TEY 13.2

News The expanded offer is falling short, according to new research Almost two-thirds (59%) of early years settings that have provided the new expanded offer to two-year-olds since April have not been able to offer extra places – that’s according to new research undertaken by the developers of Tapestry, the online learning platform and management system. The annual survey of more than 550 early years educators also revealed that a similar number of settings had not recruited more staff. In total, 69% of respondents indicated that they were providing the extended offer, but the survey suggests that this was only made available to families already using the settings in question; as a result, the overall number of places available may not have increased – a concern that was highlighted in advance of the new offer launching in Coram Family and Childcare’s 23rd survey (bit.ly/3zdUXXq) . Looking ahead to the expanded offer changes that are now upon the sector, more than half of respondents (54%) felt they were only partially prepared at best ( head to page 64 for advice on how to approach this process going forward – Ed. ). Asked for views on what the government should prioritise in their early years policies, greater funding (89%) and improved support for children with additional needs (81%) topped the list, while just over half (54%) voiced support for subsidised professional development qualifications to encourage people to pursue a career in the early years. The survey also sheds light on how settings capture observations. A quarter of respondents reported that their use of group observations had increased, while a similar number said that they had reduced the number of written/typed observations recorded. Conversely, the use of photo and video observations has risen in 25% and 21% of settings, respectively. Read more at bit.ly/3B6IXaC “It is important that the government understands that support for children with SEND needs to start in the early years – our survey shows this is a priority.” DR HELEN EDWARDS, CO-FOUNDER OF TAPESTRY INSIGHTS INTO ABSENCE A study led by a team from the University of Leeds suggests that children who are not considered “school ready” by their teachers are more than twice as likely to become persistently absent at some point in their education. Researchers analysed data for 62,598 children aged 5–13 from across the Bradford district to identify associations between early childhood problems and absenteeism and found that 67% of all persistent absentees were considered “not school ready” when they entered Reception. This contrasted with only 37% of children “not school ready” who were not persistently absent. Read more at bit.ly/4cXlGoV 185k THE NUMBER OF BABIES PRESENT AT POLICE CALL-OUTS FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE IN ENGLAND EACH YEAR ( forbabyssake.org.uk ) Children’s Laureate In July, author Frank Cottrell- Boyce was revealed as the new Children’s Laureate. As part of his role, he will be championing the importance of reading to 0–3-year-olds. Teachearlyyears.com 7