Report attached.

Contact: Anne-Marie Speke, Healthy Child Programme Co-ordinator / Neville Ward, Senior Early Years and Childcare Officer

Anne-Marie Speke, the Healthy Child Programme Co-ordinator and Neville Ward, the Senior Early Years and Childcare Officer introduced the report (copy attached to the signed Minutes) which outlined the work undertaken as part of the improving school readiness.

The Senior Early Years and Childcare Officer explained that the Department of Education had set an ambitious goal to halve the number of Children leaving reception without the appropriate level of communication and language skills they require by 2028. The initiatives already underway in Shropshire to meet this target were outlined by the Senior Early Years and Childcare Officer and he explained how the progress was measured.

The Senior Early Years and Childcare Officer referred to the Age and Stages Questionnaire (AQS), a parent led questionnaire that helped to assess the development of children in 5 domains and noted that where children were not meeting milestones in these domains, appropriate support was given to families and shared with the early year setting.

It was reported that training was to be rolled out by the Local Authority during 2019/20 to improve the overall level of communication between early years workforce and children, and the various sessions available in libraries were detailed. It was noted that the Local Authority was working with all services that come into contact with families to make the most of every contact.

RESOLVED:  That the contents of the report be noted.