Family Child Care

Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Handbook

Some important documents have just appeared on the Department of Education website, and if you have any involvement with the Early Years Foundation Stage then you should probably take a look. First of all there's the new EYFS Profile Handbook, which replaces the previous 2008 version. The Handbook is designed to help practitioners make accurate judgements about a child's attainment. Like the EYFS itself and other supporting documents, hard copies are not available but you can download the new Handbook from <a href="http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/2/2013_eyfs_handbook.pdf" target="_blank">this link</a>. Also new are 'exemplification materials', which set out the national standard for the level of learning and development expected at the end of the EYFS. These are designed to meet provide guidance on each of the 17 revised early learning goals, and can be used by "any stakeholders who wish to evaluate children's learning and development." You can download them as zip files on the right hand side of <a href="http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/assessment/eyfs/b00217443/eyfs-exemplification" target="_blank">this page</a>. For further supporting information on the new EYFS, have a look at this <a href="http://bcftcschildhoodeducation.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/support-materials-for-new-eyfs.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thanh_tan/2903192937/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Child 1 by Tony Tráº§n, on Flickr"><img alt="Child 1" height="200" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3186/2903192937_d6e7d809e4_m.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>

Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Handbook

30Nov2012

Ofsted Annual Report 2011/12

Ofsted Annual Report 2011/12

Ofsted has just published its latest annual report, the first since Michael Wilshaw was appointed as Chief Inspector. The report looks at all aspects of the education and children's sectors, though has so far made headlines for its claim that there are large differences between the quality of school…

28Nov2012

New Research

A quick round-up of various new reports: <ul><li><a href="http://www.unicef.org.uk/Documents/Publications/UNICEFUK_2012CRCimplentationreport.pdf" target="_blank">The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: a Study of Legal Implementation in 12 Countries </a>is a new publication from UNICEF which examines how the UK compares to other countries in providing for children's rights at national level.</li><li><a href="http://www.cbi.org.uk/campaigns/education-campaign-ambition-for-all/first-steps-read-the-report-online/" target="_blank">First Steps</a> is a report from the CBI which sets out an agenda for education reform from a business perspective.</li><li><a href="http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/sites/allianceforchildhood.org/files/file/FacingtheScreenDilemma.pdf" target="_blank">Facing the Screen Dilemma: Young Children, Technology and Early Education</a> examines how new technologies could be having an effect on children's development.</li><li><a href="https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DFE-RR235.pdf" target="_blank">Pupils not Claiming Free School Meals</a> has just been published by the Department of Education, and attempts to establish how many children who are entitled to free school dinners are not taking advantage.</li><li><a href="https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DFE-RR238.pdf" target="_blank">What is the Research Evidence on Writing?</a> gathers together literature on pupils' writing ability, with the authors claiming that this is an area which receives less attention than reading ability.</li></ul>

New Research

A quick round-up of various new reports:The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: a Study of Legal Implementation in 12 Countries is a new publication from UNICEF which examines how the UK compares to other countries in providing for children's rights at national level.First Steps is a report fr…

23Nov2012

Anti-Bullying Week

19 - 23 November is <a href="http://www.antibullyingweek.co.uk/" target="_blank">Anti-Bullying Week</a>, an annual event established in 2006 by the <a href="http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/" target="_blank">Anti-Bullying Alliance</a>. The theme for this year's Week is We're Better without Bullying, with a focus on how bullying can impact on achievement at school. Already a piece of research commissioned for the event has made headlines by suggesting that some <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20355996" target="_blank">children hide their talents</a> for fear of being bullied, while Eurydice has released a new briefing entitled <a href="http://www.nfer.ac.uk/shadomx/apps/fms/fmsdownload.cfm?file_uuid=09F2CF13-C29E-AD4D-0855-E0C5DD51968F&siteName=nfer" target="_blank">Strategies to Counter Bullying</a>, which examines how other countries tackle the issue. For further information on bullying, you can view previous relevant posts on this site by clicking on 'Bullying' in the Hot Topics menu on the right of the page. Alternatively, you may want to look through <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/davidrenfree/bullying" target="_blank">my bookmarks</a> on this topic, which will give you 25 links to get started! <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="286" id="flashObj" width="380"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/56142273001?isVid=1&publisherID=28920547001" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=57303803001&linkBaseURL=http://www.parentchannel.tv/video/bullying-5-9-advice&playerID=72319835001&domain=embed&" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/56142273001?isVid=1&publisherID=28920547001" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=57303803001&linkBaseURL=http://www.parentchannel.tv/video/bullying-5-9-advice&playerID=72319835001&domain=embed&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="380" height="286" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>

Anti-Bullying Week

19 - 23 November is Anti-Bullying Week, an annual event established in 2006 by the Anti-Bullying Alliance. The theme for this year's Week is We're Better without Bullying, with a focus on how bullying can impact on achievement at school. Already a piece of research commissioned for the event has mad…

