Quality of Play: Progress and Challenges

1. Quality of Play:Progress and Challenges

2. Introduction • Key Sure Start objective: • Improving the ability to learn • Core Sure Start service: • Support for good-quality play, learning and childcare experiences for children

3. Aims and Methodology Aims • To evaluate the quality of play in Sure Start play settings over a two year period Method • Standardised research measure: The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale – Revised (Harms et al. 1998)

4. The ECERS-R • Areas evaluated: • Space and Furnishings • Personal and Care Routines • Language and Reasoning • Activities • Interaction • Programme Structure • Parents and Staff • Scoring: • 1 (unsatisfactory) – 7 (excellent)

5. Activities Fine motor Art Music and movement Blocks Sand/water Dramatic play Nature/science Maths/number Use of TV/Video/Computer Promoting acceptance of diversity Language and reasoning Use of books and pictures Encouraging children to communicate Using language to develop reasoning skills Informal use of language ECERS-R Items

6. Findings: Year 1 (2002) • Programmes providing a quality of play ranging from satisfactory (score=3) to good (score=5) in most areas measured by the scale • However, as has been found in other studies, the scores achieved in the area of ‘Language and Reasoning’ were amongst the lowest in nearly all Sure Start settings observed • 32 Head Start classrooms in America achieved their lowest scores in these areas (Bryant et al., 1993)

7. Findings: Year 2 (2003) • Feedback and recommendations were given and settings reassessed 12 months later • In year 2, there were improvements in most areas, but scores in the area of ‘Language and Reasoning’ continued to lag behind in most settings

8. Programme 1

9. Programme 2

10. Programme 3

11. Programme Responses • All three programmes have responded positively to Year 2 findings • Range of innovative responses include: • Working party to develop a communication enrichment strategy for all settings • Adult Child Interaction project: intensive action research staff training (to be evaluated) • Intensive assessment and intervention, with specific focus on language and communication development (to be evaluated)

12. The Importance of Early Language Experiences • The EPPE study (The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education) found that the quality of the linguistic environment provided in play settings was strongly linked to better outcomes at school entry and the end of Key Stage 1 (Siraj-Blatchford et al. 2004)

13. The Importance of Early Language Experiences • Hart and Risley (1995) explored the language environments of 42 preschool American children from a range of cultural backgrounds • By age 4, some children had had 50 million words addressed to them, while children from much less affluent families just 12 million • These marked differences translated into significant differences in outcome at age 9, in terms of rate of vocabulary growth, vocabulary use, and IQ test scores

14. Challenges • The development of high quality language environments presents significant challenges • Insufficient staff training in key areas (Letts and Hall, 2003) • Low staffing ratios (Jarvis and Lamb, 2001) • Adults often have to engage in other tasks which do not directly concern children (Kontos, 2002)

15. Implications • Sustained attention to monitoring the quality of play and in particular the quality of the communication environment, is essential if early intervention programmes are to achieve their goals

16. Implications Hart and Risley (1995): The most important aspect to evaluate in child care settings for very young children is the amount of talk actually going on, moment by moment, between children and their caregivers

17. Implications • Develop and implement policy for communication enrichment in all preschool settings • Provide extensive and on-going training for all staff in key areas • Develop internal monitoring systems to evaluate the quality of the language and communication environment