Projects
Read our latest report on school readiness
Targeting Impact: A Contribution to the Early Education Debate
In November 2022, a coalition of Early Years organisations identified a series of practical and affordable options for efficient and effective Early Years spending in England.
Building on these, Kindred² worked with Ark Start to develop a further alternative to the current funding model that prioritises high quality provision for children from the least affluent families. In a challenging economic climate, this alternative is pragmatic and could be reasonably implemented near-term within the existing spend envelope.
Click here to view the discussion document
Frontier Economics - ECEC Solutions
A coalition of Early Years organisations convened by Kindred Squared, including Early Education and providers LEYF and Ark Start, has identified a series of practical and affordable new options for more efficient and effective Early Years spending in England.
There's widespread acceptance that the current system is broken and the coalition has produced four new economic options which improve the system for children, parents and providers. The analysis by Frontier Economics, one of the largest economic consultancies in Europe, is based on current government spending but shows how radical rebalancing could better support working families and lead to better outcomes for children.
The work is supported by HFL Education, Leeds Beckett University - The International Montessori Institute, nesta, Save the Children and The Sutton Trust.
This is the first time a coalition of this size and scope has joined forces to make a unique and significant intervention in the ongoing debate around childcare provision in England.
See the four new models for an improved Child Care system here.
Common Outcomes Framework
Kindred Squared has partnered with The For Baby’s Sake Trust and the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF), to bring together a group of organisations involved in working with children, families and communities to agree how success for them will be defined and measured. This includes What Works Centres, academics, trusts and foundations and many others working locally and at a national level. This group has identified the opportunity for those involved in outcomes work to improve consistency and collaborate with one another, including recognising the potential for a national approach to act as a ‘map’ for all efforts to improve children’s lives and prospects, acting as a point of orientation for those frameworks that focus on specific aspects of children’s lives.
As an initial review step for this collaborative effort Kindred Squared has commissioned:
- the development of an outline of the current situation and the case for collaborative effort
- a summary of some of the existing outcomes frameworks and sets (and related research)
- an overview of key concepts and terminology to support shared understanding and
- a high level illustration of what an overarching framework might look like for all children.
A growing group of interested parties continues to collaborate, using the outputs of the review (attached here) as the starting point for further discussion of a common approach. This will include at a local or service-specific level, exploration of how the voices and specific needs of children, families and communities could shape how success is defined and outcomes measured.
Read the summary of existing outcomes sets and frameworks for children and families here.
Please do get in touch via our contact form if you’re interested in being involved.
SEEN
The SEEN Programme (Secondary Education around Early Neurodevelopment) provides schools with lesson plans, teaching resources and staff training on the topic of early brain development and the importance of the early years on long term outcomes.
Join our SEEN Community to find out more and download the free lesson resources. In 2021, these lessons were successfully piloted to over 4000 children across the country. Find the results here.
Annual School Readiness survey
Kindred² commission an annual ‘school readiness’ survey of school professionals. For the first time this year, over 1,000 parents of Reception children were also surveyed about their thoughts on school readiness. Almost nine out of ten parents (89%) believed their child to be school ready but teachers reported that it’s nearer half (54%).
Find out more in the latest School Readiness Report here.
2022 report available here.
2021 report available here.
Virtual School Library
Kindred² is delighted to support the development of the National Literacy Trust’s Virtual School Library. The library helps children who have fallen behind with their literacy and safeguards children’s access to books and families’ access to literacy support in the event of future local lockdowns. The library will give every primary school child in the UK free access to books all year round.
- With the support of Kindred², the National Literacy Trust has also created the Words for Life to provide families with fun activities to support their children’s literacy at home.
- Find out more at https://wordsforlife.org.uk/
Early Years Commission
In 2019, Kindred² approached the Centre for Social Justice and the Fabian Society to establish an expert-led Commission for the Early Years.
We are delighted to welcome the result of this work with the publication of the first Early Years Commission cross-party manifesto.
Join our SEEN Community
The SEEN Programme teaches students about early brain development and the importance of the caregiver. To find out more and to access the free lesson resources, please join the SEEN Community.