No matter what you and your setting needs, Hopscotch can help.
Our consultants have inspected thousands of Early Years provisions and Hopscotch have helped hundreds of settings to achieve their goals. As inspectors, we’ve seen the very best and worst of the sector – so we know exceptional practice when we see it. And as consultants, we’ve worked on every kind of project – from settings in danger of closure by the authorities, to settings who wish to offer something that has never been done before in Early Years, to settings that are just a twinkle in the eye of a person with a vision and a dream!
Of course, our core services are around pre- and post-Ofsted support. We know that these periods can be the busiest, most stressful but ultimately the most rewarding of our time as operators and practitioners. We know that you need us to be quick to respond to your immediate needs, flexible enough to adapt when we see opportunities and challenges in your provision, and dedicated to your success in the same way that you and your staff teams are.
Below are some of our most popular services – but this is in no way an exhaustive list. We truly are an end-to-end, do-it-all, one-stop-shop for our customers – and our longstanding relationships with dozens of happy clients bear that out!
Quality Improvement Inspections
Expecting Ofsted? Find out where your setting sits with an inspection just like the real thing. Our consultants will grade your setting against the exact criteria Ofsted use, and give you feedback that will enable you to address concerns and empower your staff teams to really showcase their practice when the day comes!
Tailored Consultancy
Our consultants quickly and skilfully identify your strengths and areas for improvement, and work with you and your team to close gaps and bring out the best in your everyday practice. Whatever your requirements, Hopscotch will collaborate with you to achieve the vision you have for your nursery or other Early Years setting!
Post-Inspection Triage
We know that inspection day sometimes does not go the way you'd hoped and intended. If you've received the judgement you'd been dreading, Hopscotch can swoop in to pick up the pieces and get you back on the road to Outstanding. Our intensive support will have you smiling again in no time!
Mystery Shopper
Need some intelligence and insight into your competitors? Want to see how your staff teams are handling sales and prospective customers? Our mystery shopping teams will visit settings and give you detailed feedback on their strengths, weaknesses and potential game-changers. Knowledge is power!
Bespoke Training
Whether you've identified an area that you feel needs additional focus, or whether the constantly-changing world of Early Years means that you staff need to be brought up to date on current best practice, Hopscotch has the training you need. Our dedicated trainers cover all aspects of Early Years provision as well as statutory requirements.
Policies, Procedures & Your SEF
Whether you regard paperwork as a necessary evil or the bedrock of ensuring quality in your provision, you appreciate that having up-to-date policies and procedures is vital to your success. Our off-the-peg policies reflect the best in the industry and are a great foundation for your settings. We can also help you showcase your dedication to quality with Ofsted by writing or reviewing your Self-Evaluation Form.
EYFS Implementation
Sometimes providers and staff find it difficult to implement the EYFS. This can be for numerous reasons, including understanding the framework or devising a planning system that allows you to spend time with the children while at the same time recording learning and development in an effective way. Hopscotch can work with you and your staff team to develop planning systems and help you to understand the EYFS. We constantly tailor and update our support to react to the regular changes to the EYFS.
Quality Assurance Scheme Mentoring
Quality Assurance schemes offer parents additional peace of mind knowing that a setting has been awarded a quality assurance certification. We know it can sometimes be difficult to work your way through and round QA schemes and know what you should and need to be doing. Hopscotch will steer you in the right direction and help you put together the evidence in the setting or we can help you via email and telephone.
Planning for the Individual
Meeting children's individual needs is imperative. Planning should reflect individual children's needs based on their interests, age and stage of development as well as new experiences. Hopscotch can support you in tailoring planning to meet individual children's needs and training staff to do this effectively.
Financial & Sustainability Check
In a rapidly-changing world where it can be hard to keep up with legislative changes as well as the economic situation, it's easy to lose control of revenue and cost. We can deep dive into your operations, understand your cost pressures and model your revenue streams to ensure that you survive and thrive in your unique combination of location, size and mix of customers - giving you the maximum bang for every buck!
Outdoor Environment
Do you have a fabulous indoor environment but outdoor is a bit of a mess? Do staff think outdoor play is a time to chat while children run themselves ragged? If so we can help. The outdoor environment is just as important as the indoor environment and children should be able to access the same quality of learning opportunities wherever they choose to play. Hopscotch can help to transform your outdoor provision and we also train staff on how to use the outdoors effectively.
Observation & Assessment
We know these two words are often daunting. For all providers whether a childminder or nursery practitioner observation and assessment is really important to helping children to progress. We also know that it is hard to fit in paperwork as well as looking after the children and we have often heard "there's too much paperwork, when are we meant to play with the children?". Fear not, we can work together to really understand what observation and assessment is really about, work out a system that works for your setting and dispel the myths that go with it.
“Hopscotch started working with our school Farnham Green Primary School (East London) in June 2014.
Background: The nursery and reception classes (3) were borderline inadequate to requires improvement. They had received conflicting advice from the Borough. They now lacked confidence in their own skills.
Brief: For the consultancy to give a baseline of where the teachers were at in planning, teaching and assessing. To look at ways of working smarter not harder. To make help in turning around the setting into at least good.
Laura has worked with the school over a 9 month period. During this time we have been graded Good by the Borough, had excellent moderation feedback from the Borough and increased our Good level of development by 19.6% on 2014. Our teachers are now consistently Good in their practice. Reading, writing and maths was up by 18% on 2014.
I have always found Laura to be happy and cheerful whilst being professional and focussed on the schools issues. I would not hesitate in recommending her to other schools and settings to help raise standards in EYFS.”