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1
Improving Quality
In the Early Years: A Comparison of Perspectives and Measures
TECHNICAL REPORT:
Arjette Karemaker (University of Oxford)
Sandra Mathers (University of Oxford, A+ Education Ltd)
Rosanna Singler (Daycare Trust)
2
Introduction
This Technical Report is designed to supplement the Final Report (Mathers et al., 2012). It provides
technical details on the design, conduct and analysis of the quantitative and qualitative analysis. Part 1
describes the Quantitative analysis and Part 2 describes the Qualitative analysis. The main study
findings are reported in the Final Report.
PART 1: QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
This section presents the results of the statistical analysis. It is structured according the main analysis
findings set out in Chapter 5 (Analysis Findings: Relationships Between Quality Measures), which sets
out to ask the following research questions:
1. What are the associations between ECERS/ITERS and the overall grade awarded by Ofsted,
and are these different pre- and post-EYFS? (Section 5.1 in the main report)
2. What are the associations between ECERS/ITERS and the various sub-grades provided in
EYFS Ofsted reports? (Section 5.2 in the main report)
3. How do ECERS/ITERS and Ofsted categorise settings into high and low quality, and to what
extent do these methods of grouping align with each other? (Section 5.3 in the main report)
4. Do settings participating in a quality assurance scheme achieve higher ECERS scores or
Ofsted gradings? (Section 5.4 in the main report)
Each section presents the relevant descriptives, followed by the results of the statistical analysis.
Throughout, only statistically significant results are shown (at least at the p < 0.05 level).
3
1. What are the associations between ECERS/ITERS and the overall grade awarded
by Ofsted, and are these different pre- and post-EYFS?1
Tables 1.1 and 1.2 report the descriptives for the ECERS-R, ECERS-E and ITERS-R measures, and for the
overall Ofsted grades. Tables 1.3 to 1.5 show significant partial correlations between ECERS/ITERS
scores and Ofsted ratings (controlling for the gap between the ECERS/ITERS and Ofsted assessments).
All partial correlations were confirmed using non-parametric Spearman’s rank tests.
Table 1.1 Descriptives: ECERS-R, ECERS-E and ITERS-R measures (pre-EYFS and EYFS samples)
N Min-Max Mean (Std. Dev.)
EYFS
sample
Pre-EYFS
sample
EYFS
sample
Pre-EYFS
sample
EYFS
sample
Pre-EYFS
sample
ECERS-R
Total Childcare Quality (1-6)* 1035 1165 2.2-6.6 2.2-6.6 4.2 (.70) 4.3 (.70)
1.Space & Furnishings 1035 1165 1.6-6.5 1.9-6.5 4.0 (.80) 4.1 (.80)
2.Care Routines 1035 1165 1.2-7.0 1.2-7.0 3.7 (1.2) 3.7 (1.2)
3.Language/Reasoning 1035 1165 2.0-7.0 1.5-7.0 4.6 (.90) 4.7 (.90)
4.Activities 1035 1165 1.6-7.0 1.6-7.0 3.8 (.80) 3.8 (.80)
5. Interaction 1035 1165 1.4-7.0 1.4-7.0 5.4 (1.0) 5.4 (1.0)
6. Program structure 1035 1165 1.3-7.0 1.7-7.0 4.7 (1.2) 4.7 (1.1)
7. Parents & staff 378 432 2.5-6.8 2.3-6.8 4.6 (.80) 4.6 (.90)
ECERS-E
Total Curricular Quality 624 718 1.7-5.3 1.3-5.7 3.4 (.70) 3.3 (.70)
1. Literacy 624 718 1.8-6.0 1.7-6.2 3.9 (.80) 3.9 (.80)
2. Maths 624 718 1.0-6.3 1.0-6.3 3.1 (.90) 3.1 (1.0)
3. Science 624 718 1.0-7.0 1.0-7.0 2.8 (1.1) 2.8 (1.1)
4. Diversity 624 718 1.0-5.3 1.0-5.7 2.9 (.80) 2.9 (.90)
ITERS-R
Total Childcare Quality (1-6)* 247 324 1.7-6.0 2.1-6.1 4.0 (.90) 4.2 (.90)
1.Space & furnishings 247 324 2.0-6.8 2.2-6.8 3.9 (.90) 4.1 (.90)
2.Personal care 247 324 1.0-6.7 1.4-7.0 3.6 (1.2) 3.8 (1.2)
3.Listening & talking 247 324 1.3-7.0 1.0-7.0 4.6 (1.1) 4.6 (1.2)
4.Activities 247 324 1.1-6.0 1.5-6.0 3.5 (1.0) 3.6 (1.0)
5.Interaction 247 324 1.3-7.0 2.0-7.0 5.1 (1.2) 5.3 (1.1)
6.Program structure 247 324 1-0-7.0 1.3-7.0 4.5 (1.3) 4.7 (1.5)
7.Parents & staff 246 320 3.0-6.9 2.1-6.9 4.8 (.70) 4.8 (.80)
*Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
Table 1.2 Descriptives: Ofsted overall grades (pre-EYFS and EYFS samples)
N Min-Max Mean (Std. Dev.)
EYFS
sample
Pre-EYFS
sample
EYFS
sample
Pre-EYFS
sample EYFS sample
Pre-EYFS
sample
OFSTED
Care 1256 1-4 2.29 (.55)
Nursery Education 1160 1-3 2.24 (.58)
Overall Effectiveness 1094 1-4 2.08 (.69)
