Early Years Strategy 2017-2021 - Civica · Getting this contact and these services right in these critical years is crucial ... communication skills1:4 Children failing to reach expected

wolverhampton.gov.uk

C O U N C I L

CITY

WOLVERHAMPTONOF

Early Years Strategy 2017-2021

02 City of Wolverhampton Council wolverhampton.gov.uk

Contents

CONTENTS

Chapter 5Early intervention andprevention

Chapter 6What will Early Yearsservices look like forchildren, families andpartners?

Chapter 7Workforce developmentand governance

wolverhampton.gov.uk Early years strategy 03

Contents

Chapter 1Introduction

Chapter 2Guiding principles

Chapter 3National context

Chapter 4Local context

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V S


Vision

S I O N


Vision

Working effectively together to make surethat every child in their early years has theopportunity to be the best they can be”

“

Introduction



Introduction

From the point of conception through to the first day at school, parents,babies and young children have regular contact with a range of differentservices including midwifery, health visiting, GPs, children centres,childcare and early education provision.

Getting this contact and these services right in these critical years is crucialto ensure that parents are supported sufficiently and that all babies andchildren are given the best possible start in life.

1Introduction


Introduction

An effective Early Years Strategy needs to be based on the assumptionthat parents are the first educator and ensure that there is a robustsystem in place to support them in this vital role.

Research shows social class, income, living conditions and parent’sown education levels are directly related to child developmentoutcomes. However, the quality of the early home learning environment(from birth) acts as a significant modifying factor. All parents canenhance their child’s progress if they engage regularly in activities thatencourage positive social development and thinking.

Children with strong early home learning environments are aheadin both social and cognitive development at the age of three. They show advanced language ability, higher levels of confidence, co-operation and sociability, and this advantage continues as theyprogress through school.

Services need to be focused on delivering an approach that isunderpinned by the need for parents to develop good parenting skills.This will provide the basis for them to have an understanding of how achild learns and ensure that they are an active participant in their child’sbrain development, enabling the child to become an active learner witha strong attachment and healthy relationships.


Introduction

Whilst parents must be recognised as the child's first educator, thisstrategy recognises the impact that access to high quality educationcan have in improving outcomes for children. Research shows us thataccess to high quality educational experiences can have a significantimpact on the outcomes a child achieves. This strategy has a strongfocus on accelerating children's learning within early year’s settingsand building upon the good and outstanding provision that existswithin Wolverhampton.

For the purpose of this strategy school readiness is defined as:

“Children will be able to express their needs, feelings and wants.A school will ensure that children feel heard and understood by theirpractitioners. Children will be excited, enthused and demonstrate awillingness to learn both inside and outside of the classroom”.

In Wolverhampton we know how important it is for children to be happy and confident, secure and safe, and able to achieve their full potential.

We want to ensure that all children living in Wolverhampton have anequal chance to have a really good start in life including supporting themto have a good level of development when they start school.

Wolverhampton is committed to:

• Putting the best interests of the child at the heart of decision making.

• Taking a holistic approach to the wellbeing of a child.

• Working with children, young people and their families on ways toimprove wellbeing.

• Advocating preventative work and early intervention to supportchildren, young people and their families.

• Believing professionals must work together in the best interests of the child.

We will:

• Work with families to achieve positive and sustainable outcomes,safely preventing family breakdown.

• Deliver a whole system approach, enabling close working withpartners with clarity on roles and responsibilities.

• Build employee confidence and skills, and empower and support towork creatively and innovatively with families.

• Provide affordability and enable the financial sustainability ofchildren’s services in the future.

2


Guiding principals

Guiding principles


National context

National context

It is now recognised that the earliestyears of a child’s life can have animportant impact on his or her long-term development. These areformative years, physiologically,cognitively, socially and emotionally.

For a child to flourish and fulfil theirpotential, they need their environmentto provide them with specific types ofsupport from conception to the ageof five. The parent or primary caregiveris the most important part of a child’senvironment, and attachment has longbeen recognised as a key factor inpositive child development.

