Guest Post: Introducing the Birmingham Early Years Forum
In this guest post, Sally Leese, Chair of Birmingham Early Years Forum, introduces the Forum and explains more about what it does and what it means for you as an Early Years professional in Birmingham.
*Guest post written by Sally Leese, Chair of the Birmingham Early Years Forum. If you have any issues or questions arising from the content of this post please direct them to the author and not BEYN: enquiry@castlevalenursery.co.uk
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What is Birmingham Early Years Forum?
Birmingham Early Years Forum brings together representatives from all aspects of the Early Years Sector to oversee the delivery of Birmingham’s Early Years, Childcare and Children’s Centres Strategy and quality improvement agenda. It gives an opportunity for a dialogue between the sector and the local authority.
The Early Years Forum sits alongside Primary, Secondary, and Special fora and feeds into the Schools Forum. The Birmingham Schools Forum is a group that advises the Council on matters affecting school funding, including school budgets. Its members are from maintained schools, academies, early year's providers, local partners and others across the Birmingham City Council (BCC) area.
What does the Forum mean for me?
We are trying to build links and communication between the Early Years Forum and the parts of the sector they represent.
We recently successfully recruited a new PVI representative by reaching out to the PVI community through the Birmingham Early Years Networks (BEYN) mailing list.
Each district also has a representative who attends all Early Years Network events in your district. They are there to listen to the thoughts, views and concerns of any Early Years Setting in the district.
You can find out more about your district Early Years Networks here.
Who makes up the membership of Birmingham Early Years Forum?
Membership of this group should reflect all sectors where our young children and their families can access early education and support services.
Members, therefore, should represent Maintained Nursery Schools, Primary Schools with Nursery Classes, Children’s Centres (CCs), Private, Voluntary and Independent Childcare Providers (PVIs), Voluntary Sector Partners, Health, Family Support and Safeguarding Service, School Improvement and the Local Authority (including the Early Years, Child Care and Children’s Centre Service).
Members will nominate themselves and will be voted in by the sector they represent.
The suggested membership is as follows:
One representative from each of the 10 districts: District reps should be selected via their district and the Early Years Network to ensure that they represent the views of all partners within their district and not just their own agency and that they share key messages from the Forum with those partners and seek their viewpoint. To do this, District reps must commit to attending all district activities.
Two Primary Heads with a Nursery Class
Two Nursery Heads
Two Health representatives
One representative from each of Family Support and Safeguarding and Early Support
Four PVI representatives (to include Childminders and out of school providers)
One BVSC representative
Commissioned Partners
BCC Corporate Director For Children and Young People (or their Assistant Director representative)
Cabinet Member for Early Years and Cabinet Member for Education
BCC Head of Service for Early Years, Childcare and Children’s Centres
BCC Early Years leads (as required)
Education and Infrastructure lead
Technical Finance Officers (as required)
Children’s Centre Representation
Birmingham Early Years Network Co-ordinator
What are the objectives of the Forum?
The Forum will:
Work with any relevant agencies to ensure every child in Birmingham receives the best possible start.
Focus on the key requirements of the Childcare Act 2006 and 2016, the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2010, and Birmingham’s Early Years, Childcare and Children’s Centre Strategy.
Ensure that the work of Early Years services support and deliver Birmingham’s Early Help Pathway and the Right Help, Right Time model.
Identify need and target gaps in line with the strategy.
Support the development of excellence in early years and childcare through the Early Years Improvement Group with monitoring and accountability through to the Forum.
Facilitate and support links between key agencies at city-wide and local levels.
Facilitate the sharing of information, developments and good practice.
Advise on the implementation of the targeted free Early Education Entitlement for 2-year-olds and monitor and review the impact of the government policy of 30 hours for working parents.
Advise and support on the targeted services for children in most need.
Support the delivery of the Children’s Centre Programme.
Advise on any changes to the Single Funding Formula for funding early years provision in the maintained and PVI sectors.
Support links and transition from early years into school. Support and improve outcomes for children at the end of Foundation Stage through Quality Improvement and therefore raising standards for all children with a focus on ‘Narrowing the Gap’.
Support the strategy for SEND/Inclusion for children and young people 0-25.
Moving forward
We are always looking to improve communication between the Forum and all who work in Early Years in Birmingham. I hope you will start to see improvement throughout 2022.
Sally Leese
Chair, Birmingham Early Years Forum