Early in 2015, Teaching Schools were invited to bid for national funding to work with the Early Years sector in developing a sector-led improvement model.  Four Lincolnshire Teaching Schools (EOS, Elite, Equate and Kyra Teaching School Alliances) were successful in their bids and secured funding to carry out several pieces of work.  A highly experienced and qualified Project Lead, Jane Ledger, was employed to head up the projects, and a group of Early Years experts were secured to provide support and advice.

Through this project, teaching schools have worked with a wide variety of settings and schools on:

• Designation of a team of Early Years Educator Leads (EYE Leads) – Early Years practitioners from settings within the county who have demonstrated their expertise in one or more area of Early Years education.  This team is now available to be deployed into settings requiring short or long-term support or bespoke professional development for their staff. For more information, contact Lisa Yates lisa.yates@lincolnmountstreet.lincs.sch.uk 
• Equate and Elite Teaching School Alliances explored how Early Years Pupil Premium Champions in localities could give support to settings and provide a platform for professional dialogue. A number of meetings have now been held in Lincolnshire and others are planned in the future. For more information contact  Kath Carter kath@equatetsa.co.uk
• Elklan courses for 50 practitioners have been taken up with initial results indicating that of the children tracked, over 90% have made significant progress over 12 weeks. A large number of practitioners who had completed a past Elklan course attended well received refresher workshops. For more information contact Jayne Carter  jayne.carter@elseaparkacademy.lincs.sch.uk
• Kyra Teaching School Alliance set up and coordinated small-scale action research projects to test a wide range of hypotheses run by 25 triads of settings located throughout the county.  Findings from the triad collaborative work and from the individual research projects will be published in Autumn 2016.  One of the triads – a group of childminders in Gainsborough -have already seen an article about their work published in Nursery World Magazine in February 2016.  For more information contact Jane Ledger jane.ledger@lincolnmountstreet.lincs.sch.uk

• The development of a forum-based website www.earlyyearsmeetingpoint.co.uk where early years practitioners can get involved in discussions around topics of the moment or begin their own!  This will be launched in September 2016.