Quality Assurance

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Background

The Pre-school Learning Alliance has over 20 years experience delivering successful quality improvement initiatives and has a proven track record of developing flexible programmes tailored specifically for the early years sector.

Aiming for Quality achieved Investors in Children status in 2004 and is now mapped against Quality Improvement Principles developed by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) in partnership with the Alliance and other recognised quality assurance providers.

Benefits of accreditation

Early years settings are often the first place that young children attend regularly, away from their homes and families. It is here that, through playing and talking, children continue to learn the key skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.

The importance of providing a quality early years service is vital as it supports the development of these skills. By joining and successfully completing our accreditation scheme, the setting can clearly demonstrate their commitment to providing children with the best possible start in life.

In addition, the early years sector has become increasingly competitive and, by showing a commitment to quality, settings can gain a clear advantage over similar providers working in their area. Settings, supported by our scheme, can therefore directly contribute towards increasing their long-term sustainability.

Nurseries that belong to Quality Assurance schemes to better in Ofsted inspections, the children's director of the inspectorate said last week.

Speaking at a National Children's Bureau conference in London, Michael Hart cited Ofsted figures that showed the difference QA schemes made to early years providers' ratings.

He said, 'Overall, provisions that are part of QA schemes have better judgements on every outcome for children. We've seen that participation in QA schemes substantially increases the odds of gaining a good or outstanding judgement.'

In daycare, 68 per cent of settings taking part in a QA scheme provide good or outstanding care for children, compared with 53% of settings not in a scheme.

For sessional providers the proportion of good or outstanding care is 18 percentage points higher in those taking part in a QA scheme.

For early education, 73 per cent of daycare settings taking part in a QA scheme were rated good or outstanding, compared with 57 per cent of providers not in schemes.

Catherine Gaunt, Nursery World 8 May 2008

Key benefits of the Alliance scheme Aiming for Quality

Free introductory course - the accreditation team offer a free introductory course for those registered or interested in the accreditation scheme. This gives in-depth information and an opportunity for settings to ask specific questions about the scheme before committing to it.
Involving the community - the scheme encourages each setting to assess the needs of the local community and review their services to better meet those needs.
User-friendly proces - an accessible three-stage process supports early years settings to develop their services to the highest level building on the national standards. Low level administration — the scheme requires minimal evidence for Stage 1. The strength of the scheme is the observation of practice.
High quality training courses - opportunities are provided for settings to access a range of specialist training and staff development courses. The scheme also encourages staff, parents and volunteers to undertake further learning opportunities for personal development and career enhancement.
A child-focused approach - the scheme puts children and parents first and enables staff to deliver a child-focused service which encourages children to learn and develop with confidence and recognises the important role of parents in this process.
Detailed assessment procedures - unannounced spot checks and visits are key to the success of the scheme. These promote the maintenance of consistently high standard in settings.
Special award ceremony - the Alliance supports settings who wish to celebrate their achievements with an award ceremony. A certificate is awarded at the completion of each stage of accreditation with the Alliance providing advice and information on the event.
Free PR support - free specialist publicity support is available to help settings publicise achievements and raise their profile.

“The award has given us a sense of pride in our achievements and a benchmark from which to keep improving. We recently had an Ofsted inspection and the inspector commented on how comprehensive the scheme is.”

Greenside Children’s Centre
Luton, Bedfordshire, August 2007

The Accreditation Process

To enrol on Aiming for Quality you will need to complete and return the application form below. You will then begin stage one of the three stage scheme as outlined below:

Stage 1 – The setting provides documentation to demonstrate how the needs of all children and their families are being met. This is then assessed and action points drawn up.
Stage 2 – Once action points have been addressed and additional criteria met, the setting requests a visit from an assessor who will observe practice.
Stage 3 – The setting completes a reflective practice report which shows how the parents/carers and other stakeholders are involved in the setting’s continual review of practice. The final assessment visit and report follows.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Practice guidance for the EYFS states that “all providers should continuously think about how to improve what they are offering to children and families.” By joining and successfully completing our scheme, settings can clearly demonstrate their commitment to providing children with the best possible start in life. To support settings to continue to improve as they progress towards the introduction of the EYFS, we have produced additional materials which are available at no extra charge to all settings following our scheme.

Costs

To demonstrate the Alliance’s commitment to promoting and supporting quality standards in early years settings, costs are kept to the minimum. The price of the scheme covers the pack, introductory course, provision of a trained assessor, press team support, plus general administration of the scheme. Early years settings paying for themselves should contact the Accreditation team to discuss payment methods. Alliance Group members receive a 25% discount.

Alliance member	£600 + VAT = £705.00
Non-member Fee	£800 + VAT = £940.00
Accreditation Reference Pack	£70 + VAT = £82.25
Member Re-accreditation Fee	£350 + VAT = £411.25
Non-member Re-accreditation Fee	£450 + VAT = £528.75

Aiming for Quality Accreditation is valid for 3 years and evidence of continuous quality improvement is submitted annually in the form of a brief written report.

On completion of Aiming for Quality in recognition of achievement we are pleased to offer a 5% discount on our insurance package in association with underwriters Royal SunAlliance.

Case study

Click here to find out how one setting got on with Aiming for Quality

Interested?

For more information, contact the accreditiation team on 020 7697 2500 or email accreditation@pre-school.org.uk