Nurseries wrestling with EYFS and Ofsted changes seek out guidance

The revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Ofsted inspection framework for early years settings came into force at the beginning of this month.

Awareness of the changes is high among early years practitioners, but sector leaders are warning that implementing the standards will be challenging, particularly for settings with smaller budgets, independent nurseries and those struggling to raise their Ofsted rating from good or adequate.

The revised EYFS is shorter and simpler than the original framework, but it focuses more on early intervention and child development and includes new legal duties, such as the two-year-old progress check – a written summary of a child’s development for parents.

Settings also have to plan for no-notice Ofsted inspections that will focus more on interaction with children, less on paperwork and require joint observations with managers.

Claire Schofield, policy director at the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), says some settings have found the timescale for preparation tight. The Department for Education published the new EYFS framework in March, but Ofsted’s guide to inspections was released only last month.

As a result, NDNA has received increased requests for training from members. “We’ve had a lot of demand for nurseries to have training at the weekend,” she says. “Nurseries have had to get the whole team together to understand how they’re going to meet the new requirements.”

Schofield says nurseries may have to review staffing structures and develop their management skills: “The inspections have a bigger emphasis on the experience of children in the setting, particularly the inspector sitting alongside the nursery leader to do joint observation. This raises the bar in terms of leaders’ and managers’ skills.”

Cash and training
Schofield warns that settings will be unable to employ the most qualified practitioners without local investment, adding that “networking and being part of the discussion with your local authority” are essential to “get the level of funding you need”.

Meanwhile, some providers have found it difficult to access training and resources to help them through the changes. NDNA research published in June showed two-thirds of nurseries reported local authority training had been reduced.

Megan Pacey, chief executive of Early Education, says this has placed additional demands on smaller settings. “They didn’t always engage with what was on offer and nowadays it’s not even on offer,” she warns.

Pacey argues that the shift from local-authority-supplied documents to online resources has added to nurseries’ difficulties. “Nothing is printed anymore,” she explains. “It’s available for free download, so you pay the printing cost yourself. Smaller providers and childminders in particular don’t have the printing facilities.”

According to Pacey, the extension of the free entitlement to disadvantaged two-year-olds, in addition to the new progress checks, could provoke a shift in nursery policy from using inexperienced practitioners to care for the youngest children to placing them with the most qualified staff. “We’ve got a huge learning curve over the next three or four years if we’re going to deliver,” she says.

Ofsted is directing nurseries to online resources. A spokeswoman says A Know How Guide: The EYFS Progress Check At Age Two, is the starting point for all providers.