Useful Ofsted document...

[sarah707]

A good one (nice and short as well) to download and read

Ofsted | Letter from HMCI to early years inspectors - March 2014

[Glitter]

Very interesting. I am pleased to see that we do not have to teach things in a certain way. Hopefully Ofsted inspectors will put this in to practice.

[loocyloo]

Goodness. That's a good letter. I'm thinking I might print it out and add it to my file of planning etc :-)

[Simona]

Certainly a veiled message to inspectors to keep to the guidance on inspections!!
About time too

[MAWI]

Thank you Sarah.

[Simona]

E Truss is busy tweeting this letter this morning...unfortunately she is being reminded that we will find it very hard to spot the word 'play' in it
So please reflect that 'play' still features in the EYFS

[Simona]

The Alliance response to Wilshaw's letter

https://www.pre-school.org.uk/media/...for-inspectors

[rickysmiths]

It's interesting. I think the move from National Standards to EYFS was too big a jump for the Inspectors. I don't think we will have EYFS soon. There have been so many things unsaid that suggest this. We'll see.

[Simona]

It's interesting. I think the move from National Standards to EYFS was too big a jump for the Inspectors. I don't think we will have EYFS soon. There have been so many things unsaid that suggest this. We'll see.

You are right...so many things are being 'hinted at' today as people try to interpret the letter...more will follow I am sure!

[lisbet]

A good response from the PLA, and yes, rickysmiths - I think you are right

[sarah707]

PLA are right to comment on the lack of reference to the Eyfs... but I am surprised they have not noted lack of mention of PLAY!

I think they've missed the point on Wilshaw advising inspectors though!

We asked them to let us know what they are looking for during inspections so we get a fighting chance of succeeding... they are doing what we asked!

[Simona]

PLA are right to comment on the lack of reference to the Eyfs... but I am surprised they have not noted lack of mention of PLAY!

I think they've missed the point on Wilshaw advising inspectors though!

We asked them to let us know what they are looking for during inspections so we get a fighting chance of succeeding... they are doing what we asked!

Yes the Alliance did not mention play but they released the statement within minutes of the letter appearing on Twitter
I must say the lack of 'play' did not escape those involved in the tweets...when I left them they were still going on about it!!

[Simona]

Maybe this is what Wilshaw should have made the inspectors aware of...

http://www.importanceofplay.eu/IMG/p...ce_of_play.pdf

but then reading this ..possibly not

Ofsted chief: we don't want 'lefty' child-centred teaching - Telegraph

[green puppy]

Just a question; if they did do away with the eyfs what do you think would be in its place?

[lisbet]

Just a question; if they did do away with the eyfs what do you think would be in its place?

Educating rigorously the
Youngest children
For the sole purpose of
Schoolification

Authors: Truss, E and Gove, M, DfE 2014

Please note: The EYFS 2014 has not been endorsed by ANY research or person with children's well-being at heart

[green puppy]

Educating rigorously the
Youngest children
For the sole purpose of
Schoolification

Authors: Truss, E and Gove, M, DfE 2014

Please note: The EYFS 2014 has not been endorsed by ANY research or person with children's well-being at heart

So true!!

[Simona]

Educating rigorously the
Youngest children
For the sole purpose of
Schoolification

Authors: Truss, E and Gove, M, DfE 2014

Please note: The EYFS 2014 has not been endorsed by ANY research or person with children's well-being at heart

Priceless Lisbet!!!!..you got it and that is what the HMCI letter to all inspectors is about...education in schools and care left out alongside play... the main important factor on 'how children learn'....teaching is not the only ingredient....it has to involve learning styles and individual learning to make it effective

Green puppy...the EYFS has care and education under its umbrella...the 2 cannot be separated and they have been there since EYFS 2008
Care under the Welfare Requirements in safety, safeguarding and well being
Education under the Learning and Development

If the EYFS did not exist those 2 components would be split...leaving schools to do the education and the rest doing the care....no other reason in there but cost cutting

this is entirely my view of course based on what Wilshaw has been saying for a while ...he does not want EY under his remit and has hinted at cms in particular doing 'minding' but not much of the education...alongside being too expensive to register and inspect

We can only sit and wait and see if it comes true in future but all points to everything going back years with the whole of the Every Child Matters being wiped out

[sarah707]

Ouch!


Dear friends and colleagues,

First, my apologies for this “round-robin” letter, for any cross-postings, and for this lengthy email.

You may know that several days ago, Ofsted head Michael Wilshaw wrote to all early years inspectors, instructing them to gear their future inspections to teaching and preparing young children for school learning. The shocking letter is attached, for your information. A textual analysis of this relatively brief letter reveals that the words ‘teach’ or ‘teaching’ are used 18 times, and ‘learning’ just nine times. Moreover, the words ‘must’ or ‘should’ occur ten times. This is just the latest staging-post in Ofsted and the DfE’s drive to “schoolify” early childhood in England, and replace experiential learning through play with a statutorily imposed teacher-led didactic pedagogy in pre-compulsory settings.

The links (see below) to two recent reports are also highly disturbing. It now seems clear that Ofsted inspectors who show any sympathy for a child-centred approach will likely be sacked. Thus, Wilshaw is quoted as saying, “If we had any inspectors in our organisation that were applying that sort of [child-centred] ideology, they wouldn’t be working for me for very long. I think it was unstructured, it wasn’t teacher led, it employed teaching techniques that didn’t promote good teaching and learning. So we are well away from that. We want to see teacher-led activities, we want to see structured learning, we want to see teaching in more formal settings.”

This is nothing less than a concerted ideological attack on all the progressive educational values that have informed early years practitioners for many decades, going right back to our iconic forbears, Margaret McMillan and Susan Isaacs; and it’s also clear from his letter that Wilshaw is indiscriminately applying this simplistic ideological template to early years settings.

It is also clear that education policy-making is now an evidence- and rationality-free zone, such that engaging reasonably and rationally with such people is essentially a waste of time and energy. In our view, unless there is a robust response from the sector and the citizenry to this latest political attack on childhood, the DfE and Wilshaw will take this as a green light to continue their toxic ideological revolution, with yet more nails hammered into the coffin of childhood experience.
We urge you to add your name to the appended press open letter. We don’t underestimate its arguably controversial content; but desperate times demand a dramatic and arresting response; and of all the many responses that this latest political offensive will no doubt precipitate, we feel that this open letter serves a very important function within that overall response.

We’re aiming for at least 100 signatories by the middle of the week. If you would like to sign this open letter (and very substantial signatories are already coming in), can you please send your name (together with the appelation/label you’d like to appear after your name) to my colleague Jess Edwards at: edwardsjess@me.com Please also feel free to forward the letter to any trusted colleagues who might wish to sign.

Thanks in anticipation for your support. Together, we can draw a line in the sand here, and make it clear to Wilshaw and the DfE that beyond a certain point, principled and ethical professionals will simply refuse to practise in ways that they know will harm the children in their charge.

Warmly,

Richard (House)

Early Childhood Action (ECA)

[Simona]

Well said Dr House...it is really up to us now to do something to stop this nonsense ...who will lead and who will follow?

[lisbet]

Thanks for sharing, Sarah.

Do you know if there is a way we can read the actual open letter and links mentioned in his email?

Do you know if all childminders can add their names? Or can you add your name and note on it that thousands of your colleagues support the letter too?

Is there a way that I could share the above with my mindees parents? (Mostly teachers - so they understand the Dfe's 'direction of travel' all too well )

So sick of these dangerous, idiotic policies!