Books

Monitoring and Evaluation

in the early years
Assessing the effectiveness of what we do
by Pennie Akehurst
Contents
Introduction2 Chapter 4: Accurate self-evaluation 50
and action planning
Chapter 1: The basis of effective 4
Analysing monitoring data51
monitoring systems and processes
What to record52
Why we need a business strategy4
Recording your findings 61
Finding your WHY5
Action planning62
Making your WHY happen6
Your WHAT (defining outcomes for success)8 Annexes
Turning outcomes for success into actions12 Annex A – Forming your WHY, HOW, WHAT69

Chapter 2: Developing an effective 18 Annex B – Mapping actions against levels70

monitoring framework of responsibility
Understanding governance18 Annex C – Mapping inspection actions and71
Setting your monitoring criteria25 recommendations against the NPQ Content
Creating leadership opportunities27 and Assessment Framework

Organising yourself and others30 Annex D – Risk mapping74

The EYFS and the Early Years Inspection31 Annex E – How to create a rigorous and75
Handbook manageable monitoring framework

Chapter 3: Monitoring and managing 32 Annex F – A performance management76

performance review template
Clarity of roles and responsibilities32 Annex G – A self-evaluation template78
Understanding performance management33 Annex H – An action planning template79
Managing your workload36
References80
Formal discussions42
Managing underperformance46 Acknowledgements82

Published by Practical Pre-School Books, A Division of MA Education Ltd, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, Herne Hill, London, SE24 0PB.
Tel: 020 7738 5454 www.practicalpreschoolbooks.com © MA Education Ltd 2019. All photos © MA Education Ltd.
Design: Mary Holmes fonthillcreative 01722 717036
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopied or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN 978-1-912611-05-8

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Chapter 1: The basis of effective
monitoring systems and processes
This book aims to provide the roadmap for any setting to what is currently in place and to identify changes that will
become really great at what they do. I have chosen not to increase the effectiveness of what you do, and the quality
use Ofsted’s terminology of ‘Outstanding’ because that of what children receive.
tends to focus the mind on what is written in the Early
Years Inspection Handbook, whereas I want to give you the Why we need a business strategy
time and space to focus on good business strategy and
effective management practices that will ensure that what We need a business strategy because it is the only way to
you do, day in, day out, is of a consistently high standard. ensure that we are clear about our setting’s purpose and
With those systems in place, outstanding judgements will that what we do at every level of our provision contributes
come and, more importantly, will be sustained. to that purpose.

Business strategy hasn’t really featured on the radar of many There is a huge amount of research about the development
leaders, managers and quality improvement consultants of effective monitoring systems both in education and out
because early years courses and qualifications have heavily in the wider world of industry, but that isn’t a helpful place
focused on pedagogy and practice. This is as it should be for us to start as the vast majority of that work assumes that
because tuning into children to meet their individual needs we already know what needs to be in place before we can
and supporting them to flourish is our core business. start to focus on what is working well and what isn’t. So, to
ensure that we have a solid foundation for our monitoring
It requires a high level of skill and an in-depth knowledge and evaluation activities, we are going back to basics to
of child development and how children learn, but when we make sure that we haven’t left anything fundamental out.
move into a management role, there is also a need for us
to have a wider view of what we do and how we do it. We In this first chapter, we are going to spend time unpicking how
need to be able to look beyond pedagogy and practice. to put a business strategy together; our journey, therefore,
This resource has been designed so that you can follow needs to start with our purpose or, as motivational speaker
a process that will enable you and your team to reflect on and organisation consultant Simon Sinek puts it, 'our WHY'.

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 Chapter 1: The basis of effective monitoring systems and processes

In his numerous YouTube video clips, books and What might your WHY look like?
interviews, Simon has been able to identify the root
cause of so many of the problems that we face in our Our purpose should be meaningful. It needs to mean something
daily work as leaders and managers. He describes it as to our staff, to those who use our services and to our children.
losing our WHY or core purpose. However, it isn't always easy to communicate it. How can we
explain what we’re here to do and what is important to us?
Simon’s research would lead him to believe that staff in
a huge number of organisations know what they do, and If you feel that your WHY is missing and are unsure of where
how they do it, but very few of those staff members will to start, there are some examples of WHYs below. At the
know specifically why they do it. When he talks about the very least you will be able to use these statements to
WHY, he’s not talking about what motivates individuals open a conversation about what you do and don’t like and
in particular, for example, being able to pay the bills or to what you believe is right for your setting with your team.
pay the mortgage. He’s talking about our setting’s WHY,
which is the reason our pre-school or nursery exists…our n To provide children with high quality environments and
purpose or our ultimate goal. highly-skilled staff that can support them to explore
(Sinek, S. 2009.) and learn about the world around them.
n To create meaningful relationships with families