“Disadvantage is an unfavourablecircumstance or condition that reducesthe chances of success or effectiveness” Oxford English Dictionary

3

£

£££


National context

...they are also 9 percentage points

less likely to reach the expected

level in personal, social and

emotional development.

Children not reaching expectedlevel in language andcommunication skills

1:4Children failing to reach expectedlevel in personal, social andemotional development

1:5

-11

-9

11 percentage points less likely than their

peers to reach the expected level in

communication and language...

The EYFS data also show 45 per cent of primaryschool pupils eligible for free school mealsachieved a “good level of development” comparedwith 64 per cent of other pupils –

a 19 percentage point gap.

£££ £

Across the UK, figures indicate thatchildren from the poorest 30% ofneighbourhoods are:

Primary school pupils achieving a

“good level of development”

Pupils eligible forfree school meals Other pupils

45%

64%


National context

Research found that better childhood behaviour was associated with anumber of improved outcomes in later life, including income and aspects ofmental health and well-being.

Language development - one of the earliest areas of cognitive developmentand an important stepping-stone to future success - is also influenced byparents or caregivers. If adults talk with children effectively - taking the leadfrom the child, elaborating on what they say, asking questions, sharingrhymes or songs or books - then children are given the best start indeveloping the cognitive tools they need to succeed at school.

14 City of Wolverhampton Council

Local context

Wolverhampton has a population of254,406 (mid-year 2015 estimate) and isproud of the diversity that thisencompasses, with 35.5% of its residents from BME communities.

The population is predicted to grow by8.9% by 2037, to 273,300, with the aged19 or below cohort expected to increaseby 7%.

4Local context

wolverhampton.gov.uk

A total of 58,167children and youngpeople under the ageof 18 years live inWolverhampton.This is approximately22.9% of the totalpopulation in the area.

22.9%

35.5%

Percentage of population whoare children (aged 0-17) living inWolverhampton

Percentage of population who arefrom BME communities

Life expectancy is lower than the Englandaverage and Wolverhampton ranks 20 outof 326 Local Authority areas in the Indicesof Deprivation 2010.

20RANKEDNO.

Indices ofDeprivation 2010

Predicted Population

254,406

273,300

20152037


Local context

Children and young people from minority ethnicgroups account for 41.6% of all children living in thearea compared with 21.5% in England.Approximately 42.7% of children aged 5-17 are froma minority ethnic group compared with 24% inEngland. The largest minority ethnic group of childrenand young people in the area are Asian Indian (born inthe UK).

31.5%

Children (aged 0-17) who are living inpoverty within Wolverhampton


Local context

Health

The foundations for virtually every aspect for human development -physical, intellectual and emotional - are established in early childhood.The Healthy Child Programme has highlighted the importance of givingevery child the best start in life and reducing health inequalitiesthroughout life.

The health and wellbeing of our children is paramount to securing goodoutcomes; unfortunately the health and wellbeing of children inWolverhampton is worse than the England average.

In 2015/2016 the rateof obesity for childrenaged 4-5 years is12.2% (the nationalaverage in 2014/15was 12.3%)

By Year 6, 40% of youngpeople in Wolverhamptonare overweight or obese

The current rate of under 18 conceptions age 15 to 17 years (2014) inWolverhampton is 29.6 per 1,000 which is a 6% reduction in thepreviously reported rate of 31.5 per 1,000 (2013). Although the rate ofunder 18 conceptions has remained significantly higher than theEngland average (currently 22.8 per 1,000)

Wolverhampton currently has an Infant Mortalityrate of 6.4 per 1,000 (2012-14) compared to 4.0 per 1,000 for England and Wales. Over the past 20 years there has been a 30%reduction in the average infant mortality rate forEngland and Wales, whereas in Wolverhamptonthe local infant mortality rate has largely remainedstatic over this period. Despite a slight fall in therate in 2012-14 Wolverhampton remains one ofthe Local Authorities with highest rates of infantmortality in England and Wales.

