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What is quality?
The Early Childhood Forum’s fifth work theme is ‘evaluating practice and ensuring
quality’. The following statements relating to this work theme are included in ECF’s
2006-11 policy agenda.
ECF believes that continuous quality improvement which includes consistent
responsive age appropriate care and services, must be the basis for improving the
well-being, learning and development of all girls and boys
Early childhood practitioners need to monitor, evaluate, challenge, develop and reflect
on their practice continuously.
Children and parents (fathers as well as mothers) must be fully consulted and involved
in evaluation processes through regular dialogue and participation.
Quality improvement must be based on agreed quality principles
All practitioners should be involved in quality improvement processes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The National Quality Improvement Network was funded in 2007 by the Department for
Children, Schools and Families, to develop a set of good practice principles for local
authorities to support them to improve outcomes for young children and families.
The five themes and corresponding National Quality Improvement Principles are:
• Theme 1: Early years and childcare settings improve outcomes
Principle 1: Guide and support settings to improve outcomes.
• Theme 2: Values and principles are inclusive and address inequality
Principle 2: Encourage settings to be inclusive and reduce inequalities.
Principle 3: Strengthen values and principles in settings.
• Theme 3: Continuous self-evaluation and reflective practice
Principle 4: Promote effective practice and its delivery in settings.
Principle 5: Increase the capacity of settings to improve quality.
Principle 9: Support settings through the self-evaluation and improvement
processes.
• Theme 4: Effective leadership and workforce planning
Principle 6: Promote integrated working within and among settings.
Principle 7: Challenge and support key people in settings to lead quality
improvement.
Principle 8: Build on proven workforce development strategies.
• Theme 5: Effective monitoring and evaluation of practice and outcomes
Principle 10: Local authorities and national organisations monitor quality
improvements and communicate achievements.
Principle 11: Local authorities and national organisations ensure quality
improvement is achievable, continuous and sustainable.
Principle 12: Schemes operate fair, inclusive and transparent accreditation
processes.
The continuous improvement approach based on the quality improvement themes
and principles is not about ticking boxes, but about enabling children’s trusts, local
authorities and settings to develop and deliver their vision for better outcomes for
children and families. A continuous improvement process will bring stakeholders
together to look at a series of questions that will help local authority teams to assess
how they are meeting the principles and themes, where there are gaps, and to use
guidance and tools to improve their continuous quality improvement frameworks.
For more information on NQIN publications please visit www.ncb.org.uk/nqin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------During the 2010-11 ECF meeting series, members representing the different
perspectives of practitioners and parents, spoke about what high quality services and
experiences mean to them. Below are written accounts of their presentations.
September 2010
a) Fathers (Adrienne Burgess – Fatherhood Institute)
We need to ensure that engagement with fathers is the responsibility of the whole team
and not one specific person. Routinely gather father’s details on child registration forms
and set up an initial meeting so you meet both parents. Try to identify and include birth
fathers who are not living at home. Recognise and support father figures, as well as
birth fathers.
Fathers should be seen and feel valued – Assess how men are using your service and
make this known. Limit use of ‘parent’ word, and use ‘mother’, ‘father’ or ‘other carers’
instead. Invite fathers to specific activities. Tell fathers and mothers how fathers’
involvement benefits both of them. Work from a strengths based perspective and expect
a lot of fathers and follow up if they don’t attend.
Fathers should feel heard and considered – Find out about local fathers in consultation
with them and trial methods of drawing them in. Work through your ‘own’ views about
men and learn about fathers’ impact on children and mothers. Build on existing skills
sets, consciously developing your capacity to engage with fathers. Challenge fathers
who disengage and find out why. Critically reflect on your own practice.
b) Mothers (Marie Peacock – Full-time Mothers)
Mothers often feel left out and undermined in their nurturing role by a culture of ‘why are
you not back at work?’ The assumption being that this is the preferred choice or the only
possible option for mothers. This is despite the reality that each family situation is
unique, as are the needs/ages of children in a particular family. Many mothers report a
strong ‘preference to care’ rather than to separate from their children too early.