Finding your WHY ensuring that we work together to meet the individual
needs of their child so that they may flourish.
In early years, a setting's purpose is often developed n To provide children with inspiring learning
around the themes of providing children with solid environments and highly-skilled staff who can help
foundations for later learning, helping children to fulfil each child to develop their unique skills and talents.
their potential and the need to keep our youngest and, in n To provide a learning community in which children
some cases, most vulnerable children safe. and adults learn together, and where children can
explore and investigate the world around them in a
These types of phrases can often be found in the safe environment that enables them to develop their
publicity materials that we provide for parents, but knowledge, skills, confidence and resilience.
it is rare to find a setting that has invested time in
constructing what they do around these statements, and, The most important thing is that our WHY clearly
more often than not, most of the settings and the staff communicates the reasons for our existence and that it
that I work with will have some differing views as to why then drives what we do.
their setting exists.

As I go around the room, staff members will make an

educated guess as to what their setting’s core purpose
is or will share their own thoughts on why the setting
exists, however, very few of them will be able to share
their WHY with accuracy.

Our WHY is a critical part of our business strategy; it

gives staff a greater insight into their role and enables
them to connect what they do on a daily basis with the
overall goals of our setting. It, therefore, isn't enough
for staff to think that they know our setting’s WHY. They
need to know AND internalise it. That connection must
not be underestimated as it creates a shared sense of
purpose and responsibility that ties us all together, and
that is the very basis of teamwork.

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Chapter 1: The basis of effective monitoring systems and processes

Task 1. - Your WHY Task 2. - Do staff know your WHY?

Do you have a WHY? If not, why does your Check out the understanding of your staff team.
setting exist? What is it there to do? Ask them ‘Why does our setting exist? What are
If you have a WHY, does it still fit and make we here to do?’
sense, or does it need to change?
If it needs to change, who should be involved It is best not to do this activity as a group as
to ensure that your WHY has meaning for staff, you want to understand each member of staff’s
parents and children? understanding. Ask everyone to take those two
questions away and to think about their answers,
then collect everyone’s thoughts and compare
When highly effective leadership teams start with them with your own.
their setting’s WHY, it becomes far easier to develop a
framework that enables them to think about how they Are you all on the same page? Does everyone
are going to get there and what that should look like even understand the question, or have they given
in practice. This framework is important because our you their own personal WHY? You may find that
monitoring and evaluation systems will flow from the you need to spend time discussing what your
WHY, HOW and WHAT we do. WHY/purpose means with your staff team.

First, we need to be clear that vision, mission Until we all have the same level of
statements and values are not the same as our WHY. If understanding, our WHY will just be words on
we do not define our WHY first, we’ll not know whether a piece of paper. It is worth remembering that
our vision is taking us in the right direction, our mission a team cannot truly be effective if they do not
statement is right for our setting or if our values uphold understand their purpose.
our purpose.

Making your WHY happen

Our WHY should also be shaped by our pedagogy or the
how and what we believe children should learn or have With our WHY firmly established, the next logical question
experience of during their time with us. is HOW are we going to make this happen?

Our WHY will be much stronger if staff members have This is a critical step in developing our business strategy
been involved in its development. It creates a sense of as it helps us to identify important areas of work that
ownership and deepens each person’s understanding of contribute overall to the running of a successful early
it and its importance. If staff members are not able to be years setting.
part of the creation of the WHY, dedicated time will need
to be spent developing a shared understanding across our Using one of the WHYs from the earlier examples, we can
staff team. unpick this process in more detail.

THINK ABOUT... Why do we exist? (WHY)

If you believe that your WHY is firmly in place, how Our purpose is to provide children with high quality
do you know that staff have internalised it? Just environments and highly skilled staff that can support
having it in your staff handbook or in induction them to explore and learn about the world around them.
materials will not help staff to connect their roles
and responsibilites with your setting’s purpose. It
needs some dedicated talk time so that you can To understand our HOW, we need to analyse or take
make sure that everyone is on the same page. apart our WHY. We need to ask ourselves what key areas
of work will help us to make our WHY a reality.

