Funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and the Department for Education, the project will involve 36,000 pupils in 200 primary schools across the country, recruited by Magic Breakfast. Researchers will compare the impact of clubs where children, regardless of income, get a free breakfast, to clubs where only pupils […]

          The schools admissions guidance has been updated to end confusion over when children have to legally start school, and clarifies the difference between when a council has to provide a school place and the right of parents to choose their child’s start date. According to the School Admissions Code a […]

          The aim is to have a new apprenticeship framework in place by September, to co-incide with the introduction of the new EYE qualifications. The early years sector is one of the first Trailblazer projects to get underway, following the review of apprenticeships carried out in 2012 by Doug Richard. Chaired […]

      The Government’s Department for Education has just published a revised version of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which will come into effect from 1st September this year. Changes have been made to the EYFS for three key reasons: • To capture new regulations • To simplify the existing framework by removing […]

The ‘No Junk challenge’, launched by organic baby and toddler manufacturer Organix, is a two-phase campaign to challenge the food industry to remove the hgh quantities of added salt, fat, sugar and artificial additives from children’s food and encourage parents to cook with fresh, natural ingredients. From 28 April – 4 May, parents will be […]

      Watch 6 new videos from Ofsted, showcasing Early Years Foundation Stage good practice here!

Back in 2012, Professor Cathy Nutbrown carried out a review of early education and childcare qualifications, on behalf of the Department for Education. In her report, she recommended that it become mandatory for all staff counted within a setting’s ratio of adults:children to be qualified to a minimum of Level 3. (Currently, only 50% of […]

  Literacy development is a specific area of learning and development within the Early Years Foundation Stage. As part of your strategy to promote literacy, it’s a good idea to participate in one or more of the literacy events for children that take place throughout the year. For example, you could celebrate World Book Day, […]

          This follows on from the Government’s stated aim in last year’sMore Great Childcare to raise the overall quality of literacy and numeracy skills of those entering the workforce. It is now confirmed that from 1 August 2014, government funding of Early Years Educator training courses through the Skills Funding Agency […]

          This significant turnaround is a victory for the Ofsted Big Conversation campaigners who have been calling for fairer and more transparent early years inspections. Ofsted has now confirmed that in future a full inspection will not be carried out as a matter of routine following a compliance investigation.