Babcock Early Years Consultancy Team
Newsletter 2: December 2021
Dear EYFS Colleagues,
What a term it has been! We were all hoping for a return to business as usual. We had an almost normal start, and we were enjoying being out and about supporting you with inclusion and other issues. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. We have all been affected in one way or another by the continuation of COVID and as we write this we have our fingers crossed for a normal Christmas and a positive start to 2022.
As a team we would like to thank you all, and acknowledge your persistence and resilience in responding to the challenges you have faced and will continue to face whilst working with our Devon early years children. Words alone cannot express our thoughts and feelings for you at this time but we do appreciate all that you do. We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a:
“Happy Christmas and New Year!”
Closing the Word Gap in the Early Years
The Closing the Word Gap in the Early Years training was first delivered face to face in autumn 2019 to over 150 delegates. In spring 2020 the training was adapted to enable remote delivery during the pandemic. During the past 12 months, 15 training sessions have been delivered to over 600 practitioners. The key messages in this training align with the aims of the EYFS reforms in improving outcomes in Communication, Language and Literacy and as we say “Putting language at the heart of the curriculum”. We hope that you are all familiar with our character AZ and that you “Model new words every day as you talk read and play”. All resources are available on our website and we will continue to develop more in the future.
Working Together: Progress Check and the Healthy Child Review
Thank you to those who attended the jointly delivered briefings and heard from our colleagues in Public Health. Let’s Talk More was paused during the first part of the pandemic and came to an end as an outcome of the Early Language Identification Measure (ELIM) screening being implemented by Public Health Nursing (PHN) as part of the Healthy Child Review at age two. The character AZ was adopted by PHN and Children’s Centres and “Let’s Talk, Read and Play” groups are offered to 2 year olds following a low score on the ELIM. The Let’s Talk, Read and Play parent packs with strategies for parents/carers to use to support their child’s speech, language and communication have the character AZ and the words on them. Settings are encouraged to support parents with the Let’s Talk, Read and Play strategies. Additional Working Together Briefings will be offered in the spring term.
Transition Document
Many children transfer from one setting to another at various points in the year. Following your requests, we have updated the Transition Document and it is available on our website.
EYFS Training Update
We have an exciting programme of training on offer for the spring and summer terms. We have responded to your requests for training in relation to the Understanding of the World and Expressive Art and Design education programmes. We are also offering a training linked to the EYFS reforms and the reduction in practitioner workload regarding life without Development Matters checklists. Look out for “Boosting your confidence in your own professional knowledge of children’s learning and development- Life without the Development Matters checklists”. All training can be booked via the Babcock LDP Shop.
Nursery Plus
Nursery Plus have updated their referral forms to meet the requirements of the revised EYFS. New referral forms and updated base information can be found on our website.
With very best wishes for Christmas and the New Year
Your Babcock Early Years Consultancy Team