20Nov2012

Men In Childcare

Men In Childcare

One of the most common enquiries I've had in recent years is for information on men working in childcare, so a new publication from the London Early Years Foundation is very timely. The report is entitled Men Working in Childcare: Does it Matter to Children? What do they Say? and takes a detailed lo…

19Nov2012

Decoding Learning

Decoding Learning

A new report claims that expensive technology in schools often goes to waste because teachers have not been trained to use it. The report, entitled Decoding Learning: The Proof, Promise and Potential of Digital Education, also examined good practice around the globe in exploiting both hardware and s…

16Nov2012

EYES Search

Possibly as a result of a mention in <a href="http://www.kathybrodie.com/viewpoint/more-sources-of-information/" target="_blank">this article</a> on Kathy Brodie's website - thanks Kathy! - more people have recently begun to use the EYES search box on the right-hand side of this site. I've no way of checking who you are or whether you're finding it useful (unless you get in touch to let me know...) but for those who've never used the service before, here's how it works: One of the most frustrating things about doing a Google search is the amount of irrelevant or non-academic material which appears in your results. EYES - named because it stands for 'Early Years, Education and Social policy', and also because it looks for things - tries to get around this problem by only searching through almost 100 relevant websites which I've handpicked for the quality and reliability of the information that they provide. It's still using Google software to order the results, but will only show material from the sites I've selected, so in theory should be much more likely to find you something suitable for research purposes. To test it for yourself, try doing a search for an essay topic in 'normal' Google, then do the same search in EYES and compare the results. See the difference? I don't pretend EYES is perfect, but I'm confident that in most cases it will point you towards useful information that you may not otherwise have found. Further information about the service is <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_1_DXfzcBJ8MDk2YmJmOTYtMGRkNi00Zjg5LThjNmItMmZiZGY1ZDhiNTc1/edit?hl=en" target="_blank">available here</a>, and feedback with suggestions for improvements is always welcome - email me at: <a href="mailto:D.Renfree@ucb.ac.uk">D.Renfree@ucb.ac.uk</a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMm1ldSQHCDi4ZAXa-SjAiEMRg3HZGjUlq-2Zqkam45YuKwCBBh3nIyElsdCv3BZUf20E9pD9nrslgexPPhhx5CbSs3BNhyphenhyphentF9vrerBqXx6IOihbQv_6Ht7wgmyN0eAsu17U4NyJdQ0Q/s1600/GoogleEYES.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMm1ldSQHCDi4ZAXa-SjAiEMRg3HZGjUlq-2Zqkam45YuKwCBBh3nIyElsdCv3BZUf20E9pD9nrslgexPPhhx5CbSs3BNhyphenhyphentF9vrerBqXx6IOihbQv_6Ht7wgmyN0eAsu17U4NyJdQ0Q/s320/GoogleEYES.png" width="320" /></a></div> Comparison of Google (on left) vs EYES (on right) search results - click on image for larger version

EYES Search

Possibly as a result of a mention in this article on Kathy Brodie's website - thanks Kathy! - more people have recently begun to use the EYES search box on the right-hand side of this site. I've no way of checking who you are or whether you're finding it useful (unless you get in touch to let me kno…

15Nov2012

Evaluating Wikipedia

A slightly controversial subject today with regards to students... Back in the summer I presented a paper which argued that Wikipedia could, within limits, be a better source of information than its reputation suggests - most lecturers are reluctant to accept student work which cites Wikipedia for a number of reasons, the main one being that the site can be edited by anyone and so is open to abuse. There is good material to be found on Wikipedia, but separating the high quality from the poor is not always easy, and students would usually be advised to use it only as a starting point for learning about a topic. To assist with using the site sensibly, you can now access an 8 page booklet entitled Evaluating Wikipedia Article Quality. This contains simple, easy-to-follow advice on how to assess whether pages on the site are likely to be accurate or well-researched, and teaches you how to follow the development of an article to see how it has evolved. While it's not definitive, it should help you to start considering some of the critical judgments you need to make when using Wikipedia, so that if you are going to visit the site, you can at least be more confident in choosing what material may be useful, and what pages should be avoided. To view the booklet, <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Evaluating_Wikipedia_article_quality_2010-11-26_%28web%29.pdf" target="_blank">click here</a>. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQ9aPVVTM1Z-tGsKL4ftmfn-NYgP6-IS0F0JbuCveCVDF8K7T-4iTsGY1pROm3ppZpPQ1m79N3X8WqFwCzPUtKF252WnzKx8JjWKEF_DvI8MjqaZJfZMNeXEr5-jAJuud2MNiw8PQCw/s1600/WikipediaPost.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQ9aPVVTM1Z-tGsKL4ftmfn-NYgP6-IS0F0JbuCveCVDF8K7T-4iTsGY1pROm3ppZpPQ1m79N3X8WqFwCzPUtKF252WnzKx8JjWKEF_DvI8MjqaZJfZMNeXEr5-jAJuud2MNiw8PQCw/s320/WikipediaPost.png" width="320" /></a></div> (Image taken from <a href="http://xkcd.com/903/" target="_blank">http://xkcd.com/903/</a> under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/" target="_blank">Creative Commons terms</a> - click on image for a larger version)