Analysis by Wolverhampton Public Health found that smoking duringpregnancy was a key risk factor for infant deaths within the city with therisk of infant death increasing by 54% for those mothers who smoked.

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Local context

Infant feeding

UK USA Norway

71%49%

34%

Babies receiving breastmilk by six months of age


Local context

Education

59%

Percentage of Primary and Secondaryin Wolverhampton in the mostdeprived quantile nationally

18% of pupils have Special EducationalNeeds against a national average of 15%

24% of pupilshave English as anadditional language

58 (59%) of the Primary and Secondary schools inWolverhampton are in the most deprived quintile nationally asdefined by Ofsted. There are no Wolverhampton schoolsclassed as being in the least deprived category. 22% of allpupils are eligible for free school meals; for Primary schools(including reception) the figure is 20.5% (the national averageis 14.5%) and in Secondary schools (including Academies) it is 19.7% (the national average is 13.2%).


Local context

The city’s schools have been on a rapid improvement journey over thelast two years. Primary School Ofsted outcomes in December 2013were the worst in the country when the Local Authority was rated 152ndout of 152 – the current rating is 135th and we are rapidly rising up thetable – with 81% of Primary schools currently rated as good or better(July 2016). Secondary Schools have been on a similar journey with theLocal Authority being rated as 108th in the country in December 2014and in 2015 rated joint 81st, receiving the accolade of being in the top20% of most improved authorities in the country, with only Solihullabove Wolverhampton in the West Midlands.

The city has 83% of all schools currently rated as good or better(July 2016) with 82% of Secondary schools currently rated as good orbetter (July 2016).

The ambition is that by September 2018, 95% of schools in the city willbe rated good or better when inspected.

The city continues through the work of the early help service, schoolimprovement and standards team strive to ensure that schools,settings, childminders and all early year’s providers are delivering high quality early years experiences. The Ofsted ratings for the citycontinue to rise annually; the figures for all providers within the citydemonstrate this.

152

100

1

50

152

108

81

135

Ofsted outcomes: Wolverhampton

Dec 2013 Dec 2014 Dec 2015 July 2016

Primary Schools81% currently rated asgood or better

Secondary Schools82% currently rated asgood or better

CityRanking


Local context

However, the statutory assessmentoutcomes at the end of the key stage(early year’s foundation stage profileEYFSP) do not reflect these judgements asalthough Wolverhampton’s % of childrenachieving a good level of development(GLD) continues to rise annually; we donot meet the national % GLD. Provisionaldata for 2016 shows Wolverhamptonachieved a GLD of 63%, a shortfall of 6%against the National figure of 69%.

Good69%

Outstanding19% Good

54%Outstanding

0%

Good63%

Outstanding17% Good

43%Outstanding

57%

Childminders

Playgroups

Day Nurseries

Nursery School

Awaiting inspection36%




Ofsted Ratings - Wolverhampton Early Years Providers

63%

Percentage of children achievinga good level of development

National GLD


Local context

September Offer The September Offer is a commitment to offer, by the end ofSeptember, a suitable place in post-16 education or training to allyoung people in the year they reach compulsory education age.

Achievement 2015:

99.9% of the Year 11 received anoffer. This was higher than theBlack Country, the West Midlandsand the England average

98.5% of Year 12 received anoffer. This was higher than theBlack Country, the West Midlandsand the England average.

Wolverhampton is a city whereeconomic growth and prosperityis a top priority for the council andits partners. In order to competein the labour market and progressin the world of work, local peopleneed the education, skills anddetermination to succeed. Thestatistics show that many localpeople struggle. Ensuring ourchildren have the foundations toaccess future opportunitiesavailable to them is critical.

