EYFS is based.

The tone is set by a proposed change to the overarching principle of the importance of learning and development. The current phrase ‘children develop and learn at different rates and in different ways’ has seen the last phrase removed. So it appears the DfE now takes the view that children all learn in the same way but their rates of progress may vary. This ignores all academic and experiential evidence that children learn in a variety of different ways. This reductionist perspective was reinforced by early suggestions that the new EYFS would see the characteristics of effective learning, the expression of how children learn best, through playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically, were to be made non-statutory. The DfE subsequently confirmed the Characteristics remain statutory but their movement to the section on ‘learning and development considerations’, rather than as one of the core principles of EYFS remains a concern.

Other changes imply a redefinition of the skills and abilities that are considered desirable in young children and by extension the type of people the DfE wants them to become. For example, ‘understanding’ is removed from the communication and language ELG to become ‘comprehension’ under the reading ELG; i.e. children only need to understand what is read to them, not to understand communication in general. Similarly the new ELG of ‘Performing’ under Expressive Arts and Design, replacing ‘being imaginative’ makes no mention of expression, representation on own ideas, feeling, interpretation. Furthermore this arguably introduces the concept that the ELG is directed more at the audience than the child itself.

The DfE’s preference for a more formal approach to teaching and learning is reinforced through the constant repetition of references to books and reading. Whilst this is understandable within the ELGs for literacy, listening, comprehension and speaking; books are also to be a requirement through most of the other areas of learning.

For example within the Past and Present ELG children should (emphasis added):

Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class,
Recall some important narratives, characters and figures from the past encountered in books read in class.

Similarly the People, Culture and Communities ELG proposes children should:

Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps;
Know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;
Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and – when appropriate – maps.

This is not to deny that young children’s engagement with books is important or that stories are a vital part of early learning and development. But the subliminal message is that the central element of children’s early learning should be books. This is wrong. Young children develop best through being active agents in their learning; exploring and experiencing the world, either alone or with friends, reflecting on those experiences with peers and the adults important to them.

The direction of travel towards a more formal early years curriculum is also evident in the changes to mathematics. The category of Shape, space and measures, which encouraged children to use everyday language about size, weight, distance etc has been taken out completely. In its place are function requirements relating to number and numerical patterns. For example:

have an understanding of number to 10, linking names of numbers, numerals, their values and their position in the counting order, and
automatically recall double facts up to 5 +5

The presentation of each aspect of the 17 learning goals as a bullet raises suspicions that these could be used to facilitate tick-box assessment of each child and, in effect, introduce standardised baseline assessment via the backdoor.

The effect of the new ELGs, if enacted will be to skew the curriculum in ways that will not support and promote children’s effective early learning and development. The DFE document indicates that a full consultation on the proposals will be undertaken once the pilot is complete. This will provide an opportunity for the sector to comment and the �� will encourage and support it members to make their views known to the DfE.

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Case study: Louise Chalkley, A-level 3 Apprenticeship

sarah.geekie — Fri, 08 Jun 2018 15:28:43 +0000

Case study: Louise Chalkley, A-level 3 Apprenticeship

In the following case study, Louise Chalkley writes about her career progression in the early years sector. She recalls her experiences on an Apprenticeship programme and how she is applying the skills she has learned in her day to day practice.

While working at Oughton Children’s Centre, initially in a domestic role, I decided to apply for a Play Assistant positon as I had seen for myself how this focused on children’s play and promoted interaction. At this point in my career, I did not have any vocational qualifications or GCSEs and I was unsure how my career was progressing.

I was thrilled when I was later approached by the County Manager who encouraged me to apply for a Level 2 Apprenticeship with the ��. Completing this course of study really ignited a desire to learn and I achieved a portfolio of qualifications in just over the minimum requirement of one year. These included the following:

Cache L2 Certificate for the Children and Young People’s Workforce,
Cache L2 Award in Employment Rights and Responsibility
L1 Functional English
L1 Functional Mathematics
L1 Functional Information & Communication Technology (ICT)

Alongside the Apprenticeship programme, I attended evening classes and also achieved a GCSE in mathematics.

