The forthcoming introduction of the Children Act (2004) coupled with the policy announcements in last month's Spending Review and Department for Education and Skills' Five-Year Strategy for Children and Learners mean that yet more significant changes to services for very young children beckon.
As the early years and childcare sector changes, it becomes even more important for those working in the field to keep abreast of current thinking and new developments in practice, research and policy that will affect their work.
* As a manager of a setting you will need to build in time to inform yourself and your staff of changes to policy, legislation and new developments in practice.
* As a student you will need to be able to access a range of information to help you complete assignments and improve your technical knowledge of the sector.
* As an experienced practitioner you need to continue your professional development by being aware of new information in practice and how your work will be affected by the new vision for children's services.
* And everyone needs to keep abreast of new research on what works for children as part of effective everyday practice.
The following pages highlight the importance of keeping up to date with current thinking, practice and policy and provide practical suggestions on how to achieve this as well as signposts to finding out more.
In the know
Some practitioners will feel that they are doing a good job and striving to find new ways of working to achieve quality experiences for young children.
Others may feel that they are stuck with the same work patterns with no opportunity to change practice or reflect on what is going on in their own setting or elsewhere.
Not having the time to see what else is happening is a major barrier, but an additional barrier may be that you do not know where to start to look for the information you are after. The following question and answer section puts some perspective on why it is important that you are up to date with developments in practice and policy in our sector.
Q Why is it vital for my setting to keep up to date with current thinking, policy and practice?
A The children's sector has been subject to much change over the past few years and it is vital for practitioners to be aware of changes at central Government and local Government level that will affect the way they work.
In addition, when parents read about new initiatives for the early years you are likely to be the professional they seek more information from. You need to be able to explain, for example, how some free nursery education places for two-year-olds might apply to them or at least know where they can find out more. It is not the case that you need to know all there is to know about the sector, but being aware of what is happening is important, and if there is something in particular that affects your work you need to know where to seek out more details.
It is also worth being aware of Government consultations as they will give you an idea of what new initiatives are being proposed, and give you the chance to respond to the proposals. For instance The Sure Start Unit has launched a consultation called Childcare: extending protection and broadening support. The consultation outlines proposals for an approval scheme which will extend the availability of tax credits to a range of childcare provision, including care in the home and group-based care for over-eights - for which parents are unable to claim under tax credit legislation. For more information see www.surestart.gov.uk/communications/consultation. You can have your say on the Government's plans by answering the consultations on line or speaking to your membership organisation to filter your points into their larger response.
Q Why should I constantly evaluate and adapt my practice?
A Reflection and self-evaluation is part of the journey of quality for settings. This is incredibly important to ensure that the service you are providing meets the needs of the children, families and staff in the setting.
This process will also support staff appraisals and continuing professional development plans. As a practitioner in a setting or a manager of a setting, self-evaluation and reflection will give you the information about what works and what should be kept the same, what to change and how to involve children and parents more in the decisions that affect them.
Furthermore, this will support the setting during Ofsted inspections and work towards your quality assurance scheme. Some schemes have already been given the Investors in Children (IiC) endorsement, a Government initiative to help parents identify quality settings. For more information on IiC go to www. surestart. gov.uk/ensuringquality/ investorsinchildren.
Q In what areas should I keep up to date?
A It is easier to focus on the areas of information that are important to you. You can't know everything about everything! However, reading Nursery World's news pages and special reports, getting a general monthly e-mail such as the Sure Start news or any of the national organisation's briefings will give you a synopsis of what is happening across the sector. Then you can delve into the particular area that is of most interest to you. For instance, changes to Ofsted inspection protocol are going to be relevant to all providers. Or perhaps news of new initiatives on listening to young children may interest you and help you develop your practice, such as Listening as a way of life published by the National Children's Bureau.
Q Why are international perspectives useful to me?
