Ofsted - Children continue to be behind developmentally due to Covid

The findings are taken from its third set of briefings in a series looking at Covid-19’s impact on education providers. Broken down into early years, schools and further education and skills, they draw upon evidence from more than 100 Ofsted inspections carried out in the summer term, as well as multiple focus groups with inspectors.

Two-year-olds

According to the early years briefing, the development of two-year-olds eligible for funding has especially been impacted, with many joining settings with a lower level of personal, social and emotional development and communication and language skills than they would have done previously. As such, providers are having to put more emphasis on developing their speech.

While statistics from January suggest that more funded two-year-olds are taking up their childcare place, those surveyed by Ofsted for the research said they had fewer children than before the pandemic. Some providers said they were not ‘actively promoting’ funded two-year-old places due to financial pressures and staffing constraints.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, called the findings on funded two-year-olds ‘concerning’.

He said, ‘We know that children from disadvantaged backgrounds benefit the most from high-quality early years provision and educators have been working incredibly hard to ensure that every child can get access to early education, but, as the report shows, stretched setting budgets often makes this an impossible task.’

Leitch went on to call for more Government funding which he said would address the issue, as well as others faced by the sector and highlighted in the report.

Generally, providers told Ofsted that more children are needing speech and language support than before the pandemic and suggested that an increased amount of time spent by children on digital devices at home has been a contributing factor.

They said that children who are referred for support with communication and language, are having to wait months, or, in some cases, up to a year, for specialist help such as speech and language therapy.

Personal, social and emotional development

Providers reported that children’s social skills have been particularly affected by the pandemic, with children needing support with sharing and turn-taking.

According to the briefing, providers have also found that children are more likely to be shy when they start at a setting, are reluctant to join in, or have little confidence when speaking to adults. To overcome this, practitioners have focused on sharing skills, taking turns, listening, working together, and developing children’s patience.

Some providers noted that it is taking longer for toddlers and babies to settle, and some children are not interacting as much with their peers as they could do – especially those children who started a setting after the national lockdowns. Childminders reported joining with other childminders to build a social network, as well as taking children to groups so they can mix with others of a similar age.

School readiness

Based upon feedback from providers, the briefing finds that fewer children are ready for the move to Reception. Reasons include the removal of visits to schools and taster sessions because of the pandemic, as well as disruption to children’s early education with settings having to close to all but key children during lockdowns and temporary closures due to Covid-related isolation. Ofsted says that most providers are now trying to re-establish previous links and transition processes with schools.

Continued changes to practice and procedures due to Covid-19 restrictions

While there is no longer anything in law that providers must follow, the briefing finds that most have continued with some restrictions that have to be adhered to because they don’t want to risk staff illness, including restricting parents and carers from entering buildings. However, it says that some providers are revaluating this practice.

Ofsted warns that parents not entering providers’ premises has affected parent partnerships. It says, for example parents and providers have missed the opportunity to agree how they will work together to support children’s learning and development. Also, some parents still did not know their child’s key person.

Other changes include – continuing with online staff training and an increased focus on hygiene.

The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said that providers needed more guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) to give them confidence to let parents into their buildings safely.

Staffing challenges

The briefing from Ofsted also highlights the recruitment and retention crisis faced by the sector. It reveals that some providers have had to recruit unqualified staff to meet adult: child ratios.

The inspectorate goes on to describe instances in some nurseries where inexperienced staff are all grouped in one room, mainly the baby or toddler room, due to the provider prioritising getting children ready for school. Meanwhile, in larger nurseries, some providers are moving practitioners from one group of children to another to cover staff break times. As a consequence, children’s personal, social and emotional development and particularly their sense of belonging and willingness to take part in activities was impacted.

'The sector needs urgent and immediate help'

NDNA’s chief executive Purnima Tanuku said, ‘Although our nurseries are working hard to provide the best possible learning opportunities for these children, it’s clear that the sector needs urgent and immediate help with their workforce crisis. This must be a wake-up call for the Department for Education that they have to act now to support the sector on pay, qualifications, recruitment and retention.’

Schools

Key findings from the briefing on schools include:

• Pupils, in particular those in Reception, are not ready for the next stage of their education as they normally would be.
• The pandemic has delayed some pupils with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) receiving support from external or specialist services.
• There are higher levels of anxiety among pupils around exams.

'The pandemic and lockdowns created some distinct problems, which are taking time to shift'

Ofsted’s chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, said, ‘It’s clear that education providers are responding to the ongoing challenges of Covid with creativity and resilience. But the pandemic and lockdowns created some distinct problems, which are taking time to shift. Some young children are still behind in their development, and difficulties recruiting and retaining staff have been exacerbated across all phases of education.’

Liz Bayram, chief executive at PACEY, commented, 'Childminders, nursery and pre-school practitioners have gone above and beyond adapting to the coronavirus pandemic. They are doing their best to support children all while struggling with limited funding, low pay and little recognition for their role. This is unsustainable and until we see meaningful action from Government to address the issues directly resulting in skilled practitioners leaving the sector and challenges in recruiting their replacements, it will only get worse.

'Settings will do all they can to continue to support children with high quality education and care and to address the ever-widening disadvantage gap but with a terrible toll on practitioner wellbeing and setting sustainability. Recent PACEY research found that almost half of early years and childcare practitioners have reported a decline in their mental health and wellbeing since the pandemic.'

• 'Education recovery in early years providers: summer 2022' is available here 
• 'Education recovery in schools......' is available here