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News

Early Years News

Early Years Current News: November 2004

Latest Childcare News

• New Childcare Web Pages
• Picnic Time for Tots 'n' Teddies
• Poole Early Years Team Say It With Flowers
• All about Children's Centres
  

Poole Childcare Providers

• The Next Providers Forum
• The Future of Early Years Inspections
• Changes to the Annual Data Collection
• Quality Assurance update
  

Poole Sure Start Partnership

• Childminding Chat
• Childminding Mentoring gets set for success
• Winter Wonderland play morning
• Poole Early Years Team
• Early Education Update
• Training and Recruitment
• What's On in Poole Libraries

Latest Childcare News
Poole Early Years Team Launch boroughofpoole.com/surestart

Our new childcare web pages went live at the beginning of October. The great new site provides parents and carers with useful information and guidance on topics such as Choosing Childcare, Children’s Activities, Tax Credits, Nursery Education Funding, Careers in Childcare and Poole Sure Start Partnership.

For childcare settings and childminders there is a comprehensive childcare providers section providing business advice, updates on training, funding, working towards Quality Assurance and Ofsted, along with the facility to download many of our Provider Forms. These pages will be developed according to your requirements so please let us know your views and comments.

To celebrate the launch of the site, Poole Early Years Team ran a competition for website visitors to win four tickets to see Beauty and the Beast at the Lighthouse in Poole.  The lucky winner will be taking their family to see the show.

Don’t forget that if you do not have access to the internet at work or home you can still visit the site using the free IT facilities in any of Poole’s Libraries.

Picnic Time For Tots 'n' Teddies

To celebrate National Bookstart Day, Poole Bookstart hosted a Teddy Bear’s Picnic at Poole Central Library on the 8^th October. Over forty toddlers and their teddies joined in the fun with songs and stories followed by a delicious picnic.

 

Poole Bookstart is part of a national programme that works with Poole Early Years Team, Poole Library Service and Poole Primary Care Trust. It aims to promote a life-long love of books to children from a very early age. Free packs with books and guidance are given to families with babies at their 7 to 9 month development check with Health Visitors.

 

Marguerite Dike, Poole Children’s Librarian said, “It’s wonderful to see all these children, including the very young, enjoying the facilities that Poole Library Service has to offer families. It’s never too soon to introduce books to babies and children. “ 

 

After the Picnic, Poole Children’s Information Service, also based in the Central Library, spoke to parents and carers about  Childcare and Early Education provision available in Poole.

 

For further details about other family events in Poole Libraries please contact Julie Borthwick, Poole Bookstart Co-ordinator on 01202 261650.

For further information on childcare and early years visit www.boroughofpoole.com/surestart or contact Poole Children’s Information Service 01202 261999.

 

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Poole Early Years Team Say It With Flowers \n

It was sunshine and flowers all round for hundreds of children and their families who attended the annual Upton Country Park’ Wildlife Fun Day on Wednesday 4^th August.

 

While the children were busy creating with recycled materials obtained from the Dorset Scrap Store,  Poole Children’s Information Service consulted to parents and carers about their childcare needs and possible career opportunities in Childcare and Early Education.

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All About Children’s Centres \n

What is a Children’s Centre?

The government wants to provide local integrated services for children and their families through creating Children’s Centres over time in all areas.

What will they provide?

Children’s Centres will offer the following:

•  Early Education supported by a qualified   teacher integrated with full day care
• Early identification and provision for children with Special Educational Needs
•  Family Support and potential outreach
• Child and Family Health Services
•  A base for childminders and a service centre for local childcare providers
•  Links with Job Centre Plus and local training provider
• Links to the Children Information Service, Neighbourhood Nurseries, Out of School Clubs and Extended Schools.
• Management and workforce training

 

What’s happening in Poole?

Unfortunately Poole has not been allocated any additional funding currently to develop Children’s Centres but is building on the current good practice for integrated services and continues to try and persuade the DFES to make us an allocation.

Vicky Wales, Service Unit Head, Pupil & Parent Support.

