How the Range of Early Years Setting Reflects the Scope and Purpose of the Sector. Essay Example

to social and economic developments. Different Early Years Settings Day Nurseries can be run by private individuals, community groups, Montessori organisations, commercial businesses or by employers. They can care for children aged from 3 months to five years and usually offer day care from 8 am to 6 pm for most of the year. LEA Nursery Schools offer full and part-time early years education places etween the hours of 9 am and 3. 30 pm. A session lasts for two-and-a-half hours and can be in the morning or afternoon. Nursery schools may also offer childcare. Pre-schools and playgroups offer care to children in their local community, either as a morning or afternoon session or as extended sessions including lunch. They are often run by voluntary management committees. They care for children aged from three to five years [some groups may accept younger children] and are usually open during term time

Private Nursery Schools are owned privately and can offer seasonal or full day care to children aged two to five. Some schools can offer a particular educational approach, for example Steiner or Montessori. They may operate only during term-time or open all year. Independent Schools are owned privately and care for children aged from three to sixteen. The schools are registered with the Department for Education and skills, but make their own arrangements concerning staff numbers qualifications and curriculum.

If the school participates in the Early Years Education Funding Scheme, it will offer the Foundation Stage and will be inspected by Ofsted. Opening times are decided by the school Childminders are professional day carers who look after children in their own homes. They offer a flexible service,

caring for children aged from birth to sixteen years. The service offered is unique to each family’s needs and many childminders provide evening, weekend and school holiday cover (Nanny, aupair, mothers help)

Families requirements from provision for their young may vary: Some parents need their children to be in a setting where they will be safe and able to participate in play and learning experiences for all or part of the day while parent’s work or study. Some parents want to stay with their children while they socialise. Some parents want their children to spend time in a setting, which offers services explicitly aimed at young children’s learning. Some parents want their children to be in a small home-based group.

Some families cannot afford to pay fees for provision. Consequently, the early years sector consist of various forms of provision which meet the needs of babies and young children, and of their families, in a variety of ways, the table above indicates some of these different ways. Extended services in and through schools, often called Extended Schools, is a key vehicle for delivering the government's objective of lifting children and young people out of poverty and improving outcomes for them and their families.

There is now clear evidence that children's experiences greatly influence their outcomes and life chances in later life. A key priority, and challenge, for schools is to reach the most disadvantaged families within a framework of providing mainstream services for all families. An extended school works with the local authority and other partners to offer access to a range of services and activities, which support and motivate children and young people to achieve their full

potential.