The secret to success is hard focused study alongside professional Assessor support which helps to develop skills; I received positive feedback which is encouraging and I didn’t feel silly about asking questions if I didn’t quite understand.

I think an apprenticeship is the ‘way to go’ as previously I have found tests difficult, particularly when there is a pass or fail element, whereas with an apprenticeship you ‘learn on the way’.

I also appreciate the opportunity to apply learning to practice. I could ask questions to extend my knowledge in my day-to-day practice as I had a mentor in my setting and a visiting assessor who talked through any difficulties.

The staff in the setting were like a team supporting me and ensured I gained the experience I need to complete the skills elements. I was initially concerned about Functional Skills assessments but these were carried out in the setting and although under exam conditions, it was a familiar environment and I knew that I could re-sit them if necessary.

The biggest challenges was the distance learning aspect; particularly if I had a question and the answer was not forthcoming straight away and, for example, when researching it is not always possible to find an answer that you know is correct, you need advice or to talk it through. However, you have to wait for your tutor to respond, but this was always within a couple of days.

Since completing my Level 2 apprenticeship I feel I now consider why children play and what they are learning from their play. I think about what I am planning and what children are learning; I ask myself, do I make a difference?

When planning one of my own groups I look at children’s next steps in more depth, I observe them and take from that what I will set out for their play, to extend their learning.

I am now continuing my studies and I am enrolled as a Level 3 apprentice and beginning to build upon the work I completed previously.

Future career thoughts

I am really keen to complete my Level 3 apprenticeship and I have already passed my English, and working hard on the rest of my knowledge and skills for the vocational aspects.

I would like to continue working in a Children’s Centre as I enjoy providing new opportunities for families.

I would also look at working in a Pre-school or Nursery with children 3-4 years of age as I benefit from the interaction, and it helps me to support their development, recognise their learning, encourage exploration and respond to new learning opportunities.

Upon achieving my Level 3, I will also have the mathematics and English requirements and feel proud that I will be able to obtain a position where I can be counted in the ratios as a recognised Level 3 practitioner and maybe help to develop the skills of other practitioners.

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DfE Workforce Strategy: One year on

sarah.geekie — Mon, 21 May 2018 12:16:58 +0000

DfE Workforce Strategy: One year on

By Michael Freeston

The DfE’s Early Years Workforce Strategy (2017) aimed to support the development of a well-qualified workforce with the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to deliver high quality early education and childcare for young children.

At the time I wrote that to deliver the strategy the Department must offer operational detail identifying success criteria, targets and milestones to meet their worthy aspirations.

Whilst no implementation roadmap was produced, credit must be given with regards to many of the developments that have been carried forward.

The revised level 2 qualification has been drafted, consulted upon and is due to be launched in 2018/19. Similarly the SENCO qualification, skills, knowledge and expertise of the staff who support children with additional needs will be available from September 2018 as promised.

Underpinning both these developments is the publication in June 2018 of an occupational map outlining to employers and practitioners the rewarding career pathways the sector offers.

DfE worked closely with sector experts to develop these products. Similarly in the extension of the teaching schools network and extending the Fatherhood Institute’s network to support male workers, close DfE cooperation with sector bodies has seen considerable progress made.

Less progress has been made on the more strategic commitments.

Consultations on whether Early Years Teacher graduates can lead nursery and reception classes in maintained schools, if Qualified Teacher Status should be granted to them and how to attract more early years graduates into disadvantaged areas have not materialised.

Similarly few in the sector would argue that recruitment and retention challenges have eased.

This may reflect a lack of policy focus; it should be noted we are two Ministers of State on from Caroline Dineage who published the document.

Also many of the challenges considered in the strategy, are not within the gift of DfE to deliver.

Low pay and low status issues can only be addressed at Treasury and wider society levels to recognise the professionalism and importance of the workforce in supporting future generations’ early development.

This has also been published in Nursery World.

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EduCare online training

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Spotting the signs of modern slavery and child exploitation

sarah.geekie — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 14:07:23 +0000

Spotting the signs of modern slavery and child exploitation

January 2018 saw the first successful UK prosecution for child labour exploitation and child trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act.

