Element two

OFSTED inspection of settings

• OFSTED carries out inspection in most education settings and childminders

• however in private or independent schools this is done by a separate body called “Independent Schools Inspectorate” whose work is managed by OFSTED

• OFSTED report their findings to the “Department for Education” and published the reports each year about the overall trends in the standard of education

What is the DfE?

• stands for the department for education

• they are the ministerial department responsible for children’s services and education (from early years to higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills

they aim to deliver better life chances regardless of your background

• they set the policy fir schools, curriculums and funding as well as managing teacher recruitment, training snd safeguarding

what are the key roles and responsibilities of the DfE?

• oversee early education, childcare and schools standards, curriculum and exam qualifications

• manage teacher training, recruitment, retention and professional development

• set policies for further education, apprenticeships and higher education

• develop policies for SEND and ensures inclusion in education

• ensure the safety of children through guidance and support which includes safeguarding and child protection

• management school funding, capital investments and data services

• support disadvantaged children to improve their outcomes

• the DfE works with independent regulators like OFSTED

What is OFQUAL?

• stands for The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation

• they are an independent non ministerial department that regulates qualifications, exams and assessments in england

• they ensure standards, quality and public confidence in GCSEs and A levels and vocational qualifications to maintain fairness and consistency

• they have a responsibility to check that the qualifications meet appropriate standards and ate checked for validity and reliability

What are the key roles and responsibilities for OFQUAL?

• ensure qualifications accurately reflect the knowledge, skills and understanding that they claim to measure

• set the rules for awarding organisations (exam boards) and regulate over 10,000 qualifications to ensure fairness

• overseeing development, delivery and marking of assessments to ensure they are secure and accurate

• taking regulatory action when standards are not met or when issues occur with qualifications

• providing information on the range of qualifications and strengthening the reliability of results

What is OFSTED?

• office for standards in education, children’s services and skills

• inspect and regulate services in england to ensure high standards in education and care

• core responsibilities include inspecting schools colleges childcare and social care, regulate care, publish reports to improve quality and inform policymakers

What is the key roles and responsibilities for OFSTED?

• evaluate maintained and some independent schools, further education, teacher training, local authority children’s services and adoption agencies

• monitors and regulates early years providers and children’s social services, enforcing standards and taking action if necessary

• publishes reports to help parents, learners and employers make informed designations while providing recommendations to improve provider standards

• ensures the welfare of children in educational and care settings, including investigating complaints

Why is it important to know the current priorities and debates around education?

keep informed of developments in theory and practice

Priorities and debates: what is the government policy?

• sets out the curriculum for early years and school settings

• uses data from national assessments to compare children’s progress over time (particularly in literacy and mathematics)

• also looks at other countries academic achievements to see what has been successful

Priorities and debates: what is economics and funding?

• budgets in schools are early years settings are affected by the amount of income they have from government funding and fees

• this can change depending on the economic climate

• will affect support for individual children as well as staffing and resources

Priorities and debates: what is advancements in technology?

• digital technology is now an essential tool in most classrooms snd can be used to enhance teaching and learning

• computing is a subject and in an increasingly digital world children need to know how to use it

• technology has also been criticised for limiting social interactions

Priorities and debates: welfare of practitioners

• more of a concern in recent years

• budget cuts and increased workload

Priorities and debates: welfare of children and young people

• mental health and wellbeing is a priority in recent years due to greater awareness of mental health in general

• increase in the use of phones and online as opposed to being outdoors has meant more mental health has been affected

• mental illness has been made worse by excessive addictive screen time, social media use, increased time spend alone and increased anxiety and sleep deprivation

What is the EYFS?

• statutory framework introduced in 2008

• introduced to improve opportunities for children from birth to 5 and ensure minimum safety and welfare standards are in place

• revisions are made to this and is updated every year

• also sets legal requirement for the safeguarding and wellbeing of children

• this covers staffing ratios, outings, risk assessments and the administration of medicine

What are the 7 areas of learning?