1 This part of the Technical Appendix supplements pages 65-68 of the Final Report (Mathers et al., 2012).
4
Table 1.3 Partial correlations: significant associations between ECERS-R measures and Ofsted’s overall
grades, pre-EYFS (Care n=1165, Nursery Education n=1093) and EYFS (n=1035), controlling for the gap
between ECERS and Ofsted assessments2
ECERS-R measure
Ofsted grade
To
tal
Ch
ild
care
Qu
ali
ty (
1-6
)*
1.S
pa
ce &
Fu
rnis
hin
gs
2.C
are
Ro
uti
ne
s
3.L
an
gu
ag
e/
Re
aso
nin
g
4.A
ctiv
itie
s
5.I
nte
ract
ion
6.P
rog
ram
me
Str
uct
ure
7.P
are
nts
&
Sta
ff
Care (Pre-EYFS) 0.16 0.11 0.07 0.15 0.11 0.15 0.08
Nursery Education (pre-EYFS) 0.20 0.11 0.24 0.17 0.22 0.09 0.13
Overall effectiveness (EYFS) 0.29 0.26 0.09 0.24 0.27 0.15 0.24 0.12
*Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
Table 1.4 Partial correlations: significant associations between ECERS-E measures and Ofsted’s overall
grades, pre-EYFS (Care n=718, Nursery Education n=678) and EYFS (n=624), controlling for the gap
between ECERS and Ofsted assessments3
ECERS-E measure
Ofsted grade
To
tal
Cu
rric
ula
r
Qu
ali
ty
1.L
ite
racy
2.M
ath
s
3.S
cie
nce
4.D
ive
rsit
y
Care (Pre-EYFS) 0.14 0.11 0.13 0.11 0.06
Nursery Education (pre-EYFS) 0.25 0.21 0.26 0.17 0.13
Overall effectiveness (EYFS) 0.29 0.24 0.15 0.23 0.25
Table 1.5. Partial correlations: significant associations between ITERS-R measures and Ofsted’s overall
grades, pre-EYFS (Care n=324) and EYFS (n=247), controlling for the gap between ECERS and Ofsted
assessments
ITERS-R measure
Ofsted grade
To
tal
Ch
ild
care
Qu
ali
ty (
1-6
)*
1.S
pa
ce &
Fu
rnis
hin
gs
2.C
are
Ro
uti
ne
s
3.L
iste
nin
g &
Ta
lkin
g
4.A
ctiv
itie
s
5.I
nte
ract
ion
6.P
rog
ram
me
Str
uct
ure
7.P
are
nts
&
sta
ff
Care (Pre-EYFS) ** -0.12
Overall effectiveness (EYFS)
* Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
** Nursery Education grades (pre-EYFS) were not relevant for children under the age of 3 years
2 The correlations of the following subscales with Ofsted overall grades were significantly different from each other at p < 0.05:
• For Care (pre-EYFS): Care Routines and Total Childcare Quality
• For Nursery Education (pre-EYFS):
o Care Routines and Total Childcare Quality /Interaction/Language & Reasoning
o Space & Furnishings and Total Childcare Quality/Interaction/ Language & Reasoning
• For Overall effectiveness (EYFS):
o Care Routines and Program Structure/ Language & Reasoning/Activities/Total Childcare Quality
o Parents and staff and Program Structure/ Language & Reasoning/ Activities/ Total Childcare Quality
o Interaction and Program Structure/ Language & Reasoning/ Activities/ Total Childcare Quality 3 The correlations of the following subscales with Ofsted overall grades were significantly different from each other at p < 0.05:
• Overall effectiveness (EYFS): Maths and Total Curricular Quality
5
2. What are the associations between ECERS/ITERS and the various sub-grades
provided in EYFS Ofsted reports?4
Table 1.6 presents the descriptives for the various Ofsted sub-grades (for the EYFS sample). Table 1.7
reports the significant partial correlations between the ECERS-R, ECERS-E and ITERS-R overall scores
and each of the Ofsted sub-grades, whilst controlling for the gap between ECERS/ITERS and Ofsted
assessments. All partial correlations were confirmed using non-parametric Spearman’s rank tests.
Table 1.6 Descriptives: sub-grades awarded by Ofsted (EYFS sample)
Ofsted sub-grades N Min-Max
Mean
(Std. Dev.)
Effectiveness with which the setting meets children’s needs 1094 1-4 2.08 (.69)
Capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement 1094 1-4 2.04 (.69)
Leadership and management of the EYFS 1094 1-4 2.07 (.69)
Effectiveness of leadership in embedding ambition & driving improvement
(09/09 onwards) 786 1-4 1.97 (.69)
Effectiveness with which setting deploys resources (09/09 onwards) 786 1-4 1.94 (.68)
Effectiveness with which setting promotes equality diversity/inclusive practice 1094 1-4 1.98 (.65)
Effectiveness of safeguarding 1094 1-4 2.02 (.70)
Effectiveness of self evaluation 1094 1-4 2.06 (.71)
Effectiveness of partnerships with parents and others** 1094 1-4 1.91 (.63)
Effectiveness of engagement with parents/carers (09/09 onwards) 786 1-4 1.81 (.65)
Quality of provision in the EYFS (09/09 onwards) 786 1-4 2.01 (.67)
Outcomes for children in the EYFS (09/09 onwards) 786 1-4 1.99 (.66)
Extent to which children achieve/enjoy their learning*** 1094 1-4 1.97 (.67)
Extent to which children feel safe*** 1094 1-4 1.98 (.68)
Extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles*** 1094 1-4 1.93 (.62)
Extent to which children make a positive contribution*** 1094 1-4 1.94 (.64)
Extent to which children develop skills for the future*** 1094 1-4 2.02 (.66)
Children helped to learn & develop? (pre-09/09 only) 308 1-4 2.16 (.67)
How effectively is the welfare of children promoted? (pre-09/09 only) 308 1-4 2.13 (.68)
Composite: mean of all sub-grades 1094 1-4 2.00 (.61)
** From 09/09, this is a mean of the grades for 'effectiveness of partnerships' and 'effectiveness of engagement with parents and carers'
*** Between 09/08 and 09/09 these grades did not relate to outcomes but to how well the provision helped children to achieve outcomes
(e.g. how well are children helped to stay safe)
4 This part of the Technical Appendix supplements pages 68-72 of the Final Report (Mathers et al., 2012).
6
Table 1.7 Partial correlations between ECERS-R (n=1035), ECERS-E (n=624) and ITERS-R (n=247) total
scores and the sub-grades awarded by Ofsted (EYFS inspections), controlling for the gap between
ECERS/ ITERS and Ofsted assessments.
Ofsted sub-grades
Total ECERS-R
Childcare
Quality (1-6)*
Total ECERS-E
Curricular
Quality
Total ITERS-R
Childcare
Quality (1-6)*
Overall effectiveness 0.29 0.29
Effectiveness with which the setting meets children’s needs 0.29 0.29
Capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement 0.28 0.28
Leadership and management of the EYFS 0.29 0.28
Effectiveness of leadership in embedding ambition & driving
improvement (09/09 onwards) 0.28 0.24
Effectiveness with which setting deploys resources (09/09 onwards) 0.33 0.32
Effectiveness with which setting promotes equality diversity/inclusive
practice 0.28 0.27
Effectiveness of safeguarding 0.25 0.25
Effectiveness of self-evaluation 0.28 0.26
Effectiveness of partnerships with parents and others** 0.27 0.24
Effectiveness of engagement with parents/carers (09/09 onwards) 0.26 0.22
Quality of provision in the EYFS (09/09 onwards) 0.31 0.30
Outcomes for children in the EYFS (09/09 onwards) 0.30 0.29
Extent to which children achieve/enjoy their learning*** 0.30 0.29
Extent to which children feel safe*** 0.24 0.26
Extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles*** 0.26 0.28
Extent to which children make a positive contribution*** 0.26 0.27
Extent to which children develop skills for the future*** 0.27 0.27
Children helped to learn & develop? (pre-09/09 only) 0.28 0.26
How effectively is the welfare of children promoted? (pre-09/09 only) 0.26 0.23
Composite: mean of all sub-grades 0.30 0.30
* Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
** From 09/09, this is a mean of the grades for 'effectiveness of partnerships' and 'effectiveness of engagement with parents and carers' ***Between 09/08 and 09/09 these grades did not relate to outcomes but to how well the provision helped children to achieve outcomes
(e.g. how well are children helped to stay safe?)
