Early Childhood Development Programme Update
The ECD Programme has run for 4½ years, of the current 5-year funding allocation.
The focus for this phase is to ensure an effective handover of all strands of the programme (Making it REAL, Knowledge Makes Change and Outcomes Based Accountability) from NCB to Jersey based colleagues. Our ambition is for a sustainable legacy, with continued delivery of all strands, once funding ends.
NCB continue to work behind the scenes to identify further funding opportunities to enhance and extend the Jersey Early Childhood Development Programme. As part of this strategy, in partnership with UBS Optimus, a media publicity campaign is currently underway. This has started with sending a press release, celebrating the successes of the programme to date, to Jersey Media. We would like thank everyone involved in contributing to the support of this publicity campaign. Please do look out for stories in local press and please share them more widely.
External Evaluation
We are delighted to be successful in commissioning CREC (Centre for Research in Early Childhood) to carry out the external evaluation of the programme, which has begun this month. The first batch of data has been submitted and we will be arranging focus groups and interviews (possibly virtually) over the coming months.
Knowledge Makes Change Seminar
We are pleased to be able to offer an additional Knowledge Makes Change Seminar (our 11th), which will be held on a virtual platform at the beginning of November. Thank you to everyone who has sent in suggestions of themes. The overwhelming consensus was for a theme focusing on emotional/mental health and well-being linked with play and brain development, in the context of the impact of Covid-19.
Further details will be shared via the next update, through the KMC Newsletter and JCCT.
REAL Projects
We would like to thank all the teachers and practitioners that have been delivering REAL projects and particularly for sending project data to Kate at JCCT. The submission of data is much appreciated and helps us to evaluate the impact of Making it REAL and to plan for future support.
We know that the delivery of many projects has been affected by Covid-19 and hope that the socially distanced activity idea sheets were useful, we’d love to hear how they have been used to support children and families.
We are looking forward to projects starting up again and to meet the external evaluation schedule, we have set the following timeframes for delivery:
- For projects that started in Oct 19 or Feb 20 (Literacy and Maths) that were paused and are picking up where they left off with same children
o Project delivery to be complete by Oct ½ term
o Data / paperwork to be submitted by 2.11.20
- For new projects, where setting had funding but now need to re-start with new children
o Project delivery to be complete by end of Autumn term – 18.12.20
o Data / paperwork to be submitted by 4.1.21
Making it REAL Training
We are continuing to plan for the next phase of training delivery and are exploring ways that we can do this safely. Training delivery will re-commence in the Autumn term and there will be opportunities to participate in all elements of REAL (Literacy, Maths and Sharing REAL with Parents) along with opportunity to participate in ‘train the trainer’ sessions so that teachers and practitioners can learn how to cascade what they have learned to others.
Once confirmed, details of training dates will be published in future newsletters and Kate will also share via email.
To express an interest in any of these opportunities please contact Kate at JCCT – [email protected]
As nurseries re-open, Jersey pre-schoolers ‘ahead of the game’ from home learning
As nurseries have opened their doors again, many young children and parents in Jersey are better prepared to hit the ground running, after thousands have taken part in the Jersey Early Childhood Programme to build their home-learning skills in language, literacy and communication. You can read the full article here.
Government guidance for education and childcare: coronavirus (COVID-19)
Government guidance which applies to all schools, colleges, early years and childcare providers, including baby and toddler groups and those operating breakfast, after school and holiday clubs for children. There are specific sections of the guidance and additional considerations relating to early years settings; childminders and nannies; breakfast, after school and holiday clubs; school and nursery trips; baby and toddler groups. Read the full guidance here.
Government of Jersey Online Learning Platform
Work continues to develop and grow on the ‘Learning at Home’, Government of Jersey on line learning platform. The content and guidance here stems from collective work across the Department of Children, Young People, Education and Skills. This will continue to be revised and will grow and change across time, guided by feedback from you.
https://learningathome.gov.je/
The site contains many useful ideas, exciting activities and resources for home learning, as well as guidance and information for parents and carers.
Children and Families Hub Information Directory
A new online directory that includes more than 70 services that help children and families has been created on the Government of Jersey website, designed to help families find the right help for them and their children in the island. Currently, there are over 70 services in the Directory and new services will continue to be added. You can access the Directory homepage here.
COVID-19 Latest Information and Helpful Resources from the Jersey Safeguarding Partnership Board
The Safeguarding Partnership Board have added this page to the website amidst the COVID 19 pandemic, to ensure that islanders can access the most up to date information in a quick and easy way. The information on this page is for agencies, services, practitioners and members of the general public. You can view the page here
Research and practice from the UK and international contexts
Worlds of Influence: Understanding what shapes child well-being in rich countries
The UNICEF Innocenti Report Card series has led the way for the past 20 years in comparing children’s well-being across rich countries. Report card 16 presents evidence from 41 countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and/or the European Union (EU), including the UK, and finds that a new look at children from the world’s richest countries offers a mixed picture of their health, skills and happiness.
Read the full report here
What Makes an Effective Early Childhood Parenting Programme?
This report, by the UCL Centre for Teacher and Early Years Education, is a synthesis of the research evidence conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of existing parenting programmes. It seeks to address the questions of whether early childhood parenting programmes are effective in improving parenting and enhancing children’s development; and which factors of the programme design and implementation contribute to the successful outcomes of parenting programmes. Read the full paper here.
Partnership for Children free resources
Partnership for Children, a UK based charity that produces programmes for primary schools that teach children skills for life, has developed a selection of play-based activities to promote younger children’s social and emotional development during these challenging times. The activity cards are free to download and are designed for parents, carers and family members of children aged 3-5 years. Download the activity cards for free here
PedPods from Early Education
Early Education have a series of Pedagogic Podcasts featuring pedagogical conversations with early years leaders, teachers and trainers. All the podcasts are available to download for free.
World Nursery Rhyme Week is taking place during 16th – 20th November 2020, with free resources, videos and songs available on the website. You can register to take part here.
PACEY have a range of free CPD certified online training offering short, 10-minute courses that can be done on any device, at any time, covering a range of topics and aiming to help practitioners to support children better. Course themes currently available are: Let’s go outside; Personal Care; Songs; Stories; The rules and regulations; Time to eat; Transitions.
Requires registration, which is free. Explore the course themes here
A series of 10 free webinars are available to watch on demand, which aim to prepare educational staff of all levels, parents and carers for the return to school in the ‘new normal’. Topics include: Preparing for September: A SENCO’s guide; How to be resilient and how to teach resilience in these trying times; Working alongside parents of children with SEND; Preparing children and young people to return to school – making the transition.
Nasen (the National Association for Special Educational Needs) has some new free online training and CPD available, including:
- Family case studies
- Three Early Years transition webcasts and supporting documents
- Free webinar ‘Meeting the needs of every child’. This free to access 2-hour webinar will provide Early Years Practitioners with a thorough understanding of inclusive practice for SEND in Early Years settings. Various dates, registration required.
Childcare and Education Virtual Summit
The Childcare and Education virtual summit takes place on 19 September and all the seminars will be available to watch live or on demand. You can see the full schedule here. Please note there is a charge for this event (£28.80 for an all-access pass)
Thank you for reading.
KMC is part of the Early Childhood Development Programme. The programme is led by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) in partnership with the Government of Jersey and Jersey Child Care Trust, informed by the Education Department, Health and Community Services, the Best Start Partnership and the Jersey Safeguarding Partnership Board. The programme is funded by UBS Optimus Foundation UK.
KMC newsletters are compiled and edited by NCB on behalf of local partners. If you have any questions or comments about KMC, please contact [email protected]