Three people were sentenced to nine years imprisonment, for exploiting, and physically and verbally abusing four Vietnamese teenagers, who were forced to work in nail bars for no money in Bath and Burton on Trent.

The government published a report in October 2017, which highlighted that modern slavery is a growing problem.

A total of 1,277 children were exploited in the UK in 2016, 20% of whom were UK nationals.

The Home Office Report 2017 included a typology of distinct types of exploitation, designed to show the different ways modern slavery manifests itself in the UK and to enable recognition of potential victims.

The typology describes 17 types of exploitation across four categories, which are labour exploitation, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation.

For each type, the report outlines the characteristics of the typical victims and offenders, and the nature of the offence, including the recruitment, transportation and exploitation involved.

The report highlights how the typology can be used to inform the policy and operational response to modern slavery.

Access the report and typology

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Learning from serious case reviews: What can early years settings do?

sarah.geekie — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 13:53:47 +0000

Learning from serious case reviews: What can early years settings do?

Here we look at some recent serious case reviews and the relevant learning that can be taken for early years professionals.

Siblings W and X — Early experiences of racism may have contributed to radicalisation

The first serious case review about radicalisation was recently published. Siblings, W and X, were two brothers who died in Syria in 2014 aged 18 and 17 years old. They had had previous involvement with the local authority before leaving the U.K. but professionals had not identified that the brothers were at risk of radicalisation or at risk of fighting overseas.

An older sibling had travelled to Turkey to deliver aid, a few months before it became known W and X had left the UK. The children went to Syria with a friend to join an elder sibling. The review highlighted the unresolved trauma the siblings had experienced and the subsequent ineffective agency response.

The review also noted that early experiences of racism in nursery and primary schools may have led to children becoming alienated, which in turn led them to have low personal self-esteem and as a consequence they became more vulnerable to searching for ways to feel better about themselves through other means.

Community members expressed concern that schools were not able to protect Muslim children sufficiently from racism and that there was not awareness of hate incidents in schools.

The full report can be accessed through Brighton and Hove LSCB.

BS (2016) — Nursery didn't question child's black eye or properly record injuries

Child BS was a two years and one month old girl who died in hospital due to multiple injuries. Her mother’s new partner was subsequently sentenced to nine years imprisonment. Her mother had been in a relationship with her new partner for approximately five months. The child was found to have extensive bruising on the body, a laceration to the liver and a severe brain injury.

The review highlighted:

Known information about domestic violence was not shared with the nursery (although reported by police to children’s services and health).
Nursery accepted without pursuing further or taking any action maternal grandmother’s explanation that she did not know how the child had sustained the black eye she presented with at nursery (eight days before the child was hospitalized).
Nursery failed to accurately describe and record the face injury the child presented at nursery with one day prior to being hospitalized, meaning it could not be ascertained whether the injuries the child presented with at hospital were the same as those the nursery had seen. The nursery proprietor recalled the child having an injury to her face that was green/yellow.

The record maintained by the nursery in relation to the injuries was very limited, no record made for the size or location of the injury and no explanation given for it.

The review highlighted that the nursery’s “injuries in” book system, implied an inherent weakness in recognising the potential for children to be harmed by their caregivers.

The review recommended that the local early years service lead a review and develop common guidance and supporting documentation to be made available to local nursery providers in respect of Safeguarding.

Child T — Nursery did not follow up on erratic behaviour and sporadic attendance

The review regarding Child T, a girl, who died, aged 4 years and one month criticised:

A “loose approach to assessing parenting capacity”.
Practitioners had not searched for evidence to refute allegations before dismissing their validity.
A local tendency for high threshold cases to be managed under child in need procedures (as opposed to being managed under child protection procedures).
“Step down” arrangements for ceasing social work involvement hadn’t been sufficiently informed by up to date assessment and multi-agency input.
Areas of risk not fully assessed.
Core assessment unfinished due to social worker sickness.

Child T’s bruised body was found in the home of her mother’s new partner, one week after moving in with him. The child had been repeatedly exposed to and ingested heroin, methadone, ketamine and various benzodiazepines over a period of at least 6 months prior to her death.

