early years alliance - Under 5

Taking the lead: the role of a designated lead for safeguarding in the early years

sarah.evans — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 11:27:26 +0000

Rachel Buckler, managing director at Safeguarding Training Ltd and co-founder at the Early Years Hub, explains the role of a designated lead for safeguarding in the early years.

This article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of Under 5. Find out more and subscribe to the magazine here.

Throughout my career within the early years, I have spent a significant amount of time undertaking designated lead responsibilities for safeguarding and child protection. My experience has included managing single site settings, groups of nurseries and multiple children’s centres on a citywide basis for a local authority.

Whatever the position, the duties of a lead officer or practitioner always come with challenges – and of course huge responsibility. As someone who currently works supporting others in the sector, I acknowledge that this role is even becoming more demanding. The current climate within children’s services, social care and society generally impacts this role significantly. There are new considerations that reflect the modern complexities that now exist in the areas of child protection in a way that we have not seen before.

Changing landscape

The latest figures from the government (Characteristics of children in need, 2017-18) show a year-on-year increase in the percentage of children on child protection plans. The term “toxic trio” is often used to describe the main parental risk factors – namely substance abuse, domestic abuse and poor mental health. These factors impact negatively on the lives of children substantially and the risk is said to be increasing.

Last year, the children’s commissioner produced the Vulnerability Report, which estimated that there are now 300,000 children aged five or under “living with an adult who experiences domestic violence and abuse” and 180,000 children under five “living with an adult who is dependent on drink or drugs”. The report also said that the number of children “living with an adult who experiences severe mental health” is rising, with 470,000 currently in this situation. These figures are of course likely to be even higher if we consider children and families not known to services and therefore not recognised statistically.

"The role of the designated lead for safeguarding and the extent to which this role is undertaken purposefully and effectively has never been more important."

We must acknowledge the current difficulties within social care and how they impact upon our work with vulnerable children and families. The role of the designated lead for safeguarding and the extent to which this role is undertaken purposefully and effectively has never been more important.

The role of safeguarding lead

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) makes it clear that a “practitioner must be designated to take lead responsibility for safeguarding children in every setting”. This includes childminders, who must take lead safeguarding responsibility themselves.

The lead safeguarding practitioner has clear and distinct responsibilities including:

Liaising with statutory children’s services and the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB), soon to become Safeguarding Partners
Providing support, advice and guidance is they are responsible for staff. This should be on an on-going basis and cover specific safeguarding issues as required.
Attending a child protection course that enables them to identify, understand and respond appropriately to signs of abuse and neglect.

Those who are working in settings or schools must observe the government’s Keeping Children Safe in Education statutory guidance. This was updated in September 2018 and refers to the designated safeguarding lead as being “an appropriate senior member of staff” and says that the role should be “explicit in the role holder’s job description”.

This captured an interesting development suggesting that the distinct expectations of this important function were clear and defined contractually. It describes further that these responsibilities include liaising with the local authority and working with other agencies in line with other government guidance – Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018.

Compliant and capable

While meeting the expectations set out in both government guidance and legislation, the role of a safeguarding lead also requires leads to develop the skills and competences that make them effective in their role and not just compliant.

A capable lead will have a good understanding and sound knowledge of what risks may present to children and how this may be manifested. They will underpin their implementation of policies and procedures with clarity and good communication systems so that everyone, including staff, parents and children, can engage in processes that safeguard and protect all children.

Those managing staff will need to make possible opportunities for them to learn to become competent practitioners by helping them to identify abuse and neglect by encouraging them to respond appropriately as soon as concerns arise. An efficient lead practitioner will always lead by example. Their practice should demonstrate a child-centred approach at all times. This should be reflected in their decision making, professional judgements an will ultimately be driven by their desire to achieve the best possible outcomes for the child through the actions they take.

Be the best: sharing early years excellence

Rachel will be appearing at the Alliance’s annual conference on 31 May 2019. She will cover recent changes to LSCBs, due to come into place in September, and other updates.

Find out more and book your place

Find out more

The Early Years Hub delivers safeguarding and child protection training. Their Safeguarding Hub offers on-going support, advice and tools design to help keep early years practitioners and leaders up-to-date on all things safeguarding and child protection.

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Under 5

Q&A: Lisa Potts

rachel.lawler — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 15:34:05 +0000

This article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of Under 5. Find out more and subscribe to the magazine here.

Lisa Potts is a former nursery practitioner who was injured in July 1996 while protecting children at St Luke’s Primary School in Wolverhampton from a machete attack by a man with severe paranoid schizophrenia. Aged just 21 at the time, Lisa suffered severe cuts to her head, back and both arms. Three children and three other adults were also injured, but all survived the ordeal, which began as the setting as enjoying a teddy bear picnic outdoors. Lisa was awarded The George medal for bravery in recognition of her heroic response.

Lisa has since retrained as a counsellor and in 2001 launched her own charity, Believe to Achieve. She now works as a health visitor and inspirational speaker. Lisa Potts will be opening the day at the Alliance’s annual conference and sharing her inspirational story with us on 31 May 2019.

What made you decide you wanted to work in the early years?

I had always wanted to work with children – my mum worked as a Sunday school teacher and I used to help out. I’d also started babysitting. So after I left school I completed an NNEB diploma at a local college and qualified as a nursery nurse. I started work as a nanny shortly afterwards, which I loved. I then started working in a private nursery in 1994, before moving into education.

What was your experience like at St Luke’s?

It was while I was working part-time supporting a reception class that I began volunteering at St Luke’s. For about six months, I used to get the bus there to join the afternoon sessions, before I started work full time at the nursery. We used to have 30 children in the morning and 30 children in the afternoon.

