Transforming EYFS: Strategic Review Consultancy at Oldfield Brow Primary

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Oldfield Brow Primary School, a two-form entry school with a Nursery class, partnered with Early Excellence for an EYFS strategic review consultancy. The school, led by experienced Early Years Lead Charlotte Kelly, serves a diverse population, including a significant number of EAL and SEN students. Seeking external quality assurance and constructive feedback, the school engaged in a comprehensive review of their EYFS provision, resulting in strengthened teaching practices, enriched learning environments, and improved student outcomes.

Download the Oldfield Brow Primary School Case Study

Contextual Information

Oldfield Brow is a two-form entry school with one Nursery class. Within the school there are 350 children, of which 10% are Pupil Premium, 38.9% are EAL and 9.7% are registered as SEN. Charlotte Kelly, the Early Years Lead, is experienced in teaching in both Reception and Nursery. There are two teachers and two teaching assistants in the Reception classes, which operate as a base during provision time, with an outdoor learning space being available for free flow. The Nursery have their own indoor and outdoor learning spaces and is staffed by 1 teacher and 2 members of support staff.

Included in this Strategic Review

Contextual information sharing
Review of Reception and Nursery provision both indoor & outdoor
Engagement with children in provision & capture of their ‘voice’
Working alongside the EY Leader
Curriculum discussion & exploration of documents
Exploration of work samples, learning journals & floor books
Verbal feedback session with Headteacher, Deputy & EY Leader
Written report following visit

Project Intent & Implementation

EYFS Leader Charlotte Kelly, got in touch with Early Excellence to commission an EYFS Strategic Review Consultancy. Her school Leadership Team were seeking external quality assurance and constructive feedback from a trusted expert regarding their school improvement progress since their last Ofsted Inspection.

Together we developed a structure for the day to encompass the full breadth of evaluating the effectiveness of the school’s EYFS, with a sharp focus on teaching, learning and the curriculum. It was great to be joined by Charlotte throughout the review as it allowed for in depth discussions. I was delighted to meet with the Leadership Team to feedback the findings, sharing positives and next steps, and offering them absolute clarity in the ‘what and why’ for the recommendations, with strategic and practical suggestions to achieve these.

As this was an individual piece of work, my priorities were to ensure a rigorous and robust review that celebrated strengths and identified the key improvement points, enabling the school to formulate their action plan, and be well placed to drive forward their priorities. Just take a look at the comments from Headteacher, James, and EY Leader, Charlotte, about their onward development journey!

Best Wishes

Sarah Carey, Early Excellence School Improvement Lead

Evaluating the Impact

How Effective was the EYFS Strategic Review Consultancy?

“I can’t emphasis enough how purposeful the strategic review was! We were involved throughout, with plenty of professional discussions to explore our journey and the effectiveness of our practice. Sarah’s expert eye enabled us to unpick strengths and next steps for the children, environment, adults and learning. It was an exceptional CPD opportunity which built our confidence, challenged our thinking and crystalised our articulation of the ‘why’ underpinning our approach.”

How useful were the Findings & Feedback?

“Sarah provided extremely detailed, helpful feedback that’s been invaluable! We constantly refer to the celebratory aspects, whilst the development points have directly shaped our improvement plan. The findings were clearly explained and provided the traction point for our onward journey. The feedback also gave us a springboard for our ongoing professional conversations. The way Sarah reviewed our EYFS has now threaded into our wider school practice, incorporating the key lenses into our monitoring procedures, documentations and appraisals.”

What was the impact on Teaching & Learning?

“We’ve really sharpened the continuity and progression within the provision from Nursery to Reception. Our work to create revised provision plans and tiered vocabulary maps have helped the whole EYFS team to understand the provision and how it connects to the curriculum. This has resulted in improved teaching and learning opportunities, both planned and facilitated. We have made huge strides forward in delivering on our goal to ensure the best possible outcomes for each learner in our school.”

Our Children

“There’s been a big impact on the children’s progress! Their play has become much more purposeful, with greater focus and intention. They now access the provision much more effectively and remain immersed in their learning for extended periods of time. It’s wonderful to see their thinking, learning and amazing creations!”

Our Environment

“The effectiveness of our environment has improved! We’ve spent a lot of time considering the provision offer and the value of each learning resource in supporting the curriculum – they’ve definitely earnt their place on the shelf…and we know why! This, along with the provision planning and vocabulary maps, has meant that the quality of learning is to an even higher standard.”

Our Adults

“Adult interactions have definitely been strengthened! As an EYFS team we feel more confident in knowing the potential learning possibilities in the provision and we have a tighter focus on the vocabulary used with the children. Our discussions now centre around the 4 key threads which were explored with Sarah – we’ve found it a really useful framework to guide our thinking.”