3 prime areas:

Communication and Language: helping children to understand, listen and communicate with others

Physical Development: helps children develop movement skills, also learn self care skills such as learning to dress feed and use the toilet, also learn about being healthy

Personal, Social, Emotional Development: includes self esteem, behaviour and learning to express feelings and emotions

4 Specific Areas:

Literacy: helps children develop skills that are needed to read and write, includes hearing sounds in words and developing interest in books

Mathematics: includes skills such as counting, recognising numbers and adding and subtracting, develop skills and knowledge about shape and measuring

Understanding the World: eventually link to history geography science and dt, explore and talk about a range of materials, go on walks and outings, access digital devices and toys related to the technology aspect

Expressive Arts and Design: helps children use materials such as dough, musical instruments, paint ti express their thoughts ideas and feelings

What is the progress check at 2 years?

• early years setting ps are required to assess children’s progress in the prime areas when they turn 2

• results of the EYFS progress check are discussed with parents

• additional support or referral to other professionals may be needed if there is a concern

• progress checks should link to the check that health visitors carry out and may carried out some months apart

What is the EYFS profile?

• in the final term of reception year children are assessed to dee wether they have reached their early learning goals in the EYFS

• based on teachers judgement

• based on what children do during play snd teacher led activities

• results are shared with the local authority and parents

• copy of the profile is passed on to the year 1 teachers

What are the early learning goals (ELG)?

• skills and knowledge children are expected to have before they start year 1

• this measurement is known as the early years foundation stage profile

• results are passed on to the government via local authorities

• there are elgs for each of the 7 areas of learning

• assessed by teachers at the end of reception year

• through observations and assessing children’s progress

• there are 17 sub areas fir the elgs across the 7 areas of learning

ELGs for the 7 areas of learning

Communication and Language:

• listening, attention and understanding

• speaking

Physical Development:

• gross motor skills

• fine motor skills

Personal, Social, Emotional:

• self regulation

• Managing self

• Building relationships

Literacy:

• comprehension

• word reading

• writing

Mathematics:

• number

• numerical patterns

Understanding the World:

• past and present

• people, culture and communities

• the natural world

Expressive Arts and Design:

• creating with materials

• being imaginative and expressive

What are the characteristics of effective teaching and learning?

1. Playing and exploring

2. Active learning

3. Creating and thinking

What are the principles of the EYFS?

• a unique child

— constantly learning snd can be resilient and capable

• positive relationships

— learn to be strong and independent through these

• enabling environments

— learn well with teaching support from adults who respond to their individual needs snd interests and help build their learning over time

• equals learning and development

— recognise the importance that children learn and develop at different rates

What is the national curriculum?

• introduced in england in 1988

• ensures all children have the same opportunities to learn key subjects and that there was a way of measuring standards

• SATS (statutory assessment tests) were also introduced at the end of each key stage (only compulsory in key stage 2 now)

• schools that are now academies no longer have to follow this but they must ensure their content and teaching is equivalent to the NC

What is the EBacc? (English Baccalaureate)

• not a qualification but a performance indicator

• schools are measured on the number of pupils that take GCSE’s in these subjects

• composed of english language and literature, maths, sciences, geography or history and a modern or ancient language

• some schools offer vocational qualifications alongside gcses (health and social, tourism)

What are the other requirements for schools? (Lessons)

religious education

• all state schools have to make a daily act of collective worship

• schools must teach re to pupils at every key stage

Relationships and sex education

• primary schools are required to provide relationships education in ks1 and ks2

• sex education is not compulsory in ks1 and 2 but will cover reproduction at part of the science curricUlum

• where a primary school provides sex education parents can choose to withdraw their child

• in ks3 and 4 schools must provide sex and relationships education where parents can ask for their child to be excused for some or all lessons

What is post 16 education?

• all young people must continue maths and english if they have not achieved a grade 4 in their gcses

• after ks4 they can find a job, begin an apprenticeship, take a traineeship (short term job that may lead to an apprenticeship), study for a vocational qualification (t level), study for a levels

• they also have the option of combining work or volunteering with part time education or training

What are the 10 attributes for effective support?