I absolutely loved working with the children – in everything I did from nannying through to working at the school. I really loved it!

How did the 1996 attack change your career?

I’d been working at St Luke’s for about 18 months when everything happened and after about six to eight months, I decided to go back. I loved my job but I struggled – I had several injuries still and I was often invited out to various awards and of course there was the trial. [The attacker was detained indefinitely in a secure mental health hospital in 1997.}

So I decided to take some time out and left St Luke’s the following year. After that I did a lot of charity work. I worked with Oxfam in Vietnam and helped build a house for children in Romania. I also wrote two books – Behind the Smile and a children’s prayer book – Thank You God.

Have you worked with children in the early years since?

In 2001 I set up my charity Believe to Achieve, and this work is still on-going although we tend to work with slightly older children aged eight to 11 in Wolverhampton schools. It’s about helping children to believe in themselves, through healthy living and developing a healthy mind.

After a while, I went back to college and completed a diploma in counselling in 2004 and started work at a Sure Start centre, doing a lot of family support and work with teenage pregnancies. I also got married and had my two children.

Then, in 2010 I took the plunge and went back to university to train as an adult nurse. I have been working as a health visitor for about five or six years now.

How does this compare to your previous work in the early years?

I work with families of children aged under five, so I am doing a lot of similar work. I do all the post-natal checks with young children, as well as checking up on the mental health of new mothers. I am at an advantage really with my background in the early years – I know all about children’s development and what stages they should be at! I still love working with children and I really love making a difference.

Do you still think that the early years are important?

Absolutely, those years from birth to age five are so important. Children are like little sponges at those ages and that’s when you are really shaping a child’s mind. At Believe to Achieve we talk a lot about healthy minds and mindfulness. It’s a real trend at the moment but it’s important.

We need to help children, and their parents really, learn to live in the here and now instead of worrying about the future or the past. If children can learn to be in the here and now, they can take this skill with them for the rest of their lives.

Be the best: sharing early years excellence

Lisa Potts will be opening the day at the Alliance’s annual conference, and sharing her inspirational story with us on 31 May 2019.

Find out more and book your tickets here.

Under 5

Q&A

World Book Day: how to make a great book corner

rachel.lawler — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 10:58:15 +0000

Melanie Pilcher, quality and standards manager at the Alliance, shares some ideas for creating a book corner, or story area, to help encourage children to develop a love of books and reading. This is an extract of an article that originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of Under 5 magazine.

A designated book-corner or story area is an important element of continuous provision. It should be laid out in such a way that children and adults will want to visit it frequently. Practitioners must ensure that it is planned and maintained, with new books added often and damaged books removed. Practitioners should also model behaviour they want to see in the book corner, treating books with the care and respect they deserve.

The right place

It is also important to reflect upon who uses your book corner and when – for example, if boys only tend to do so during designated story times when they are directed to. Think about how you can encourage these children to use it more, maybe making the theme more appealing to their current interests.

Put your book corner in a space that is relatively quiet, away from areas of high traffic, such as the route to the bathroom.
Think about how books are stored and displayed – put some on shelves, some in racks and some in book boxes.
Make it accessible and welcoming so that children have room to gather in small groups, or to simply be still and quiet in their own way if they need to. For many children, the act of looking at a favourite book is calming and reassuring when they are feeling upset.
Don’t be tempted to fill the area with brightly coloured child-sized plastic furniture – it may appeal to an adult’s idea of what looks nice, but is quite often not really fit for purpose. A small adult-sized sofa and some comfy seating is ideal.
Soft cushions and rugs are great, if they can be easily cleaned.
Can children arrange the books as they wish? Are fixtures and fittings easily removed? Do they have ‘ownership’ of the layout?

The right content

Think about the type and range of books you have available. There should be a good mixture of picture books, big books, board books, lift-the-flap books, poems and non-fiction books, with lots of different print styles. Ensure that you include books that reflect diversity and inclusion, with plenty of positive images of people from different cultures and in non-stereotypical situations.

Books can be expensive, but there are means and ways of keeping a regular supply of new books coming in. Ask parents for donations of books, but set some criteria – you’ll want books that are in a good condition, covering a relevant topic and age-appropriate for the children in your setting. But while you are adding to your collection and making sure that there is always something new, don’t forget old favourites.

Some things to consider:

Children enjoy looking at photo albums – either sitting quietly alone or sharing memories with a friend or practitioner. Seeing photos of themselves and their peers encourages dialogue and helps them grasp the concept of time and the sequence of events.
Many settings use their book corner to display children’s work. This is fine as long as they don’t take over and help enhance the area.
You might want to explore themes from time-to-time. For example, you could add props for particular books or choose to highlight the work of a particular author or illustrator.

Where next?

Healthy and Active Lifestyles - top tips for early years settings

Plastic not so fantastic

Happy children — taking care of young people's wellbeing

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Under 5

Plastic not so fantastic

rachel.lawler — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 15:41:31 +0000

This article was originally appeared in Under 5 magazine.

Nobody can fail to have noticed the damage that waste, and plastic waste in particular, is doing to the environment. Plastic debris finds its way into the oceans of the world, it harms sea life and has created vast islands of floating waste, miles wide and far too big to remove. It is a problem that we must face up to now before it is too late.

There has already been some action taken to mitigate this problem in recent years. Micro-beads, which are used in many cosmetic products, are now banned after growing evidence that they were finding their way into the food chain. A 5p levy on plastic carrier bags in shops and supermarkets has seen a marked reduction in their use. The government has also pledged to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2024, where it is “technologically, environmentally and economically practical to do so”.

A long way to go

Even so, this is just the tip of the iceberg. For decades, plastic in its various forms has been seen as a relatively cheap and convenient way to package and display food products and other goods. It helps to keep food fresh, hygienic and displayed in such a way that it entices the consumer.