7
3. How do ECERS/ITERS and Ofsted categorise settings into high and low quality,
and to what extent do these methods of grouping align with each other?5
Tables 1.8 to 1.10 report the mean ECERS-R/E and ITERS-R scores for groups of settings achieving each
Ofsted grade. Tables 1.11 to 1.14 present statistical test results (Kruskal Wallis and Mann Whitney
tests) indicating significant differences between groups of settings awarded each grade.
Table 1.8 Mean ECERS-R scores for groups of settings achieving each Ofsted grade (EYFS sample)
ECERS-R measures: mean scores (Std. Dev.)
Settings
graded as
…..
To
tal
Ch
ild
care
Qu
ali
ty (
1-6
)*
1.S
pa
ce &
Fu
rnis
hin
gs
2.C
are
Ro
uti
ne
s
3.L
an
gu
ag
e/
Re
aso
nin
g
4.A
ctiv
itie
s
5.I
nte
ract
ion
6.P
rog
ram
me
Str
uct
ure
7.P
are
nts
&
Sta
ff
Outstanding
(n=186)
4.53
(.71)
4.29
(.84)
3.85
(1.21)
5.02
(.97)
4.09
(.84)
5.65
(.95)
5.11
(1.16)
4.63
(.74)
Good
(n=622)
4.26
(.66)
4.03
(.79)
3.74
(1.25)
4.66
(.91)
3.79
(.79)
5.42
(1.03)
4.72
(1.14)
4.68
(.81)
Satisfactory
(n=197)
3.88
(.64)
3.68
(.79)
3.45
(1.20)
4.28
(.91)
3.39
(.75)
5.04
(1.08)
4.29
(1.03)
4.40
(.88)
Inadequate
(n=30)
3.87
(.70)
3.45
(.84)
3.60
(1.26)
4.21
(.81)
3.42
(.78)
5.42
(.91)
3.91
(1.08)
4.32
(1.05)
* Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
Table 1.9 Mean ECERS-E scores for groups of settings achieving each Ofsted grade (EYFS sample)
ECERS-E measures: mean scores (Std. Dev.)
Settings graded as
…..
To
tal
Cu
rric
ula
r
Qu
ali
ty
1.L
ite
racy
2.M
ath
s
3.S
cie
nce
4.D
ive
rsit
y
Outstanding (n=124) 3.65
(.65)
4.22
(.70)
3.38
(.92)
3.20
(1.17)
3.24
(.76)
Good (n=385) 3.36
(.65)
3.93
(.75)
3.10
(.93)
2.84
(1.04)
2.94
(.83)
Satisfactory (n=104) 3.07
(.68)
3.63
(.76)
2.96
(.99)
2.49
(.95)
2.54
(.93)
Inadequate (n=11) 2.84
(.38)
3.55
(.43)
2.76
(.97
2.15
(.27)
2.19
(.66)
5 This part of the Technical Appendix supplements pages 73-79 of the Final Report (Mathers et al., 2012).
8
Table 1.10 Mean ITERS-R scores for groups of settings achieving each Ofsted grade (EYFS sample)
ITERS-R measures: mean scores (Std. Dev.)
Settings
graded as
….. T
ota
l C
hil
dca
re
Qu
ali
ty (
1-6
)*
1.S
pa
ce &
Fu
rnis
hin
gs
2.C
are
Ro
uti
ne
s
3.L
iste
nin
g &
Ta
lkin
g
4.A
ctiv
itie
s
5.I
nte
ract
ion
6.P
rog
ram
me
Str
uct
ure
7.P
are
nts
&
Sta
ff
Outstanding
(n=26)
3.89
(.60)
3.85
(1.00)
3.51
(.99)
4.64
(1.16)
3.22
(.76)
5.32
(.93)
4.04
(1.34)
4.90
(.72)
Good
(n=162)
4.07
(.88)
4.02
(.94)
3.65
(1.27)
4.60
(1.12)
3.58
(.98)
5.02
(1.30)
4.65
(1.32)
4.89
(.76)
Satisfactory
(n=54)
3.95
(1.18)
3.73
(.84)
3.51
(1.29)
4.50
(1.22)
3.47
(1.06)
5.24
(1.13)
4.40
(1.32)
4.56
(.66)
Inadequate
(n=5)
4.10
(1.18)
4.28
(1.05)
4.10
(1.15)
4.33
(1.33)
3.35
(1.10)
5.20
(1.50)
4.33
(2.04)
5.11
(.81)
* Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
Table 1.11 Kruskal Wallis test: significant differences in ECERS-R (n=1035) scores for the Ofsted grade
groups.
To
tal
Ch
ild
care
Qu
ali
ty (
1-6
)*
1.S
pa
ce &
Fu
rnis
hin
gs
2.C
are
Ro
uti
ne
s
3.L
an
gu
ag
e/
Re
aso
nin
g
4.A
ctiv
itie
s
5.I
nte
ract
ion
s
6.P
rog
ram
me
Str
uct
ure
7.P
are
nts
&
Sta
ff
Kruskal Wallis
Test
χ2=91.66 χ
2=64.96 χ
2=12.16 χ
2=62.15 χ
2=73.55 χ
2=35.37 χ
2=65.75
* Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
Table 1.12 Kruskal Wallis test: significant differences in ECERS-E (n=624) scores for the Ofsted grade
groups.
To
tal
Cu
rric
ula
r
Qu
ali
ty
1.L
ite
racy
2.M
ath
s
3.S
cie
nce
4.D
ive
rsit
y
Kruskal Wallis Test χ2=49.29 χ
2=36.02 χ
2=16.14 χ
2=29.27 χ
2=36.26
No significant differences in ITERS-R scores were identified between groups of settings achieving each
Ofsted grade.