Information about work and childcare options is important, but for a far more balanced
message it should be made much clearer in policy documents – and in literature to
parents - that raising children is a valuable and productive role and one that a mother or
father can opt to do full time; in the main this will be the mother, particularly in the early
years.
There’s an emphasis in policy on quality ‘services’ for children when we should be
reflecting equally on quality ‘experiences of childhood’ and in the family setting , not
only paid childcare outside the home or in education. ECF is the Early Childhood
Forum, not the Early Childcare Forum. We know that the home environment is key, as
is the bond between children and their parents, yet the persistent and overriding
message to mothers and fathers in recent years has been to explore alternative care
even in the most tender years and, worryingly, sometimes long hours will be spent in
childcare. Infants benefit from one-to-one support and care and this should be
facilitated by policy.
To achieve ‘quality’ the starting point should be the ‘love, sensitivity and consistency’
which parents are best placed to bring into their children’s lives, particularly when well
supported in the community and with the message that time spent parenting, running a
home and providing a stimulating environment for childhood development is truly
valued in wider society. Inter-generational support is vitally important and should be
promoted.
There are many effective campaigns promoting the vital and diverse roles of fathers,
which must be continued, but motherhood has missed out in recent years. e.g. imagine
a family activities morning I attended in an Arts Centre last year in which the only
displays were about fatherhood, yet many of the mums present (the vast majority were
mums) are struggling alone. What did that morning’s outing do for the self-esteem of
mothers that day, including many single mums? We are in danger of failing to
acknowledge and address mums’ specific needs, not only when they are juggling work
and family but also when they’ve taken on the role of primary caregiver.
Quality starts by looking at ways in which we can positively express the value of
parenthood and the home learning environment in 2011, using language that speaks to
today’s parents. Children’s needs have not changed and motherhood is key, as is
partnership working with mums and dads. ‘Supporting mothers’ is not achieved only by
putting quality affordable daycare in place – some mothers and fathers need support to
provide good quality hands-on caring.
We need better cross service communication between depts. e.g. health, transport,
leisure, housing, education, to ensure quality services reach families at the point of
need, through from the Early Years to early adulthood.
See Family Parenting Institute publication ‘Listening to Mother’ and Sue Gerhardt –
‘Why Love Matters’
c) Lesbian mothers (Louise Davies and Sophie Laws – Out for Our Children)
Out for Our Children campaigns for:
- Nurseries, playgroups and schools that welcome our children
- Books that reflect their children's reality
- A school curriculum that includes us and educates everyone
- Schools and early years settings that address prejudice and homophobia
It has a website www.outforourchildren.co.uk and produces a training pack and other
resources.
The key issue is visibility and use of words gay and lesbian. Some people took out
references to sexual equality in policy documents as they felt that we were ‘past all that’,
even though legislation support this. We need explicit references to different forms of
discrimination.
Children’s experiences:
- girl of three ‘playing lesbians’ wearing big earrings and no make up
- boy of 9 moving schools and being questioned ‘is your mum really gay?’ and ‘which of
your mums is gay?’ Teachers encouraged circle time in school to talk openly about
issues and experiences with the children.
Lesbian and gay parents and their children should feel welcomed and be acknowledged
in daily life. They want to experience non-judgemental attitudes from others, and may
feel defensive. Practitioners and teachers should sensitively enquire about the family
situation – whether there is a donor father, birth father or if the child is adopted.
Lesbians are more invisible in settings, but gay men are very visible. There needs to be
room on forms to mention other people. Practitioners should also be informed through
CPD about equality legislation and its impact on practice.
Sophie has been doing training in early years settings. Good practice she has
experienced includes asking questions on home visits (What do your children call you?),
and a willingness in settings to buy in resources. Some people from faith communities
find accepting lesbian and gay parents hard.
d) Parents of disabled children (Linda Whitehead – Parents for Inclusion)
Linda’s son has Downs syndrome. His plans for the future include being an artist, cook,
going to the pub and growing a beard.
Most disabled children are happy as they are as they have never known any other
version of themselves. Their impairment is rather a problem for society as it creates fear
and anxiety.