Plastic bags have become a marketing staple, ensuring that big brands have their logos and contact details displayed in every home and on every high street, reinforcing their message at every opportunity and hardwiring young brains to be customers for life.

Wasteful packaging on toys and other goods is equally culpable. Many toys and games that have little actual play and learning value are packaged in such a way that they sell a promise that even a young child’s vivid imagination cannot possibly recreate. No wonder then that so many parents say that their child had more fun playing with the box that a toy came in!

As early years practitioners, we have an important role to play in fighting back against unnecessary plastics. Leading by example, we can help children to make better choices that they will use throughout their lives. The influence we have on the environment now will have a significant and lasting impact.

Small steps to reducing plastic in your setting

So what can early years settings do? A good place to start is with an audit of your current use of plastic.

Ask yourself the following questions:

How many single use items do we use?
Do we really need all of these?
What can we re-use or recycle?
How much plastic do we throw away each week? Ask children and their families to set themselves a challenge to reduce waste.
Can we replace plastic bags with fabric ones, for example when children bring in their wellies for outdoor play?
How is our weekly food shop delivered? Can we bulk buy rather than having lots of smaller packets/cartons?
Do we use any disposable cutlery, plates or cups?
Do we really need all this glitter?

Above all, the important thing is to do something – even just making one change. Every small change you make now and every attitude towards waste that you can influence will go some way towards making a difference. It isn’t too late yet, but it soon will be.

Single use gloves for nappy changing

The average setting gets through approximately 12-15,000 single-use gloves each year. This is a huge amount of waste that could easily be reduced.

It is a myth that wearing gloves for nappy changing is an �°��ϲʹ�� requirement – it isn’t.

At a conference in Birmingham last year, a regional director stated that �°��ϲʹ�� “doesn’t care” whether or not practitioners use gloves and many settings have stopped using them as a consequence.

However, it is a requirement of the EYFS that “providers take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection” and �°��ϲʹ�� would expect to see that this is happening. Clinical guidance clearly states that single-use gloves must be worn when dealing with bodily fluids that may pose a risk of cross-infection. This includes faeces and diarrhoea, however a wet nappy does not usually pose a risk as urine is actually sterile.

Therefore, single-use gloves are not necessary when dealing with a wet nappy under normal circumstances but should remain available to all staff for dealng with other bodily fluids or when there is an outbreak of an infection.

How plastic waste in a nursery adds up

The small amount of plastic waste created every day can soon add up. Here is what an average 52-place early years setting would create each year, if open for 50 weeks:

Plastic item	per year	Opportunities to reduce or replace
Nappies	12,500	This is generally down to each parent's choice, but nappies do still generate a huge amount of waste each year. There are more eco-friendly options available that can be suggested to parents – including biodegradable or resuable nappies.
Nappy sacks	5,000	Is it really necessary to put every nappy inside a nappy sack? A tightly-wrapped wet nappy is usually sufficiently watertight. Of course, a soiled nappy may require a nappy sack to minimise odour or prevent the spread of diease.
Wipes (nappy changes)	37,500	Biodegradable wipes are available, although they tend to cost more. Consider how many you use for each nappy change, while still ensuring that children are thoroughly cleaned.
Wipes (hands/faces)	7,800	Soap and water, or tissue, can often be used instead.
Plastic aprons	5,000	Single-use aprons are necessary when there is a risk of cross-contamination, such as during an illness outbreak. But not always required for every nappy change. Consider a resuable alternative or biodegradable alternative.
Milk bottles	2,000	Some settings have negotiated with their supplier to get re-usable milk bottles. Ask yours or consider switching supplier if possible.
Plastic wallets	650	Often thrown out instead of being reused, consider how you use these in your filing systems.
Hand sanitisers	150	Many staff opt to carry one of these with them at work. Suggest they switch to soap/water where possible.
Glitter	6kg	This micro-plastic can enter the food chain and there are now some plastic-free alternatives available.
Laminating	200	Paper is recyclable – plastic pouches are not. Consider removing laminating from your displays.

Under 5

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Working for you - 2018 in review

sarah.evans — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 15:46:59 +0000

A look back at how the Alliance has been supporting the sector in the past year - this article originally appeared in our magazine for members, Under 5 magazine.

The Alliance often asks its members to share their views on upcoming changes and current concerns affecting the early years sector. Here are some of the ways we have responded to your feedback in the past year:

You said that the DfE’s cost template was not helpful for calculating the cost of delivering a funded childcare place…

In February, the Department for Education (DfE) asked providers to share evidence of how much it costs you to deliver a funded childcare place. However, many of you said that the form provided was too broad and would not offer an accurate assessment of the costs.

In response, the Alliance created its own cost calculator that you could use instead. Comprising a word document and Excel spreadsheet, it allowed providers to get an accurate estimate of the average hourly cost of delivering a funded place for different age groups. The DfE confirmed that it would accept evidence submitted using this format instead, giving them a more accurate assessment of average costs in the sector.

You said you needed help understanding how new data protection rules would affect your setting…

The General Data Protection Act (GDPR) came into effect on 25 May 2018. But in the lead up to this change, a snap poll on Twitter revealed that 79% of our followers didn’t even know what GDPR was and only 1% said that they were prepared for the new rules.

The Alliance launched a new course free to all members, Implementing the GDPR, in partnership with online training provider EduCare. We also created several mini-guides on the changes and a quick GDPR quiz, which are all available free for Alliance members in the members’ area of our website.

Alliance members can also access Law-Call, a 24-hour legal helpline, for support when implementing the regulations (please visit the members area to find their contact details).

