Take my advice

Last month a group of national early years experts took up new jobs as the first regional directors for the Foundation Stage. Their remit is to work closely with local authorities and Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships (EYDCPs) to support training in the Foundation Stage curriculum in early years settings and primary schools. The team of 12 regional advisers will work under Lesley Staggs, who became the first ever national director of the Foundation Stage when she took up the post last October and whose appointment was so warmly welcomed by the early years sector.

Ms Staggs says the aim is not to develop a 'one-size-fits-all' approach, but is about national experts working with local authorities and EYDCPs to support training and share good training programmes. She says, 'This expert support is not about introducing wholesale change, nor about moving towards a more centrally prescriptive approach. It is about raising the profile of the Foundation Stage at every level to ensure it gets the focus it deserves and most critically, it is about raising the status and expertise of early years practitioners.'