Putting the EYFS Curriculum into Practice

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Julian Grenier led on the revision of Development Matters for the Department for Education. He has independently written guidance to support practitioners, teachers and settings in understanding and implementing the updated Development Matters.

How should practitioners and leaders set about designing and implementing their curriculum in the Early Years Foundation Stage? Written by experts in the field, this book provides clear, practical guidance on each of the 7 areas of learning and development in the revised (2021) EYFS. Chapters cover key topics including, assessment, inclusion of children with SEND, English as an Additional Language, equalities, anti-racism, provision for disadvantaged children, professional development and using research and evidence. Designed for practising teachers, early years educators, students on early years degrees and trainee teachers, this engaging book provides an accessible guide to putting revised EYFS into practice. Dr Julian Grenier CBE is the headteacher of Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre. He was the lead writer of Development Matters (2021). Caroline Vollans is a psychoanalyst and author. She writes for a wide range of early years publications and is author of Wise Words: How Susan Isaacs Changed Parenting. In your setting, is the recording of progress a barrier to effective adult interaction and the building of positive relationships? Reflections on Ofsted’s, Best start in life: a research review for early years – Part 2 Posted: 19/09/23 Only 49.1% of children eligible for free school meals achieved the GLD, compared to 68.8% of those not known to be eligible for free school meals. That’s a whopping 19.6 percentage point gap. Dr Julian Grenier CBEis the headteacher of Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre.He was the lead writer of Development Matters (2021).The EYFS Statutory Framework obliges practitioners to provide experiences which are based on children’s interests. Sometimes the children have interests that we feel uncomfortable with. As professionals we need to be able to identify what this is for each of us and then find ways of feeling more comfortable with it. Islington Council’s Engaging Boys leaflet may be helpful to read. The Vivienne Gussin Paley quote below is a timely reminder.

Once your aims are clear, you are ready to plan your Professional Development programme. This is most likely to be effective if it’s based on the best available evidence and clearly focused on improving children’s experiences in your setting. Consider how your programme will lead to: The Early Years Curriculum brings together a range of curriculum models from across the world, providing in-depth discussion on key issues and theories, and enabling readers to consider each approach to children's learning within an international context. It encourages readers to explore different ways of understanding the curriculum, and to develop a critical understanding of the key issues that shape the way a curriculum is designed. Chapters cover key topics including, assessment, inclusion of children with SEND, English as an Additional Language, equalities, anti-racism, provision for disadvantaged children, professional development and using research and evidence.What are the key things that you’ll need to focus on? Well, there are all sorts of things that will need your attention of course- the importance of language and vocabulary, adult interaction and learning conversations, self-regulation and executive function. That’s without even getting to the idea of curriculum ownership and pedagogy. There is a huge and growing gap between disadvantaged children and all others at the end of the EYFS. This is a longstanding problem: England is a country where how well you do in education is strongly associated with how well-off your parents are.That's very different from countries likeCanada , where half my family are from. Written by experts in the field, this book provides clear, practical guidance on each of the 7 areas of learning and development in the revised (2021) EYFS. Also, the nature of adult relationships is closely linked to self- regulation. If our staff’s main concern is to position themselves behind an I pad then opportunities to support self-regulation through a nurturing, supportive relationship will be missed. As Julian Grenier, the author of the Development Matters document states:

It is important to note that we can’t compare the statistics for the Good Level of Development (GLD) in the summer of 2022, because the DFE revised the EYFS Statutory Framework in 2020. This list is not exhaustive and could be added to by your staff team and used as a way of monitoring the quality of interactions in your setting. It is important to know the quality of these interactions as it is the quality that makes a difference to the progress children make. We know this from the EPPE research. Following interests If I have not yet learned to love Darth Vader, I have at least made some useful discoveries while watching him play. As I interrupt less, it becomes clear that boys play is serious drama, not morbid mischief. Its rhythms and images are often discordant to me but I must try to make sense of a style that, after all, belongs to half the population of the classroom. I chose Chapter 2 by Professor Eunice Lumsden: A curriculum that promotes equality and challenges racism and sexism, for the education team here to discuss.Dr Julian Grenier CBE is the headteacher of Sheringham Nursery School and Children's Centre. He was the lead writer of Development Matters (2021).

So, hopefully you’re all set. You’ve attended the training on the new EYFS framework, you’ve read the documentation, followed the many online debates and now, finally you’re ready to put the framework into practice- your practice.Since the revised Development Matters was published for early adopter schools in September 2020, there have been several video discussions (vlogs) and blogs about the new guidance. Hear from Julian Grenier with representatives from Ofsted and the Department for Education: If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us The conference is all about the putting the curriculum into action, with a special focus on equity for every child. You can look for evidence of what works in the Early Intervention Foundation’s report, Teaching, pedagogy and practice in early years childcare: An evidence review or on the Education Endowment Foundation’s Early Years Toolkit . The evidence suggests that a successful programme will run over a whole year, or the majority of the year. Each practitioner will engage in at least 20 hours of training in total. Those 20 hours might include a whole-staff session, self-study and online learning, discussion, mentoring or coaching, and peer support. There isn’t any evidence that sending staff to one-off training events and asking them to share their learning with the wider team is effective in improving quality, although it might support an individual’s professional development. In most cases, sound early years principles and practices are already in place in settings. The EYPP funding allows settings to review and refine what these principles mean to them. It may be useful to consider your understanding of what these principles are through discussions, professional reading and observation of your practice. What does sound early years practice look like?