You said that the current rules for claiming funding for related children for childminders were unfair…

At the moment, childminders are unable to claim funding for any children who are related to them, even though this is not the case in group setting, which can claim funding for children related to staff members.

Nearly 2000 childminders shared their views on this topic through our online survey in March. 31% of those that responded currently had a three- or four-year-old related child who was eligible for the 15 or 30 hours offer. 35% of those childminders’ related children were accessing their entire entitlement with a different provider, but most (90%) said that they would rather look after the child themselves if they could receive the funding.

Since then, the Alliance has been in regular contact with the DfE about this concern, and the results of the survey have proved vital to the discussions so thank you to all that responded. As always, we will let our members know as soon as we have any further updates.

You said that the stress of working in the early years was having a detrimental impact on your wellbeing…

In April, the Alliance launched a survey on mental health in the early years sector. The results were revealed at our annual conference in June, with 57% of practitioners saying that they had suffered from anxiety as a result of their work and a quarter saying they were considering leaving the sector.

The Alliance is now working with Department for Education and �°��ϲʹ�� on a new sector-led initiative to help reduce workloads, particularly administration, for early years practitioners, which we’ll be announcing more about soon. We’ve also pulled together all resources we have on promoting positive wellbeing in the early years – including a mini guide to paperwork, a business plan and budget, and several blogs and articles – into one convenient location on our website, here.

You said that funding for the 30-hours offer continues to be a real concern…

Since its launch in 2017, the 30-hours offer has attracted criticism from the sector, particularly surrounding funding rates, which the government currently plans to freeze until 2020. With rising costs, including the national living wage which is due to increase to £9 per hour in 2020, many providers argue that this is unsustainable.

The Alliance has continued to campaign on this issue. As a founding sponsor of the APPG, we helped host a Lobby Day in Parliament in July where more than 100 childcare providers met with their MPs and peers to discuss their concerns.

We asked for your views in August to mark the first anniversary of the 30-hours scheme in September. We also surveyed Mumsnet users to hear about parents’ experiences of the offer. Almost half of the providers who responded (48%) said that they had increased their fees as a result of the offer, while 45% of parents asked said that they had been asked to pay increased fees for non-funded hours since the introduction of the offer.

We shared these results far and wide, with chief executive Neil Leitch appearing on BBC Breakast, news bulletins and The Victoria Derbyshire Show. The story also appeared in The Independent, The Financial Times and many other national news outlets, helping to raise awareness of our concerns.

We’re continuing to campaign relentlessly in this issue, both through the APPG and beyond, with the help of near 7000 Fair Future Funding campaign supporters.

What next?

As we head into 2019, the Alliance will continue to support the early years sector through all the challenges it faces. If you’d like to share your experiences on thoughts on any of these concerns, please get in touch at feedback@pre-school.org.uk

Our Fair Future Funding campaign will continue to call for an annual review of the free entitlement funding levels and better data on the cost of delivering funded places.

How can I help?

If you’d like to support the campaign, visit our campaign page to:

sign up as a supporter
encourage parents to join as parent supporters
download a template letter to help you write to your local MP and a 30-hours factfile to help inform your arguments about the 30 hours offer

This article originally appeared in the Alliance's Under 5 membership magazine. Find out more about the magazine, request your free taster copy, or sign up to the newsletter mailing list here

Alliance members can also read the latest issue of Under 5 online by logging in to their members' area, here

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Under 5

Q&A: Tracy Brabin

rachel.lawler — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 10:41:06 +0000

Editor Rachel Lawler speaks to Tracy Brabin, shadow early years minister, about Labour’s proposed plans for the early years sector. This piece originally appeared in the November/December issue of Under 5 magazine, which is available for Alliance members to read online in the members' area.

The Labour Party has promised a “radical expansion” of the current government’s childcare offer if elected at the next general election. The party says that its plans will help to “dramatically raise standards of childcare” in England.

First unveiled in a speech by leader Jeremy Corbyn at the party’s national conference in September, the plans include:

an extension of the 30-hours offer to all two-, three- and four-year-olds
an increase in the funding rate to £7.35 an hour
a subsidy for additional hours purchased by parents, with low-income families paying nothing and those on the highest incomes paying up to £4 an hour
creating a new online portal for all funding, which will be paid directly to providers
a requirement for all practitioners to have at least a level 3 qualification, or be working towards one
an increase in the number of staff qualified to level 4 or above from 20% to 45%
a move towards a “graduate-led workforce”
establishing a national pay scale for early years staff
introducing a requirement for one SENCO for every 100 children
recruiting 150,000 additional staff over seven years to help increase the ratio of staff to children.

Corbyn said: “Opportunity matters most in the earliest years of life. It is a crucial time to open up children’s life chances. Driving up standards of childcare will make that vital difference for millions of children.”

Under 5 has spoken to Tracy Brabin, shadow early years minister, for some more detail on these proposals and how the party plans to bring about these changes if elected.

The current 30-hours offer has come under criticism from many providers. Do you think the Labour Party’s scheme will get a better response?

I fully understand that many providers have found the introduction of the government’s 30-hours policy difficult. I’ve been one of your biggest supporters in your campaigning efforts for support and a better deal. And those meetings I’ve held and those visits I’ve made have informed an important part of our policy making process.

We’ve really listened and produced an exciting package of policy which pays providers a fair rate – £7.35 an hour, provides for families with the introduction of subsidised childcare and makes sure that no child is left behind by making our funded hours universally available.

It's for all these reasons and more that I believe that we’ve had an excellent response from the sector so far, and if in government, those same policies will prove popular in practise.

Do you think Labour’s new policy will be beneficial for children?