We want practitioners to recognise the social model of disability, and to be given more
peer support and supervision in settings. Disabled children don’t need to be ‘fixed’. This
gives a poor message to the child. If a practitioner finds a child difficult, then the child
can become labelled. Prejudices and attitudes can be dealt with in safe spaces focusing
on listening and observation. Practitioners need to be given more of the picture, as
behaviour is not always related to the disability. Opportunities need to be structured as
disabled children develop more slowly than most other children.
Parents can be over critical and look for faults. They need to be listened to and
supported. The emphasis on parent/carer is not helpful to the child.
High quality services for disabled children are ones where the child is welcomed and
feels included, where value and achievement is separated, and it is recognised that
he/she is a person with a positive future.
e) Young children (Nicky Road – Young Children’s Voices Network)
The Young Children’s Voices Network supports local authorities to embed a listening
culture in everyday practice. Young children have a lot to say about their environment
and can influence policy and practice.
‘Am I staying for lunch?’ was a consultation on the impact of extending the free
entitlement for children in Hertfordshire. The children identified that what was most
important to them were friendships, the settling in periods, relationships with grown ups,
food and social activities related to eating, managing transitions and the importance of
routines. There was some anxiety around the end of the session with some children
anxiously waiting on the carpet wondering whether they were going or would be left on
their own. Children enjoyed outdoor play and didn’t like coming in before they were
ready. They also liked being able to do things they couldn’t do at home. Their main
dislike was when someone was mean to them.
From a setting perspective, the outcomes of the consultation has led to enabling
children more free flow and a range of creative activities, managing the beginnings and
endings of days, putting in place food and drink times, allowing more play time, given
children more information and actively listening to them, and ensuring a key person
approach. An amendment was subsequently put in the free entitlement code of practice
around limiting disruptions to children.
Please visit www.ncb.org.uk/ycvn to download the Listening as a Way of Life series of
leaflets and to find out more about Young Children’s Voices Network.
November 2010
Outdoor play provision (Jacky Brewer - Learning through Landscapes)
Learning through Landscapes provides project development, advocacy, research,
advice and consultancy. Through its firm foundations programme, it offers audit
provision, a recommendation report, consultation visit, training packages and tasks.
This programme involves a process of change and LTL staff going in will ask the setting
‘where are you now?’ and ‘where do you want to be?’. But they are not Alan Titchmarsh!
Jacky talked through a range of ‘after’ photos. These included putting plants and grass
in, using real glasses, knives and forks, water fountains to conserve water, children in
trees (risk taking), playing with dirt. Children can develop a theme e.g. 3 little pigs. They
know what they want, but need time to talk.
Leadership qualities in practitioners we look for include confidence, enthusiasm,
knowledge and experience. (Davy, A)
Learning through Landscapes is holding a conference on 7 June, exploring the rights of
children birth to three.
Please see Firm Foundations for Outdoor Play Programme for further information –
www.ltl.org.uk
Pre-school providers (Michael Freeston, Pre-school Learning Alliance)
PLA has had a quality assurance scheme since 1990. It recently moved to quality
improvement through its Reflecting on Quality scheme for strategic and principled
reasons - all settings can improve, can’t police accredited settings, introduction of
EYFS.
Reflecting on Quality built on PLA’s 3 core beliefs:
- Parents first and foremost educators of their children and practitioners work in
partnership with them
- Children learn through play
- Setting provides one of the social groups in which children learn and enhances
community life
It also provides a framework to help settings improve in areas they have identified for
development and a route map to meet the requirements of EYFS, SEF
The key elements of the scheme are:
- a commitment to quality improvement
- a whole team approach
- team ownership of the process
- at a distance support, advice and guidance
Nansi Ellis, ATL, and Judy Ellerby, NUT (teachers)
What does high quality mean for early years teachers?
- Importance of high quality relationships with children, parents and staff team
- Time - quality takes time. Observation and time working with colleagues
- Environment - appropriate and relevant for teachers and children
- Teachers need to be seen as professionals. Early years staff are seen as having a fun
time.
- Tensions between teachers and other early years professionals.
- Reclaiming language - showing how important early years is and not letting it be
belittled.
- Child focuses - common principle
Practicalities
- 15 hours NUT survey. Some issues - staff meetings, reduction in preparation time and
planning as a team
- Teacher training - what will Education White Paper mean for early years? Loss of early
years teachers?