9
Table 1.13 Mann-Whitney test: significant differences in ECERS-R scores (n=1035) between pairs of
Ofsted grade groupings
To
tal
Ch
ild
care
Qu
ali
ty (
1-6
)*
1.S
pa
ce &
Fu
rnis
hin
gs
2.C
are
Ro
uti
ne
s
3.L
an
gu
ag
e/
Re
aso
nin
g
4.A
ctiv
itie
s
5.I
nte
ract
ion
s
6.P
rog
ram
me
Str
uct
ure
7.P
are
nts
&
Sta
ff
Outstanding-
Good
U=44258,
z=-4.87
U=47360
z=-3.76
U=45348
z=-4.49
U=45770
z=-4.33
U=50294
z=-2.71
U=46108
z=-4.21
Outstanding-
Satisfactory
U=9043
z=-8.57
U=10853
z=-6.90
U=14848
z=-3.21
U=10579
z=-7.17
U=9760
z=-7.91
U=12189
z=-5.67
U=10710
z=-7.04
Outstanding-
Inadequate
U=1356
z=-4.49
U=1357
z=-4.52
U=1459
z=-4.20
U=1565
z=-3.86
U=1192
z=-5.04
Good-
Satisfactory
U=41730
z=-6.75
U=45483
z=-5.46
U=52735
z=-2.95
U=47083
z=-4.92
U=43646
z=-6.09
U=48046
z=-4.58
U=47586
z=-4.74
Good-
Inadequate
U=6266
z=-3.04
U=5691
z=-3.62
U=6646
z=-2.67
U=5418
z=-3.89
Satisfactory-
Inadequate
* Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
Table 1.14 Mann-Whitney test: significant differences in ECERS-E scores (n=624) between pairs of
Ofsted grade groupings
To
tal
Cu
rric
ula
r
Qu
ali
ty
1.L
ite
racy
2.M
ath
s
3.S
cie
nce
4.D
ive
rsit
y
Outstanding-Good
U=q7838
z=-4.24
U=18611
z=-3.70
U=19292
z=-3.23
U=19736
z=-2.92
U=19250
z=-3.26
Outstanding-
Satisfactory
U=3410
z=-6.13
U=3675
z=-5.60
U=4760
z=-3.42
U=4091
z=-4.77
U=3859
z=-5.24
Outstanding-
Inadequate
Good-Satisfactory
U=14945
z=-3.97
U=15708
z=-3.38
U=15927
z=-3.22
U=15640
z=-3.44
Good- Inadequate
Satisfactory-
Inadequate
*Shaded boxes indicate where statistical tests were not possible due to the size of the groups
10
4. Do settings participating in a quality assurance scheme achieve higher ECERS
scores or Ofsted gradings?6
4.1 Do settings participating in quality assurance scheme achieve higher ECERS scores?
Tables 1.15 and 1.16 present descriptives for the ‘quality assurance’ sub-sample (n=249). Tables 1.17
to 1.20 present the results of the analysis exploring whether settings taking part in quality assurance
achieve higher ECERS-R or ECERS-E scores. Due to the relatively small number of settings in the sub-
sample with available ITERS-R data, it was not possible to include the ITERS-R in this analysis.
Table 1.15 Descriptives: ECERS scores for settings participating [QA (all)] and not participating (Non
QA) in a quality assurance scheme
Subscale QA (all) Non QA QA (all) Non QA
N Mean (Std. Dev.)
ECERS-R
Total Childcare Quality (mean 1-6)* 72 177 4.29 (.89) 4.07 (.79)
Space & furnishings 72 177 4.29 (.89) 4.06 (.90)
Personal care 72 177 3.58 (1.3) 3.53 (1.3)
Language/reasoning 72 177 4.53 (1.1) 4.44 (1.1)
Activities 72 177 3.93 (.96) 3.64 (.84)
Interaction 72 177 5.13(1.4) 4.85 (1.2)
Program structure 72 177 4.89 (1.4) 4.61 (1.2)
Parents & staff 55 152 4.65 (.75) 4.48 (.80)
ECERS-E
Total Curricular Quality 72 173 3.38 (.78) 3.14 (.67)
Literacy 72 173 3.82 (.81) 3.73 (.76)
Maths 72 173 3.13 (1.1) 2.86 (.96)
Science 72 173 3.15 (1.2) 2.69 (.97)
Diversity 72 173 3.00 (.82) 2.68 (.81)
* Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
6 This part of the Technical Appendix supplements pages 80-84 of the Final Report (Mathers et al., 2012).
11
Table 1.16 Descriptives: ECERS scores for settings participating in a local authority quality assurance
scheme [QA (LA)], and settings taking part in a non-local authority QA scheme [QA (Non-LA)]
Subscale QA (LA) QA (Non-LA) QA (LA) QA (Non-LA)
N Mean (Std. Dev.)
ECERS-R
Total Childcare Quality (mean 1-6)* 46 26 4.45 (.89) 4.00 (.84)
Space & furnishings 46 26 4.50 (.84) 3.92 (.86)
Personal care 46 26 3.59 (1.3) 3.54 (1.1)
Language/reasoning 46 26 4.69 (1.1) 4.26 (1.1)
Activities 46 26 4.16 (1.0) 3.51 (.75)
Interaction 46 26 5.23 (1.3) 4.95 (1.5)
Program structure 46 26 5.04 (1.4) 4.63 (1.4)
Parents & staff 34 21 4.67 (.70) 4.63 (.84)
ECERS-E
Total Curricular Quality 46 26 3.54 (.81) 3.11 (.66)
Literacy 46 26 3.95 (.80) 3.58 (.79)
Maths 46 26 3.29 (1.1) 2.83 (.86)
Science 46 26 3.33 (1.3) 2.83 (1.1)
Diversity 46 26 3.17 (.82) 2.69 (.74)
* Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
Table 1.17 Mann-Whitney test /T-tests: significant differences in ECERS-R scores between settings
participating (n=72) and not participating in a QA scheme (n=177)
To
tal
Ch
ild
care
Qu
ali
ty (
1-6
)*
1.S
pa
ce &
Fu
rnis
hin
gs
2.C
are
Ro
uti
ne
s
3.L
an
gu
ag
e/
Re
aso
nin
g
4.A
ctiv
itie
s
5.I
nte
ract
ion
s
6.P
rog
ram
me
Str
uct
ure
7.P
are
nts
&
Sta
ff
QA (72) vs
Non QA
(177)
U=5269
z=-2.14
(t=2.37)
* Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
Table 1.18 Mann-Whitney test /T-tests: significant differences in ECERS-E scores between settings
participating (n=72) and not participating in a QA scheme (n=173)
To
tal
Cu
rric
ula
r
Qu
ali
ty
1.L
ite
racy
2.M
ath
s
3.S
cie
nce
4.D
ive
rsit
y
QA (72) vs
Non QA (173)
U=5139
z=--2.16
(t=2.46)
U=5011
z=-2.42
(t=3.07)
U=4915
z=-2.61
(t=2.73)
12
Table 1.19 Mann-Whitney test /T-tests: significant differences in ECERS-R scores between settings
participating in a local authority quality assurance scheme (n=46), settings taking part in a non-local
authority QA scheme (n=26) and settings not participating in quality assurance (n=177)
To
tal
Ch
ild
care
Qu
ali
ty (
1-6
)*
1.S
pa
ce &
Fu
rnis
hin
gs
2.C
are
Ro
uti
ne
s
3.L
an
gu
ag
e/
Re
aso
nin
g
4.A
ctiv
itie
s
5.I
nte
ract
ion
s
6.P
rog
ram
me
Str
uct
ure
7.P
are
nts
&
Sta
ff
QA (LA)
(46) vs QA
(Non-LA)
(26)
U=405
z=-2.27
(t=2.12)
U=367
z=-2.72
(t=2.78)
U= 364
z=-2.75
(t=2.86)
QA (LA)
(46) vs
Non QA
(177)
U=2939
z=-2.90
(t=2.82)
U=2900
z=-3.01
(t=3.02)
U=2796
z=-3.27
(t=3.60)
U=3280
z=-2.03
(ns)
U=3200
z=-2.24
(t=2.08)
QA (Non-
LA) (26) vs
Non QA
(177)
* Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
Table 1.20 Mann-Whitney test /T-tests: significant differences in ECERS-E scores between settings
participating in a local authority quality assurance scheme (n=46), settings taking part in a non-local
authority QA scheme (n=26) and settings not participating in quality assurance (n=173)
To
tal
Cu
rric
ula
r
Qu
ali
ty
1.L
ite
racy
2.M
ath
s
3.S
cie
nce
4.D
ive
rsit
y
QA (LA) (46) vs QA (Non-
LA) (26)
U=418
z=-2.11
(t=2.31)
U=386
z=-2.50
(t=2.45)
QA (LA) (46) vs
Non QA (173)
U=2836
z=-2.99
(t=3.42)
U=3024
z=-2.51
(t=2.63)
U=2872
z=-2.91
(t=3.67)
U=2656
z=-3.48
(t=3.58)
QA (Non-LA) (26) vs
Non QA (173)