A English policy in early years is often seen as playing catch-up to other European countries. A good example of international work is that of the Australian studies on equalities in the early years and how practitioners have sought the views of young children on gender, race and disability and what methods they have used to explain such issues. In particular the work of McNaughton, G (2003) Eclipsing voice in research with young children in the Australian Journal of Early Childhood 28, 1, 36-42 is a useful example.
(See www.aeca.org.au/pubs_ subs_ajec.htm).
However, it is often important to look closer to home and see how policy in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland may influence future policy changes. The prime example of this is the 'Learning Country' which looks at the Welsh Foundation Phase from three to seven years rather than England's three- to five-year stage.
Current sources of information
In 2003-04 the Early Childhood Unit at the National Children's Bureau embarked on a Sure Start funded project to identify how early years practitioners were accessing information and what medium of information was most useful to them. The findings, the results of a national questionnaire from various professions in the early years sector, showed some interesting patterns.
Findings included how practitioners:
* keep up to date with practice and policy at the moment
* use the internet.
A significant number of participants called for more seminars and conferences. The opportunity to meet with other colleagues and ask questions was rated very highly. However, choosing the 'right' conference and the current prices of some events means that not all practitioners can access this medium of information.
In terms of how practitioners like to receive information the resounding call was for paper-based materials, with Nursery World quoted time and time again.
However, the usage of downloads from the internet was limited to Government sites and little evidence was shown of practitioners broadening the horizons of material available to them. Many practitioners commented on how little time was available to 'surf'.
More time and funding
As the Government moves towards e-learning, it is important that this method suits the sector. Ideally, early years practitioners would have non-contact time in which they could access the internet and get more information about specific subject areas such as listening to children under three. This may be achievable for practitioners working in a well-supported, properly staffed and well-funded setting, but it does present problems for self-employed practitioners and those that are not supported in accessing more information during their own working hours.
There may be opportunities to find funding for equipment and training from your local authority or through the local learning and skills council. In addition, many voluntary organisations have learning support for using computers and the internet.
Two points of contact for advice and possible funding are: Learning and Skills Council, tel: 0870 000 2288, www.lsc. gov.uk/National/default.htm, and Learn Direct, tel: 0800 100 900, which also provides advice in Punjabi/Urdu on 0800 093 1333, Bengali/Syhleti on 0800 093 1444, and Somali 0800 093 1555, www.learn direct-advice.co.uk.
Also contact your local authority early years department and ask for their advice on possible funding for computers and staff training.
Changing times
As the sector moves towards a one-stop family service in the shape of Children's Centres, practitioners are going to need more information about a broader subject range to be able to support parents and families and to understand the roles of their new colleagues.
The childcare sector is a developing one and so is often subject to new initiatives. It is sometimes hard to keep up with changes in Government policy, especially if you are new to early years and childcare.
The Sure Start Unit now has responsibility for Government childcare and early years policy and its website (www.surestart.gov.uk) provides a huge amount of information on the various strands of Government policy, such as extended schools, early excellence centres, neighbourhood nurseries and recruitment and retention.
In February 2004 the Sure Start Unit published Working Together: A Sure Start guide to the childcare and early education field, a 43-page guide to 'who does what' in early years. It includes sections on:
* Sure Start services: different types of daycare and early education
* Early Learning: Birth to Three Matters and the Foundation Stage
* Sure Start partners: local authorities, Children's Information Services, Government departments, etc
* Jobs and careers in childcare: jobs in group settings, childminding and home care
* Information for parents: sources of help and information for those practitioners advising parents on childcare and early education
* Examples of good practice
* Contacts and resources.
Working Together may be downloaded from www.surestart.gov. uk. Free copies may be obtained from DfES Publications on 0845 60 22 260 or e-mail dfes@prolog.uk.com, quoting reference SSWT0304.
Information on Parliamentary proceedings including Hansard reports and Select Committees can be found at www.parliament.uk. Reports in Hansard can be found on www.parliament.uk/ hansard/hansard.cfm.
The 4 Nations Child Policy Network website contains information on the latest policy developments relating to children and young people in each of the four nations and across the UK at www.childpolicy.org.uk/enghome/index.cfm.