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Introducing Sharon Weeks Senior Pre-School Development Worker

Hello, my name is Sharon Weeks and I have recently taken up post of Senior Pre-school Development Worker (SPDW) for the Pre-school Learning Alliance (PSLA). Although based at home I shall be working alongside the Poole Early Years Team. The Pre-school Learning Alliance’s mission is help children to succeed, create the childcare which families need and build learning communities. To help achieve this aim I shall be visiting voluntary community pre-schools offering support and advice on staffing and committee issues. However, the Pre-school Learning Alliance also offers training, Quality Assurance schemes, a range of useful publications and help with PR and fundraising.

Currently the PSLA is running three campaigns; Changing Lives Changing Life, Meeting the Workforce Challenge and Feeding Young Imaginations. Other PSLA initiatives include Neighbourhood Nursery Programme, Introduction to Expansion and Family Learning. For more information on any of the items mentioned or if you would like to become a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance please don’t hesitate to contact me via the Children’s Information Service (CIS) on 01202 261999. Alternatively via the Pre-school Learning Alliance South West Regional Office 0117 907 7073.

All Poole Childcare Providers are invited to attend the Providers Forum on Monday 31^st  January 2005 from 7pm – 9pm in the Conference Room at the Civic Centre . The main subject on the agenda will be ‘Birth to Three Matters – The Way Forward’ and will be led by Caroline Davies, Foundation Stage Advisory Teacher.

To book your place please phone Jackie Sharp on 01202 261902 or email j.sharp@poole.gov.uk.

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The Future of Early Years Inspections

Ofsted have just carried out a public consultation on proposed changes that will take place from April 2005. Pilots of these are also being carried out. These proposals include:

·         Taking account of the Birth to Three Matters in the new inspection framework.

·         The 14 National Standards for daycare and childminding to be grouped under four of the

       five outcomes identified in the Green paper Every Child Matters. They are: ‘Being 

       Healthy,’ ‘Staying Safe,’ ‘Enjoying and Achieving’, ‘Making a Positive Contribution,’

       and ‘Economic Well-Being’.

Outcomes and Standards

• Being Healthy: Health (7); Food & Drink (8)

• Staying Safe: Premises (Physical Environment) (4);Safety (6); Child Protection (13); Equipment (5)

• Enjoying & Achieving: Care Learning and Play (3).

• Making a Positive Contribution: Equal Opportunities (9); Special Needs (10); Behaviour (11); Working in a Partnership (12).

Economic Well-Being

The overall judgment on the quality and standards of care will feed directly into this outcome, as the provision of high quality childcare ( and education where appropriate) will increase the chances of improving children’s social and economic status by helping their parents back to work.

In addition, the Inspection Framework includes a section for ‘organisation’, which incorporated the following standards Suitable Person (1), Organisation (2) and Documentation (14).

Group daycare providers will receive little or no notice of inspection and childminders will receive the minimum notice ‘to establish that they are available’.

• A new grading system ranging from ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’, bringing early years in line with the grading scale for schools.
• A simpler report format, with reports proportionate to the provision’s size and the findings.If an inspector has no concerns the report will be shorter than if care was judged ‘inadequate’.
•  A simple self-evaluation for providers to complete in advance which can then be discussed with the inspector.
• Investors in children approved quality assurance schemes to be taken into account when determining the length and frequency of inspections

Pat van Schagen, Childcare Advice & Support Officer

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Every January Providers receive the Early Years Census from the DfES.  The data you provide helps the government to monitor progress towards its targets to expand provision for 3 and 4 year olds and plan the funding of provision.   In the past Providers and Childminders have also been asked to complete an Audit form.  This data has been used to produce the Annual Childcare Audit.

This year is different!  To minimise the duplication of information we have combined the above two processes into one.  In January 2005 you will receive the DfES Census to complete along with an Audit form asking for any additional information required that is not covered by the Census form.

All data provided will be used for statistical purposes only.  Any information you have submitted in the past will already be completed on the Audit form so minimal completion will be required by yourselves.

If any Providers or Childminders require assistance completing their survey or would prefer a visit to help completion, please contact Paula Foster  01202 261925.