- Concern about Teach First type of training
- Curriculum - EYFS is almost practitioner proof. Lack of space for professionals.
Assessment drives curriculum. Focus on phonics, EYFS profile and learning goals.
- Early years is often seen as preparation for school.
- 2004 research by Mary-Jane Drummond on place of reception class. Caught between
early years and schools.
Elements of high quality
- Strong teams, outdoor play, child centred, not assessment driven, inclusive, ratios,
professional recognition, importance of early years in schools.
2 mentions of early years in White Paper. Professional relationship of trust. Don’t want
‘us’ and ‘them’ culture.
Member comments:
- We need to say what we mean by quality.
- TACTYC is looking at changes within reception classes. Follow up to Drummond
research.
- reading, maths, behaviour - focus of White Paper
- Important that ECF brings together what we can all agree on.
- Ofsted reforms will focus on leadership, behaviour, attainment and teaching
January 2011
Black Practitioners (Haki Kapasi and Patrice Lawrence – Black Voices Network)
The Black Voices Network was created 5 years ago. The idea came to Patrice after she
kept attending events and conference where she was the only Black person. It is
impossible to separate your personal and professional life, as it shapes your world, and
this is felt particularly acutely by people from Black and Minority Ethnic communities.
Patrice offered 3 anecdotes:
a) Rebecca Ferguson, a mixed race contestant on the XFactor, performed in the final
with Christina Aguilera. Both are mums, but only Rebecca was described a role model.
Is there an ethnicity factor here?
b) Samuel L Jackson play Frozo in the Incredibles film. Patrice’s friend wanted to buy a
Frozo costume for her child, but despite all other costumes from the film being available
in the shops, she could only buy this one online.
c) Two children were fighting over white doll, whilst the black one was face down in the
sandpit. How would this make a Black practitioner working in the setting feel? Black
Voices Network offers the opportunity to discuss how we see ourselves.
Haki runs a consultancy called Inspire, who offer training in early years, childcare and
play. Whilst there is training in equality, race equality is less common. There are many
factors that make up good quality provision, and working with Black and Minority
Ethnics children and families adds another dimension.
Practitioners need a space to talk about their identities and to enable critical reflection.
The relationship with ‘others’ is particularly important, in terms of being able to put
yourself in other people’s shoes, and to have an awareness of the experiences of
others. We all need to have an awareness of society and how discrimination is
portrayed and manifested. Staff in particular need to be aware of the notion of power.
We all need space to be able to discuss freely without fear and to share experiences
and knowledge, without being patronising and reinforcing stereotypes. Black
practitioners are almost never asked what they find offensive. The spotlight is often on
Black children, and you often only hear a Black child’s name called in settings in relation
to behaviour.
Childminders (Alexis Starkey – NCMA)
NCMA believes that every child should reach their full potential. There are nearly 60,000
registered childminders in England and Wales, with 7,493 being home-childcarers. 68%
of childminders are members of NCMA. NCMA was established in 1977 to support
childminders and now nannies. Childminders are registered and inspected by Ofsted in
England & CSSIW in Wales.
Why does high quality matter? Higher quality childcare provision results in better
developmental outcomes for children. It benefits the wider family and also society.
What does high quality childcare look like? Delivery of early education, life skills, care.
Delivery of EYFS. Safeguarding/welfare requirements. Ofsted registered and inspected.
Professional standards. Childminders provide many additional services and specialist
support. Flexible childcare including longer hours, antisocial hours, weekends. Value
added services – e.g. work with local authorities to provide respite care for disabled
children as well as where the child and family is experiencing difficulties and is ‘at risk’.
Approximately 16% of childminders offering childcare through social services. 16%
provide childcare for disabled children. 37% trained in caring for disabled children or
children with learning difficulties. Home-based settings shown in research to provide
more sensitive and attentive caregiving, and more one-to-one interaction than larger
group-based settings – particularly good for disabled children and those with additional
needs. What works for the individual child and family.
