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Foundation Years July Bulletin | |
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Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life strategy | |
This ambitious publication sets out the first steps in a decade of renewal, with government spending close to £1.5bn over the next three years to begin the hard work needed. It builds on the commitments made in the Plan for Change and lays the foundations for further reform.
This includes expanding and strengthening family services, making early education and childcare more accessible and affordable, and improving the quality of early education and childcare to make real change and deliver stronger outcomes for our children, our families and our society. It also sets out a vision for long term reform.
We will work in partnership with the sector, listening to the voices of children and their families, and co-designing solutions with those who work most closely with our youngest babies and children.
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Protective Preparedness for Education Settings Webinars - Martyn’s Law | |
The Department for Education (DfE) in partnership with the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) invite you to the ‘Protective Preparedness For Education Settings’ a webinar focussed on counter terrorism protective security and preparedness for education settings.
The DfE’s ‘Counter Terrorism Protect & Prepare Team’ will provide you with an overview and update on the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 commonly known as, ‘Martyn’s Law’, and its implications for the education sector. You can find more information about Martyn’s Law by visiting - GOV.UK.
NaCTSO will also provide a briefing on how to consider counter terrorism protection and preparedness across education settings. You can find out more about scalable counter terrorism preparedness by visiting ProtectUK | Home.
If you would like to learn more about how you can protect your education setting, staff and learners from terrorism, please click the links below where you can sign up and access further details.
Links: Tuesday 15th July 2025 - 12:00 - 13:00 Wednesday 16th July 2025 - 12:00 - 13:00 Wednesday 23rd July 2025 - 12:00 - 13:00
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National Professional Qualifications (NPQ) Review | |
The Department formally announced the National Professional Qualifications (NPQ) Framework Review in January 2025.
As part of the review, we recently launched the NPQ Call for Evidence for 3 of the leadership NPQs which is now closed. We will launch a separate call for evidence in Autumn/Winter 2025 for the remaining NPQs. Beyond the call for evidence, it remains really important for us to hear wider insights and feedback.
We would therefore like to hear your views on the NPQ programme, particularly the NPQ for Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL) and how we can improve NPQs to meet the needs of teachers and leaders. We are interested in hearing from anyone who has had experience of the NPQEYL. If you would like to share your views, please complete section 1 of the survey attached by 31/07/25.
We will also be holding various small focus groups in the coming months to gather further insights and feedback on the NPQ programme. We anticipate that these sessions will take place in September 2025 and will last around 2 hours. If you would like to register your interest in the round table for NPQEYL, please complete section 2 of the survey by 31/07/25. If you are selected to take part, you will be contacted via email by the DfE with next steps. Please note that filling in this form does not guarantee that you will be contacted to take part.
Link to the survey: NPQ Review - NPQEYL feedback and roundtable interest form | |
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Early Years Education Recovery Programme Evaluation Publications | |
We are excited to announce the publication of evaluation reports for three major early years initiatives:
1. Early Years Professional Development Programme – Phase 3 2. Early Years SENCO Training Programme 3. Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs Together, these reports highlight the significant impact of our collective efforts to strengthen early years practice across the sector. These programmes formed part of the Early Years Education Recovery Programme which was designed to be delivered over a limited period to support childminders and settings to address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Key findings across the reports include: • High levels of satisfaction and engagement across all programmes • Evidence of improved practice, confidence, and knowledge among participants • Tangible benefits for children and settings as a result of participation Read the full reports here: Early years education recovery programme: evaluations - GOV.UK | |
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Ofsted early years blog: Applying to register with Ofsted | |
Read our latest blog Applying to register with Ofsted: what you need to know which explains Ofsted’s application process and the actions needed when submitting an application. This includes a useful flowchart to help applicants determine which provider type to register as.
Subscribe to receive updates when new posts are published. | |
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Consultation on changes to education inspections | |
Ofsted will publish their formal response to the consultation in September. Alongside the response, they will publish the revised inspection framework and inspection methodology.
Routine inspections under the revised framework will start in November 2025. Read more about the consultation response here. | |
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Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs | |
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NDNA’s free factsheet: Risk assessment with Citation | |
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Free early years maths activity: sorting socks | |
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NDNA’s free blog post: inclusion in early years | |
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Everyone has the right to be treated equally without prejudice or discrimination. So how can you support inclusion in early years?
The Early Childhood Forum’s definition of inclusion is “a process of identifying, understanding and breaking down barriers to participation and belonging.”
Early years settings must promote an inclusive environment in which every child is fully accepted, respected and valued. The colour of their skin, their gender, religion or belief, disability, social status or any other factor should not affect the way they are valued.
It is therefore critical that practitioners work together effectively to positively promote inclusive values and principles in all aspects of caring for and educating children. Read the rest of the free blog post here: https://ndna.org.uk/blog/inclusion-in-early-years/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=foundation_years_newsletter&utm_campaign=NDNA_free_blog_post_10_07_25 | |
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NCB-led programme of learning and evidence to be extended | |
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An ambitious programme of shared early years learning and development led by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) will be extended, with continued funding from The National Lottery Community Fund. The extended contract will allow a comprehensive approach to knowledge curation after local partnerships transition from their A Better Start (ABS) grants.
Over the last decade, the ABS programme has led innovation in the early years sector in England. Partnerships in Lambeth, Blackpool, Nottingham, Bradford, and Southend have generated significant skills and evidence on what works for improving the lives of babies, young children, and families.
Embedding this learning in policy and practice has been and will continue to be a key objective in the work led by NCB.
Read more: https://www.ncb.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/news-opinion/better-starts-ncb-led-learning-and-evidence-programme-extended | |
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Foundation Years is funded by the Department for Education and brought to you by Begin Bright. |
Our mailing address is: foundationyears@beginbright.com | | | |
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