Another unusual request from China

[ChinaEYFSguy]

Hi everyone,
Instead of regaling you with the tragedy and horror which is trying to implement EYFS into a Chinese school, I will simply ask a question:
I've got a new staff member who is from Iran. She speaks great English but is looking for some EYFS materials in Persian.
Any thoughts?

[Chatterbox Childcare]

What do your mean by Materials?

[ChinaEYFSguy]

What do your mean by Materials?

The resource manuals, observation and assessment forms...etc..

[Simona]

The resource manuals, observation and assessment forms...etc..

You will find most of the info on the Foundation Years website which has recently been revamped
EYFS, Development Matters, Progress Check at 2, Early Years Outcomes and much more
The current EYFS 2012 and the EYFS 2014 are online only...no glossy brochures I'm afraid...you need to print yourself

Foundation Years | From pregnancy to children aged 5

In terms of 'paperwork' ...cms vary...some use what is given to them by their Local Authority...some cms belonged to a network which means they all had the same paperwork
Some buy stationery from the association they belong to...while others devise their own

The EYFS is open to interpretation in some areas...so it is also open to cms to devise whatever paperwork works for them and produce this at inspection as evidence

Hope this helps ...if not come back
A few questions: do you use the EYFS in China?
if so why?
The member of staff who you say is Iranian...which language is she delivering the EYFS in?...because in England we would have to deliver in English and encourage developing English as an additional language...or bilinguism

[rickysmiths]

I think it actually says in EYFS that all staff have to have a good command of English and I would take this to mean that they understand EYFS and can read it in English. That they can complete Learning Journals and Daily Diaries in English and they can converse with parents in competent English so they can discuss the development of their child and their day in care and any other matters to do with the child.

[ChinaEYFSguy]

Right…but none of the materials are in Persian. 

Your question makes me want to start typing in all caps and ranting about the horrors of trying to put EYFS into a Chinese school; it makes me want to yell about how I’m basically fighting a one man battle against ignorant, under-educated teachers who believe that their mot important job is writing down how many times the kids go to the bathroom and a school nurse with too much power who feels that, on days when the air is bad; The children can’t go outside, but the windows MUST be open..
The answer to your question is I’m doing EYFS, in the mornings, while I’m in charge of the classroom, the rest is ridiculous.
Y? EYFS is, like Montessori, in line with my personal educational philosophy but the "why" also has a complicated answer.
The owner/manager of our school was researching schools in England for her daughter when she found out about EYFS and decided to try it in our school. I was really glad to hear about this as Chinese kindergarteners get almost no personal freedom or attention…however, the plan did not go as well as expected. This was a result of several factors, 1. The owner, while insisting on making most of the decisions is rarely around to make sure they are put in place. 2. The upper management, while speaking some English had very little comprehension of the finer points of EYFS. 3. When they finally did bring in someone to translate the EYFS materials and “oversee” its implementation, it was obvious that not only did she not understand EYFS, but she was a terrible manager. 4. Even though I’ve been teaching for 30 years, my university studies were in Child Psychology and Elem. Education and I’ve had a truckload of training courses on Life Saving, First Aid, Child Abuse awareness etc…, (oh…and I’m the only native English speaker on staff…so I’m the only person who could viably interpret the EYFS materials) the Chinese staff is still unwilling to listen to my opinion. 5. I believe that, even if the above issues were resolved, the classroom teachers are either unwilling or unable to wrap their heads around the ideals of ”individual child” “independent learning” “risk assessment” and a host of other concepts which EYFS supports.
Why am I still insisting that my students get “real” EYFS time? Because I believe EYFS is literally the finest curriculum I’ve ever used. It believes, as do I, that the ideal of “natural learners” isn’t just another theory…it’s a basic fact about humans. My kids are bright, creative and just flat out awesome…and I show the Chinese teachers this every day…but they’re still completely against what I’m doing.
Your last question: My Iranian staff member speaks great English. She speaks almost no Chinese so English is the way to go. 

Sorry for the long post. If I detailed the issues above, believe me, you’d be horrified.

[ChinaEYFSguy]

I think it actually says in EYFS that all staff have to have a good command of English and I would take this to mean that they understand EYFS and can read it in English. That they can complete Learning Journals and Daily Diaries in English and they can converse with parents in competent English so they can discuss the development of their child and their day in care and any other matters to do with the child.

Right, well along with the other issues, we do have the fortunate situation of being "on our own" in this regard. We are not bound by any overseeing authority regarding our curriculum so the paperwork is being done in Chinese. I am also fortunate to have finally "broken the ice" with the parents, some of who speak English and we're getting to a friendly place where we can go to dinner and I can put bugs in their ear about the redundancy and absurdity of traditional Chinese education.

[Simona]

Right…but none of the materials are in Persian. 

