Ofsted's New Education Inspection Framework: Everything you need to know! 

Delivered by Pennie Akehurst, Early Years Fundamentals Ltd.

Course Aim: To confidently set you on the right path to be inspected under the new framework.

Course Information: During this 3 hour session, we will:

• Explain the key differences between the two frameworks (new and old).
• Examine what has changed, what has stayed the same and identify the things that have become less important.
• Consider the implications for practice.
• Unpick what the changes mean for systems, practice and for staff teams.
• Provide an understanding of issues that currently appear with frequency within Requires Improvement and inadequate inspection reports.

The new inspection framework builds on what already exists, therefore, we need to ensure that what we do is already effective. Using our inspection trends data, we will be able to highlight questions that can be used to interrogate your current systems and practice.

Delivered by: Pennie Akehurst, Managing Director of Early Years Fundamentals Ltd.

Pennie has worked in early years and childcare for 30 years, the last 17 of which have been spent delivering strategic early years and childcare priorities within 2 local authorities. 

Pennie has a proven track record of delivering support, training, challenge and intervention programmes which have enabled leaders, managers, teachers, and practitioners to continue to meet challenges in and changes to legislation and practice.

Pennie is a regular columnist in Nursery World writing about inspection trends and her first book 'Monitoring and Evaluation in the Early Years' is being published in July, closely followed by her second book ‘'The Education Inspection Framework: 101 questions to help you prepare’  which is being published in August.

Suitable for: Any Early Years Foundation Practitioners and Managers; Committee Members.

Date: Monday 30th September

Time: 6:00pm - 9:00pm (Doors open at 5:40pm for refreshments)

Venue: Hillview Evangelical Church, 26 Colwell Avenue, Hucclecote, Gloucester, GL3 3LX 

Cost: PLEASE NOTE PATA'S NORMAL REFUND POLICY DOES NOT APPLY FOR THIS BOOKING.  WE ARE UNABLE TO GIVE REFUNDS OR CREDITS ONCE A BOOKING IS MADE.  WE CAN, HOWEVER, CHANGE THE NAME OF DELEGATES ATTENDING UP UNTIL MIDDAY WEDNESDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER

FULL PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED WITHIN 7 DAYS OF THE INVOICE DATE BY BACS, CASH (AT THE PATA OFFICES) OR CHEQUE.  

Members:  £30

Non Members £45

Network Meeting - Focus on Helicopter Stories 

Following much demand, we are excited to be running our first PATA Member Network Meeting which will focus on 'Helicopter Stories'.

This Network Meeting will be the first of six we plan to run throughout the academic year which will be open to any PATA Members. They will provide a great opportunity to meet with colleagues from other settings and share experiences and expertise. 

The first meeting will focus on Helicopter Stories and will be an opportunity for those who attended the training session or who are already doing it in their setting to share their experiences - both the good and the bad! If you are new to Helicopter Stories and/or are thinking about attending a future training session then this session will be a great opportunity for you to hear from people who attended the training and perhaps leave feeling inspired!

(The next Networking Meeting will be held on Tuesday 3rd December and the topic will be advertised shortly.)

Date: Monday 3rd October

Time: 4:30pm - 6:00pm 

Venue: PATA Office, Chequers Bridge Centre, Painswick Road, Gloucester, GL4 6PR

Cost: Members  £10

Roles and Responsibilities: Key facts for your Committee

Course Aim: Are you a Committee member and would like some guidance and support with understanding your role?  This course will provide committee members with the confidence to manage, influence, challenge and support their playgroup, pre-school or out-of-school setting. 

Course Information: This relaxed and informative session is ideal for all new and experienced committee members and/or setting managers to exchange ideas and feel more confident in their role. 

This session will:

• Give an overview of a committee’s roles and responsibilities
• Provide the tools needed to tackle unexpected and/or challenging issues - for instance: management concerns, complaint handling, safeguarding issues, Ofsted visits.
• Have a chance for questions and answers from an HR consultant with experience as a committee chairperson and from PATA’s CEO who has extensive Early Years working knowledge. 
  

Suitable For: Those involved in managing and leading settings – parents, committee members and managers.  

Date: Thursday 17th October

Time:  7.00pm - 9.30pm (please arrive by 6:50pm)

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre, Painswick Road, Gloucester. GL4 6PR

Cost: £28 for members / £38 for non members

SEND 2 - Principles of Inclusion and the Local Offer and SEND 3: Areas of SEND and the Graduated Pathway

Course Aim:  To reflect on own self practice. To understand the definition of SEND and the principles of inclusion.  To identify areas of SEND in accordance to the Graduated Pathway and Guidance Booklet for practitioners (formerly known as the Code of Practice).