13
4.2 Do settings participating in quality assurance scheme achieve higher Ofsted grades?
Tables 1.21 and 1.22 present descriptives for the ‘quality assurance’ sub-sample (n=249). Tables 1.23
to 1.24 present the results of the analysis exploring whether settings taking part in quality assurance
achieve higher Ofsted grades.
Table 1.21 Descriptives: Ofsted grades for settings participating [QA (all)] and not participating in a
quality assurance scheme (Non QA)
QA (all) Non QA QA (all) Non QA
Ofsted sub-grades N Mean (Std. Dev.)
Overall effectiveness 72 177 1.89 (.62) 2.06 (.66)
Effectiveness with which the setting meets children’s needs 72 177 1.86 (.61) 2.05 (.66)
Capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement 72 177 1.82 (.61) 2.03 (.69)
Leadership and management of the EYFS 72 177 1.85 (.64) 2.05 (.67)
Effectiveness of leadership in embedding ambition & driving improvement
(09/09 onwards) 57 125 1.81 (.58) 1.94 (.69)
Effectiveness with which setting deploys resources (09/09 onwards) 57 125 1.81 (.61) 1.97 (.71)
Effectiveness with which setting promotes equality diversity/inclusive
practice 72 177 1.88 (.63) 1.95 (.63)
Effectiveness of safeguarding 72 177 1.88 (.65) 1.99 (.70)
Effectiveness of self-evaluation 72 177 1.83 (.63) 2.05 (.70)
Effectiveness of partnerships with parents and others** 72 177 1.75 (.60) 1.86 (.62)
Effectiveness of engagement with parents/carers (09/09 onwards) 72 177 1.71 (.62) 1.82 (.65)
Quality of provision in the EYFS (09/09 onwards) 57 125 1.84 (.59) 1.98 (.67)
Outcomes for children in the EYFS (09/09 onwards) 57 125 1.84 (.59) 1.96 (.64)
Extent to which children achieve/enjoy their learning*** 72 177 1.82 (.61) 1.97 (.62)
Extent to which children feel safe*** 72 177 1.85 (.64) 1.94 (.69)
Extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles*** 72 177 1.83 (.61) 1.93 (.65)
Extent to which children make a positive contribution*** 72 177 1.83 (.61) 1.92 (.62)
Extent to which children develop skills for the future*** 72 177 1.88 (.60) 2.03 (.63)
Children helped to learn & develop? (pre-09/09 only) 15 52 1.93 (59) 2.13 (.63)
How effectively is the welfare of children promoted? (pre-09/09 only) 15 52 2.00 (.76) 2.19 (.66)
Composite: mean of all sub-grades 72 177 1.84 (.56) 1.99 (.60)
** From 09/09, this is a mean of the grades for 'effectiveness of partnerships' and 'effectiveness of engagement with parents and carers'
*** Between 09/08 and 09/09 these grades did not relate to outcomes but to how well the provision helped children to achieve outcomes
(e.g. how well are children helped to stay safe)
14
Table 1.22 Descriptives: Ofsted grades for settings participating in a local authority quality assurance
scheme [QA (LA)] and settings taking part in a non-local authority QA scheme [QA (Non-LA)]
QA (LA) QA (Non-LA) QA (LA) QA (Non-LA)
Ofsted sub-grades N Mean (Std. Dev.)