Your question makes me want to start typing in all caps and ranting about the horrors of trying to put EYFS into a Chinese school; it makes me want to yell about how I’m basically fighting a one man battle against ignorant, under-educated teachers who believe that their mot important job is writing down how many times the kids go to the bathroom and a school nurse with too much power who feels that, on days when the air is bad; The children can’t go outside, but the windows MUST be open..
The answer to your question is I’m doing EYFS, in the mornings, while I’m in charge of the classroom, the rest is ridiculous.
Y? EYFS is, like Montessori, in line with my personal educational philosophy but the "why" also has a complicated answer.
The owner/manager of our school was researching schools in England for her daughter when she found out about EYFS and decided to try it in our school. I was really glad to hear about this as Chinese kindergarteners get almost no personal freedom or attention…however, the plan did not go as well as expected. This was a result of several factors, 1. The owner, while insisting on making most of the decisions is rarely around to make sure they are put in place. 2. The upper management, while speaking some English had very little comprehension of the finer points of EYFS. 3. When they finally did bring in someone to translate the EYFS materials and “oversee” its implementation, it was obvious that not only did she not understand EYFS, but she was a terrible manager. 4. Even though I’ve been teaching for 30 years, my university studies were in Child Psychology and Elem. Education and I’ve had a truckload of training courses on Life Saving, First Aid, Child Abuse awareness etc…, (oh…and I’m the only native English speaker on staff…so I’m the only person who could viably interpret the EYFS materials) the Chinese staff is still unwilling to listen to my opinion. 5. I believe that, even if the above issues were resolved, the classroom teachers are either unwilling or unable to wrap their heads around the ideals of ”individual child” “independent learning” “risk assessment” and a host of other concepts which EYFS supports.
Why am I still insisting that my students get “real” EYFS time? Because I believe EYFS is literally the finest curriculum I’ve ever used. It believes, as do I, that the ideal of “natural learners” isn’t just another theory…it’s a basic fact about humans. My kids are bright, creative and just flat out awesome…and I show the Chinese teachers this every day…but they’re still completely against what I’m doing.
Your last question: My Iranian staff member speaks great English. She speaks almost no Chinese so English is the way to go. 

Sorry for the long post. If I detailed the issues above, believe me, you’d be horrified.

Thank you for your reply

Well it is said very often that those who try to import Reggio Emilia in the UK only partly succeed because it cannot be totally duplicated...I agree on that because of the politics and ethos behind it and what Reggio is and how it was born
So I would assume it could be hard to transplant EYFS in China

EYFS is a goods curriculum but unfortunately this govt has destroyed it by what they call a 'revision'...look at the original 2008 and yes that was a good curriculum but too many moaned...possibly because they did not fully understand it or even ever opened it unless an inspection was due...it contained Every Child Matters (still does)...one of the best pieces of legislation written

Development Matters needed tweaking as it was repetitive for assessment but in line with the overarching areas it had to be so because Child Development cannot be tampered with ...unless we have a very good grasp of it difficult to know what is being observed or assessed

The EYFS embraced and still does in a reduced way...many 'childcare' models...Reggio, Te Whakiri, HighScope and Montessori ...and a lot of theorists

If your Iranian staff speaks good English why does she need it in her home language ...I am not clear on whether you are delivering EYFS in Chinese or English

I don't know much about Chinese teachers education or qualifications but ours leave a lot to be desired too...while many want to get to the top others fight the minimum Level 3 and dismiss it as irrelevant ...that debate will go on forever
It sounds like they are ticking many boxes and filling many forms...it happens here as well when people create endless unnecessary paperwork 'just in case' Ofsted wants to see it when it is not even mentioned in the EYFS

If the owner is away most of the time then your situation is very understandable...he has something that he never attends to and that will create problems of who is in charge and who the staff will listen to....


Let us know how you get on

[ChinaEYFSguy]

Development Matters needed tweaking as it was repetitive for assessment but in line with the overarching areas it had to be so because Child Development cannot be tampered with ...unless we have a very good grasp of it difficult to know what is being observed or assessed

If your Iranian staff speaks good English why does she need it in her home language ...I am not clear on whether you are delivering EYFS in Chinese or English

I don't know much about Chinese teachers education or qualifications but ours leave a lot to be desired too...
If the owner is away most of the time then your situation is very understandable...he has something that he never attends to and that will create problems of who is in charge and who the staff will listen to....


Let us know how you get on

Thanks for your insights. The difference between the 2008 edition is actually fine for me. Less categories mean less work, actually. My Iranian staff member is pretty young, doesn't have much experience so she probably just wants to make sure she's "getting it". Well, like many practitioners, I'm more in favor of "best practice is provision" so EYFS is somewhat language-less in this regard.
Actually, I'm not getting on. My "morning EYFS" is being continually undermined and I've been fighting this same fight for 2 years. I've already made plans to go elsewhere when my contract is up, but I'll be taking EYFS with me. I may be able to "sell" the idea to another school and, if I can, then I might actually make a dent in the Chinese education system.

[Simona]

Thanks for your insights. The difference between the 2008 edition is actually fine for me. Less categories mean less work, actually. My Iranian staff member is pretty young, doesn't have much experience so she probably just wants to make sure she's "getting it". Well, like many practitioners, I'm more in favor of "best practice is provision" so EYFS is somewhat language-less in this regard.
Actually, I'm not getting on. My "morning EYFS" is being continually undermined and I've been fighting this same fight for 2 years. I've already made plans to go elsewhere when my contract is up, but I'll be taking EYFS with me. I may be able to "sell" the idea to another school and, if I can, then I might actually make a dent in the Chinese education system.

