Improving Quality of Services in the Early

Years Sector (in Surrey, England)

Mary MacKenzie

One of 42 English counties Situated south of London Population 1.1 million 272,400 children 0-19 years 9.9% live in poverty In “pockets of disadvantage”

Surrey, England

Quality measures are designed to serve different purposes:

Regulation

Research

Improving practice

What is quality?

EPPE Project (the Effective Provision of Pre-school Education)

Carried out between 1997 and 2003 First major European study of young

children’s development between ages 3 and 7 years

Children tracked to find out how different sorts of pre-school education care would affect their development

The EPPE Project

Attending pre-school enhances all round development in children

High quality pre-schooling is related to better intellectual and social/behavioural development

Settings with higher qualified staff have higher quality scores and children progress more

Quality of home learning environment is vital

Findings of EPPE Project

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”

Nelson Mandela

Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education)

Environmental Rating Scales (ECERS-R, ECERS-E and ITERS-R)

Quality Assurance/Improvement schemes

How is quality measured in England

NQIN supports providers to improve outcomes for young children

Informs national policy on quality improvement

All quality improvement frameworks are based around the ten Quality Improvement principles

National Quality Improvement Network (NQIN)

“A rich child often sits on a poor parent’s lap”

- Danish proverb

Quality and Inequality – Nuffield Foundation (2014) Government maintained schools in

disadvantaged areas offer quality for 3-4 year olds comparable with those schools serving the more advantaged (using ECERS and ITERS)

Quality was lower in settings in deprived areas within private, voluntary and independent sector

Evident in quality of interactions, support for learning, language and literacy and diversity

Settings with a graduate member of staff scored more highly on all quality measures

Recent research findings:

Latest EPPE (or EPPSE 3-16 as now entitled) report launched 9 September 2014

Entitled “Students Educational and Developmental Outcomes at Age 16”

Found pre-school attendance predicted higher total GCSE scores

Quality of pre-school predicted both total GCSE scores and English and Maths grades

Attending quality pre-school predicted greater likelihood of following an academic pathway

“Hot off the press……”

Adopted and adapted quality kitemark in 2006

Called it the Surrey Quality Assurance Scheme

Started with a pilot scheme of 20 settings

Each setting mentor supported

Quality Improvement in Surrey

Settings chose to participate

Needed to have a good or outstanding Ofsted outcome

It was free!

Settings did not receive any financial reimbursement for participating

Quality Improvement in Surrey

Focused on Every Child Matters 5 modules in a question and answer format

with prompts to assist practitioners Evidence produced to uphold the answers Development Plan for identifying areas of

improvement Mentor supported

How the scheme worked

Ofsted ratings improved

59% of QIA participants went from a Good to an Outstanding outcome whereas the national average was 13%

Self evaluation became part of practice for all staff

It covers all areas of practice in a controlled way

It develops an ethos of on going reflective practice

Benefits from QIA

Too labour intensive and paper heavy At first settings did not involve all staff Time was a big issue Sometimes staff felt it was being done to

them rather than it being their scheme Tended to be an affirmation of good practice

rather than a reflective tool

Pitfalls and lessons learnt

Business, leadership, management, practice and provision are at its heart

Written with the help of practitioners who had been involved in earlier versions

Concentrated on simplicity and ease of use Range of assessment tools including

Environmental Rating Scales

Revised scheme

Being reflective in our approach Focusing on the process rather than the end

product Acted on actions arising from interim and

final evaluations with participants From their suggestions we adapted the

scheme and method of working Have focused on quality improvement

rather than an affirmation of general practice

Lessons learnt in our team

Maintaining the good quality of practice in settings which have completed the scheme

Focusing on settings in disadvantaged areas Targeting settings which have received a Requires Improvement or Satisfactory Ofsted outcome Different priorities from the Department of Education

Challenges we face

We offer a range of tools for settings to use in conjunction with targeted support from Early Years staff Quality Improvement Program Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements

audit Environmental Rating Scales audits Wonder Years program (Baby room project) Free entitlement for two year olds audit Early language audits

Benefits of an extensive quality improvement program

Sylva,K., Meluish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I and Taggart, B (2010) Early childhood matters: Evidence from the Effective Pre-school and Primary Education project. London: Routledge.

Department for Education (2012) Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage. Setting the standard for learning, development and care for children from birth to five

Field, F., (2010) The Foundation Years: preventing poor children becoming poor adults. The Report of the Independent Review on Poverty and Life Chances.

Harms, T., Cryer, D and Clifford, R.M. (2003) Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale: Revised Edition. New York, NY:

Mathers, S. Singler, R. & Karemaker A. (2012) Improving quality in the early years: a comparison of perspectives and measures. London Oxford: university of Oxford and Daycare Trust.

Nutbrown, C., (2012) Review of Early Education and Childcare Qualifications: Interim Report . London. Department for Education DfE.

References

Thank you.

Any Questions?