99.9%Y E A R 1 1

98.5%Y E A R 1 2

OFFER OFFER

Where our residents work

14.9%Health

14.5%Manufacturing

10.2%Retail

60.4%Other work

Employment


Local context

Occupations

Wolverhampton has:

19.4% of the adult residentpopulation have noqualifications compared to8.5% nationally (AnnualPopulation Survey estimate).

15.2% of the residentpopulation aged 16-24 haveno qualifications compared to7.8% nationally (AnnualPopulation Survey estimate).

33.4% of the residentpopulation aged 16-24 haveGCSE grades A to C orequivalent compared to 21.1%nationally (Annual PopulationSurvey estimate).

Full time equivalent grossmedian pay is £434.20 the17th worst out of 327English local authorities.However part-time median payfares better at £156.20, the91st worst in the country.(Annual Survey of Householdearnings HMRC estimate).

4.1% of young people are notin education, employment ortraining (NEET) compared to4.7% nationally.

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The second highestclaimant rate out of 327district local authorities inEngland with 4.6% (1,380)of the resident populationaged 16 to 24 claimingunemployment benefits

An unemployment claimantcount rate of 4.2% that isdouble the national rate of1.7% and the WestMidlands rate of 2.3%.

Over 1,360 peoplereceiving Carers Allowance(0.53%) compared to0.39% of people in theWest Midlands.

£434.20

Benefits

Wolverhampton has:

4.1%

83.1%

11.0%

4.1%

83.4%

10.6%

3.9%

84.9%

9.0%

3.9%

86.5%

7.4%

NEET adjusted

In learning

Not Known

Post 16 Participation rates for WolverhamptonApril – July 2016

April May June July


Local context

Lone Parents

Over 2,790 people in Wolverhampton are loneparents; 1.7% of the resident population aged16 to 64 compared to 1.3% in the West Midlandsand 1% nationally.

Over 28% of these lone parents on benefits are agedunder 24 and over 97% of lone parents on benefits arefemale. (NB The removal of entitlement to the housingelement of Universal Credit from young people aged18-21, with some exceptions, from April 2017 has thepotential to impact severely on Wolverhampton’syoung parents and their children).

Over half of lone parents have received benefits formore than two years.

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Early intervention and prevention

For many years research has helped us understand that interveningearly in the lives of young children can have a positive influence on theirlives as they live and grow. Intervening early for those children andfamilies who need it most makes a positive difference and theimportance of the contribution that the Early Years service can make tothis process cannot be underestimated. Yet intervention from serviceshas historically often started at a higher level of need.

Wolverhampton aims to offer support at a much earlier stage,preventing the escalation of needs, wherever possible, and reducing thelikelihood of problems emerging in the first place.

Early intervention services target the most vulnerable children andfamilies who require additional and intensive support, focusing onimproving outcomes. Services aim to improve the resilience and well-being for children and families and ensure they are able to accessthe right services at the right time in the right place. They also aim tomake a significant difference in reducing demand for statutory servicesand to provide support to families who are stepping down fromstatutory services.

The Think Family approach helps to provide responses to the mostvulnerable families and reduce inter-generational cycles of pooroutcomes. The approach has far reaching implications which extends toboth universal and targeted services who work with adults, youngpeople, children and families and who work across all sectors.

Systems and services have recently been redesigned to ensurevulnerable children, young people and adults secure better outcomes,by co-ordinating the support they receive and the impact that services have.

Wolverhampton’s approach is designed to be flexible enough to supportall children and families whatever their need, whenever they need it. It aims to respond in a meaningful, supportive way, working with parentswherever possible. It takes into account that everyone involved with thefamily has an important part to play and puts the wellbeing of childrenand families at the heart of any support.

5Early intervention and prevention


What will Early Years services look like for children, families and partners?

There is good practice happening across the city and families aresupported well. However, more needs to be done not only inembedding this good practice but in constantly improving the outcomesfor children and families.

In order to capture a child and family’s journey and ensure the serviceswe offer to them impacts on their outcomes, the Early Years Strategyhas identified a number of key strategic priorities which have beengrouped into the following four themes.

