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Early Excellence Centres (EECs) were established in the late
1990s to bring together early education, day care, social
support and adult learning. By autumn 2003 there were 107
centres, with recognised strengths in effective training strategies,
men's involvement in services, special needs resources and
support for young parents. EECs paved the way for Children's
Centres and extended schools, as well as aspects of the concept
of Children's Services as set out in the Green Paper Every
Child Matter. For more on all these, see the links
below.
Ofsted, 2004
Ofsted inspected 23 EECs and two Early Excellence Networks
in 2001-2003. This report identifies the areas of effective
practice found in the inspection, and makes recommendations
for improvement. The provision in three quarters of the EECs
inspected was found to be good or better. Children make good
progress, often from a low starting point, in the Foundation
Stage Curriculum, although some areas of learning are more
developed than others.
Literacy development
Children at EECs do best in their personal, social, emotional
and physical development, and speaking and listening skills
are developed well. However, teaching is weakest in early
literacy, mathematics and aspects of creative development,
meaning that children do less well in these areas, and the
more able are not always challenged sufficiently. The report
makes the criticism that in too many centres, children receive
much praise and encouragement but little direct teaching based
on clear, specific learning objectives for early literacy.
Parent and family support
Almost all EECs have developed very well managed services
for family support, adult education and children with special
educational needs. This is due to very effective partnerships
with agencies such as health authorities, social services,
Sure Start, the police and further education colleges. Where
courses for adult literacy and numeracy are provided, parents
and carers are able to improve their skills and better support
their children. In this respect EECs are "ahead of the
game" and provide a model for other early years providers.
All EECs encourage and enable parents to meet regularly at
the centre with a member of staff, or sometimes an attached
health practitioner. Courses run at EECs include the Basic
Skills Agency's Early Start programme, SHARE and Storysacks,
as well as those covering child behaviour management, first
aid, healthy eating, beauty therapy and local history. One
centre provides drop-in play sessions, where staff model good
ways of working with children and listen to parents' concerns;
parents report that their children were more socially aware
and that they themselves felt less stress as a result. The
recruitment of bilingual staff by some centres has successfully
widened participation by parents who would not otherwise have
accessed the provision. These parents have gained in confidence
are better able to approach staff and discuss their children's
progress and ways of helping them at home. Several EECs provide
excellent outreach services, whose workers take active steps
to reach those families who are most vulnerable and isolated;
some are supported in their homes, and some progress to non-accredited
and accredited learning.
EECs in partnership
One EEC under inspection is part of a further education college
that has early years classrooms. These provide cooking facilities
for the children, and also a library. Another centre shares
a site with a public library, which stocks a large range of
children's books and books for adult courses, has put together
packs similar to Storysacks and also lends toys. The evaluation
also found that where there are good levels of joint working
with Local Education Authorities and Early Years Development
and Childcare Partnerships, EECs have a significant influence
on early years policy, and can provide a model for developing
integrated services for children and their families.
Links:
More on…
Tony Bertram, Christine Pascal, Sophia Bokhari, Mike Gasper
and Sally Holtermanm, Centre for Research in Early Childhood,
St Thomas Centre, Birmingham, research report 361, July 2002
The evaluation of the Early Excellence Centre (EEC) pilot
programme began in 1998. This report covers the period from
2000 to 2001 and provides interim evidence on the functioning,
benefits, costs and funding of the 29 pilot programmes, including
both qualitative and quantitative data.
Findings
The interim evidence from the evaluation indicated that the
EEC pilot programme was continuing to evolve and to be recognised
as a catalyst for change within the sector. This was achieved
by pilot programmes:
- acting as exemplars of a range of models and organisational
types of integrated service delivery
- providing an increasing range of education, care and
family support services, coupled with increasing amounts
of training and dissemination activity
- making stronger and more strategic links with their local
Early Years and Childcare Development Partnerships (EYCDPs),
local authority strategic planning forums, and other local
and national early years and community-based initiatives
- providing qualitative evidence from EEC users, practitioners
and local evaluators on their perceptions of the capacity
of the EEC programme to deliver benefits for children, parents
and families that appear to enhance educational achievement,
reduce social exclusion, address child and family poverty
and improve the quality of family life
- identifying and disseminating successful and innovatory
professional practice in integrated service delivery, through
the provision of high levels of training and professional
development activity, and their increasing links with EYCDPs
- calculating the costs and funding patters of complex,
multi-disciplinary, early years services.
Link:
The full report, or the research brief, can be downloaded
from www.dfes.gov.uk/research. A
hard copy is available for £4.95 from DfES Publications
on 0845 60 222 60, reference RR361. The research brief is
free of charge, reference RB361.
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