The role of governance bodies in supporting refugee families

Maintained nursery school governing bodies, Sure Start local programmes and children’s partnership boards and the management committees of other early education settings all have a key role to play in supporting refugee families gain access to services that are appropriate to their needs.

All maintained nursery schools, have a governing body. Any integrated provision that includes a maintained nursery school is defined as a maintained nursery school and, therefore, is also required to have a governing body. Guidance is available in the DfES booklet Laying the Foundations: Guidance for Governing Bodies in Maintained Nursery Schools.

Information on roles and responsibilities of the governing body are dealt with in more detail on this website in the area that deals with contributing to the community through membership of the school governing body and the governornet website.

Sure Start Local Programmes and Children’s Centres

Sure Start local programmes and Children’s Centres may have different models of governance. Sure Start local programmes usually establish partnership boards that involve parents, community groups and statutory agencies, to ensure that aims and objectives are met. There is no guidance from the Government on what the governance arrangements should be for Children's Centres. How Children's Centres are managed will be locally determined.

Private nurseries and playgroups

Private nurseries, playgroups and other privately run settings are not subject to the legislation that sets out the responsibilities of the maintained sector. Many, although not all, will be run by some form of management committee that oversees the running of the setting.

Good practice

Governing bodies, partnership boards and management committees can facilitate access and can assure the quality of provision of services for refugee children.

Training on Black, minority ethnic, refugee and asylum seeker issues

Local education authorities and other providers may need to consider developing training and information on refugee issues if they don’t already provide it. Governors of maintained settings should be encouraged to attend governor training .

Promote the involvement of all parents

Explicit reference in the equal opportunities and/or inclusion policies of the setting to the entitlements of refugees, including access, learning needs and parental involvement can reflect the setting’s commitment to involving parents from all backgrounds. This can also be emphasised in any welcome information the setting compiles for new parents, especially if it is translated into community languages.

Introduce new parents to other parents

Refugee parents from communities that are new to the setting may welcome opportunities to meet other parents who are actively involved in the life of the setting, including those who are governors, or members of the partnership board or management committee.

Encourage all parents to attend all parents’ meetings

Governors should be aware that all parents of children at the setting have a right to attend these meetings and that they offer parents opportunities to express their views on the way the setting is developing.

Enlist parents to help run events

Refugee parents may be unfamiliar with the idea of parental involvement activities, so special efforts may need to be made to explain the value of their participation. Involving refugee parents in planning these activities and translating any publicity material will also help. Governors and practitioners can also consult the Department for Childres, Schools and Families (DCSF) 2004 toolkit Materials for schools: Involving parents, raising achievement and the foundation stage Information Pack for Parents for further guidance and resources on developing parental involvement.

Encourage the use of foundation stage guidance

The Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage supports the planning of learning through play activities that meet the needs of refugee families and are enjoyable for both parents and children to take part in.

Monitor parental participation in the setting’s activities

Parental involvement and attendance at events should represent the diversity of a school’s population. Monitoring whether refugee parents are taking part can help ensure they are not disadvantaged in any way. This is also a legal duty for early years settings which are directly run or maintained by the local education authority, and day nurseries run by social services departments of local authorities under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (.pdf) provides guidance to assist early years settings meet their duties under the Act.

Inspection of maintained nursery schools, nursery provision and childcare

Ofsted is responsible for inspecting the quality of early education in all LA maintained schools, nursery schools and private, voluntary or independent sectors including private day nurseries, playgroups and independent pre-schools offering free Government-funded early education places in England. Ofsted inspects how well the setting supports children's progress towards early learning goals associated with six areas of learning in the foundation stage of the National Curriculum.

Since 2001 Ofsted has also been responsible for the regulation of early years childcare, including childminders of children under eight years of age. Many childcare providers also offer funded nursery education places, so Ofsted has introduced a single inspection format to judge both care and education and will report findings in an integrated report.

Ofsted emphasises that early years settings are best placed to recognise their own strengths and weaknesses. The inspection arrangements for maintained nursery schools emphasise the role of self-evaluation in performance and improvement. This includes the work of the governing bodies.

For the inspection of early years settings that do not form part of the maintained sector, the role of self-evaluation is to help the setting reflect and prepare for the inspection.

Self-evaluation forms are available on the Ofsted website. There are separate forms for Nursery, Primary, Secondary, Special and PRUs (pupil referral units).

A key aspect of inspections is how well a setting meets the needs of all its children, including refugee children, and contributes to their well-being.

Ofsted’s Every child matters: Framework for the inspection of schools in England from September 2005 takes into account the requirements of Every Child Matters: Change for Children and the five key outcomes for children and young people. These are:

• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• Make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well-being.

Inspections of all settings that offer a free Government-funded nursery education place look at:

• How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can
• How well the setting works in partnership with others to promote children’s well-being.