6What will Early Years services look likefor children, families and partners?



Good maternal healthThis theme focuses on ensuring there is a consistent approach to thedelivery of health services for families with a clear pathway fromconception to age five, in line with the Healthy Child Programmeoutlining what families can expect from professional services. This willbe achieved through good partnership working that ensures specialistservices such as drug and alcohol and mental health services receivereferrals at the earliest possible point, to help parents develop andsustain a strong bond with their child. The achievement of successfuloutcomes as a result of early intervention will support parents acrossthe city.

Strengthening Families Hubs offer both universal and targeted supportto families across the city. These are facilitated by a range of multi -agency professionals. Delivering universal services to every child andfamily provides an invaluable opportunity to identify children at risk ofpoor outcomes and provide early help to families. Research aroundearly attachments tells us that promoting secure attachments andgood maternal health are important for the emotional well-being anddevelopment of both mother and baby to secure the best start in life.

By offering a consistent and well planned approach to service delivery,families will be supported in developing secure attachments andidentification of early needs. A clear pathway will ensure the ease ofaccess to services such as early parenting classes, specialist healthservices (such as community based health services/professionals)and Strengthening Families Hubs.



Will be engaged in health/universal services at the earliestpoint and are clear about what ison offer across the city.

Will launch a pathway that allprofessionals who support childrenand families in the early years willsign up to that offers a consistentmessage and ensures the beststart in life

Will participate in services sothat their children have theopportunity to receive highquality health care

Will provide services at theappropriate milestones to ensurechildren get the best start in life

Will identify and make available asuite of multi - agency services tosupport expectant/new mothers atthe earliest point. Especially thosewho may present with early signsof low mood or historical mentalhealth issues

Will support parents access toservices already on offer e.g.SWITCH Programme, TherapeuticSupport, Befriending services –Home Start

Will understand their child’sdevelopment milestones andhow they can support themthrough their parenting

Will provide antenatal classes thatoffer an attractive Early ParentingProgramme to expectant parentsand beyond including sessionsfocused on earlyattachment/bonding - Talk to yourbump programme

Parents Professionals



A family struggling with drug andalcohol addiction were made thesubject of a Child Protection plan dueto concerns about the impact thiswould have on the health and wellbeingof their unborn child – particularly asabnormalities were detected with thebaby’s heart.

The Early Intervention team provided apackage of support to the parents,including emotional support regardingtheir drug and alcohol use, support toaccess antenatal hospital appointmentsand universal groups, housing supportand parenting skills work.

Weekly visits to the family were carriedout by professionals from health, socialcare and the Families in Focusprogramme. The parents interactedwell, developing a positive relationship

with social care professionals, and wereopen and honest about any drug andalcohol use.

Due to ongoing concerns about this,the baby was removed from his parentsat birth and placed in to foster care.They had contact with the child 5 daysa week with the intention of beingrehabilitated back under a Child in NeedPlan. Meanwhile, the parents engagedwith addiction services, testing negativefor anything other than their prescribedmedication, and also moved into amore stable property throughWolverhampton Homes.

The child returned to the family home afew months after birth. EarlyIntervention services continued tosupport the family, who are now livingtogether successfully.

Family in needC A S E S T U D Y



Parental engagement

This theme focuses on developing the provision of universal services forfamilies in order to support parental engagement. Parents will besupported to develop good parenting skills to enable them to help theirchild(ren) achieve their full potential. This meets the key strategicpriorities, by developing a clear pathway for parents and professionalsthat promotes an understanding of child development and improvesreadiness for school.

Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) research shows thatparental engagement with their child’s learning has a significant impact

on their outcomes. The role ofUniversal Services Practitioners is tosupport parents in becoming theirchild’s first educator, as well assupporting families with schoolreadiness. Practitioners and otherprofessionals; including Healthworkers; are promoting EarlyEducation Funding for eligible 2 yearolds and all elements of 3 and 4 yearold entitlement. Access to high qualityeducational experiences can have asignificant impact on narrowing theattainment gap.

