Warwickshire is a large county of both rural and urban areas, and with awide range of childcare needs and services for this brilliant team tosupport. Its aim has been to raise all practitioners' learning anddevelopment in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Support is given through sustained visits, modelling good practice,sharing documentation, coaching and mentoring, good practice visits, andlead training. Such central leadership has meant that links between thesectors have thrived, and more than 50 sites are now involved in theauthority's EYFS partnership scheme.
The team routinely comes up with new projects and solutions, like theyear-long Transition - A Journey to Success, with an early years adviserteacher working with five schools and settings to explore how to createa seamless transition.
Young children's creativity is fostered through a partnership with theArts in Warwickshire Education group, working to the Reggio Emiliaphilosophy. The Inspirational Learning Spaces is another popularinitiative, with settings being supported to create new learningenvironments in nooks and crannies. The creative ideas springing fromthis project include dinosaur and space zones.
The team are also prolific writers, publishing documents like Health andSafety in the Early Years, Extending the Learning Journey, and EYFS -How we make it happen in Warwickshire. Specialist children's centreteachers have been developed to work with leaders and managers.
Hard-to-reach areas are targeted through the Dordon Innovation Project,a multi-agency partnership scheme. The response has been very positive,with one parent saying, 'The Stay, Play and Weigh provided me and mychild with a lifeline. The health visitors are there to offer advice andmy son enjoys activities like painting with fingers and toes.'
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Bedfordshire Early Years Team (EYDCP), BedfordshireTraining and Assessment Centre
Five years ago, this local authority team set up an assessment centre toaccommodate the flexible delivery of qualifications to childcare workersunable to attend traditional college courses. Those practitionerswishing to advance their skills and qualifications, but held back bypersonal or family circumstances, were given a permanent opportunity totrain. It is the attention to details that makes this centre sopioneering. There is specific support on placement advice, a recruitmenthelpline and website, and an annual celebration evening for past andpresent students. Bedfordshire Early Years Team has achieved so much forits childcare workers, which in turn achieves so much for the county'schildren and families.
CRITERIA
Open to any local authority team working to provide or support earlyyears and childcare services.
