Policy Changes Have Occurred in Educational Provision in England between 1944 and the Present Day - Assignment Example

Early Years Provision Name of Student Name of Establishment Course Date Early Years Provision Children are innocent and very vulnerable to the vices of the world. They need nurturing from a tender age so that they can be molded into respectable characters in the society. This can be made possible if they are provided with education insane environmental conditions. The education provision which I have chosen is Early Years Provisions. There are many policies that govern the provision of education to children who are at a tender age below fourteen years. Some of these policies include; Early Child Matters, Early Years Foundation, and Ofsted which is the Office for Standards in Education, Children Services, and skills. Every Child Matters This policy falls under the Ministry of Education in England. It appeared first in the Education Act which was enacted in 1944. During the 19th century, little attention was put on small children. This was as a result of lack of understanding by teachers and guardians about the children’s abilities and aptitudes. They were uncertain of the best way to capitalize on the outcome of the aptitude tests. Aptitude is the natural ability to perform an action. The results can be affected by the environment in which a kid is being brought up in (Gilliard 2011). The child may have a high intelligence quotient, but his actions may depict, for example, mediocrity and low self-esteem. Thus, if an aptitude test were to be taken on him or her, the results would be biased hence negative. The society started becoming aware of the need to bring up and nurture children in the most suitable environment so that they can become people of substance and productive in the society when they grew up. This led to the publishing of the Children Act in 1989. The Act stipulated the parental responsibilities for children, the welfare of the child and the meaning of parental responsibility to the father, mother, and step-parent or guardian of the child. The guardians or parents of the previous generation believed in canning their children as a way of instilling discipline. The repercussions of this action were harsh. Some of the children became violent and psychopaths when they grew older. Other children died because of the punishment they received in the form of physical abuse. An example of a child who succumbed to this type of ill-treatment was Victoria Climbie. She died in February year 2000 as a result of 128 separate injuries on her body due to months of abuse in the care of her aunt Marie and boyfriend, Carl Manning. The sad thing is the abuse was never discovered until Climbie died, and a post mortem done on her body. Her death raised questions about the reason for the high level of ignorance in the society warranting considerable worry. Neither the police, which are meant to serve and protect the citizens from harm nor the health nor were social services aware of the mistreatment that Climbie was receiving from her guardians. The cause of her death drew the government’s attention and decided through popular vote to publish a Green Paper. The Green Paper was referred to as Every Child Matters (Gilliard D. 2011). The policy advocated for the creation of Integrating Children’s Computer System (ICCS) after abolishing child protection registers or child protection programs to enable ease of access to children’s records and securing them from unauthorized people. The main objectives for Child matters are to ensure that children can achieve economic well-being, should be able to enjoy and achieve their primary goals in life. They should also be able to make a positive contribution to the society as they grow older. The two most important aims are that they should be healthy and stay safe. Every Child Matters policy is also targeting to eradicate child poverty by 2020. (Crown copyright, 2003). The children can only stay safe if they are protected against abuse that include; physical, emotional and sexual abuses. The children should also be protected against neglect. They should not be left to fend for themselves at their tender age because that leaves them exposed to the vices of the societies and may end up being scarred for life. The policy is clear on the punishment or legal action that should be taken to the people who perform these heinous crimes (Children Act, 1989). The policy changed the provision of early year education through the government by creating Sure Start Children’s Centers which include childcare, health services, family support nursery education and employment advice. The government has also struggled to eradicate child poverty by allocating 200 million Euros to the Young People’s funds to cater for the activities of children, not in school. The government is also promoting full extended school service to provide childcare with social care and health support services on site even after school hours. The implementation of the policy has led to increasing opportunities for children to live and study longer and healthier. Better and more institutions for learning have been established too which has increased the literacy levels. This has greatly benefited the contemporary educational provision since it has also created Connexions for guidance, advice and providing personal development of opportunities for young students. The creation of these Connexions has enabled children and young people to develop and utilize critical comprehension of the purpose of education, get an in-depth line of thought on various factors that have shaped them. The students can honesty, empathy and justice conceptions which are applied in the provision of contemporary education(Crown copyright, 2003). Every child matters are an important policy. It has spearheaded the improvement in the provision of better education, health and safety services ensuring that the Early Years have a chance of securing a bright future. Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) EYFS is a policy clearly defined in the British Government’s Childcare Act 2006 section 39 comprising of welfare requirements, education, and Development requirements. These requirements have to be followed to the letter by parents and guardians of children under five years of age. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) ensures that parents or guardians acquire the services and resources which they require. They are to use them to bring up their children with ease so that the children can have quality education and diverse life experiences in a controlled environment. It also sets statutory standards that all child service providers should follow. Its main aims to provide; partnership between different practitioners, equality for all children, secure foundation for all children and consistency and quality in all early year settings. EYFS has led to improved provision of Early Years education by making the society responsible for their welfare too (Rose etal 2012). EYFS is necessary and very sensitive since it stipulates how very small children should be handled. Whatever action that happens in their surroundings may influence their future either positively or negatively (Morgan 2014). OFSTED Ofsted was initially established in 1992 but incorporated the children’s services in 2007.The Ofsted policy’s motto is to raise standards in order to improve lives. They carry out many inspections and regulate each service provided for the care of young people and children and also keep tabs on people providing the services. The main aims for carrying out these activities are to ensure that; children of less than eighteen years are safeguarded and create awareness for all child service staff. The Office for Standards in Education is designed to help the dispensation of education, encourage further education and skills, ensure that each child acquires education . It also foresees how local authorities ensure that the best services are provided to the children. They make this possible by inspecting school work to ensure the students perform greatly. The physical, spiritual, moral, cultural and social development of children at the various schools is scrutinized. Scrutiny is performed to ensure that equal learning services are provided for all types of children, for example, the disabled or mentally challenged. Schools and other learning institutions are forced to provide quality learning experiences if they are to operate legally improving the quality of education being provided (Ofsted, 2011). Children who get quality education and are molded with real morals, become men and women of substance in the future. Ofsted helps the society to realize this ultimate goal. CONCLUSION The evolution of the education system has greatly assisted the society to be aware of the importance of child education, care and welfare. It has enhanced the community to acquire in-depth understanding of how to influence the next generation positively by nurturing them when they are still young and molding them with good morals. The policies three policies were put in place, their aims clearly stipulated and implemented to ensure the security, equality, health and sanity of our children. The importance of these policies is to ensure that the rights of the children never become ignored in case the values of the society become corrupted. Policies on how the proper ways to discipline children when they do something wrong should also be established. References Brudenell M. 2004. Advanced Early Years Care and Education. Heinemann Children Act 1989 c. 41 part 1 section 1: Welfare of the child Crown copyright. 2003. Every Child Matters. The Stationary Office (TSO). Gilliard D. 2011. Education in England: a brief history. Retrieved from www.educationengland.org.uk/history Georgeson, Jan, Payler, Jane. 2013. International Perspectives On Early Childhood Education And Care. Mc Graw-Hill International Morgan N. 2014. Early Years Foundation Stage: Improving the quality and range of education and childcare from birth to 5 years. Retrieved from www.gov.uk/government/policies/improving-the-quality-and-range-of-education-and-childcare-from-birth-to-5-years/supporting-pages/early-years-foundation-stage Ofsted Annual Report: Raising Ambition and Tackling Failure. November 2011.Retrieved from www.politics.co.uk/ofsted Rose, Janet, Rogers, Sue. 2012. The Role Of The Adult In Early Years Settings. Mc Graw-Hill International. Read More