Good luck with your future planning and understanding of the EYFS.

It seems ironic you trying to sell EYFS to China when Truss came to China to buy their mathematical teaching and import it to England...
Keep us posted with your questions

[ChinaEYFSguy]

Good luck with your future planning and understanding of the EYFS.

It seems ironic you trying to sell EYFS to China when Truss came to China to buy their mathematical teaching and import it to England...
Keep us posted with your questions

You wanna know how they do it? Like...why "the Chinese are good at math" ? It's because "school" is just language and math training...almost no history, "art" is "all of us are going to draw the same picture" "recess" is "all of us are going to do the same activity, no exceptions...the culture itself is quite mathematical. You can see how EYFS is like the evil twin of this system...

[Ripeberry]

Don't you have to get OFSTED's permission before translating their stuff into another language? There is still the issue of copyright?

[Simona]

You wanna know how they do it? Like...why "the Chinese are good at math" ? It's because "school" is just language and math training...almost no history, "art" is "all of us are going to draw the same picture" "recess" is "all of us are going to do the same activity, no exceptions...the culture itself is quite mathematical. You can see how EYFS is like the evil twin of this system...

Ah...got you!
in that case the EYFS could be tricky to apply to China because it follows the child's interests and CoEL...and applies many of the childcare models from around the world as well as the theorists...one being Tina Bruce...our own expert in 'play' which the EYFS is based on

So EYFS is not the evil twin at all

Unless I am wrong many countries in the world teach good maths by using a consistent method and not change the way teaching is done every time we have a new govt...see Gove as a prime example...a journalist trying to tell teachers how to do their job

As for children drawing the same picture...that is also done by some settings here who do not understand individual development or how children progress via the various stages of 'drawing'....Lillian Katz has a lot of criticism for that method of uniform 'end product production'

very interesting !

Good question Ripeberry....EYFS is written by the DfE whose Minister is Gove...a journalist...he would know about copyright...would he not?

[Maza]

Good luck with your future planning and understanding of the EYFS.

It seems ironic you trying to sell EYFS to China when Truss came to China to buy their mathematical teaching and import it to England...
Keep us posted with your questions

I was thinking exactly the same thing Simona! I really wish Truss could read this thread! Incredible irony!!!

Good luck ChinaEYFSguy! It is difficult to try and implement the EYFS in some nurseries/schools over here too when the rest of the staff focus on end product rather than process.

[ChinaEYFSguy]

when the rest of the staff focus on end product rather than process.

Honey...you don't even knowwwww about "end product" until you've seen a Chinese school.

[ChinaEYFSguy]

So EYFS is not the evil twin at all

Good question Ripeberry....EYFS is written by the DfE whose Minister is Gove...a journalist...he would know about copyright...would he not?

Yah...not the evil twin...that was the joke..

A far as copyright...welllll...2 things:
1. It's China....superman sells tampons and mickey mouse is on every 4th backpack...The Party doesn't care so much for such Capitalist concepts.(which...of course...I partially agree with...I mean...what is copyright afterall...just another way for the rich to stay rich)
2. We're actually trying to "do it the right way" with a University in England...but....I'm all face-palm about that....again...the horror...the horror....(Chinese staff: What? We have to get accreditation? What? You mean our teachers have to have formal British training and Ofsted has to sign off??? We don't need any more education. We can just do it ourselves....)

[ChinaEYFSguy]

Don't you have to get OFSTED's permission before translating their stuff into another language? There is still the issue of copyright?

See my answer above

[Simona]

Honey...you don't even knowwwww about "end product" until you've seen a Chinese school.

They obviously have not heard Katz' views on 'end product' ....sorry to repeat it but I do agree wit Maza that too many focus on end product without understanding the learning that takes place in between...a bit like 'here is what we made before'...

Nursery World did a tour of China recently...I must try to find their feedback because I am now intrigued as to what Truss went to look for there?

[Ripeberry]

Yah...not the evil twin...that was the joke..

A far as copyright...welllll...2 things:
1. It's China....superman sells tampons and mickey mouse is on every 4th backpack...The Party doesn't care so much for such Capitalist concepts.(which...of course...I partially agree with...I mean...what is copyright afterall...just another way for the rich to stay rich)
2. We're actually trying to "do it the right way" with a University in England...but....I'm all face-palm about that....again...the horror...the horror....(Chinese staff: What? We have to get accreditation? What? You mean our teachers have to have formal British training and Ofsted has to sign off??? We don't need any more education. We can just do it ourselves....)

Lol! Superman/tampons. That must be a hilarious advert!

[rickysmiths]

They obviously have not heard Katz' views on 'end product' ....sorry to repeat it but I do agree wit Maza that too many focus on end product without understanding the learning that takes place in between...a bit like 'here is what we made before'...

Nursery World did a tour of China recently...I must try to find their feedback because I am now intrigued as to what Truss went to look for there?

She went to look at the way they teach Maths.