Course Information:  During this session practitioners will explore what is meant by SEND, develop their own ideas and identify their ethos, challenge assumptions and understand the importance of inclusive practice through reflection, environmental settings and focus on individual need. Gain an understanding of the Department for Education definition, the Local Offer and Graduated Pathway for Gloucester County Council.

During this session practitioners will become familiar with Gloucester County Council’s Graduated Pathway and Guidance Booklet.

• Areas of SEND
  
• Identification of SEND needs and the areas of SEND in accordance to the Guidance Booklet
  
• The Graduated Pathway
  
• My Plan, My Plan Plus and EHCP

Delivered by:  Miss Fran Barber, a qualified teacher of 18 years with 11 of those being the designated Special Education Needs co-ordinator for a primary School. Fran is also the West Gloucestershire Schools Partnership Lead SENCo.

Suitable For:   Any Early Years Practitioners or Managers and those interested in supporting children with special educational needs.

Date: Friday 18th October                              Time: 9:30am - 2:00pm

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre 

Cost: £48 for members / £58 for non members

Helicopter Stories with Trisha Lee

We are excited to be running our second ‘Helicopter Stories’ training with Trisha Lee. The Helicopter approach, pioneered by Vivian Gussin Paley and championed in the UK by Trisha Lee. Places are limited.

The approach harnesses the power of storytelling to inspire powerful learning outcomes in key curriculum areas, such as Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development and early compositional skills in Writing. 

Why chose Helicopter Stories?:

• It's an inclusive whole-class approach to learning that values every child's contribution
• It engages creativity, boosts self-confidence and improves speaking and listening skills 
• It promotes collaborative learning in a supportive, safe environment
• It allows children to explore the power of words, forming a bridge into the world of writing. 

The course is highly interactive and includes a demonstration with a group of preschool aged children as part of the day. Every delegate who attends should leave the course able to try the approach with their children the next day if they so wish.

Date: Wednesday 23rd October

Time: 9:30am - 3:00pm (please arrive from 9:00am onwards for a 9:30am prompt start) 

Venue: The Church Centre, Larkhay Road, Hucclecote, Gloucester, GL3 3NS 

Cost: PLEASE NOTE PATA'S NORMAL REFUND POLICY DOES NOT APPLY FOR THIS BOOKING.  WE ARE UNABLE TO GIVE REFUNDS OR CREDITS ONCE A BOOKING IS MADE.  WE CAN, HOWEVER, CHANGE THE NAME OF DELEGATES ATTENDING UP UNTIL MIDDAY THURSDAY 17TH OCTOBER

FULL PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED WITHIN 7 DAYS OF THE INVOICE DATE BY BACS, CASH (AT THE PATA OFFICES) OR CHEQUE.  

Members:  £85 

Non Members £105 

Introduction to Autism in Children

Course Information: During the session we will consider the following:

• What is autism?
• Communication: theirs and ours.
• Sensory Issues: how these can affect the child's behaviour.

Suitable For: Anyone who works or volunteers with children and would like a better understanding of what to look out for and how to support children with autism.

Delivered by: Sara Watters, Lead Practitioner, Senior Learner Support Worker (LSW), HLTA and QCF Assessor for The Milestone School.  Sara has 20 years of classroom experience, 15 of which have been at The Milestone School.

(This will be followed with a second course covering supporting behaviour on Wednesday the 13th November.)

Date: Thursday 24th October

Time: 6:00pm - 8:30pm

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre

Cost: £28.00 for members / £38.00 for non members

Embedding Phonics in the EYFS

Course Aim: This course will provide you with the necessary skills to embed Phonics into the curriculum.

Course Information: During the session we will discuss:

• Understanding the importance of early exposure to phonics in the Early years
• How to use phonics effectively
• How to promote phonics in your setting and at home
• Phonics resources to use in your setting

Delivered by: Laura Gallop, an EYFS Specialist and Local School Reception Teacher who oversees Nursery Provision within the School.