Congratulations to Little People Kindergarten, Broadstone, who are the first Poole group to receive their Quality Assurance Accreditation.  Group leader, Linda Greenslade said “ We are delighted to have achieved this award which recognises the quality of the opportunities we provide for the children in our care. The process was very worthwhile in itself, as we enjoyed looking again at every aspect of what we do, making changes  and improvements along the way, and planning future developments.” Little People are planning a very special celebration in December – more about that in the next edition.

Of the15 Poole groups registered to a Quality Assurance Scheme, two are currently awaiting the outcome of their assessment, and others are at varying stages of developing their portfolios in readiness for their assessment. Two Poole childminders have achieved Quality assured status NCMA Quality First Scheme, and with two more awaiting the outcomes of their assessment. A further 45 Childminders have achieved Quality Assured Status with the Poole CCF Childminding Network Cluster.

For any information on the Quality Assurance Schemes available and for help and advice with your Quality Assurance journey, please contact Celia Manville, Quality Assurance Officer 01202 261924.

Stop Press! Have You Collected Your Professional Portfolio? To arrange collection contact Jackie Sharp 01202 261902

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Welcome to the Autumn edition of the new look Early Years Newsletter.  I think Emma has done a fantastic job and I am certain that she would welcome your comments, both on the new format and content.

The working party charged with drawing up proposals for the re-launch of our Partnership has met, but the project is now on hold awaiting further guidance from the Sure Start unit of the DfES as to the future role of local partnerships.  The Borough of Poole’s plan for Children’s Services will also impact on this.

One thing that we all agreed upon was that good communications were imperative, this not only vertically from Early Years, or other BoP units, down to settings but also horizontally across all practitioners.  I have been surprised during my term as Partnership Chair at the number of difficulties that have had at source a communication problem of one sort or another. Whatever the future of our Partnership we will need to ensure an effective communication system.

Our next Partnership meeting will be on Tuesday the 11^th of January and our main speaker will be John Nash, by then Director of Children’s Services.  His appointment and remit will have quite far reaching effects on the Child Care scene in Poole and on the profile of our Partnership and how we operate in the future.  John is an excellent speaker and what he will have to say will be of interest and important to all of us.   Remember, each sector can send up to four representatives to Partnership meetings so that four member settings could attend ensuring that the information that John gives is disseminated widely.  Please let Dawn know if you are coming, this for admin purposes only, and note that this meeting will be an afternoon one.  More details shortly. 

I cannot close without wishing Sue well.  With the help of speech therapy her voice is slowly returning and we hope that she will be back to full voice in the very near future. 

Have a lovely Christmas and I hope that 2005 brings you happiness and all that you wish yourself.  

John Pay MBE – Chair, Poole Sure Start Partnership

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Childminding Mentor Scheme Gets Set for Success

The Borough of Poole’s Childminding Mentor Support Scheme has now been up and running since September.

Our newly appointed Mentors have been doing a fantastic job of supporting potential childminders preparing for registration  and the scheme has already received some excellent feedback.

The Mentors have been appointed from our quality assured childminding workforce and will mainly support childminders in their allocated areas. \n

The Dorset & Poole Childminding Association  are hosting a Winter Wonderland theme

Play Morning for all Poole Childminders and their children.  The Play Morning is to be

held on 9^th February 2005  from 10am – 12pm at Poole Lighthouse, Function Room 2. The morning will feature craft activities with Laura Cousins.  For more details call the DPCMA 01202 849253.

Ofsted Top Grades for Poole Network Childminders

We are delighted to announce a 100% record of top grades from Ofsted for the Borough of Poole Childminding Networks – i.e. current childminders who have been inspected by Ofsted since they have become Network members have received the top grade “Good”.

Network Childminders work to NCMA Quality Standards, which are over and above, those required for registration, and it is very rewarding to know that this is being reflected in the outcomes of their Ofsted inspections. For further details on joining the Borough of Poole Childminding Networks call 261999. \n

Childminders Conference

A Childminders Conference for all Poole Childminders will take place on Saturday 5 March 2005 at Ashdown School Canford Heath. Our guest will be Ros Bayley, who is renowned for being an inspirational Early Years Trainer – not to be missed!

