Welcome to the EYPS Forum!

The EYPS forum was launched in April 2008 to support EYPs and EYPS candidates. If your local authority subscribes to the EYPSf subscription scheme, you have full access to the website's facilities. To access the list of participating LAs, click here.

The DCSF has launched Support for All: The Families and Relationships Green Paper . As part of this the department is consulting you on their measures to further support all families.

Support for All sets out a broad cross-Government strategy on supporting families and relationships. Evidence shows that parental involvement in their children's education has a significant positive effect on educational achievement, not just early on in life, but also into adolescence and adulthood.

In the ministerial forward, Ed Balls states:

"This Green Paper sets out a wide range of measures to support all families as they
bring up their children and to help families cope with times of stress and difficulty.
They recognise that while all families need some help, there are families in our
society with complex needs and others who require additional - and sometimes
non-negotiable - support. Some of the policy proposals can be implemented
straight away; others are for consultation or will take longer to put into place."

You can read the paper and see the consultation at www.dcsf.gov.uk/supportforall.

We welcome EYPs and candidates from the local authority of Wiltshire, Staffordshire and Warrington as our newest members! Please feel free to look around, join in and get in touch if you have any problems or questions! Liverpool, Birmingham, Norfolk, Suffolk, Isle of Wight, Wigan and LB of Camden local authorities have just renewed for a second year. A special welcome back to East Sussex, Islington and Southampton who have now renewed for a third year. Current members from these authorities need do nothing: their account subscriptions will automatically be renewed.

Latest Articles

Recent Ofsted Reports (Part 3): Looking at the EYFS theme of Enabling Environments

February 11th, 2010
The third in our series looking at the the most recent Ofsted reports and the focus of inspectors' recommendations and praise Read more

Recent Ofsted Reports: What have Inspectors Focused On? (Part 2)

February 1st, 2010
In the second of our series of four articles, we outline those issues that have appeared frequently in Ofsted reports over the last three months. Here we consider the recommendations and descriptions of good practice within the EYFS theme of Positive Relationships. Read more

Recent Ofsted Reports: What Have Inspectors Focused On? (Part 1)

January 28th, 2010
Having studied over 100 Ofsted reports from the last three months, we can see certain recurrent themes. In a series of four articles we outline those issues that have appeared frequently and our first article looks at recommendations and descriptions of good practice within the EYFS theme of A Unique Child. Read more

Partnership with Parents: Messy Play

December 17th, 2009
Following the parent information leaflet about reading, accessed from our resource library here on the forum, here is one about Messy Play. Parents may not be aware of the value of messy play and this leaflet helps to explain why it is encouraged in early years settings. Read more

EYP of the Year, Catherine Flynn, talks to the EYPS Forum

December 7th, 2009
Catherine tells us about her journey to EYPS, life after achieving the status, and describes her views on leadership, best practice, and the way forward for EYPS. Read more

Partnership with Parents: Supporting Pre-Reading Skills

November 26th, 2009
Working in partnership with parents and carers is such an important part of the EYP's role. Here, we introduce a new series of resources to the EYPS forum to help you inform parents about best practice in the EYFS, and how they can support their child's learning and development at home. Read more

Learning Styles

November 17th, 2009
This article is the first in a short series by Juliet Mickelburgh, looking at recent developments in our understanding of how children learn. Read more

Training Staff in Special Educational Needs

August 8th, 2009
Rosaline Scott, an EYPS candidate at Brighton, recently held a training session on SEN at her setting. Here she tells us how she led the session and what impact this has had on her staff and provision. Read more

In Their Own Words: EYPs Speak Out

August 8th, 2009
Aspect's EYP lead officer Helen Willis, an active member of the EYPSf, outlines the findings from a survey inviting EYPs and EYPS candidates to express their views. Read more