How do we drive up quality? Through Ofsted - Checks help to monitor quality. Allows
childminders to demonstrate to parents that they are regulated. Helps parents to choose
between providers. Ensures childminders are judged on a level playing field with other
forms of childcare. Gives all childminders an important opportunity to gain practical
feedback on ways they can improve their practice.
Networks - Quality improvement childminding networks provide opportunities to improve
practice and peer support. Those on a network are more likely to be judged
‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. NCMA’s model allows for all childminders to join, and a
development pathway. Accredited networks allow local authorities to provide the free
entitlement to early education. However, nearly a third of local authorities in England
don’t have a network and in the 50 most deprived local authorities, only 25 are
accredited to deliver the free early years entitlement.
Training and professional development - The higher qualified the practitioner, the better
the developmental outcomes for children. NCMA members with a Level 3 qualification
or above are more likely to be graded as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. 50% of NCMA
members have a Level 3 qualification or above.
Challenges - Local authorities have provided fantastic support with training, but are now
facing budget cuts. Childminders find it difficult to fund training themselves. On average
they work 37.5 hours a week, but 46% have a turnover of less than £10,000 per year.
Hourly rate for childminders set on local going rates, rather than linked to qualifications.
Training needs to be provided in evenings and on weekends so they can access it.
Linking with other professionals - Importance of linking with both parents and other
professionals to provide wrap-around care. Excellent examples of integrated local
authority projects throughout the country. Childminders can provide an early
intervention option by providing care within the child’s local community, and can prevent
the child being taken into care. 15 per cent of childminders are providing care for
children on behalf of the local authority, including emergency care and caring for the
children of teen parents
Buckinghamshire Community Childminding Network. Supports disabled children, young
people and their families. Improves children and young people’s achievement,
behavioural and emotional outcomes through effective support and intervention with
families
Next steps - Ensure Ofsted continues to inspect childminders alongside other providers.
Networks available to all childminders across the country. Support for all childminders to
achieve a Level 3 qualification or above. Better linking with other professionals. Support
for local authorities to continue their programmes.
Private nursery providers (Jo Baranek – National Day Nurseries Association)
NDNA’s vision is ‘a society where all children and families receive the best-quality care
and learning that enable them to reach their full potential’. Raising quality in settings
improves the experiences and outcomes for children attending . Our mission is to
support the delivery of best-quality care and early learning for children across the UK.
E-Quality Counts - This is a quality assurance scheme and quality improvement tool.
There are a variety of tools within the scheme that support continuous improvement.
These include: Fifteen comprehensive sections covering all aspects of nursery life;
Diagnostics designed to show settings where their strengths and areas for development
lie; Up-to-date resources to support all areas; Online mentor support
E-Quality Counts sections: 1) Management2) Staff 3) Observation and reflection to
inform practice 4) Care, learning and development 5) Environment 6) Visits and visitors
7) Equality and inclusion 8) Safeguarding children 9) Partnership with parents 10)
Nutrition, serving food and oral health 11) Health and safety 12) Babies 13) School
escort service 14) Out of school care 15) Students
E-Quality Counts diagnostics and assessment - Each section has diagnostics that probe
each nursery about their current practice. The diagnostics relate to the Early Years
Quality Improvement Support Programme (EYQISP) to help nurseries to translate this
to local level requirements. The system automatically formulates an action plan to help
nurseries to focus on their areas for development. The diagnostics are revisited at the
end to enable nurseries to see how far they have travelled on their continuous
improvement journey. E-Quality Counts offers resources and mentor support. All
criteria, resources and support are updated to reflect changes in legislation, good
practice or new resources. The e-Quality Counts journey to accreditation normally takes
two years and an assessment is required. There are three levels of award.
E-Quality Counts benefits - The 15 sections cover each area of the nursery in depth
with safeguarding, inclusion and equality threaded throughout. All staff are included and
parents need to be consulted as part of the process. The continuous professional
development (CPD) of staff is encouraged throughout. Clear links to EYFS and EYQISP
and covers all relevant legislation. Evidence shows that nurseries undertaking e-Quality
Counts have improved their quality.
Other NDNA resources - Training, both online and face to face. Publications. Regular
member communication, conferences and free member events. Factsheets. Member
support from experts. Networks throughout the country.