If you have any suggestions for workshops, activities or items for discussion  please contact:

Karen I’Anson Childminding Support Officer on 01202 261934 k.i’anson@poole.gov.uk

DPCMA Propose Constitution Amendment

An unexpected fall in committee members due to family and other commitments means that DPCMA Volunteer Management Committee are seeking permission from their members to amend the constitution to read ‘The Committee shall consist of the following:

(i) At least 5 and not more than 15 persons excluding those who are co-opted

(ii) Not more than 4 members co-opted by the committee’.

To discuss this and vote on the change, DPCMA are calling an extraordinary meeting on the 15^th December 2004 from 7.30pm at the Community Learning and Resource Centre, King Street, Wimborne BH21 1EB. Please phone 01202 849253 to confirm your attendance.

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Next Additional Support Workers Network Meeting

The third network meeting for Additional Support Workers in Poole is on Tuesday 9^th November at Rossmore from 6.30-8.30pm. During this session the Dorset scrap store are visiting to give us sparkly craft ideas and goodies to use for the run up to the festive season. We are all enjoying these chances to meet up and support each other, and Sue sends a warm welcome to any additional support workers who would like to come, but haven’t done so yet. For further information contact Sue Keenan 01202 261907.

Toy Library Conference

I recently attended the NATLL conference which took the theme Play Matters for Families. Delegates attended from all over the country and discussed a variety of topics including promoting active play and tackling obesity. The keynote speaker was the Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE MP who spoke about Building Capacity and Quality in Play Services If you are interested in play and how  Toy Libraries can help please contact me on 261929.

Julie Borthwick,Toy Library & Resource Loans Co-ordinator \n

Celia Manville – although Celia will be greatly missed by Poole Childminding Networks we are delighted that she is staying in the Early Years Team and wish her the best of luck in her new role as Quality Assurance Officer.

Sally Clements - who has joined the Children’s Information Service.

Paula Foster – (Research & Information Officer) who has returned from maternity leave.

Sharon Weeks – Senior Pre-School Development Worker

Goodbye to………

Sadie Kerslake-Smith – who has left the Early Years Team to spend more time at home with her family.

Nicky Kay - who has left the Early Years Team to take up a new post in Leisure Services as Physical Activity Coordinator for Early Years.

Linda Gape - who has left the Early Years Team to take up a post as Manager of Townsend Nursery, Bournemouth

You will find a ‘Latest News’ section, which can be filtered if you want to view information via a particular geographical area. You can also see a calendar of local meetings and events. There are currently 184 groups listed in the ‘Organisation Directory’. Poole Children’s Information Service has a listing in this section,  as a member of the Partnership. You can look for a room to host your meetings or events by clicking on ‘Venues For Hire’. There is a great deal of information on the Web Portal, with many useful links to other sites. There is also  link  to Poole Partnership Web Portal on www.boroughofpoole.com/surestart. Jon Hartley \n

Poole Children’s Information Service have been inundated with requests for Bug Busting Packs and free Nit Combs for Bug Busting Day on 31^st October. The next Bug Busting days are in January and June 2005, but you can still claim your free pack and blitz those nasty nits by contacting Poole Children’s Information Service on 01202 261999 or by visiting the website www.boroughofpoole.com/surestart

Poole Parent & Toddler Groups Leaflet

We are currently updating our Parent & Toddler Group leaflet. If you know of any new groups that need to be included or if you know of any details that need to be updated please let us know. Contact 01202 261999 or e-mail childcare@poole.gov.uk. \n

Early Education Update

All About Me

We are thrilled that the implementation of ‘All About Me’ this term has been such a success. There has been a lot of positive feedback about its’ manageability and relevance. Also we are pleased to hear that it is being well received by parents. ‘All About Me’ is proving to be an invaluable tool in supporting assessment and informing planning.

Throughout this pilot year we will be grateful to hear further thoughts and comments in order to help us amend and improve the document in time for next year.

HEY Healthy Early Years

Poole Early Years Team are involved  in a pilot scheme promoting healthy eating, physical activity and emotional health for the under-fives, their carers and families. Foundation Stage Advisory  Teachers, Caroline Davies and Michelle Tapper are working with Ruth Angel, Health Promotion Co-ordinator from Poole Primary Care Trust on producing education packs to be ready in January 2005. 