Absolutely. We have a social mobility crisis in this country. There’s concrete evidence to show that children who show up to their first day of school, having already fallen behind their peers, may never catch up.

I’ve said many times that when in government, I’ll put opportunity at the heart of what we do. Better paid staff to help with retention, higher funding rates to support providers and transitioning to a graduate-led workforce are all intended to help children achieve as much as possible in the early years and beyond.

Of course, the biggest single difference is that our funded hours will be available to all children, meaning the poorest – who are often the very ones who benefit the most from early years education – are no longer excluded.

How much do you estimate that this policy will cost?

We’ve been very open and transparent about the figures. We’ll invest an additional £5.3 billion a year in the early years. That’s £500 million on Sure Start and £4.8 million on extending the 30-hours offer, transitioning to supply-side funding, introducing subsidised childcare and more.

It sounds like a life-changing amount and it is. We’re incredibly proud to be the only political party offering this investment in our future generations.

How will the subsidised childcare offer work in practise?

Labour will be providing subsidised support for the hours that families require. We won’t put an upper limit in place because we know that families will use what’s best for them and their children. It will be up to PVI settings to decide whether they want to partake in government policies, including free hours and subsidised childcare. I certainly expect that the majority will offer these incredible opportunities.

Will early years settings be able to charge for additional services?

Additional costs on funded hours is certainly something I am very aware of –providers have told me that they wouldn’t be in business without them, but on the other hand I’ve had families tell me that they struggle to take advantage of funded hours because of them.

The truth is that this is something we’re still looking at and considering. We should have an answer soon, but I would say that I think the funding on offer is a very significant uplift and I certainly wouldn’t expect the need for additional fees to be as high.

How does Labour plan to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

I’ve heard some truly heart-breaking cases of children who have high levels of need being sent straight to the bottom of the waiting list and staying there. That’s not right and it has got to stop. But equally, we need to make sure that settings have the right resources in place to support these children.

Our modelling shows that one special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) per 100 children would sufficiently cover all children in receipt of Disability Living Allowance, as well as being able to support children with additional needs that have not yet been diagnosed.

This bold policy will radically change and improve SEND provision in the early years.

How will you support current staff that aren’t yet qualified to level 3?

Current staff working in the sector are absolutely crucial to our plans. Their experience and passion must be retained. I’m aware that 79% of staff in group-based settings are already qualified to level 3, and there aren’t going to be any sudden, overnight changes.

As the funding rates are increased, we’ll give settings the opportunity to invest in upskilling and training staff. This will take place over several years and qualifications are unlikely to become compulsory until the last two years of the seven-year transitional period.

How do you plan to increase the number of staff qualified to level 4 and above?

I think having more staff in training and trained to a higher level is good for children and supports staff so they enjoy their work and perform better. It’s a win, win.

There’s also clear evidence that having higher qualified staff improves outcomes, which is in everyone’s interest. But we also want to promote the early years as a career choice and improving training opportunities is a great way of doing that.

Likewise, how do you plan to ‘shift to a graduate-led workforce’?

Much like with the level 3, there won’t be any sudden changes out of the blue. There will be time for these changes to be implemented.

For graduates entering the workforce, they need to know there will be jobs for them once they’re qualified and with the increased funding there will be. We also need to make sure there are progression opportunities for graduates.

But there is a wider opportunity here to really sing about how rewarding a career in early years education is – much like what already exists for teachers. Alongside increasing job opportunities and pay, we need to encourage the best and brightest to come and stay in the sector. I believe with our policies we have a real chance of achieving that goal.

Do you plan to consult with the sector further?

Of course. We’ve laid out our intentions for government, but we are absolutely determined to get this right. I’m hoping to survey settings soon. I regularly meet with key stakeholders, including Neil Leitch from the Alliance, and visit settings across the country.

What I would say to anyone reading this who has something to say about our proposals is: please don’t be a stranger. My email address is tracy.brabin.mp@parliament.uk and I’m always happy to listen. The response to what Jeremy Corbyn laid out has been overwhelmingly positive but I know that this brilliant early years sector is diverse in the way it works and it’s requirements and I am always happy to listen.

This article originally appeared in the Alliance's Under 5 membership magazine. Find out more about the magazine, request your free taster copy, or sign up to the newsletter mailing list here.

Under 5

Q&A

Vaccinations - Keeping your setting safe

sarah.evans — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 16:31:18 +0000

Alliance quality and standards manager Melanie Pilcher explains why vaccines are so important for young children. This article originally appeared in our Under 5 magazine.

“One of the greatest breakthroughs in modern medicine” – that’s how the NHS Choices website describes vaccination. The practice has brought an end to incurable diseases including smallpox, which was officially eradicated in 1980, and polio, which has seen a 99% reduction in the number of cases reported worldwide. Despite this, recent years have seen a trend for parents opting out of vaccinating their children. If this continues, we could be only a few steps away from seeing some of these deadly diseases return.

Although claims that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine can cause autism have been completely discredited, concerns amongst parents about its safety continue to impact on use of the vaccine. Children should have two doses of the MMR before they start school, but while take-up rates on the first dose have recently hit the 95% target, only 87.6% are currently having both before they reach the age of five. This is significant when you consider that outbreaks of a disease become more likely if coverage falls below 90-95%.

The World Health Organisation recently reported that the “interruption of endemic transmission of measles has been achieved” in the UK – which in other words means that the disease is no longer able to spread here. However, last year, Public Health England issued a warning after 20 cases of measles were confirmed in south-east England.

Meanwhile, confirmed cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, another disease preventable with a vaccination, have risen in recent years. According to the University of Oxford’s Vaccine Knowledge Project, there were more than 6,000 confirmed cases in 2016 – up from less than 500 in 2002.