• approachability - an adult who is friendly and kind can provide reassurance and support

• confidence - adults who look and sound confident can help children feel safe, secure and trust the adult

• empathy - they need to know how a child is feeling and show empathy

• knowledge - adults need to know what they are teaching and use accurate language

• passion - show that you love helping them, love their work and want to be in the setting

• patience - things are learnt at different speeds and may need more explaining

• positivity - remain enthusiastic even when things are not going smoothly with children and colleagues

• reflection - ability to step back and think about a situation or child’s needs and allows us to change how we are doing to improve learning

• resourcefulness - think creatively and think quickly on the spot to adapt activities

• respect for others - shows in relationships with colleagues, parents and children as we are a role model for relationships

What are the 7 key skills that inform professional behaviour?

• involving children in planning their own learning (motivation and concentration)

• communicating clearly using positive and appropriate language for the age

• giving effective feedback and facilitating children’s self reflection

• managing own and others time

• providing nurturing experiences and opportunities to support children to express feelings

• observing and assessing children and providing tailored interventions through early identification

• engaging children by involving them in their own learning and assessment

What is meant by pedagogical approaches?

• the method of how teachers teach in theory and practise

• pedagogy is formed by an educators teaching beliefs

• centred around bow students learn best considering their individual needs and learning styles

• new ideas frequently emerge

What is behaviourism?

• approach used to shape children’s behaviour

• used as a way of helping children remember information

• conditioning is an important feature (the way that responses are shaped as a result of what happens to the child

• stimuli describes the trigger part of the process

• there are twi types of conditioning (classical and operant)

What is classical conditioning (behaviourism)?

• occurs when the stimuli is presented first

• ivan pavlov did a study where bells rang before dogs were fed, after a while the digs learnt the bell signalled food and salivated when they beard bell without food being given (conditioned stimulus triggers a conditioned response)

• john watson showed it can create a phobia in a child (little albert became afraid of a rat because a loud noise was heard every time he saw a rat (emotional resections can be classically conditioned in people)

What is operant conditioning? (Behaviourism)

• uses reinforcers (rewards) after the stimulus in presented to strengthen or weaken the responses following an action

• it is associated with skinners work

• the reinforcers are divided into 3 groups - positive, negative, punishments

• Positive - likely to increase the likelihood of the action being repeated, most effective way of encouraging new learning, most commonly used

• Negative - likely to make us repeat behaviour but usually to stop something occurring (sanctions)

• Punishments - likely to stop us repeating behaviour

Why do we use behaviourism in education?

• continuity - information may not be retained if it is not practised for a while

• motivation - if positive reinforcement stops learners will not continue with the activity

• Can be used in questioning and direct instruction

• Questioning - teacher asks question, student responds, teacher offers reward or feedback

• Direct instruction - teacher demonstrates new skill, student and teacher practise new skill together, teacher checks understanding and provides feedback

What is cognitive constructivism?

• focuses in the cognitive processes that take place when learning occurs

• focuses on how a childs thinking changes as a result of new information

• focuses on the way a person makes sense of new information by linking it to what they already know and then drawing conclusions

• children are always constructing thoughts

• developed by jean piaget

• develop a pattern of actions and thinking that provides conclusions called schemas

How did piaget describe schemas being made?

• assimilation - the child constructs a theory (schema) and builds on what they already know and can do

• equilibrium - the childs experiences to date fits the schema (everything balances)

• disequilibrium - an experience occurs that casts doubt on the effectiveness of the schema (things dont add up anymore)

• accommodation - the child changes the original schema to fit the new experience or piece of information as knowledge is actively constructed through the process of discovery

How can cognitive constructivism be used in settings?

• highscope - early childhood programme that began in the usa, provides active learning experiences that children plan and carry out themselves, teachers encourage children to reflect on their play as a way to support their learning

• project based learning - students engage in real life problems such as designing a product and are responsible for their choices, decisions snd solutions

What is social constructivism?

• introduced by vygotsky

• a child’s pre existing knowledge that he or she has gained from previous experiences plus new information thats gained through socialising with other people equals social constructivism

• effective learning and a better understanding happens only through interaction and conversation when working together

• emphasises the importance of social interaction in the learning process

What are the 3 key elements of social constructivism?

1. Active - learning is a social process between teachers and peers

2. interactions - students understanding and knowledge of the world are based on the quality of their interactions with others

3. environment - learning, home, culture and society can influence the quality of interactions

What are the 6 ways social constructivism may be applied in different settings?

