Making the Difference Early Years Toolkit
The toolkit allows leaders and managers to develop a thorough understanding of the impact of financial disadvantage on children and to effectively plan the use of funding for children eligible for Early years pupil premium or pupil premium.
The editable proformas provide schools and settings with a consistent method of planning, monitoring and evaluating the impact of interventions to ensure that they are having the desired outcomes for children experiencing disadvantage and/or identified as vulnerable.
Supporting Smooth Transitions
Some children may need particular help, including from other agencies, to ensure that their transition is as smooth as possible from pre-school into nursery and reception settings.
Research suggested that transitions are central to young children’s development and emotional wellbeing. How the first transitions are handled can have a significant impact on a child’s capacity to cope with change in the short and long term and impact the progress they make from their starting points. The Supporting Smooth Transitions toolkit and Transition Level of Need tool have been developed to ensure that early identification of potential barriers on entry to school can be addressed through effective communication between early years practitioners and enhanced transition procedures for children and their families.
The Supporting Smooth Transitions toolkit is a suite of resources created by professionals working within the health and education that can be used to supplement current transition procedures within schools and settings.
The Transition Level of Need tool (TLoNt) can also be found within the toolkit (Hertfordshire schools only). It has been developed for schools and settings in Hertfordshire to share information about any potential needs to enable effective transition to be implemented for every child.
If you work in a school or setting outside of Hertfordshire or are a local authority interested in the Supporting Smooth Transition Programme, please contact us eytransition@hfleducation.org
Training
Throughout the year, there are various training opportunities linked to Supporting Smooth Transitions.
- Autumn term – surgeries led by local services that schools can access for further advice
- Spring term – briefings to explain processes for using the TLoNt and ‘train the trainer’ sessions on leading effective parent/carer inductions
- Summer term – workshops on supporting smooth transition for children with specific identified needs.
Here at The Grove Infant and Nursery School we have been really impressed with the smooth transition resources. We have made up the booklets, and we are already using the plans for the children coming up.
The Grove Infant and Nursery school, Harpenden
The Transition Level of Need tool (TLoNt) enhanced the school’s strong transition procedures. It provided a focus for discussions with feeder settings and allowed me to prioritise the children highlighted as requiring intensive or personalised support on entry to school.
Nursery teacher, Flamstead End School, Cheshunt
Terrific Talkers programme
Terrific Talkers provides training and tools to embed quality interactions within the school or setting that impact on children’s communication and language development. The programme includes four webinar training sessions, plus and optional half-day consultancy visit, as well as the Terrific Talkers materials. Together these enable leaders to develop staff knowledge and confidence, implementing a focused approach to developing children’s communication skills.
Practitioners gain a clear understanding of interaction styles that offer the best opportunities for children to develop their vocabulary, social interactions and language for learning. 84% of settings that have accessed the programme report an increase in the numbers of children working at expected standards for communication and language across three terms.