What does this mean for early years practitioners?

When children first start attending an early years setting, they will be introduced to a new group of young children from a range of different backgrounds. These children will spend time together for a significant proportion of each day. Young children have a relatively low state of immunity as they will have had only limited exposure to specific germs. This can make them more susceptible to infections and makes common childhood illnesses an inevitable part of life in an early years setting.

Despite your best efforts to maintain good hygiene practice and uphold procedures for outbreaks of illness, there will be times when children have to be temporarily excluded when poorly. You will need to take steps to manage outbreaks of common childhood illnesses. Settings should also make plans for what to do in the case of an outbreak of a serious disease.

Keeping good records

It is best practice for early years providers to maintain a record of the vaccinations that children have had and to keep this information in their personal file, along with other important information – including any specific health needs. This record should be updated as further vaccinations are given.

It is important to remember that there will always be some children who will not be protected for some diseases. This could include:

children who cannot be immunised for medical reasons
children who are too young to be immunised
children who missed appointments, or were too ill when they were due to be vaccinated
children whose parents have decided against vaccination

For a few children, it might also be the case that a vaccination didn’t work for them, so even those who have been vaccinated will not always be protected.

It would be wrong for any early years provider to routinely refuse to offer a place to a child who has not been vaccinated. That said, parents should always be encouraged to have their child immunised to protect both their health and that of the other children in the setting. Any parent who is concerned about having their child immunised should be encouraged to talk to their health visitor or GP. The most important thing for you is to know the vaccination status of every child in the setting. This will be important information should there be an incident of a serious disease.

Notifiable diseases

Most of the illnesses routinely vaccinated against are known as ‘notifiable diseases’. This means that doctors or GPs who are presented with a case of one of these serious diseases, such as measles or diphtheria, are required by law to notify government authorities. This is so that they can monitor and intervene as appropriate in order to prevent an epidemic.

Responding to such an outbreak may involve Public Health England’s local health protection team. The actions they take might include alerting the general public, organising a vaccination programme or simply providing information and advice.

If a child attending your setting is diagnosed with a ‘notifiable disease’ then we highly recommend that you report this to �°��ϲʹ��. This is not the same as notifying a disease to the government, which is the responsibility of registered medical practitioners. If you are concerned about a child attending your setting who has been diagnosed with one of these diseases, you can also contact your local health protection team for further advice.

Notifiable diseases include:

Mumps

Measles

Whooping cough

Tetanus

Tuberculosis

Meningitis

Scarlet fever

View a full list on the government website here

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Why movement counts – a free book extract

How to be sun safe

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Best practice

Under 5

How to be sun safe

rachel.lawler — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 15:25:04 +0000

By Rachel Lawler

This article originally appeared in the May issue of Under 5 magazine.

Sunshine can feel like a rare treat in the UK. Warm, dry days offer a great opportunity to get out and about and explore your local area, without the need for coats and boots. But while everyone is keen to enjoy the sun while it’s here, early years practitioners must remember to ensure that children are enjoying it safely.

Not only can sunburn be painful and uncomfortable for children, but it can lead to more serious problems later in life. Skin cancer is currently the most common form of cancer in the UK, with rates still increasing. Around 100,000 new cases are diagnosed each year and seven people each day die from the disease.

Dr Anton Alexandroff, consultant dermatologist and spokesperson at the British Skin Foundation, explains: “It is very important to protect young children from excessive sun light exposure. It catches up with them years later and can cause problems later in life.” He also says that children need to be even more careful than adults when it comes to protecting their skin. “Children’s skin is thinner than adults’, so it is more sensitive to the sun.”

Take cover

One of the best ways to avoid sunburn is staying out of the sun during the hottest hours of the day – between 11am and 3pm.

Keeping children in the shade can also keep them safe. Dr Alexandroff says: “Children can safely enjoy being outdoors in sunny weather if they play in shaded areas or use sun protective clothing such as broad-brimmed hats, loose, long-sleeved tops and long skirts or trousers and sunglasses.”

Oversized t-shirts can provide great protection and there are swimsuits available with longer sleeves and shorts in UV-protective fabric for any water-based activities.

Trees and bushes can create lots of shade to play in, but if the shade available in your outdoor space is limited you could think about adding some parasols or an awning or building your own tents and shelters for the summer.

Use a high factor sunscreen

You may also choose to use sunscreen to keep children’s skin safe.

Dr Alexandroff says lotions with Sun Protection Factor (SPF) are safe to use on children from age six months and above. “It is important to use sunscreen with a high SPF for young children to reduce the risk of sunburn at the time of exposure, as well as the risk of skin cancers when children are older.”

He recommends lotions with SPF 30 or 50 for very sunny days.

“Sunscreen should be reapplied every four hours, or more often if children have been swimming, sweating or playing in water. Be sure not to forget certain parts, such as the ears, back of neck, hands and feet!”

Early years providers may want to request that parents supply their own preferred sun-cream. Where this is the case they must ensure that it is a suitable SPF, clearly labelled and in-date. It is fine to store it in a child’s day-bag, to go home each day, or if it is to be kept on the premises, it can be stored in the child’s basket/drawer as appropriate.

If the setting decides to supply sun-cream, parents should be informed of the brand, SPF and how and when it will be applied. In both circumstances, providers should obtain written permission to apply the sun-cream as required.

Most sun-creams have a shelf-life of up to three years, but NHS Choices recommends that it is replaced each year. If parents supply their own, give them plenty of notice.

There is no need to record each application of sun-cream, unless it is a medicated product, sometimes used for children with a skin condition such as eczema, in which case it must be recorded as with any other medication.