Overall effectiveness 46 26 1.85 (.63) 1.96 (.60)
Effectiveness with which the setting meets children’s needs 46 26 1.80 (.62) 1.93 (.56)
Capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement 46 26 1.78 (.63) 2.00 (.59)
Leadership and management of the EYFS 46 26 1.78 (.66) 1.96 (.60)
Effectiveness of leadership in embedding ambition & driving
improvement (09/09 onwards) 37 20 1.78 (.63) 1.85 (.49)
Effectiveness with which setting deploys resources (09/09 onwards) 37 20 1.73 (.65) 1.95 (.51)
Effectiveness with which setting promotes equality
diversity/inclusive practice 46 26 1.80 (.62) 2.00 (.57)
Effectiveness of safeguarding 46 26 1.89 (.67) 1.85 (.61)
Effectiveness of self-evaluation 46 26 1.76 (.67) 1.96 (.53)
Effectiveness of partnerships with parents and others** 46 26 1.69 (.59) 1.87 (.61)
Effectiveness of engagement with parents/carers (09/09 onwards) 46 26 1.65 (.60) 1.81 (.63)
Quality of provision in the EYFS (09/09 onwards) 37 20 1.78 (.63) 1.95 (.51)
Outcomes for children in the EYFS (09/09 onwards) 37 20 1.78 (.63) 1.95 (.51)
Extent to which children achieve/enjoy their learning*** 46 26 1.74 (.61) 1.96 (.60)
Extent to which children feel safe*** 46 26 1.80 (.62) 1.92 (.69)
Extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles*** 46 26 1.85 (.56) 1.81 (.69)
Extent to which children make a positive contribution*** 46 26 1.78 (.63) 1.92 (.56)
Extent to which children develop skills for the future*** 46 26 1.80 (.62) 2.00 (.57)
Children helped to learn & develop? (pre-09/09 only) 9 6 1.78 (.44) 2.17 (.75)
How effectively is the welfare of children promoted? (pre-09/09 only) 9 6 2.00 (.71) 2.00 (.89)
Composite: mean of all sub-grades 46 26 1.78 (.57) 1.93 (56)
** From 09/09, this is a mean of the grades for 'effectiveness of partnerships' and 'effectiveness of engagement with parents and carers'
*** Between 09/08 and 09/09 these grades did not relate to outcomes but to how well the provision helped children to achieve outcomes
(e.g. how well are children helped to stay safe)
15
Table 1.23 Mann-Whitney test /T-tests: significant differences in Ofsted grades between settings
participating (n=72) and not participating (n=177) in a QA scheme
Ofsted sub-grades QA (72) vs Non QA (177)
Overall effectiveness
Effectiveness with which the setting meets children’s needs U=5394, z=-2.16 (t=-2.03)
Capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement U=5397, z=-2.16 (t=-2.29)
Leadership and management of the EYFS U=5468, z=-2.02 (t=-2.13)
Effectiveness of leadership in embedding ambition & driving improvement (09/09 onwards)
Effectiveness with which setting deploys resources (09/09 onwards)
Effectiveness with which setting promotes equality diversity/inclusive practice
Effectiveness of safeguarding
Effectiveness of self-evaluation U=5390, z=-2.16 (t=-2.29)
Effectiveness of partnerships with parents and others**
Effectiveness of engagement with parents/carers (09/09 onwards)
Quality of provision in the EYFS (09/09 onwards)
Outcomes for children in the EYFS (09/09 onwards)
Extent to which children achieve/enjoy their learning***
Extent to which children feel safe***
Extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles***
Extent to which children make a positive contribution***
Extent to which children develop skills for the future***
Children helped to learn & develop? (pre-09/09 only)
How effectively is the welfare of children promoted? (pre-09/09 only)
Composite: mean of all sub-grades
** From 09/09, this is a mean of the grades for 'effectiveness of partnerships' and 'effectiveness of engagement with parents and carers'
*** Between 09/08 and 09/09 these grades did not relate to outcomes but to how well the provision helped children to achieve outcomes
(e.g. how well are children helped to stay safe)
16
Table 1.24 Mann-Whitney test /T-tests: significant differences in Ofsted grades between settings
participating in a local authority quality assurance scheme (n=46), settings taking part in a non-local
authority QA scheme (n=26) and settings not participating in quality assurance (n=177)
Ofsted sub-grades
QA (LA) (46) vs
QA (Non-LA) (26)
QA (LA) (46) vs
Non QA (177)
QA (Non-LA) (26)
vs Non QA (177)
Overall effectiveness
Effectiveness with which the setting meets children’s needs
U=3349, z=-2.16
(t=-2.22)
Capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement
U=3328, z=-2.17
(t=-2.24)
Leadership and management of the EYFS
U=3281, z=-2.33
(t=-2.37)
Effectiveness of leadership in embedding ambition & driving
improvement (09/09 onwards)
Effectiveness with which setting deploys resources (09/09
onwards)
Effectiveness with which setting promotes equality
diversity/inclusive practice
Effectiveness of safeguarding
Effectiveness of self-evaluation
U=3212, z=-2.48
(t=-2.52)
Effectiveness of partnerships with parents and others**
Effectiveness of engagement with parents/carers (09/09 onwards)
Quality of provision in the EYFS (09/09 onwards)
Outcomes for children in the EYFS (09/09 onwards)
Extent to which children achieve/enjoy their learning***
U=3320, z=-2.24
(t=-2.26)
Extent to which children feel safe***
Extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles***
Extent to which children make a positive contribution***
Extent to which children develop skills for the future***
U=3357, z=-2.14
(t=-2.17)
Children helped to learn & develop? (pre-09/09 only)
How effectively is the welfare of children promoted? (pre-09/09
only)
Composite: mean of all sub-grades
** From 09/09, this is a mean of the grades for 'effectiveness of partnerships' and 'effectiveness of engagement with parents and carers'
*** Between 09/08 and 09/09 these grades did not relate to outcomes but to how well the provision helped children to achieve outcomes
(e.g. how well are children helped to stay safe)
Finally, Table 1.25 shows the relationships between ECERS/ITERS scores and Ofsted grades for the
‘quality assurance’ sub-sample, which are very similar to those seen for the main dataset.
Table 1.25 Partial correlations: significant associations between ECERS-R (n=249), ECERS-E (n=245) and
ITERS-R (n=145) measures and Ofsted’s overall effectiveness grade for the quality assurance sub-
sample (EYFS inspections only), controlling for the gap between ECERS/ITERS and Ofsted assessments
Total Childcare Quality
(1-6)* (ECERS-R)
Total Curricular Quality
(ECERS-E)
Total Childcare Quality
(1-6)* (ITERS-R)
Overall effectiveness (EYFS) -0.29 -0.31
* Mean of items in the first six subscales related to childcare quality
17
PART 2: QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
The qualitative element of the study sets out to ask the following research questions:
1. How do the different stakeholders (parents, providers and local authorities) perceive quality
in early years education and care?
2. To what extent do the concepts of quality embodied in the measures considered here align
with stakeholder perceptions of quality?
3. How effectively do the three approaches considered here support stakeholders in
identifying and improving quality?
To answer these questions, focus groups were conducted with parents, key local authority staff
involved in quality improvement work, and managers from a range of settings (including nurseries,
pre-school provision and playgroups). Although the sample is not fully representative of all
stakeholders, participants were carefully selected to represent a range of perspectives, contexts and
views. The following questionnaire, topic guides and additional information sheets were used in the
qualitative research to answer the above questions.
The questionnaire was used to ensure we had recruited parents from a range of backgrounds. We
liaised with providers to assist in asking parents to complete a questionnaire prior to taking part.
Parents were asked about their highest qualification, job role and the main language spoken in their
home. Each focus group was then selected to comprise parents from similar social and economic
backgrounds, based on the information provided in the questionnaires and using qualification level as
a proxy (separating parents with a qualification above level three from those whose highest
qualification was no higher than level 2). This was done to ensure parents felt comfortable in
discussing their experiences. Where parents were from different backgrounds, they were split into
two different focus groups.
18
Questionnaire for parents who are taking part in the focus group
Many thanks for taking part in our discussion group. We would be very grateful if you could take a few
minutes to complete a quick, anonymous questionnaire. For research purposes we would like to know
a bit about the circumstances of people which took part in the focus groups. You do not have to
answer any of the questions if you do not wish to. All the information will remain confidential and will
not be shown to anyone who is not involved in this research project.
What are the main languages spoken in your home?
__________________________________________________________
Do you work?
Yes
No
If yes, what is your job title?
__________________________________________________________
How old are your child/ren that attend this setting?
