After the departure earlier this month of Maggie Smith, director of Ofsted's Early Years Directorate, Sue Owen, head of the Early Childhood Unit at the National Children's Bureau, called for 'some good consolidation'.
I agree. There have been a lot of good ideas put into place that need time to become part of our common practice in the early years. Many schools are still struggling to put into place good outside provision, for example, in environments that do not easily lend themselves to the kind of activities we know we should provide. This will not be brought about overnight and, in many schools, not without financial help. Primary schools are stretched to their limits financially, and the structural work involved in making safe outside environments alone does not come cheap.
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