Children should be shown how to apply sun-cream correctly and older children should certainly be encouraged to ‘help’ apply it to their own bodies, with practitioners going over the exposed areas of skin to make sure that no areas have been missed.

Practitioners should also be sun-safe, applying sun-cream, wearing sun-hats or covering up too. It may be tempting to ‘catch a few rays’ on a sunny day, but remember that as ‘role-models’ to young children we should always lead by example.

Be careful with fair skin

Children with very fair skin will need to be more careful in the sun.

You may advise their parents to dress them in protective clothing that covers their arms and legs, while also using a high SPF sunscreen.

These children should also seek shade during the hottest hours of the day.

Babies younger than six months old should always be kept out of direct sunlight, particularly around midday.

Don’t forget that children with darker skin tones also need to be careful in the sun. Sunburn in darker skin may not look red but could simply be tender to touch or they may complain that it feels tight or itchy.

You may want to recommend parents get children sunglasses for the hottest days – they should look out for a CE mark on the glasses to ensure that they are offering sufficient UV protection.

To Vitamin D or not to Vitamin D?

Essential for healthy bone growth, vitamin D is an important nutrient for all growing children. It is usually sourced through a healthy, balanced diet and exposure to sunlight. However, in the UK it is difficult to get enough sunlight to prevent deficiency so the Department of Health recommends that all children under five are given a daily vitamin D supplement.

Sunscreen can prevent the skin from making vitamin D, but sun protection should take priority so should still be used to prevent sunburn.

“If parents are worried about their children’s vitamin D levels, suggest they speak with their doctor who can give further advice.”

Summary

Keep children out of the sun between 11am-3pm
Babies under six months should never be left in direct sunlight
Let children play in the shade instead
If your setting has little shade, put up tents, gazebos or awnings to allow for play in the shade
Children should wear brimmed hats and loose long-sleeved clothing
If splashing or paddling, children should wear longer-sleeved UV-protective swimwear. Or oversized T-shirts also provide good coverage
Use a high factor sunscreen (30 plus or 50 plus) applied every four hours — remember to put cream on necks, ears, feet, etc
You can ask parents to provide sunscreen, labelled with their child's name and kept in their day bag or drawer
You don't have to record the application of sunscreen unless it is a specially medicated suncream in which case you record as normal
Children need Vitamin D which you get from the sun but sun protection takes priority so you still need to apply suncream
Don't forget to lead by example and wear a hat and suncream yourself

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5 easy water play ideas

Under 5

Best practice

Myth vs fact: Data protection

sarah.evans — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 15:13:59 +0000

Rebecca Reilly-Cooper, senior policy officer at the Information Commissioner’s Office, clears up some common data protection myths in this piece, which originally featured in the Alliance's membership magazine Under 5.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is responsible for regulating, advising and providing guidance on the new enhanced data protection laws, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), that came into force on 25 May. We know that childcare professionals have had a lot of questions about what this means for them in terms of processing the data of children in their care.

The message in the run up to 25 May was and still is: don’t panic. 25 May wasn’t a deadline, so if you have been taking steps towards getting ready for the GDPR, then you are doing the right thing. It’s important to remember that this is an evolution of existing data protection laws under the Data Protection Act 1998, so if you have been processing information correctly already, there is no need to invest in new, expensive systems or start from scratch.

I want to set the record straight on some of the myths that have sprung up within the childcare sector.

Myth: GDPR has changed the rules for registering with the ICO

Fact: Under the new legislation, organisations that determine the purpose for which personal data is processed (controllers) must pay the ICO a data protection fee, unless they are exempt. These fees fund our data protection work.

The new data protection fee replaces the requirement to ‘notify’ or register, which was included in the Data Protection Act 1998. We have the power to enforce the 2018 Regulations and serve monetary penalties on those who refuse to pay their data protection fee.

Although the 2018 Regulations came into effect on 25 May 2018, this doesn’t mean that everyone has to pay the new fee from that date. Controllers who have a current registration, or notification, under the 1998 Act do not have to pay the new fee until their existing registration has expired.

Myth: Not-for-profit organisations do not have to register with the ICO

Fact: There is an exemption that means some not-for-profit organisations are not required to pay the data protection fee. But this applies only in very limited certain circumstances.

If you are processing personal data solely for the purposes of establishing or maintaining membership or support of a non-for-profit organisation, or to administer the activities of your members – and if you do not process any other personal data – then you are exempt from paying the fee.

But this is unlikely to apply to not-for-profit childcare providers, who will be processing the personal data of the children they look after. Therefore a not-for-profit childcare provider would still need to pay the fee to the ICO.

Myth: There are now different rules for paper and electronic databases

Fact: If none of your processing is carried out on a computer, then you do not have to pay the data protection fee. This includes any type of computer – laptop, desktop, tablet or cloud computing. It also includes other types of equipment which, although not normally described as computers, have some ability to process automatically. Examples include automatic retrieval systems for audio and visual systems, electronic flexi-time systems, telephone logging equipment, CCTV systems and smartphones.

In other words, if the only data you process is manual data – held on paper and not stored electronically – then you do not have to pay a fee to the ICO. But if any of your data is stored or processed electronically, then you will be required to pay the fee.

This has not changed under GDPR, a similar exemption existed for manual processing under the 1998 Act.

Myth: Small settings and childminders don’t need to pay the fee

Fact: If you are processing personal data for anything other than personal, family or household affairs, then you must pay the fee to the ICO, no matter how small the organisation or how few people you employ. This means that small settings and childminders, even if operating out of their own homes, must pay the appropriate fee.

There are three different tiers of fee, based on how many members of staff you have and your annual turnover. Micro-organisations – those with a turnover of less than £632,000 per year and no more than 10 members of staff – are in Tier 1, which means their fee is £40 a year.