__________________________________________________________
What is the highest qualification you hold? (E.g., GCSE, NVQ level 1, A levels, university degree)
__________________________________________________________
19
Interview topic guides
The following three guides (A, B and C contain pre-set questions agreed by the research team and
approved by the advisory board. The order in which issues are addressed and the amount spent on
different themes will vary between interviews but took around on hour to complete and were
conducted by a trained researcher. The main aim is to draw out key themes and perceptions which are
consistent across all groups.
A. Parents Topic Guide:
Introduction
Thank you for coming. I am ******* from the Daycare Trust. We have asked you here today to gather
information for a project we are currently working which seeks to understand how parents assess the
quality of nurseries. We would like to know how you came to choose the nursery or nurseries that you
have used for your children; what things you look for in a nursery; what things would put you off using
a nursery; and what your ideal nursery would look like.
All the information you give will be treated in confidence you or your child will not be individually
identified. Nothing, which you say, will be fed back to the setting. Before we start there are a few
things I need to say to enable this discussion to run smoothly
We would like to stress that:
• Everybody’s contributions are important
• There are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers
• A number of topics to cover -so sometimes I might stop conversations and move the
discussion along - please understand this and do not be offended if we move on to
another topic
• We welcome your input and if you have more to contribute we would be grateful if
you can talk to us at the end supply a contact number and suitable time (if possible
date and time)
Introductions
Ask everyone to give:
• name (first only is fine)
• number and ages of children attending the setting
Part one – parents views of quality
1. When you originally began looking for childcare for your children, did you have a choice of
nurseries which were suitable for your needs (i.e. in the right location, affordable and with the
opening times you needed)?
2. Try to recall back to when you originally chose to send your child/ren to this nursery–
i. Did you visit any other settings before choosing this one for your child?
i. If yes, how many?
ii. What information did you use to decide whether to send your child to this nursery?
Prompts (only use if parents are not forthcoming):
→ Did you look at Ofsted reports (& how did you access them)?
20
→ Recommendation by a friend already using the setting?
→ Information from your council
→ Information from the setting
→ Observing the setting during a visit.
3. If any of you have used the Ofsted report on this nursery, could you say how much of a factor
the report was, if any, in helping you to decide whether to choose a nursery?
Prompts:
→ One of many factors, the only factor or important, but not as important as something
else – what?
→ Could you say what was the deciding factor?
4. How useful was this information in light of what you now know about the nursery? Has your
opinion of the setting changed from your initial impression? (That is, the impression they got
from whatever information they used to form the initial impression)
i. If it is different, how so?
ii. Are there things you wish you had known before choosing the setting?
5. Thinking about the quality of childcare you want for your child – what would you describe as
the aspects which are most important in creating that quality?
Prompts:
→ Characteristics of individual caregivers – warmth, sensitivity, to child’s needs level of
education?
→ Warm and loving atmosphere?
→ Activities offered by the setting – educational or social focus – do you feel they
contribute well to the educational or social development of your child?
→ Physical characteristics of the nursery – (if do not understand - space for outdoor play,
soft play, books)
→ How well the setting communicates with you about your child’s development?
6. If you ever have been unhappy about any element of the care provided by the setting what
have you done about it? If this is not the case, could you say what you might do if you did?
Prompts:
→ Raised a complaint to the manager, to Ofsted?
→ Taken your child out of a setting?
Part two – looking at ECERS and Ofsted
We are now going to take parents through the Early Years Foundation Stage. When Ofsted inspects a
nursery, part of what it is evaluating is how well it meets the requirements of something called the
Early Years Foundation Stage, which you may or may not be aware of. I will briefly go through the main
aspects of it so we can have a discussion about how you feel about it, whether it covers things you
think are important and which aspects are more important than others. I would also like you to
compare it to what you think comprises quality setting and see how well it matches up.
[introduce EYFS - See separate briefing of EYFS]
For each aspect could you rate it:
• Very important
21
• Quite important
• Not really important at all
[This is to stimulate a critical discussion rather than report exact answers]
• Thinking about what you think comprises quality care in nurseries; does this capture it quite
well?
• Is it missing anything? If so, what?
Ofsted reports
We would now like you to spend 5 minutes reading an Ofsted report of another setting. The reason I
am not showing the report of this setting is because we want to know your opinion on how useful
Ofsted inspection reports are to you and not how you feel about how it evaluates this setting.
We want you to imagine that you are considering sending your child to this nursery. After you have
read this we are going to ask you a few questions about what you thought of it –
• Could you find all the information which you wanted to know? [Think back to our discussion of
what comprises quality – did it inform you of how well it met these requirements?]
• Was there anything not in it which you would have liked to see?
• Was it easy to find the things most important to you in enabling you to make a decision?
• Would it help you to decide whether to send your child to this setting?
Closing
Well, that’s all. Once again, thank you very much for giving your time. The process from here is that I
am going to go away and analyse what you have said. We are going to be producing a report at the end
of the year which will be put on our website. And we are also going to be producing a guide for parents
on choosing high quality childcare. We’ll be sending some copies of this to this nursery.
B. Local Authority Topic Guide:
Introduction
Thank you for coming. I am ******* from the Daycare Trust. We have asked you here today to gather
information for a research project we are currently working which seeks to understand how key
stakeholders evaluate and assess quality in early years settings. The research project is being
undertaken by a partnership of Daycare Trust, Oxford University’s Department for Education and A+
Education. We will be asking you to compare the Ofsted inspections and quality assessment tools such
as ECERS or your own internal QA tools. We would like to know how well you think they aid you in
your work to drive up quality.
We will be recording the discussion; I hope everyone is happy with this. This is to enable our writing
up of the focus group; as soon as it has been used it will be deleted. All the information you give will
be treated in confidence and you will not be individually identified in our write up of the focus group.
We have a lot to cover during this one hour discussion; please do not be offended if I have to move
the discussion on to ensure we cover everything.
Introductions
Ask everyone to give their names and job title.
Part 1
22
1. Thinking about the early years settings you work with, could you describe what elements of
care comprise high quality for you? (For example policies and practices)
Prompts (if needed):
→ Characteristics of individual caregivers – training, interactions with children
→ Activities offered by the setting
→ Opportunities for educational development
→ Opportunities for social development
→ Physical characteristics of the setting – (if do not understand - space for outdoor play,
soft play, books)
→ Communication with parents (about child’s development etc)
2. What quality assurance schemes and quality tools are you using in your local authorities or
have used recently? (E.g. ECERS & ITERS)
• Any other QA schemes providers you work with may use, including your own bespoke
schemes (ask them to describe what these are/provide their names)
• For each of the QA schemes they say they use, ask how they use them – do they
signpost providers, do they provide support for providers who wish to take part on
the schemes – this could include training, business advice etc, or funding.