Leadership & Management Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

We are offering two of these popular conferences to help you reflect on and build your skills:

 ‘All About Assessment’ on  5^th February 2005. This session links assessment into the planning cycle; shows how to carry out planned assessments with a small group; capture spontaneous learning evidence in “bubble ups”; and assess learning children initiate themselves in learning stories.

‘Leadership Learning – How well are we doing?’ on 30^th April 2005. This session will focus on a tool kit for self-evaluation giving practical ideas for carrying this out in your setting. Ofsted will be clearly focusing on this at inspections from April 2005.

Staff Training Days

Settings are now accessing the Foundation Stage Advisory Team to deliver training tailored to their needs on site. Caroline Davies updated one group’s knowledge of the Curriculum Guidance and Active Learning. Deborah Van Der Weele, Manager of St John’s Pre-School Nursery said her staff found the on site training a very positive experience, “Caroline filled the two hour session with knowledge and enthusiasm. She built up the staffs self-esteem and valued everyone’s contributions to the interactive session.”

Takeaways

Our first Takeaway, ‘Shooting Stars’, proved to be a tasty dish! It was great to see so many of you sharing practical ideas to enthuse your able learners. You all took away your own shooting star to shower your children with exciting opportunities to help them move forward in their learning.

Our next Takeaway, ‘Fiddly Things for Little Fingers’ is on 6^th December when we will be sharing 101 ways to develop fine motor skills. Bring your chopsticks!

During the spring term we are offering ‘Once Upon a Time….The Magic of Stories’ on 7^th February 2005 at 1pm and ‘Over The Rainbow – Ideas with Colour’ on 14^th March 2005 at 1pm.

If you haven’t booked a place already but would like to come along, please call Jackie Sharp on 01202 261902.

Feedback From Foundation Stage Baseline

Well done! Counting is a real strength so is social development. We still need to encourage children to hear all sorts of sounds, use small manipulative skills in a range of ways and provide better opportunities for children to learn independently.

The Reception teams join us in a big thank you.

Link Visits

Thank you for making us so welcome in your settings this term. We have made most of our link visits now, just a few to go! Action planning has proved to be a positive process and we hope that your plans will support you during the coming year. Next term we will be focusing on Leadership and Management.

Primary Strategy

Foundation Stage is now part of the Primary Strategy, an exciting programme of development for children age 3-11. Settings are fully included as part of the Foundation Stage. A Regional Director has a link visit  with us termly to discuss key issues in Poole. We have been asked to monitor how the ‘All About Me’ document is working in practice and to develop some more clusters where local schools and pre-schools can meet to share good practice. We have also been  asked to set up  a database to monitor practitioners access to the four days of Foundation Stage training – so please encourage your teams on our new training programme.

The Future of Early Years Inspections

The current round of inspections finishes at the end of March 2005. On the Ofsted website you will find a consultation paper on how inspections may be from April 2005. You are invited to respond to five proposals for changes.

Whatever happens your own setting self evaluation will be a crucial part of the process. We are supporting you in this with our link visits. Each term we focus with you asking the key questions:

‘How well am I doing?’

‘Is it good enough?’

‘What do we need to do next?’

So, the good news is you are already well on the way for your next inspection.

We wish you all a happy and enjoyable festive season from Jill, Caroline and Michelle - The Foundation Stage Advisory Team.

Taining & Recruitment

Training Courses and Funding Opportunities

Fire Safety Talk

The aim of the talk is to give management and staff an understanding of fire and fire equipment.  It will take place on your premises so that it is relevant to your particular workplace.  The cost of the course is £150 per group, up to 16 people, however, there are still a number of groups who could claim the £75 per setting funding available.  If you are interested in having this talk, please complete a nomination form as soon as possible and send it to the Early Years Training Officer.

Food Hygiene

CIEH Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene - Saturday Course

It is hoped to run this one day course after the Autumn half-term on a Saturday.  The course covers the fundamentals of good food hygiene practice, food poisoning, bacteriology