1. Enquiry-based learning - teacher plans activities to provoke interaction between peers

2. modelling - teacher models how to complete a task while the student observes before practicing themselves

3. flipped learning - teacher provides material that students can independently access and then observe during group learning to scaffold

4. commentary - teacher talks through what they are doing to develop vocabulary

5. sustained shared thinking - teacher and student share a genuine interest in an activity

6. reflection - teacher talks about what went well and encourages the student to develop their own thinking

What are bruners 3 modes of thinking?

1. Enactive (0-1) - learning snd thought takes place from physical movements

2. iconic (1-6) - thoughts are developed as mental images

3. symbolic (7 plus) - thinking can be encoded using symbols such as language or numbers

What is humanism?

• focuses on the feelings, attitudes and welfare of the child

• rejects the idea of a one size fits all approach to education and focuses on individual needs

• believe that humans have a thirst for learning and the role of the adult is to provide the right conditions for children to do this

what are the key features of humanism?

• holistic learning - children construct knowledge in the context of their own unique feelings, values and experiences (teacher considers the students whole being which helps to achieve their goals)

• student centred - teachers role is to facilitate rather than deliver learning as it should be personal to each individual student (student is given freedom to select materials and manage their own progress)

• self actualisation - a students personal potential can be fulfilled only when their physical and affective needs have been met

• agency - humans are intentional and seek meaning, values and creativity

What is the loris malaguzzi and reggio emilia approach?

• teacher and children are partners in learning

• children can construct their own learning based on interests

• the environment is also a teacher

• children have many ways of thinking, playing, exploring and speaking (100 languages)

What is the united nations convention on the rights of the child? 1989

• list if 45 rights that children should have regardless of where they live or personal circumstances

What is maslows hierarchy of needs?

• each need needs to be met in order for humans to realise their potential

• in order of psychological needs, safety, love and belonging, esteem, self sctualisation

What is connectivism?

• recognises that learners have access to information from a range of sources on the internet and can gain valuable information from this

• based on the premise that we do not need to rely on a teacher

• children can connect with others and find s range of sources to gain information

• founded by siemens

What are the 5 features of connectivism?

1. technology - students have greater access to online information and communities for learning

2. nodes - objects (people, books, webpages) that can be connected as part of a learning network with a variety of opinions and sources

3. links - students make links between nodes and continue to maintain connections to form knowledge

4. currency of knowledge - knowledge quickly becomes out of date so learning is continuous and is more important than knowing

5. informal - formal learning no longer makes up the main way knowledge is accquired

What are 4 ways that the connectivist approach might be used in settings?

1. massive open online course - features a mix of traditional course materials, user forums and communities of practise

2. social networking - allows information to be exchanged informally as learners can talk to each other but also to others to exchange information

3. gamification - based on the way computer games are compelling, this allows tasks and learning to become competitive and interactive

4. immersive ents are engaged to make connections located in the digital world snd the natural environment

in what ways might technology be used in settings?

• track progress - information on system that can be accessed by colleagues to monitor progress

• easily share information - national assessments with local authority, parents and apps

• planning online and offline materials and assessments - already mapped to the NC

• makes learning accessible for SEND - activated typing, font sizes, touchscreen technology for drawing, audio books

• variety of media to introduce a topic - photos, clips, music

• modelling secure methods to use online media - safety and protecting data

• help prepare children for digital world

• communicating with others safely - learn to share information with other cultures and countries snd learn to do this safely

what is metacognition?

• the ability to understand, be aware and then try to control your own mental processes by being aware of your own learning

why is metacognition important?

1. Identify strengths and areas for development - children think about what they find east and hard

2. using cognitive strategies to construct knowledge

3. using metacognitive strategies to regulate and evaluate their own learning - make themselves try hard and practise

What strategies are there to support children with EAL?

• EAL specialist support - assess progress in the childs own language and help understand their needs and worries

• encouraging peer and group support - friendships promote positive self concept and is a chance to share worries that can be passed on to the teacher

• making the verbal curriculum more visual - makes the lessons more interesting and helps children build vocabulary as well as connections between what they see and the words being used

• finding opportunities to talk before writing - help structure their thoughts and aid more fluent writing and builds confidence

• working in partnership with parents - identify difficulties with the home language and recognises where there might be social and emotional difficulties