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Recent Posts
- EYFS Reforms Consultation Response
- Learning: Not At School
- Simply Put
- Wagging the Dog
- Growing Weather
- Coping with Critique
- Humble
- A Child Called It
- The Medium and the Message
- Joining the Dots
- In Partnership
- Navigate the World
- The Power
- Advice for NQTs
- The Wrong Sort of Child
- Expected Standard
- The Trouble with Knowledge
- The Firmest Foundations
- If You Build It
- A Bad Idea
Category Archives: EYFS
Wagging the Dog
In 1992, the same year that I started my teaching degree, a new organisation was established to inspect standards in education. The national inspectorate known as Ofsted replaced the previous system of inspections, which were carried out by HMIs within … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Bold Beginnings, Children, EYFS, Ofsted
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A Child Called It
Just before Christmas, Ofsted published a suite of materials on curriculum, ahead of the consultation on their new Inspection Framework. One of the videos is on ‘Early Reading’ and it features Ofsted’s Regional Director for the South West – Bradley … Continue reading
Posted in EYFS
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The Medium and the Message
Just before Christmas, Ofsted published a series of short videos on YouTube about their proposed new Education Inspection Framework, with specific reference to the focus they are going to be putting on Curriculum in future inspections. The Framework is going … Continue reading
Posted in Bold Beginnings, EYFS, Ofsted
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In Partnership
One of the key elements of being in EYFS is that we work in partnership with our parents and families. This phase is about the care, learning and development of the children who attend our settings. Small children have many … Continue reading
Posted in Children, EYFS
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Expected Standard
I’m not Expected Standard There’s lots I do not know The Government checked my learning And decided it was low. The grown ups think I’m stupid They think I do not see That some kids find school easier And learning … Continue reading
The Firmest Foundations
“No sitting at desks, we are too busy playing No testing or labelling, hear what we’re saying Be brave and be bold, make the firmest foundations Build a garden! Take pride in the joy of creation.” There is something magical … Continue reading
Posted in EYFS, Firm Foundations, Group Work
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If You Build It
I wanted to share a short story with you It may sound unreal but I promise it’s true So here is my poem on how the outdoors Can become an inspiring unstoppable force. It was ten years ago I became … Continue reading
Posted in EYFS, Firm Foundations
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Life in the Sandpit
If you spend any length of time working in the early years sector, you start to get the feeling that you are not seen to be quite as intellectual or rational as those working in other phases. This doesn’t come … Continue reading
Posted in Baseline, Bold Beginnings, Children, EYFS, Play
10 Comments
The Core
I’ve been thinking all day about what is at the core of the Reception year, ever since I woke up this morning and read in an Ofsted report that they think that the core of Reception is reading. Lots of … Continue reading
Posted in EYFS
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Saving the Children
Today, the charity Save the Children published a report entitled “Untapped Potential” about children’s outcomes in early years settings, and the qualification levels of early years staff, focusing particularly on private, voluntary and independent (PVI) settings. While I wouldn’t disagree … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Early Years, EYFS, Preschools
11 Comments