Through home learning and promotion of services parents will beassisted to build resilience and become the child’s first educator alsosupporting school readiness. This will be measured by monitoringreferrals for home learning and attendance at both play and stay andlibrary groups. By developing the existing parent champions’programme and working in partnership with other professionals,promotion of Early Education Funding will support engagement withfamilies within community groups, schools and childcare providers.



Will increase their understandingof their child’s developmentalmilestones and how they cansupport them

Will promote services available tofamilies in their community in orderto deliver prevention and earlyIntervention support

Will develop skills and resilienceto become their child’s primaryeducator providing good homelearning environments

Will provide child developmentresources regarding ages andstages to inform parents ofexpected progress

Will promote awareness and accessof the Wolverhampton InformationNetwork website to supportparenting

Will support with school readinessby developing a holisticunderstanding which supportsfamilies

Will raise awareness of EarlyEducation Funding and improve thetake up of places

Will identify eligible children so thatresources can be targeted to theright children and families at theright time

Will support their children toaccess high quality EarlyEducation Funding (EEF) for2,3 and 4 year olds and EarlyYears Pupil Premium (EYPP)

Will feel supported to participatein services

Will access Bookstart, Play andStay groups and other universalservices

Will increase the number of parentchampions across the city

Will develop the skills andknowledge of parent champions sothat they can:

• Promote universal services • Encourage other parents to

access Early Education Funding • Enable them to signpost and

support families to other servicesavailable in their community

Parents Professionals



Emma’s StoryC A S E S T U D Y

Emma first began receiving supportfrom Whitmore Reans Children Centrein 2013 shortly after becoming a mumfor the first time.

She had been experiencing realchallenges at home, but thanks to thehelp and support of staff at thechildren’s centre she was able to getback on the right track, accessingeducation and training opportunities atWhitmore Reans.

Shortly after, she moved toWednesfield with her young child,and signed up to and completed theFreedom Programme for victims ofdomestic abuse run at WednesfieldChildren’s Village.

As life began to settle down, Emmagained in self-confidence and decidedto volunteer on the FreedomProgramme, helping support otherwomen who, like her, had lived throughdomestic abuse.

Emma enjoyed the role so much thatwhen she was asked to considervolunteering as a Parent Champion –and act as an advocate and peeradvisor to other parents in hercommunity - she jumped at the chance.In doing so, it gave her the confidenceto use her new found skills, knowledgeand experiences to try and secure a jobworking with children and families.

With a new-found fire inside her,Emma worked closely with the ParentChampion Co-ordinator to apply for ajob as a Strengthening Families Worker– and in July was successfullyappointed to the role. As Emma says,“the harder the struggle the moreglorious the triumph!”.

“the harder thestruggle the moreglorious the triumph!”



A mum-of-six, Caroline was keen tohelp other parents get the informationthey need about childcare and otherservices – and didn’t let being heavilypregnant stop her from volunteering atBingley Children’s Centre.

She soon found the confidence tovolunteer as a Parent Champion,enjoying training that gave her the skillsshe needed to work with parents,particularly around setting boundaries.

As well as chatting to parents whenthey meet up for activities, such as stayand play and the Freedom Programme,telling them about the support availableto them and initiatives such as the two-year-old free childcare offer, Caroline

also worked with parents who arefacing very difficult personal problemsor circumstances – and quickly realisedher role was not to try to immediatelyhelp others deal with everything,but to refer them to support serviceswhere necessary.

Caroline had a thirst to learn, develop and be a good role model to her children, and so during her timeas Parent Champion she successfullyapplied for a part time StrengtheningFamilies Worker post. She is lookingforward to taking on the role after the birth of her baby, and also wants to continue being a volunteerParent Champion.

“I know the skills and experience I have picked up as

a Parent Champion will be really useful in my new

job supporting local communities to thrive, and I’m

looking forward to helping families turn their life

around, just like I have.”

