‘Journey to Outstanding may be harder’

• First gradings under new EIF show positive picture
• But RIs ‘likely to increase’ due to new ‘quality’ focus

Speaking at the Nursery World Business Summit, Pennie Akehurst, managing director of Early Years Fundamentals, said early analysis of inspections under the new Education Inspection Framework (EIF) painted an ‘encouraging picture’.

However, she warned that as the EIF ‘beds in’, the sector may see a rise in the number of ‘requires improvement’ (RI) outcomes due to the increased focus on the quality of teaching and learning.

The former local authority head of early years and childcare services revealed the results of her analysis of the first 254 PVI inspection reports published since the new EIF was introduced in September. The data showed a total of 82 per cent of providers had achieved a Good or Outstanding result, while 45 settings received an RI or ‘inadequate’ grade.

According to Ms Akehurst, the findings so far mirror results from the academic year of 2018 to 2019, but could shift, with the sector seeing more RI outcomes. She explained, ‘The pessimist in me would say I think we ought not to count our chickens just yet for a couple of reasons.

‘First, inspectors will still be finding their feet with the new inspection framework, which may mean more cautious judgements in the short term, which could change in the weeks and months that follow.

‘Secondly, there’s a much keener focus on the quality of teaching and learning in the new inspection framework. Inspectors are taking a really good look at what we do, how we do it, and more time is being spent observing practice. Therefore we could possibly see an increase in the number of settings that receive an RI judgement as a result of ineffective or inconsistent teaching. The journey to Outstanding could also be much more of a challenge.’

However, she explained, ‘Our normal sample size is between 600 and 800 inspection reports per term, so this is a third of one term’s data and very much an emerging picture.’

BEFORE AND AFTER

Ms Akehurst also compared the grades acquired under the new EIF to the same settings’ previous grades before the introduction of the new framework (see chart). She said this type of data provides an ‘invaluable insight into how the sector copes when there are significant changes’.

The findings showed that 65 of 83 (78 per cent) Good settings retained their inspection outcome, while only 18 of 63 (29 per cent) Outstanding settings managed to do the same – so only 7 per cent of the 254 settings were Outstanding.

On the other hand, the majority of those with an RI or ‘inadequate’ rating under the previous framework improved their grade under the EIF.

Ms Akehurst said, ‘This is significant because when a setting receives an RI outcome, local authorities are strongly encouraged to remove two-year-olds’ funding unless there is an under-supply in that particular area, and in cases where settings receive an “inadequate” outcome, local authorities have a statutory duty to withdraw all funding. So, it’s pleasing to see that so many settings have found a way of managing these financial penalties and are able to ride out the storm until their next inspection.’

A significant proportion of settings that were new to the sector, and so were not previously inspected (NPI), were able to achieve a Good or better inspection outcome.

Source: Pennie Akehurst

RECOMMENDATIONS

Early Years Fundamentals also analyses the actions and recommendations made by inspectors in reports to identify where there may be gaps in knowledge across the sector, where large numbers of settings are struggling to implement practice effectively and when Ofsted has refocused its energies on specific areas of practice.

The management of staff has remained the most frequently mentioned area of practice in RI and ‘inadequate’ reports for the past three terms, while safeguarding knowledge and practice and planning and challenge have consistently been among the top three issues for practitioners.

However, Ms Akehurst added, ‘What is unusual is that we have already seen more issues around curriculum knowledge and delivery and the management of behaviour than we would usually see in a term’s worth of data.’

In the moment planning

With a growing focus on the quality of teaching and learning under the EIF, Ms Akehurst also addressed issues affecting planning and challenge.

‘We’re starting to see a number of issues emerging with regard to in-the-moment planning,’ she said. ‘The two main areas of concern are that children are not receiving a broad and balanced curriculum.

‘The second is that settings which are rigidly sticking to the in-the-moment-planning model have everything out in their environments all the time, which means they’re not always able to cater for children’s changing interests or able to add enhancements to the environment to extend learning.’

Behaviour and language

Ms Akehurst is not surprised by the growing number of actions and recommendations relating to behaviour, which now sits alone in the EIF, and communication and language, which is also given greater focus in the framework.

On the behaviour and attitudes judgement, she later told Nursery World, ‘There is a pressing need for settings to ensure that the Characteristics of Effective Learning play a crucial role in how children are supported, and that staff understand the importance of self-regulation and executive function, which is a current area of debate in the EYFS consultation.’

And on communication and language, she explained, ‘There are two specific strands that are reoccurring – the first is about the way in which we support children to develop their communication and language skills, and the second is about the depth of practitioner knowledge. We therefore need to check just how much staff know and plan appropriate professional development opportunities to fill gaps in knowledge and understanding.’