Start Well Early Years Foundation Stage Offer for Childminders

Start Well are working in partnership with EYFS providers to deliver the Every Child training offer. The offer is intended to provide key tools to all providers of Early Years education to support every child and start to embed pathways.

There is excellent practice already in many of our schools and settings. The aim is to ensure all practitioners who may benefit have the opportunity to access the sessions as an introduction or refresher. We are building on good practice in Bolton and are confident that schools and settings will work together to facilitate roll out and strengthen capacity through supportive networks. This training offer is available for all practitioners and we are able to do this at no cost as schools and settings provide host venues.

The Start Well Service has developed three high quality resources ‘The Mark Making to Writing Journey’, ‘The Number Journey’ and ‘The Early Communication and Language Journey’ which provide a framework for development and an ongoing reference tool.

Copies can be purchased at £10 per copy with a minimum order quantity of two of any of the three resources in the series via the Start Well website.

Communication and Language Journey

This 2-hour, practical workshop will help you to support the communication and language development of children in the EYFS with support from the practical Communications and Language Journey resource. The course uses interactive teaching methods, practical activities and group discussion to engage learners.

During this course we will:

• Explore knowledge and understanding of typical communication and language development of children aged 0-7 years;
• Consider how we can identify children below or at risk of communication and language delay and so improve early identification;
• Explore practical advice and strategies to support parents and families;
• Consider how we can effectively target further assessments and interventions (such as WellComm, Language through Listening, Nursery Narrative and EYBIC);
• Explore how to make effective use of the Early Years Pupil Premium and Pupil Premium

Who is this course for?

All Practitioners working with children aged 6 months to 6 years and their families.

Mark Making to Writing Journey

This practical 2-hour course will help you to support children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to develop the physical skills needed to become confident writers and ultimately improve writing outcomes.

During this course, we will:

• Consider how indoor and outdoor learning environments can enable progress for all learners;
• Provide practical, low cost ideas to enhance your mark making and writing opportunities within continuous indoors and outdoors provision; and
• Combine underpinning theory with practical ideas and opportunities for discussion.

Who is this course for?

All Practitioners working with children aged 6 months to 6 years and their families.

The Number Journey

This practical 2-hour course is designed to support Early Years Practitioners to use Bolton’s new Number Journey Guidance to improve outcomes in maths development. It will help you to support children to develop a firm foundation in early mathematical skills, knowledge and understanding.

This course will help you to improve teaching and learning of numbers in your EYFS, to ultimately improve mathematics outcomes.

During this course, we will:

• Unpick the number sense concepts and the way they link to improve teaching;
• Provide practical, affordable ideas to enhance your number opportunities within continuous provision indoors and outdoors;
• Share ideas and suggestions to help you meet expectations of Ofsted that parents are involved with in their children’s learning; and
• Combine underpinning theory with practical ideas and opportunities for discussion.

Who is this course for?

All Practitioners working with children aged 6 months to 6 years and their families.

WellComm Speech and Language Toolkit awareness

A 1-hour awareness session based around the WellComm Speech and Language Toolkit. This course is designed to develop practitioner’s skills and confidence in supporting children under 5 years who are at risk of developing speech, language and communication difficulties.

The session will focus on the use of the WellComm Toolkit for screening and delivering interventions with young children.

During this course we will:

• Understand how WellComm is used to assess children working below their age expectations;
• Be more confident to discuss children’s communication and language development with parents
• Understand and follow local pathways

Who is this course for?

Childminders / out of school providers

Phase 1 Phonics

This 2-hour course is essential for practitioners working with funded 3 and 4 year old children, with a focus on quality teaching in developing phonological awareness, the building blocks for reading and writing.

We will:

• Explore the contents of Phase 1 Letters and Sounds and consider effective practice for developing phonological awareness for children working developmentally 30 months plus.

How will I learn?

• Through focused discussion and practical activity explore developmentally appropriate activities to support children’s early phonics including general sound discrimination, rhythm and rhyme, alliteration and oral blending and segmenting (skills required for reading and writing)
• Consider ways in which an enabling environment can support children’s phonological

Who is this course for?

All Practitioners working with children aged 6 months to 6 years and their families. Schools without Nursery provision and feeder providers may want to work together.

Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) awareness

A 1 hour awareness session to explore the ASQ Third Edition (ASQ-3) and ASQ Social and Emotional (ASQ-SE) assessment tools. The two evidenced based screening tools are used by health Visitors as part of their mandated visit for every child in the Healthy Child programme (HCP). This training will support providers in their understanding of the 2 Year Old Progress Check and support the Integrated Review.

What will I learn?

• An increase awareness about developmental screening for all young children
• How the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ3) and ASQ Social and Emotional (ASQSE) is used
• Understand and follow local pathways.

Who is this course for?

Childminders / out of school providers