Huw Lewis, Minister for Education and Skills, Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty and Mark Drakeford, Minister for Health and Social Services
This was published under the 2011 to 2016 administration of the Welsh Government
Today we are launching a consultation on the proposed Early Years Outcomes Framework for Wales.
In July 2013, the Welsh Government published Wales’ first early years and childcare plan, ‘Building a Brighter Future’. This set out an ambitious and stretching programme for change, outlining our commitment to improve the life chances and outcomes of all children in Wales. In the plan we stated we would develop and consult on an Early Years Outcomes Framework which will take account of existing frameworks that support children and families across the early years.
A draft outcomes framework has been developed through engagement with key stakeholders and overseen by the Early Years Partnership Board. It is the intention the framework will provide us with a tool to draw on evidence and track progress at a national level. Seeing what works well and not so well will help us to focus resources on activity that is shown to have a positive impact on the outcomes for children. It is also hoped the framework will be used to support planning and evaluation by stakeholders across the early years, childcare and play workforce which, in turn, will lead to more effective, collaborative working and improvements in delivery.
The consultation will run until 15 January 2015. Consultation responses will be considered and the framework will be published by April 2015. It will then be used to support the annual evaluation process of our progress against the delivery of the ambitions of the early years and childcare plan. In July 2015 the data outlined in the framework will be collated and presented against the outcomes. This will provide us with a national picture of how we are having an impact on the early years. Where possible, the data will provide the baseline for the coming years. We will expect to see progress made. The proposed Early Years Outcomes Framework has been designed to include what is in place at the moment. It may be that developments, such as the Review of Assessment and the Curriculum will bring about indicators that are better than those we currently have. The framework will be continually reviewed and refreshed to incorporate such developments.