Agenda item

1.            The Chairman welcomed the two guests; Chris Millins and Barbara Hall to the Select Committee meeting and invited all those present to introduce themselves.

2.            Barbara Hall explained that she had been an advisor for Kent Early Years over the last 17 years. Within the Equality and Inclusions team, she had a specialism in communication and language.  Most recently this had led to her leading projects working with a communication charity I CAN.  Within the Equality and Inclusion team, all members are trained and qualified I CAN Licensees who can deliver I CAN training packages., and she also works closely with speech and language therapists.  She explained that she had a passion for supporting with children’s communication and language and was soon to be qualified as a Makaton. Makaton is a language programme which uses signing and symbols.

3.            Chris Millins advised Members that she had worked for the Pre-School for the past 35 years and been manager for the last 25.  She explained that she was very passionate about her role which dealt with the day to day management of staff, supervision and training.  Children were monitored through a Tapestry system and she was responsible for the development and processing in all areas.  YIPP was used to help develop each of the children’s learning.

4.            The Chairman asked how many children the pre-school taught?  Chris Millins confirmed they had 49 and went on to explain that when the Pre-school was first opened, they had 12 children without any funding.  The Pre-school has a community feel with good relationships with the church.  They operate a pack away system in the church hall so all staff members arrive at 7.45am to set up for a 9am start and packed away at the end of the day.  Equipment had been purchased through EYPP funding in addition to community fundraising.  They recently had an outstanding OFSTED inspection.

5.            The Chairman queried out of the 49 at the pre-school how many were entitled to EY Pupil Premium?  Chris Millins stated 8 children.

6.            The Chairman asked if the additional funding was enough to cover some of the equipment that was required?  Chris Millins commented that the funds did not always cover larger equipment that was sometimes required.  A package called ‘I CAN Early Talk Boost had been purchased the previous year, which had been an effective tool in reducing attainment gaps.  Chris Millins demonstrated to the Panel a number of small items that were affordable which helped with areas such as physical writing skills, which many children had benefited from.

7.            The Chairman referred to the comment relating to narrowing the attainment gap and asked if this had been identified through a progress tracker?  Chris Millins explained that they mainly used Tapestry to track progress but had also used that system.  At the end of each month they would go through all the key development needs, and worked with the children who had been identified as needing further support. 

8.            Barbara Hall commented that using the I CAN Early Talk Boost intervention programme often saw on average children making six months progress.  As part of a trial they undertook using the Kent Intervention tracker, to measure the effectiveness of I CAN Early Talk Boost. the children who had taken part in the programme had made on average, the expected six months progress. The nursery where the trial took place also uses Leuven Scales to measure children’s levels of wellbeing and involvement. Over the course of the intervention programme these levels were raised showing the impact was not just on attainment but also on children’s confidence and self-esteem.

9.            Chris Millins made the Panel aware that the examples given above could all be noted on the Tapestry system which parents were able to view electronically.

10.         Mr Booth asked if the ‘I Can Talk’ series was a subscription based package or a one off payment?  Barbara Hall clarified it being a one off payment to purchase all the materials for a 9 week programme.  There were activities each week for those children who had been identified, with story books and various other resources.  Barbara Hall went on to explained that although the initial outlay could be expensive, apart from having to replace some books, once it had been purchased it could be repeatedly.  They would not have been able to use this facility without the extra funding.

11.         Mr Booth was interested with reference to the 8 children who had been identified, whether that money was specifically for them and what success stories had been identified?  Chris Millins read out a letter from a parent whose child had benefited through the ‘I Can Early Talk Boost’ programme.  One of the activities within this series was a story book with the main character being a tiger.  The tiger was represented as a finger puppet which the child could take home.   Its purpose was designed to develop Children’s ‘Listening, Attention and Communication Skills’. Although purchased for a group of children it was a resource which would benefit other children.

12.         Dr Sullivan asked if it could be used as a resource the following year, or if a new payment would have to be made?  Chris Millins clarified that it was a one-off payment which came with 10 books and was aimed for children who had delayed language.

13.         The Chairman asked how affective the adoption of free school meals had been as a measure of disadvantage to determine eligibility of children with EYP?  Chris Millins advised that it was not relevant for early years. 

14.         The Chairman enquired what strategies and/or interventions if any could be implemented to maximise the impact to the EYP?  Chris Millins felt that the application process had been one of the main issues.  The use of Synergy had been very useful which had allowed letters to be sent out each term to explain the process to parents and encouraged to complete EYPP section on their Declaration forms.  Reverting to a system were the parents had to apply could result in funds not being allocated to children who were entitled.  Good relationships with parents went a long way.

15.         Mrs Game commented that they had previously heard that schools with fewer eligible children found it harder to purchase larger items and could result in a big difference in progress with bigger gaps between more able to the least able.  She went on to ask if they found EY Pupil Premium children made progress and caught up?  Chris Millins felt that all their children made progress due to the large amount of equipment that they had.  They had heavily relied on community fundraising in addition to the extra funding.

16.         The Chairman asked if they agreed that there should be more funding for the early years stage?  Barbara Hall explained that research behind early intervention was extensive and there had been a report called Cost to the Nation.  This had been commissioned from ‘I CAN which outlined the cost to the nation of children with poor communication and language skills.  It not only detailed the long term implications but also looked at the social cost.  The evidence confirmed that more interventions for younger ages made more economic sense. 

17.         Mr Booth asked if they had three wishes what would they be and how KCC could assist them? Chris Millins only wish was to be able to provide resources to all their children to help develop their progress without having to worry about fundraising. 

18.         Mr Booth asked how much they had been able to fundraise?? which Chris Millins confirmed approximately £1200.

19.         The Chairman thanked both Chris Millins and Barbara Hall for their valued input into the session and for answering Members questions.