The early year’s sector in the U.K. is complex, unlike many European countries it was not developed by government policy with specific aims but came about in response to families’ requirements which were based on changing economical and social factors.
In the second half of the twentieth century public expenditure on early year’s provision focused on families with social needs and difficulties. Local authority day nurseries catered mainly for children who were at risk from harm mainly in deprived areas.
There was early years provision available in the private sector in the form of childminders, nannies and private nurseries.
During the 1960s the playgroup movement developed, where parents set up and run provision for their own children to learn through play in village halls and other community facilities. This was originally the way my setting was formed.
Families requirements for their children vary some parents want care for their children so that they can return to work, some parents want to stay with their children while they socialise, some parents want their children in setting which offer services aimed at learning, some parents want their children to be in a home based environment and some families cannot afford to pay fees for provision.
This is why the early year’s sector has various forms of provision to meet the needs of families. Provision includes – Nurseries, childminders, pre-schools, crèches, children’s centres and parent and toddler groups.
Over the past ten to fifteen years the early year’s sector has been at the forefront of government agenda and there have been huge changes in response to social and economic developments.
Any help for the first one?? then went on to describe what sort of service each seeting provide and whom to. xx
Evidence based practise is practise which is influenced by objective evidence derived from research. Your everyday practice is likely to have been influenced by many factors – your qualifications and training, your experience of working with children, learning form colleagues, research you have carried out by reading and your personal experiences. Professional practice requires you to keep up to date with researched findings and to consider how these can be applied to your own setting. Although, care needs to be taken when interpreting what research tells us. Some studies are superficial. Some forms of research contradict others and the media often poorly report on research.
A example of how research has influenced work with children is The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) which is a comprehensive report investigated the effects of pre-school provision, its findings found that children who had attended early years provision were more likely to have better cognitive, social and behaviour skills when they started formal education than those who had no early years provision. EPPE also confirmed the value of early learning through ‘play’ especially from low-income families. Key Elements of effective practice (KEEP) is another example. This document emphasises that effective learning in children is dependent on secure relationships. Learning through play and forming secure relationships are both key elements to the EYFS.
If you google KEEP and EPPE there are lots of useful websites. xx
Reflective practice is the term used to describe the way in which professionals evaluate their own work and consider ways of improving their work. It is important to do this, as each year a different set of children and parents join the setting. They may have different needs, expectations or interests. Activities, routines and polices may have to be changed or updated to accommodate the new families. Reflecting on practice will help to see where changes need to be made. Staff are developing all the time too. Their knowledge and skills may change due to extra training or new staff having new ideas. National standards and frameworks may also change so this may have an impact on how the setting is run.
To reflect on practice you need to be able to critically question what you do and see whether what you are doing is working or whether there is room for improvement. This may mean observing the reactions of children and other people to help you think about your effectiveness. In areas you think are working well, think about what skills and knowledge are helping you to do well and whether you can become more effective. In areas you think there are weaknesses, think about ways to improve, this may mean more training in a certain area.
Reflecting on your practise will help you to have a clearer picture of what you actually do within your work role. It will help you to feel more confident about how you work with children and to be clearer on the things you are not so sure about. It will also help you to reach higher standards in your work and to provide a better service to children.
There u go! xx