Early Years Safeguarding
Ofsted data, published in November 2020, shows an alarming rise of 20% in non-accidental injuries to children under 12 months old measured from the first Covid-19 lockdown period starting in March 2020.
According to Ofsted, these children were either seriously injured or killed by a parent/carer.
In England, sixty-four babies were deliberately harmed and of these, eight infants died.
Ofsted describe this being due to a ‘toxic mix’ of ‘isolation, poverty and mental health issues’
Actions for Early Years Leads:
Do you:
Know who your vulnerable children are ?
If not currently attending early years provision, do you know where they are and if they are safe and well ?
Have you considered younger siblings in your assessment of the safety and well-being of vulnerable groups ?
Do you know where to access support and advice for children and families ?
Warwickshire Family Information Service is a great place to start.
New EYFS Framework
The new draft EYFS framework has now been published (Foundation Years website). This is available for one month from the date of publication for comment.
Changes to the current EYFS statutory framework are in red to highlight where the DfE are seeking views.
The new educational programmes and early learning goals (ELGs) are not in red as these are final government policy as confirmed following the full 12 week public consultation conducted in 2019.
Please note that DfE are not seeking further views on the changes to the EYFS framework that were confirmed in government's official response to the 2019 EYFS consultation as outlined previously.
Draft legislation to enact the changes
The DfE recently sought views from local authority representatives on amendments to The Early Years Foundation Stage (Learning and Development Requirements) Order 2007 (EYFS L&D Order 2007) in respect of local authorities obligations, to reflect the removal of statutory local authority moderation. Feedback has been carefully considered and the revised proposals have been reflected in the draft SI.
The draft statutory instrument (SI) has now been published on the Foundation Years website and will be available for one month from the date of publication for comment. The draft SI also covers the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA).
However, DfE are only seeking views on the EYFS aspects of the Statutory Instrument as the RBA aspects have been subject to a separate consultation process.
The draft EYFS framework and draft SI will be available for comment until 18 March 2021. Please send your comments to EYFSP.REFORMS@education.gov.uk
For more information, please refer to the following article on the Foundation Years website.