The Department for Education has today published its response to the EYFS consultation conducted in the summer. The changes will be implemented from January 2024 and copies of the revised Statutory Framework documents will be published in the coming weeks. Ministers have listened to feedback on two key proposals and will not go ahead with changing the proportion of Level 2 staff required within ratios or change the qualifications and ratios outside so-called “peak hours”. We welcome that decision.
Many will be disappointed that DfE have decided to drop the requirement for Level 3 Early Years Educators to have a level 2 maths qualification. While we recognise that the GCSE maths qualification may not be fit for purpose, and many able practitioners struggle to complete it, the message sent by this change must not be that early years practitioners do not need to be confident and confident about maths. Quite the contrary – more is needed to support practitioners in understanding and supporting early years mathematical development and learning .
We are deeply concerned by the decision to remove the requirement for settings to take reasonable steps to support children with English as an additional language. Government will amend the wording from “must” to “may” in the paragraph which currently states: “For children whose home language is not English, providers must take reasonable steps to provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and learning, supporting their language development at home.” This change is in conflict with the EYFS commitments to inclusion and diversity and meeting the needs of every child. A setting which is not prepared to take reasonable steps to support children with EAL would almost by definition be acting unreasonably.