Suitable For: Any Early Years Foundation Practitioners and Managers      

Date: Wednesday 6th November

Time:  6.00pm - 8.30pm

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre, Painswick Road, Gloucester. GL4 6PR

Cost: £28 for members / £38 for non members

Parenting Partnership

Course Information:  The impact of high quality early years provision is significantly linked to the effectiveness of partnership with parents. Working in partnership with parents is central to the EYFS and encouraging practitioners and parents to work together can greatly improve a child’s life chances. This workshop examines how we engage and involve parents with our setting and their child’s learning journey. It will also provide practitioners with an opportunity for reflection and network with other settings to share good practice.  We will discuss: 

• How to build strong relationships with parents.
• How to engage hard to reach parents such as those with EAL; working parents; parents with disabilities.
• How with clear guidelines, expectations and communication between the setting and parents difficult situations can be avoided.
• What parents do with their children has a great influence on their later outcomes and we will discuss how we can best use the home learning environment in order to give children the cultural capital they need to succeed in life.

By the end of the workshop you will have created a Parenting Charter for you to use within your own setting.  

Date: Thursday 7th November

Time: 6.00pm - 8.30pm 

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre, Painswick Road, Gloucester. GL4 6PR

Cost: £28 for members / £38 for non members

Understanding and Supporting the Anxious Child

Many settings have children attending who show signs of anxiety.  Join Collette Etheridge who is a counsellor and parenting practitioner to consider this issue and how to best support the child. 

Course Aim: To provide practitioners in early years settings with an understanding of how anxiety can impact on a child.

Course Information: During this workshop, we will:

·         Explore anxiety and how the brain reacts to it;

·         Have an opportunity to discuss how anxiety manifests in their setting;

·         Consider how anxiety impacts on the behaviour of a child;

·         Start to think about how to support a child with anxiety.  

Delivered by: Colette Etheridge, a counsellor and parenting practitioner, owner of Small Steps Counselling Service and Child Behaviour Solutions.

Suitable For: Any Early Years Practitioners from support staff to Managers    

Date: Monday 11th November

Time:  9:30am - 12:00pm 

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre, Painswick Road, Gloucester. GL4 6PR

Cost: £28 for members / £38 for non members

SEND Clinic

Sara Watters and Paula Jones, work at The Milestone School in the foundation department, working with children from nursery to year 4. Sara is a lead practitioner with many years experience. She currently supports class teams within The Milestone School and mainstream settings. Sara regularly runs top tips training for learning support workers as well as supporting classroom practitioners.

Paula is the head of the foundation department, having worked in specialist settings for many years. Paula set up and ran an enrichment group for pupils from mainstream schools for many years. She now oversees the groups which run 3 times a week.

Sara and Paula have a wealth of knowledge between them and want to support mainstream nurseries and playgroups with the difficult and challenging task of writing targets to support My plans and the children working towards them.

The sessions will focus on developing these SMART writing skills and recognising the level of targets needed for individual children. Each setting attending will be offered a 20 minute slot during the first session to speak on a 1:1 basis about their cases, paperwork etc. with one of the course tutors.  In the second session those attending will feed back their experiences based on the targets set.  The group will discuss together to share their findings along with support from Sara and Paula.

Due to the nature of the Clinic spaces are limited (8 settings)

Date: Monday 11th November  Time: 6:00pm - 8:30pm

  Monday 25th November Time: 6.00pm - 8.00pm

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre 

Cost: £58 for members / £68 for non members

Autism in Children - Supporting Behaviour

Course Aim: This is an additional course available to those who have attended the Introduction to Autism course.

Course Information: Building on the knowledge gained in the Introduction to Autism course, during this session we will consider the following:

· Managing challenging behaviour

· Going on trips; avoiding pitfalls and achieving positive outcomes

· Supporting the family

Suitable For: Anyone who works or volunteers with children and would like a better understanding of what to look out for and how to support children with autism.

Delivered by: Sara Watters, Lead Practitioner and Senior Learner Support Worker, HLTA and QCF Assessor for The Milestone School.  Sara has 20 years of classroom experience, 15 of which have been at The Milestone School.   

Date: Wednesday 13th November             Time: 6:00pm - 8:30pm

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre

Cost: £28.00 for Members / £38.00 for Non-Members

Workplace Wellbeing

More and more managers are dealing with issues of mental health within their teams and the new Ofsted Inspection Framework includes a requirement that "Staff consistently report high levels of support for well-being issues."  With this in mind join Colette Etheridge, a counsellor and parenting practitioner to consider how best you can support your team and your workplace wellbeing. 

Course Aim: To raise and increase awareness of mental health conditions such as anxiety and/or depression and consider how to support staff showing signs of mental health conditions.

Course Information: During this workshop, we will:

• Explore anxiety and/or depression and how the brain and body react to it;
• Have an opportunity to discuss how and where they may see anxiety and/or depression in the work environment;
• Think about how to start a discussion with somebody who may have anxiety and/or depression and avoid common pitfalls;
• Learn how to best support your team member showing mental health conditions.