Evaluating Wikipedia

08Nov2012

The Safety and Security of Consistency

I was working with one of my student teachers recently and she expressed to me her exasperation with her cooperating site teacher.  They currently have a child who is in foster care in their class.  The little first grader has learned how to manipulate situations and refuses to cooperate with classroom rules.  My student teacher is frustrated because when she follows through on classroom procedures with the girl, and she is required to receive the consequences of her actions, the site teacher pulls the girl aside and gives her candy!  Ugh! I know that the site teacher thinks she is being supportive and comforting to this little girl.  The student teacher feels like she is forced into the "bad guy" role in the classroom. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOjqiiIL3Wq1g_5imwM-JDNCQacIPepnKL5Bm4H1fQnYDGKPhR-ypw3xt0vAhRDD8Ymcit86kC5O_eVJzn-X3OKKEJAjapPGoiXObTzyvLHrBVA7-trK7hyFHohUrQzEKFLgGknk_dN4/s1600/Classroom+Shots+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOjqiiIL3Wq1g_5imwM-JDNCQacIPepnKL5Bm4H1fQnYDGKPhR-ypw3xt0vAhRDD8Ymcit86kC5O_eVJzn-X3OKKEJAjapPGoiXObTzyvLHrBVA7-trK7hyFHohUrQzEKFLgGknk_dN4/s320/Classroom+Shots+013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I was explaining to both teachers that the most secure and helpful procedure they could follow is being consistent with their expectations for the little girl.  While I understand that she needs extra support because of her unfortunately situation, the best support they can give is to be consistent in their expectations and procedures.  The best security we can provide for at-risk children is to surround them with the safety net of knowing what to expect when they come into the classroom each day.  By having clear rules and guidelines, clear consequences for inappropriate behavior, plus a loving and supporting classroom atmosphere, the small child will be supported in the best possible way.  The worst thing we can do for children in a classroom, especially at-risk kids, is not provide the security of consistency.  It is unfair and scary in a world that has already treated them unfairly.

The Safety and Security of Consistency

02Nov2012

Bernard van Leer Foundation

The <a href="http://www.bernardvanleer.org/" target="_blank">Bernard van Leer Foundation</a> is an international organisation with a mission to "improve opportunities for children up to age 8 who are growing up in socially and economically difficult circumstances." While I've previously linked to the occasional report on their site, I thought that as it's a slow news day, it might be worth drawing attention to some of the resources available on their website, all of which are free to access.  From a research point of view, the most interesting part of the site is the <a href="http://www.bernardvanleer.org/English/Home/Publications.html" target="_blank">Publications</a> area. You can search or browse through the various documents in a number of ways, though my personal preference would be to browse by series. Among the series that the Foundation publishes are a collection of <a href="http://www.bernardvanleer.org/English/Home/Publications/Browse_by_series.html?ps_page=1&getSeries=10" target="_blank">Working Papers</a> - recent topics covered include <a href="http://www.bernardvanleer.org/Childrens-right-to-play-An-examination-of-the-importance-of-play-in-the-lives-of-children-worldwide?pubnr=1274&download=1">Children's Right to Play</a> and <a href="http://www.bernardvanleer.org/Fostering_language_acquisition_in_daycare_settings_What_does_the_research_tell_us?pubnr=628&download=1">Fostering Language Acquisition in Daycare Settings</a> - and <a href="http://www.bernardvanleer.org/English/Home/Publications/Browse_by_series.html?ps_page=1&getSeries=3" target="_blank">Early Childhood in Focus</a>, which is published in collaboration with the Open University, and examines recent research on key policy issues. Recent titles in this series include <a href="http://www.bernardvanleer.org/Supporting_parenting?pubnr=1141&download=1">Supporting Parenting</a> and <a href="http://www.bernardvanleer.org/Effective_Early_Childhood_Programmes?pubnr=758&download=1">Effective Early Childhood Programmes</a>. The biannual journal <a href="http://www.bernardvanleer.org/English/Home/Publications/Browse_by_series.html?ps_page=1&getSeries=4" target="_blank">Early Childhood Matters</a> is also worth a look. If you'd prefer printed versions of the Foundation's publications, you may order up to five copies free of charge.

Bernard van Leer Foundation

The Bernard van Leer Foundation is an international organisation with a mission to "improve opportunities for children up to age 8 who are growing up in socially and economically difficult circumstances." While I've previously linked to the occasional report on their site, I thought that as it's a s…

01Nov2012