3. To what extent does the Ofsted inspection and the quality assurance schemes you have used
align with what you perceive to be important aspects of quality early years care?
Prompts:
→ Ask them to refer back to what they said in response to Q1
→ Ask them to think about any quality tools they use and would like them to be specific
as possible about how well they align
→ Does Ofsted capture all of the elements you feel are important to quality care? Do
other tools you use?
→ Ask them to be specific as possible as to what measurement captures what aspects
best. For example, do some capture educational aspects, social development?
→ Is there any element of quality care which isn’t covered by any of the tools?
Part 2
In this next part we would like to ask you how well each of the tools helps you to improve quality in
early years settings, inform parents about quality and support decisions about funding.
4. How useful do you find Ofsted and any QA schemes/tools you use as a tool for improving
quality?
Prompts:
→ That is, encouraging and supporting settings to improve the quality of their provision?
→ Try to get them to talk about Ofsted as a measure for improving quality and then
compare to any other tools they use
→ How useful are they for engaging practitioners in quality improvement work?
→ How do they usually respond to each - do some do certain schemes more reluctantly
for example?
23
→ Try to encourage participants to compare Ofsted and different QA schemes. For
example, if a setting gets a low Ofsted grade does this provoke them to engage better
in other QA schemes?
5. How useful do you find each of the different measures available as a tool for informing
parents about quality?
[5 mins]
6. How useful do you find Ofsted and QA schemes you use for supporting your decisions about
funding allocation and service commissioning?
[5-10 mins]
E.g., Ofsted, ECERS E & R, ITERS [Talk about each in turn, but they may also want to discuss
them at the same time so they can compare]
7. Are there any further comments anyone would like to make?
Closing
Thank you for participating in this focus group. We will be writing up this research and producing a
final report that will be published early next year.
C. Provider Topic Guide:
Introduction
Thank you for coming. I am ******* from the Daycare Trust. We have asked you here today to gather
information for a research project we are currently working which seeks to understand how providers
feel about the Ofsted inspection process and different quality measures such as–ECERS and any
quality assurance schemes you may be taking part in. We want to know how helpful you find these
measures in any improving the quality of your setting.
We will be producing a report early next year of which we will be happy to send a copy to you. All the
information you give will be treated in confidence and you will not be individually identified in the
report.
Introductions
Ask everyone to give their names, job role, name of setting and what type of setting it is (private,
maintained, voluntary).
[Reiterate, this is for the purposes of the person transcribing this tape and to follow the flow of
individual answers. This will not be used to identify who said what.]
1. Thinking about the early years settings you work with, could you describe what elements of
care comprise high quality for you? (For example policies and practices).
Prompts (if necessary):
→ Characteristics of individual caregivers – training, interactions with children
→ Activities offered by the setting
→ Opportunities for educational development
→ Opportunities for social development
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→ Physical characteristics of the setting – (if do not understand - space for outdoor play,
soft play, books)
→ Communication with parents (about child’s development etc)
2. What quality assurance schemes have you used in recent years?
3. Thinking about Ofsted inspections, ECERS and any other Quality Assurance scheme you may
use, could you describe how useful you feel each of them are in supporting your quality
improvement work?
Prompts:
→ Could you describe what you find helpful about each?
→ Any criticisms?
→ Are there any aspects of any of them which work better than another, for example?
4. To what extent does the Ofsted inspection and the quality assurance schemes you have used
align with what you perceive to be important aspects of quality early years care?
Prompts:
→ This is asking them to refer back to what they said in response to Q1
→ We are asking them to think about any quality tools they use and would like them to be
specific as possible about how well they align
→ Does Ofsted capture all of the elements you feel are important to quality care? Do other
tools you use?
→ Ask them to be specific as possible as to what measurement captures what aspects best.
For example, do some capture educational aspects, social development?
→ Is there any element of quality care which isn’t covered by any of the tools? Do you
feel there are aspects to quality they do not cover but you work to implement
anyway?
5. Overall, what impact has Ofsted inspections and the quality assurance scheme you use had on
your setting?
Prompts:
→ Get them to talk about all the tools they use and compare them – do they find that they
help them to push up quality?
→ Do they cover things they don’t think are relevant and miss out things they do think are?
→ Are they able to recognise aspects of quality they have in the setting (for example, Ofsted
may not take long enough to assess them)
6. Which of the different measures do you find most useful for communicating to parents about
the quality of your service?
7. Could you describe any practical issues you might face in preparing for the Ofsted inspection?
8. Could you describe any practical issues you face preparing for quality assurance schemes such
as ECERS and any other quality tools you may use?
Prompts:
→ Language of the requirements – for example is the way they are described clear?
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→ Do you feel you are clear on which requirements are the most important, which ones are
supplementary?
Closing Thank you for participating in this focus group. We will be writing up this research and producing a final report that will be published early next year.
Additional Information for Parents Focus Groups:
Participating parents in the parent focus groups are provided with a summary of the Early Years
Foundation Stage (D) and are asked to read and review an example Ofsted report (E).
D. Summary of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS):
EYFS is based on 4 themes:
Theme 1 – A Unique Child
Child development
• Babies and children develop in individual ways at different rates. All areas of development
(physical, cognitive, language, spiritual, social, emotional) are equally important.
Health and safety
• Children should be kept safe, physically and psychologically.
Inclusive practice
• No child or family is discriminated against. The diversity of individuals and communities is
valued and respected.
Theme 2 – Positive relationships
Relationship between staff and children
• Warm, trusting, respectful relationships with adults support children’s learning more
effectively than any amount of resources.
• A key person will be assigned a small group of children so each child has one key person who
helps them to feel safe and cared for. This person will also have a relationship with the parent,
so they can inform them about their child’s development.
The role of parents as partners
• The nursery should recognise that parents are their child’s most important educators and
work with them.
Theme 3 – Enabling Environments
The physical environment
• A varied learning environment is important for a child’s development.
• The environment should be safe but challenging and involve both indoor and outdoor spaces.
Children at the centre
• Staff should plan activities which appeal to each child’s interests and development needs.
• Activities should be challenging but achievable, based on nursery staff’s observations of the
child.
Working with a range of professionals
• Nursery staff should work with other professionals who can help support children’s
development, if necessary.
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Theme 4 – Learning and Development
Play and exploration
• Children learn best through play; play with other children is important for their development.
• Children need both mental and physical challenges. They need the chance to be creative and
play with ideas in different situations. Nursery staff should support children’s play,
encouraging them to think critically and ask questions.
Areas of learning and development
• Six areas are identified by the EYFS: language/literacy; maths/reasoning/problem solving;
physical development; social/emotional development; creative development; knowledge &
understanding of the world. All are equally important.
E. The Ofsted Inspection report used in the Parent Focus groups can be found on:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/CARE/EY387260