Delivered by: Colette Etheridge, a counsellor and parenting practitioner, owner of Small Steps Counselling Service and Child Behaviour Solutions.

Suitable For: Anyone responsible for the general and emotional wellbeing of staff members including Managers and Committee Members.

Date: Wednesday 20th November

Time:  6:30pm - 9:00pm 

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre, Painswick Road, Gloucester. GL4 6PR

Cost: £28 for members / £38 for non members

Recruitment, Selection and Resourcing Talent

Course Aim: To help you fill a vacancy in your setting with the least amount of anxiety and the greatest amount of success.  We aim to provide the skills and confidence to identify the skills needed in your setting; then how to advertise, interview, select and document the process.  This is about understanding the legal, ethical and professional methods for recruiting and helping you establish a robust and practical process.

Course Information: This relaxed and informative session will explore how to manage recruitment and selection activities effectively, efficiently and professionally.  We will look at:

• Identifying the skills/attributes needed and effective job descriptions
• Advertising
• Screening CVs
• Alternative selection methods
• Interviewing – questions and techniques
• Documenting – dos and don’ts

• Probation periods 

There will be time for questions and answers from an HR consultant with experience as a committee chairperson and from PATA’s CEO who has extensive Early Years working knowledge.  

Date: Thursday 21st November

Time:  7.00pm - 9.30pm

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre, Painswick Road, Gloucester. GL4 6PR

Cost: £28 for members / £38 for non members

SEND 4 - Identification and Intervention and SEND 5: Behaviour: attention seeking or attachment seeking?

Course Aim:   To identify SEND, interventions and appropriate agencies to support children in accordance to the Graduated Pathway and Guidance Booklet for practitioners (formally known as the Code of Practice) and to gain a better understanding of the causes of behaviour and how to manage it within a setting.

Course Information:  Using a case study practitioners will identify SEND needs and explore interventions, target setting and the process of ‘identify, plan, do, review’. They will gain a comprehensive understanding of accessing agencies to support their settings and SEND children.

Practitioners will explore what is meant by behaviours.  You will explore your own experiences and ethos, challenge ideas and reflect on your own practice.  Gain an alternative understanding of the rational behind behaviour and being to unravel the mystery of undesirable behaviour from a therapeutic perspective.  During this course Fran will share her own experiences and expertise as a SENDCo, parent and from counselling theory.  It will be a collective experiential course. 

Delivered by:  Miss Fran Barber, a qualified teacher of 18 years with 11 of those being the designated Special Education Needs co-ordinator for a primary School. Fran is also the West Gloucestershire Schools Partnership Lead SENDCo.

Suitable For:   Any Early Years Practitioners or Managers and those interested in supporting children with special educational needs.

Date: Friday 29th November               Time: 9:30am - 2:00pm

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre 

Cost: £48 for members / £58 for non members

Risky Play (for Playworkers)

Course Aim: Risky Play is a natural part of children’s play and children often seek out opportunities for engaging in challenging and so called risky play.  This course will help you to gain a better understanding of the importance of Risky Play and its benefits. 

Course Information: 

During the session we will look at the following:

• What is Risky Play?
• Types of Risky play
• Your role and responsibility as a practitioner undertaking risky play
• Exploring boundaries and learning about injury risk
• The balance between risky play and children’s safety
• There will be the opportunity to gain hands on practical experience during the session!

The course aims to provide you with the information and confidence required to facilitate risky play within your setting, giving you an understanding of children and risky play and your role and responsibilities when risky play takes place. 

Playwork is often undervalued as a separate discipline so we have developed this course to look specifically at this area and to support practitioners to develop their skillset.

Delivered by: Nicki Woolway, a Level 3 qualified playworker with 9 years experience of owning and managing two play settings.  

Suitable For: Anyone who works or volunteers with children in a playwork setting (Out of School Club) including breakfast, after school and holiday clubs who would like a better understanding of risky play and anyone who has attended our ‘Introduction to Playwork’ course.

Date: Monday 2nd December

Time:  6.45pm - 9.15pm

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre, Painswick Road, Gloucester. GL4 6PR

Cost: £28 for members / £38 for non members

Network Meeting 2 - Topic to be announced

This Network Meeting will be the second of six we plan to run throughout the academic year which will be open to any PATA Members. They will provide a great opportunity to meet with colleagues from other settings and share experiences and expertise. 

The topic of this second Network Meeting will be announced shortly. 