Myth: Data protection legislation requires settings to hold on to data until a child turns 18 or 21

Fact: The GDPR does not set specific time frames on how long personal data must be retained. The law states that data must be retained for no longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. This leaves it open to organisations to determine for themselves how long it is necessary for them to hold on to data.

You will need to take into account any other legislation you might be subject to, as well as the advice of professional associations. Insurance companies may also have requirements or recommendations about how long you need to retain records.

Whatever retention period you decide upon, you should record this and inform data subjects in your privacy notice how long you plan to keep their data for.

Myth: You must ask for consent before sharing data with your Local Child Safeguarding Board

Fact: Sharing data with third parties does not always require the consent of the data subject. When it comes to safeguarding children, there are times when having to get the consent of the child, or the child’s parents, would be counterproductive. The Data Protection Bill contains a safeguarding provision that allows for data to be shared without consent in these circumstances.

This provision allows for data processing – which would include sharing – where necessary to protect a child from neglect and physical, mental or emotional harm or to protect the child’s physical, emotional or mental wellbeing.

Myth: Early years providers are going to be hit with huge fines

Fact: It is true that under GDPR, the ICO will have the power to impose much bigger fines than before.

But it is scaremongering to suggest that we will be making early examples of organisations for minor infringements, or that maximum fines will become the norm. The ICO prides itself on being a fair and proportionate regulator and this will continue under the GDPR. Our commitment to guiding, advising and educating organisations about how to comply with the law will not change.

More information

Visit the ICO’s website for more information, including a FAQs and self-assessment checklists as well as a dedicated advice line for small organisations. You can also sign up to the ICO’s newsletter for regular updates on guidance and details of their latest webinars.

This article originally appeared in the Alliance's Under 5 membership magazine. Find out more about the magazine, request your free taster copy, or sign up to the newsletter mailing list here

Alliance members can now also read the latest issue of Under 5 online by logging in to their members' area, here

Best practice

Policy

Under 5

Gill Jones: Focusing on the job at hand

rachel.lawler — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 13:00:41 +0000

This article originally appeared in the June issue of Under 5.

These are good times to be working in the early years sector. The quality of provision is very high. The most recent �°��ϲʹ�� statistics show that more than nine out of 10 nurseries, childminders and others on the early years register were judged good or outstanding at their last inspection.

The statistics also show that the overall effectiveness of early years providers at their first inspection has risen over time. In August 2012, 74% of them were good or better. Fast forward to today and that proportion is now 94%. The credit for this improvement clearly has to go to the managers and staff in nurseries and pre-schools. But I believe the accountability system also improves standards for young children; �°��ϲʹ�� has helped to make their early education better.

Knowledge base

Today, anyone working in the early years sector is able to benefit from a wealth of research about children’s development. When I started to work as a teacher in primary schools – not that long ago – staffroom discussions about neuroscience and cognitive psychology were not common. We now know so much more about how young children develop. I urge early years staff and managers to use that knowledge base.

Of course, a lot of research confirms what early years staff already know – that the way a young child develops in the first five or so years of life has a profound effect on the rest of their life. It’s not an exaggeration to say that these first few years determine, to a large extent, a child’s life chances as an adult.

The word gap

I’m sure you’ll agree, intuition tells us that poor language skills will limit learning. So, in April I was dismayed to read that the Oxford University Press had found that four out of 10 children had such a limited vocabulary that it was affecting their learning. Most of those surveyed – 86% of primary teachers and 80% of secondary teachers – responded that they thought it was very or extremely challenging for children with a limited vocabulary to read national test papers, and will therefore do less well in exams.

Researchers at Oxford University Press blamed this ‘word gap’ on too little reading for pleasure. So it’s really important that children develop a love of reading early in life. And we cannot assume that all parents are reading to their child at home every night.

"The reality is that the work you do has long-lasting effects."

This is where early years practitioners come in. It’s up to you, I believe, to instil a love of stories and reading among young children. The reality is that the work you do has long-lasting effects.

So this is not just about school readiness. Rather, it’s about encouraging children to enjoy language in a way that will serve them well at school and beyond. Of course young children need to be in a safe and happy environment before they can learn the basics of literacy and numeracy. That is why inspectors will always ask about disclosure and barring service documentation as soon as they visit childminders, nurseries and other types of early years settings.

Reducing regulations

That said, at �°��ϲʹ�� we are keen to keep regulations to a minimum. Just recently, we had a meting with United for All Ages about inter-generational care. Afterwards, we wrote guidance for inspectors to make clear in what circumstances we would register and inspect facilities that care for older people and young children, without imposing unnecessary burdens, while still also meeting our legal responsibilities.

Earlier this year, we abolished the self-evaluation form, which some early years providers has used to prepare for our inspectors. I do hope that the removal of this form has given early years managers a little more time to focus on the day-to-day job of looking after young children.

"...this is not just about school readiness. Rather, it’s about encouraging children to enjoy language in a way that will serve them well at school and beyond."

We are also currently working on improving the online registration service for childminders. The existing system can be confusing and does not work well on some devices and browsers. In designing the new registration service, we have carried out many hours of testing with childminders. And we’ve have a good response.

Rather than phoning us, which I know can be time-consuming, childminders will be able to use the new online system to pay their annual registration fee and keep us up-to-date. We are working hard on the new service, which will go live later this autumn. I expect that the current service will be switched off by this time next year.

This project is part of �°��ϲʹ��’s commitment to making your lives easier and allowing you to focus more on the job in hand. We will also be looking at what lessons can be learned to build similar online services for the nurseries and pre-schools run by Alliance members.

Find out more

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�°��ϲʹ�� chief comments on "school readiness" at Alliance conference

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