The Advisory Teams

Our Main Responsibilities
How We Help Schools & Settings Leading Early Years Team
Early Years Foundation Stage Profile   
Early Years Pages last updated: 16 March 2010

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The Advisory TeamsEarly Years - Image © Aaron Whitney - FOTOLIA

Our Advisory Teams comprise of a multi-skilled team of advisers who can support practitioners across the full range of early years settings.

Our Main Responsibilities

As an advisory team our aim is to support schools, maintained nurseries, children’s centres and early years settings including childminders in providing all children with their entitlement to an uncompromisingly high quality of early education and care within an inspirational environment. We do this by providing advice, support and training for practitioners in Early Years.

We work collaboratively with colleagues across all relevant agencies and sectors, in order to ensure consistency of practice across Kent. We promote an increased awareness of the needs of all children 0-5 years and support practitioners in ensuring seamless progression from early years ' settings to school. Our team also includes the professionals supporting Out of School (OoS) provision for children up to the age of 12 (or aged 14 for children with disabilities). This team focuses on improving the quality of OoS provision by providing advice and support on playwork and childcare.

CHildren working

How We Help Schools and Settings

 Visits – to advise on:

  • The implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage
  • Continuing the Learning Journey – transition from foundation stage to key stage 1
  • The learning environment both inside and out
  • Learning and teaching
  • Curriculum developments and planning
  • Implementation and moderation of the foundation stage profile and Kent record of transfer
  • School/setting improvement
  • Observation and assessment issues
Training on all aspects of the Birth to Three and Foundation Stage provision
  • Sharing good practice
  • Early Years Twilights
  • Leading Early Years Team
  • Pre-school/school liaison
  • Cluster liaison  

Leading Early Years Team

Each cluster now has at least two members of the Leading Early Years Team representing schools and settings throughout Kent. We have also included a group of Child Minders as a pilot and are hoping to extend this group following the outcomes of this.

Training for the team has been provided to ensure that they can give the best possible support to each cluster. So far this has included an Induction session; Implementing Reflective Practice; the Development of Physical Skills and an Inspiration Day, which reflected upon the work of EPPE and KEEP considering how adults can enter a child’s world and support exciting, challenging learning.

This training has been very stimulating and given the team opportunities to network and ensure that they have a shared understanding of effective practice

A small amount of funding has been given to each member of the team to help them continue to enrich their learning environment and develop even more opportunities for the children within their settings.

Three Portfolios have been developed for East, West and Mid Kent demonstrating how this funding has been spent and what effect it has had on the learning environment. These portfolios will be displayed at Early Years training sessions and twilights.

The team not only demonstrate good practice throughout the county, but also enhance their own professional development and contribute to Early Years Projects and initiatives.

Every school and every setting have now been given a matrix of the team with names and contact details for the LEYT member within each cluster. All members of the team will welcome visits from Early Years colleagues

In order to arrange such a visit, telephone the LEYT directly to enable a focus and time for your visit to be agreed

Early Years Foundation Stage Profile

pdf logoKent Policy for Moderation of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile 

eProfile Software

Message from Judy Venner
Senior Adviser Early Years and Childcare & EYFS Profile manager

We have just had news that the updated version of the eProfile software is now available to download at:

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/EYFS/profile/eyfsppv31/ 

This link will take users to the dedicated eProfile website, with download instructions and access to the guidance manual.

There are several developments to the programme, a new helpdesk facility, expanded guidance material and central training support for local authorities who may not already use the programme.

Programme developments: Version 3.1 will run on most network configurations. The main menu screen has been updated, and the graphs and charts revised and relabelled. The facility to enter assessments prior to the Reception year has been removed. Detailed information is contained in the revised user manual.

Helpdesk facility: Local authorities and individual users can now have access to an eProfile helpdesk, which will provide responses to queries about the software. This helpdesk is provided by QCDA on behalf of DCSF and includes access to technical consultants. The contact details are below.

Helpdesk telephone: 0300 303 3011

Helpdesk text-phone: 0300 303 3012

Helpdesk email: eprofilehelpdesk@qcda.gov.uk

Expanded guidance material: The user manual previously available alongside the programme has been revised and expanded to include reference to a range of supporting material, advice on the use of graphs and charts, and technical reference material. In addition, the programme itself has an extensive "help" facility.

If you have any initial queries, please contact the eProfile helpdesk.

Word logoLetter to all Primary Headteachers to advise on moderation of EYFS profile

Word LogoInternal moderation guidance

Author: ASK  | Published: 15-8-08  | Updated: 19-5-09  | TOP