Date: Tuesday 3rd December

Time: 4:30pm - 6:00pm 

Venue: PATA Office, Chequers Bridge Centre, Painswick Road, Gloucester, GL4 6PR

Cost: Members  £10

Anna Ephgrave's Planning In The Moment with Aliye Mpoko

Course Aim: To provide you with the necessary tools to help your children feel confident and independent especially through outdoor play and risk taking play.

Course Information:  Delivered by Aliye Mpoko the course will cover:-          

It will also touch on:-         

Suitable For:   Anyone working in Early Years (including Reception).  

Delivered by: Aliye Mpopka who works closely with and  is fully endorsed by Anna Ephgrave.

Date: Monday 20th January 2020  9:00am - approximately 3:00pm

Venue: Hillview Evangelical Church, Hucclecote, Gloucester, GL3 3LX

Cost: PLEASE NOTE PATA'S NORMAL REFUND POLICY DOES NOT APPLY FOR THIS BOOKING.  WE ARE UNABLE TO GIVE REFUNDS OR CREDITS ONCE A BOOKING IS MADE.  WE CAN, HOWEVER, CHANGE THE NAME OF DELEGATES ATTENDING UP UNTIL MIDDAY WEDNESDAY 15TH JANUARY.

FULL PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED WITHIN 7 DAYS OF THE INVOICE DATE BY BACS, CASH (AT THE PATA OFFICES) OR CHEQUE.  

Cost Member £85   Non Members £110  

Anna Ephgrave's Planning In The Moment Follow Up course facilitated by Aliye Mpoko

Please note this course is available to anyone who is implementing or considering implementing Planning In The Moment and has previously attended Planning in the Moment training courses.    

We've been excited to run several training events on Planning in the Moment with Anna Ephgrave.  To help you to further embed your learning we are holding a follow up session.  The event will be facilitated by Aliye Mpoka, who works closely with and is endorsed by Anna Ephgrave.

Anna suggests that each setting should allow a minimum of three months for any implementation to take place before giving feedback.  This follow up session will allow those settings who haven't implemented it yet, but who still intend to, the chance before attending the follow up.

This will be a great opportunity for you to share your experiences to date (both positive and negative).  Aliye will be on hand to clarify any areas of 'Planning in the Moment', discuss any barriers you have faced and the positives so far.  The event is intended for you to hear from other settings so ideally we would like to encourage as many settings as possible to share their experiences.  Each setting will be allocated a 5 minute slot to talk about how it's working for them and whilst this is not compulsory it will greatly enhance the session.                         

Suitable For: Anyone working in Early Years (including Reception) who is implementing, or is intending to implement, Planning in the Moment

Date: Monday 20th January 2020 Time: 4:00pm - 6:30pm

Venue: Hillview Evangelical Church, Hucclecote

Delivered by: Aliye Mpoko, who works closely with and is fully endorsed by Anna Epghrave

Cost: PLEASE NOTE PATA'S NORMAL REFUND POLICY DOES NOT APPLY FOR THIS BOOKING.  WE ARE UNABLE TO GIVE REFUNDS OR CREDITS ONCE A BOOKING IS MADE.  WE CAN, HOWEVER, CHANGE THE NAME OF DELEGATES ATTENDING UP UNTIL MIDDAY WEDNESDAY 15TH JANUARY

FULL PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED WITHIN 7 DAYS OF THE INVOICE DATE BY BACS, CASH (AT THE PATA OFFICES) OR CHEQUE.  

Members:  £28 for 1 person, £20 per additional person

Non Members  £38 for 1 person, £30 per additional person

The Magic and Mystery of Children - Interacting with Intrigue

“Greg comes at the subject from a different angle and he makes you think.  His approach is very different, it’s very interactive.”

Attendee of 'Can I Go and Play Now' Training April 2019

Course Aim: This course will explore the how, when, why, what and where to take your observations and interactions next. 

Course Information: During the session we will discuss

• Observing and interacting effectively with young children

• How to move learning forward and evidence it can become unbalanced and time consuming.
  

Delivered by: Greg Bottrill, educationalist and author of the bestselling Early Years book ‘Can I Go And Play Now?’ in an exploration of how, why, when and what and where to take your observations and interactions next.

Suitable For:  Any Early Years Foundation Practitioners and Managers. 

Date: Monday 27th January

Time:  6.30pm - 8.30pm

Venue: Chequers Bridge Centre, Painswick Road, Gloucester. GL4 6PR

Cost: £25 for members / £35 for non members