There was a history of substance misuse, and there had been previous serious domestic abuse from father to mother. Agencies were unaware that mother was in a new relationship with a new partner and had recently moved in with him. Mother had had a previous child initially removed, then permanently removed four months before child T was born.

Child T’s nursery had reported that the child appeared well presented but was sometimes withdrawn and unkind to other children and her attendance was sporadic. Child T did not come back to nursery after the summer school holidays, and died one week after she was expected back at nursery.

The review suggested that early years childcare providers should be alert to the safeguarding issues raised by sporadic attendance and patterns of poor pre-school attendance should trigger a response from early intervention services.

Patterns of chaotic parenting and disguised compliance begin in early childhood and have long lasting consequences on children’s life chances.

The full report can be accessed through North East Lincolnshire LSCB website.

Learning for early years professionals

Ensure staff are able to ask sufficiently curious and probing questions and not just take things at face value, whether that is asking about the cause of an injury to a child attending early years provision, a possible indication of domestic abuse, or whether a new partner has moved in or become involved in childcare.
Ensure absence management procedures identify and respond to unexpected absences quickly. Be aware that ongoing absence may be a safeguarding issue and should trigger an appropriate response, which may be early help.
Help staff recognise and understand how to respond to disguised compliance.
Ensure staff feel confident about how to escalate any concerns that adequate action isn’t being taken to safeguard children and how to challenge in the event there is disagreement with another organisation or professional, such as a social work assessment not being completed within timescale.
Ensure that staff are confident about sharing information.
Ensure systems for responding to and recording to presenting child injuries are robust.
Ensure childcare provision is welcoming to all and staff can identify and respond to any instances of racism and bullying.
Remember the existence of “Claire’s law” (the Domestic Abuse Offender Disclosure Scheme)- this was designed to protect potential victims of domestic abuse by allowing them to request information about their partner’s past, or that of a person of concern to them. Any parent thinking of starting a new relationship could go to the police and request that they are given relevant information about that person’s past. The police will consider the request, the risk and this will inform whether and what they disclose. Local police can give further information.

Look for Safeguarding resources in our online shop

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SMARTpd: Supporting members to improve practice

sarah.geekie — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 13:11:51 +0000

SMARTpd: Supporting members to improve practice

In November 2017 the Chair of a member setting contacted the �� to seek support in preparation for an imminent Ofsted inspection.

During the initial telephone conversation it became clear that there were many complex issues that would need to be addressed before they would be Ofsted ready.

The group was put in contact with a member of the quality improvement team who discussed their needs and began to formulate a package of SMARTpd support.

It quickly became apparent that the committee was unclear about their responsibilities in the management of the group and the role of the appointed manager.

An initial meeting was arranged between the ��’s quality and practice manager and three members of the committee, including the Chair.

At the meeting the committee expressed how stressed they felt by the overwhelming (and unexpected) responsibility they felt to ‘get it right’.

The situation was made even more fragile by a breakdown in the relationship between the committee and the manager of the setting, who, it appeared, was not fulfilling her obligations as manager.

The quality and practice manager discussed the responsibilities of all parties involved in the management and day-to-day running of the setting and the support the �� could offer as follows:

A one day consultancy visit to the setting in order to assess their compliance with the requirements of the EYFS and to action plan for Ofsted inspection.
A written report and action plan with a key focus on the leadership and management of the setting.
Access to free resources such as webinar recordings specific to the needs identified.
Suggested publications to be published (in particular Essential Policies & Procedures for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The consultancy visit took place as planned and an action plan was drawn up.

The committee has since commented that they feel ‘a huge burden has been lifted.’

They are now clearer about their responsibilities and also acknowledge that a lack of clarity and poor communication has contributed to a ‘strained’ relationship with the appointed manager.

They still have some way to go before they are fully compliant with the EYFS, but they are making progress and have requested a further consultancy visit in the coming weeks to assess progress and suggest further improvements.

Find out how SMARTpd can help you in your setting.

Read our SMARTpd FAQs

Or email us at smartpd@pre-school.org.uk, or call us on 01732 363 070.

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