Curriculum
EYFS boosts rise in quality provision, says Ofsted report
The number of nurseries and childminders judged good or outstanding has risen significantly since the introduction of the EYFS, according to a report by Ofsted on its impact.
In an exclusive interview with Nursery World, ahead of the report's publication today, Patrick Leeson, director of Education and Care, said, 'There's really quite a significant increase in good and outstanding providers overall.'
The percentage of early years providers with good or outstanding grades rose from 59 per cent in August 2008 to 68 per cent in August 2010.
The survey to evaluate the EYFS is part of Ofsted's evidence for Dame Clare Tickell's review. It involved visits by inspectors to 68 childminders, early years settings and schools between September and December 2010.
The report, The Impact of the EYFS, focuses on two key areas - children's personal, social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy, which Mr Leeson said is 'absolutely key for making good progress in early years' and for preparing children to be ready to learn at school.
He said, 'There has been a steady improvement in the quality of provision. There's a strong message that the EYFS is appropriate for all settings and a major driver for quality and improvement.'
The report says that many providers feel positive about the EYFS. Mr Leeson said the response from providers was that they welcome structure and guidance to inform their work. The report also highlights that different types of providers have different strengths.
Mr Leeson said, 'What we found was that schools were better at planning activities to include language and literacy development.'
However, nurseries and childminders were stronger in developing children's personal, social and emotional skills, with two-thirds of providers rated good or outstanding in this area, which the report attributes to the importance of daily routines in these settings.
Mr Leeson said, 'The EYFS encourages significant professional development and training.' There has been 'a higher level of professionalisation across the sector, particularly among non-school providers', which leads to high quality provision, he said.
Ofsted's findings also suggest that there is a misconception that childminders do not like the EYFS because it is bureaucratic and involves too much paperwork.
Although inspectors found the greatest diversity of views about the EYFS among childminders, the report states, 'Highly positive views were expressed by good or outstanding childminders.'
Mr Leeson said, 'Those childminders do not say that the EYFS has been a burden or difficult to implement.'
However, childminders who were inadequate or satisfactory 'did find the EYFS to be an issue', he said.
