RATIOS NEED CLARITY
I find the articles by Laura Henry really useful, but the 'Fullystaffed' feature (Work Matters, 15 May) could have more thoroughlyexplored an issue many childcare providers are struggling to get clearadvice on.
We host networking lunches every quarter and this issue is always raisedbecause of the mixed advice providers get when they seek clarificationon ratios.
Can the problem of lunch cover, breaks, planning time etc and ratios bemore thoroughly explored in a follow-up article? For example, is it OKto have a team member go to the staff room for their lunch as long asthey remain on the premises? During this time, are they still counted inratio? Is it OK to hold a quick ten-minute update meeting with your unitleaders if the meeting is on site? Some providers tell me Ofsted saythis is fine, others say it is not. When I call Ofsted forclarification, they will not commit themselves. Childcare providers areleft unsure if they are meeting their requirements.
Most providers I speak to, without passing on substantial costs to theirparents, cannot afford to have additional staff in to cover lunch,breaks and so on. Clear and unambiguous clarification on this pointwould be much welcomed.
Jennie Johnson, managing director, Kids Allowed, Manchester
Letter of the Week wins 30 worth of books
Editor's note: We will run an in-depth feature on the important issuesthat you raise next month, plus see Analysis, p10-11
TIME TO CHANGE EYFS
The Children, Schools and Families Parliamentary Committee held aspecial meeting on the Early Years Foundation Stage last week toascertain whether a full-scale investigation of the framework ismerited. Stemming as it does from Open EYE's meeting with committeechair Barry Sheerman MP in January, the meeting suggests that Parliamentis taking Open EYE's arguments very seriously. To date, some 70 MPs havealso signed shadow minister Annette Brooke's Early Day Motion raisingour concerns.
A real opportunity now exists for a detailed, dispassionateinvestigation into EYFS - an investigation that can enable contested andsincerely held viewpoints to be respectfully heard and openly discussedin the public sphere. If Open EYE's concerns do have any substance, thenit is surely better that any agreed shortcomings in the framework berectified now, rather than waiting for a two-year review, by which timea substantial amount of damage might have already been done.
There was unanimous disquiet expressed in the meeting about theage-appropriateness of certain of the EYFS Learning and Developmentrequirements, with added concerns about the likely impact of a legallyenforced, assessment-driven approach upon practitioners, and upon thesubtlety of practice that is surely essential in effective early-yearssettings. There was also strong support for the view that not only can acompulsory framework never be a substitute for a properly trained andremunerated workforce, but the way in which under-trained practitionersmay enforce the guidance could actually worsen the quality of practice,as a result of its over-mechanistic interpretation.
Open EYE appreciates the balanced coverage that Nursery World has givento our campaign, especially in light of the magazine's support for theprinciple of EYFS. We have never been 'against' EYFS in its entirety.Rather, we have highlighted certain aspects we believe to be problematic- concerns seemingly shared by many practitioners and parents, whichwere fully aired at the CSF Committee meeting. We argue for qualifiedand carefully nuanced 'support-with-reservations' for a framework whichmay well have substantial flaws, as opposed to the uncritical,non-discerning support for the EYFS expressed in some quarters.
This is surely a time for all of us to put aside any vested andego-driven interests, and to trust a relatively apolitical process inwhich an all-party committee of MPs of experience and integrity canthoroughly investigate the EYFS, and propose sensible and workablechanges if they deem any to be necessary.
Dr Richard House, 'Open EYE' Campaign Steering Group
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The Editor, Nursery World, 174 Hammersmith Road, London W6 7JPletter.nw@haymarket.com 020 8267 8402.