Caroline’s StoryC A S E S T U D Y



High quality education

This theme focuses on ensuring all children in the city have access tohigh quality pre-school experience and education which will enhanceand improve their Primary and Secondary Education.

Research (EPPSE3-16+) which tracked children from 1997 through totheir educational and developmental outcomes at 16 years old in 2013continues to drive and shape current government policy. The reportdemonstrates how pre-school experience continues to influence theoutcomes of young children most significantly:

• The quality of pre-school experience predicted both total GCSEscores and English and Maths grades. High education was alsolinked to better pro-social behavior and lower levels of hyperactivity.The quality of pre-school experience was especially important forchildren whose parents have low qualifications.

• Attending a high quality pre-school, experiencing a longer duration,or attending settings of higher quality all predicted a greater likelihoodof following an academic pathway post 16 as well key findings as areduced likelihood of taking a lower academic route.

Key findings from Ofsted’s good practice survey, “Teaching and play inthe early years-a balancing act?” (July 2015) included:

• Accurate assessment of children’s starting points was based onconstant reflection about what was deemed typical for each childgiven their chronological age in months. Where we observed this tobe most effective, staff entered into frequent discussion, within andbetween providers, to check and agree their judgments. Thisincluded the frequent sharing of information between parents, otherpre-school settings and health visitors.

• Collaboration between early year’s providers was key to securing ahigher quality of teaching and play. We found that where schools andsettings shared a site, were directly managed by one overarchingleader or had entered into a professional network with others in thelocality, expertise was shared effectively to allow all early yearsprofessionals to learn from the best. Many had become early year’shubs for their area, championing the importance of early educationand raising the quality of learning and development.



Will have increased Good Levelof Development at the EarlyYears Foundation Stage andwill attain in line with Nationalexpectations

Will develop a clear pathway forparents and professionals thatpromotes a common understandingof child development and how thiscan be supported

Will establish a robust transitionprotocol to support children’s’ moveonto statutory education includingthe sharing of data

Will not achieve to a lesserdegree if they receive EarlyYears Pupil Premium comparedto those not receiving EarlyYears Pupil Premium

Will develop a school readinessdefinition to improve readiness forschool for all children with particularregard to disadvantaged andvulnerable children at age 5

Will track cohorts of children tomonitor progress ensuring childrenat a disadvantage are fully supported

Will use their best endeavoursthrough the graduated approach tomake sure that children with SENget the support they need.

Will achieve successfuloutcomes as a result of earlyintervention

Will receive high quality preschool education in settingsthat are judged to be good oroutstanding

Will provide high quality learningenvironments

Will achieve and maintain a “Good”or above Ofsted judgement

Will provide a support andchallenge function within and tosettings in order to develop andcontinually improve practice

Will develop training materials,opportunities and practice tosupport providers in implementingchanges in practice that will impacton children’s outcomes

Children Professionals



Mason moved schools mid-term in2015 after his previous school raisedconcerns with his family. His family tookhim out of his old school to escape thereality of the issues facing them.

He arrived at his new school withminimal language skills – his onlyverbal utterances were of a vulgarnature, including the use of theexpletives in response to peers andstaff. His low level communication skillsand lack of boundaries within the homelearning environment manifested itselfthrough disruptive behaviour,demonstrations of temper and lashingout at staff and children.

The school supported Mason withintensive learning support, rewardingpositive behaviour moments withpraise, recognition, stickers and rewardcharts based upon his interests. Hisinitial attendance was sporadic but arelationship was built and a consistentapproach to managing his behaviourwas applied.

Mason settled at school and hisattendance, vocabulary andcommunication skills improvedalongside his understanding of right andwrong. A positive impact was seen anddocumented within three months, andprogress within the prime areas ofpersonal, social and emotionaldevelopment and communication andlanguage means he is now workingwithin age related expectations.

Indeed, he has become a role modelfor his peers, staff have a greatrelationship with both Mason and hismother, and will use this model ofsupport with children who have similarneeds in the future.