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 Chapter 1: The basis of effective monitoring systems and processes

Let’s just take the first part of our WHY and start to of our team members we involve, the less likely we are
understand the key areas of work needed to successfully to miss out something important (although you may just
implement this part of the statement. want to involve senior leaders in larger settings as too
many people can be counterproductive!)
"Our purpose is to provide children with high quality
environments… " Being realistic, there are going to be many leadership
teams who simply cannot afford to pull all staff members
Below are the types of responses that we could expect together to go through this process. In this situation, the
from our team. leadership team will need to find ways of including staff
members in the development of the WHY and HOW.
Maybe you could put together an initial draft and then
How are we going to make this happen? (HOW) take it to your team for consultation or use some initial
We need to understand what research is telling us thoughts as a development item during a team meeting.
about effective learning environments for the different
age groups of children that we support. The ‘how we’re going to make it happen’ isn’t just
We need to adopt a rationale for our environments about the things that we need to do and provide for our
based on what we want children to learn and children. There are also a number of hidden elements
experience (our pedagogy). that contribute to achieving our purpose and the smooth
running of our setting. We will, therefore, be required to
We need to provide well-resourced environments both
consider the need for or implications of:
inside and outside which enable us to deliver a broad
and balanced curriculum.
n legislation and local guidance on the safeguarding,
We need to provide environments that are safe for n employment law and safer recruitment practices,
children to explore and investigate. n data handling (GDPR),
We need to identify the on-going needs of the n Health & Safety legislation,
communities that we serve so that our activities, n financial law,
experiences and environments provide appropriate n financial planning,
support and opportunities. n marketing.

We need to provide environments that motivate

children to investigate, explore and question. There are likely to be other things that we will add to this
list, but the examples above provide a good starting point.
We need to provide environments where children can
lead their own learning by making choices about where
they want to learn in the environment, what they need
to use and who they need to help them.

This is not an exhaustive list, but by putting some thought

into how we are going to make our WHY happen, we will
start to generate a list of statements that will reflect our
knowledge of pedagogy and the principles that underpin
effective early years practice.

Again, going through this process with our team will help
to create a deeper level of understanding and ownership,
but it also brings other benefits. Having several people
sitting around the table means that we have a greater
range of knowledge and experience to draw on. The more

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Photocopiable resources Annexes

Annex C - Mapping inspections actions and recommendations against the National Professional Qualification
Content and Assessment Framework

Inspection Actions and Recommendations from Requires Improvement and Inadequate Inspection Reports
Monitoring & Self-Evaluation Monitoring Progress & Outcomes
n Monitor and evaluate the impact of teaching and n Develop systems to effectively monitor and track the
practice, identify inconsistencies and provide staff with progress of individuals and groups.
professional development opportunities to help raise the n Monitor the progress of groups so that teaching can be
quality of teaching to a consistently good level. more effectively targeted to gaps in learning.
n Ensure that children’s needs are met effectively through n Monitor educational programmes to ensure that
accurate assessment and planning. all children have access to a broad and balanced
n Improve staff’s skills and knowledge further across all curriculum.
areas of learning to ensure that children receive a broad n Use monitoring and tracking systems consistently to
and balanced curriculum. (Many recommendations ensure that all children are making good progress.
on the development of communication skills and the
extension of vocabulary.)
n Develop effective systems for self-evaluation, identifying
strengths and weaknesses, and putting plans in place to
swiftly and continually improve provision.
n Enhance arrangement to monitor the quality of the
provision to ensure that all policies and procedures are
consistently implemented.
n Further develop the self-evaluation process to include
the views of children and parents.
n Improve procedures to ensure that the impact of
additional funding is monitored. (Early Years Pupil
Premium)
n Use self-evaluation effectively to identify any breaches of
the welfare requirements.

National Professional Qualification Content and Assessment Framework teaches participants how to:
Design a sustainable business development strategy, whether for growth, stabilisation or specialisation (pg.30)

Identify and anticipate changes in the external or strategic environment and understand their impact on different
organisations (pg.30)

Analyse performance data to identify the causes of variation within a school and against comparative schools (for
example, in relation to national benchmarks, historical performance or between different groups) (pg.17)

Ensure data collected is necessary, proportionate and manageable for staff (pg.17)

Work with the governing board effectively to identify and agree approaches to school priorities (pg.17)

Design and implement sustainable change across a school (pg.17)

Identify a range of local and national partners that can support school improvement (pg.19)

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