Reducing Educational Disadvantage: a Strategic Approach in the Early - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Reducing Educational Disadvantage: a Strategic Approach in the Early Years Penny Tassoni Author, Independent Education Consultant and Trainer #EYSat50

The Background Poverty has multiple, negative impacts on children’s outcomes leading to inequalities in health, cognitive development, psychosocial development and educational attainment. These inequalities are evident from preschool children through children during the school years, from entry into the labour market to resources for retirement, from mortality rates in later life, and often on to the next generation Impacts of poverty on children and young people Morag C. Treanor

Social mobility? Children who perform highly in ability tests in early childhood who are from low socio- economic backgrounds are repeatedly overtaken in ability tests carried out in later childhood by children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds who had performed less well in the early years Impacts of poverty on children and young people Morag C. Treanor

Lucky children have…  Strong relationships and time with adults  Opportunities to interact  Opportunities to share books  Varied experiences/ adult directed activities  Challenging play opportunities

Starting Points  Most practitioners want to make an active difference to children’s lives  It is important to recognise children at risk of educational disadvantage early on  Parents are a central part of this journey  Precise assessment is an important tool to work more strategically

Relationships  Secure key person relationships affect children’s willingness to communicate and engage with new activities  Good settling in systems are essential to supporting children and their families  It is also important to monitor the depth of children’s relationship with key adults in the setting

The Power of Language  Language changes the way that children process and store information  Language changes the way that children play  Good levels of language are associated with learning to read  Language is essential for writing  Lower levels of language are associated with poor behaviour and difficulties in concentration

Why language matters…  By 22 months – a child’s language development can predict outcomes at age 26  By ages 3-6 years - a child’s narrative skills are a powerful predictor of literacy skill at 8-12 years  By 4 years – the difference in the number of words children from disadvantaged backgrounds hear is 19 million  By 5 years – a child’s vocabulary will predict their educational success and outcomes at age 30. Early language: Facts and Stats, ICAN, August 2014

Interaction Matters?  Consider how many and the length of average interactions for children in your setting  Monitor those children who are not forthcoming and may not seek out interaction  Think about how you assess developing language

Stories  What are the benefits of a 1:1 story?  Could this become an essential part of an educational programme?  Could you develop tracking systems to support children’s progress?  Do you have sufficient high quality books?

Experiences  Different experiences build children’s language and vocabulary  They can enrich children’s play  What kind of experiences do you plan for children? e.g. cooking, posting a letter, gardening  Do you have a long term plan for such experiences?

Rhymes  Rhymes support children’s phonological awareness  How many rhymes will children in your setting know when they leave?  How do you track these?  How are they planned and shared with parents?

Mathematical Games  A range of games can help children’s concepts and skills  Is there a planned approach to ensure that children are learning through games such as picture lotto, snap or pairs  Are more challenging roll-a-dice games introduced?