C A S E S T U D Y :

Mitchell’s story Mason’s StoryC A S E S T U D Y

Workforce development

This theme focuses on challenging and supporting schools andchildcare providers to deliver the best education for children and youngpeople through developing a highly skilled Early Years workforce withstrong and effective leadership and management. This meets the keystrategic priorities, by establishing Early Years forums with a clearprogramme for improving outcomes. Also to establish a robust transitionprotocol and to ensure the workforce support effective transitionsbetween settings.

There are some high quality Early Years practitioners across the city whoare supporting other members of the childcare workforce to developtheir skills within provisions. The model environments focus onstrengthening leadership and management to raise the quality oflearning environments, progress of implementation is monitoredduring quality support visits. The Local Offer came into effect fromSeptember 2014; this provides parents with information regarding howearly years provision can support children with additional needs.Research demonstrates that inspirational practitioners providingstimulating and challenging environments support children inaccelerating their learning.

Through the promotion of focused early years forums the workforce willbe supported to share and disseminate good practice, building effectiveworking relationships with other partners such as Wolverhamptonuniversity, City of Wolverhampton college and Adult Education services,to provide a consistent approach in developing high quality early yearspractice. Regular monitoring of the quality of early years practitionersentering the workforce and maintaining a continuous cycle of staffdevelopment within provision, will assist in ensuring the stability andquality of practitioners.





Will learn in high quality learningenvironments

Will share and disseminate goodpractice

Will maintain a continuous cycle ofstaff development within theprovision to ensure the stability andquality of the workforce

Will develop and maintain EarlyYears forums to enable leaders andmanagers to enhance theirknowledge of the sector and tobuild locality networks

Will develop high levels of skills ingraduate leaders

Will access training supportincluding model environments andpeer support opportunities

Will achieve to their full potentialwith those more disadvantagedthan their peers progressingwell.

Will demonstrate an in depthknowledge of child developmentand how to support families

Will embed effective key workerpractice within provision

Will implement observation planningand assessment to meet individualsneeds and interests

Children Professionals



Wolverhampton’s Early Interventionservice recognises that workingpractitioners are one of the bestsources of expertise and knowledge inthe field, and has developed a peer-to-peer support network to improveoutcomes for children by sharingknowledge and skills.

Teeny Weenies Playgroup wantedsupport to further enhance their qualityand improve the outcomes for theirchildren and was successfully pairedwith Fun 4 Kids, an outstanding daynursery with exceptional leadership andmanagement strategies, an area ofimprovement needed by the playgroup.

Representatives from both provisionsattended a meeting with a Quality andAccess Officer to discuss the peer-to-peer support and identify key areaswhich would form an action plan.

The mentoring began in December2015 with a number of visits takingplace over the following months duringwhich a range of issues werediscussed, from policies andprocedures, strategies and disciplinaryprocesses to planning and staff trainingand support.

The support has been found to be veryproductive, with improvements beingevident, especially around leadershipand management and a number of newsystems in place which are bringingabout positive results.

The programme will continue when theplaygroup returns in the autumn term,and the Quality and Access Officerwill review the programme withboth settings.

Fun 4 Kidz Day Nursery and

Teeny Weenies Playgroup

C A S E S T U D Y


Performance management and governance

The project group and the strategy will be supported, challenged andmonitored through the Education Board for internal purposes.

For partner engagement the project group and the strategy will besupported, challenged and monitored through the StrengtheningFamilies Board on a quarterly basis.

The strategy will be reviewed annually by the Children’s Trust Board.

Detailed action plans will be developed across the life of the strategy todrive the required improvement under each of the key themes.

7Performance management andgovernance

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City of Wolverhampton Council, Civic Centre, St. Peter’s Square,

Wolverhampton WV1 1SH

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Early Years Strategy 2017-2021 - Civica · Getting this contact and these services right in these critical years is crucial ... communication skills1:4 Children failing to reach expected

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