This is the Early Talk for York Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between City of York Council (CYC) and a state school or other setting.
- Purpose of the MOU
- Terms of the agreement
- Project evaluation
- Funding arrangements
- Status of the MOU
- Duration of the MOU
Purpose of the MOU
The purpose of this MOU is to provide the framework for Early Talk for York (ETFY).
This is a partnership between CYC and schools, settings and health professionals or services, to secure improved outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (that is between the ages of 0 and 5) in line with the Early Years Improvement Board 2021 priority:
Ensuring that we have developed a systemic approach to supporting the development of speech, language and communication in the early years and to the early identification of speech, language and communication needs.
Terms of the agreement
CYC will:
- fund and organise Elklan training for 1 in every 10 members of staff in the school or setting working with Early Years aged children (0 to 5)
- provide follow-on support from the Early Years Quality Improvement and Effectiveness and Achievement teams, and work with Multi Academy Trust (MAT) teams to support the provision of similar support for schools with a MAT
- alongside York Hospital, provide access to Speech and Language Therapists specifically commissioned to support ETFY schools or settings
- provide a range of adult education offers within the local area
- provide a range of additional training opportunities for practitioners within the Early Years
The school or setting will:
- ensure a suitable person (able to study to Level 4) completes the Elklan Level 3 and Level 4 training
- support the cascading of the Elklan training within the school or setting to ensure learning is shared with all staff and make best endeavours to achieve Elklan accredited ‘Communication Friendly Setting’ status
- use the standardised assessment tool (WellComm) to screen all early years aged children at least annually and report the results of this screening to CYC
- engage with the Early Years Quality Improvement team, Effectiveness and Achievement team, and any other agency working within this project (such as the Healthy Child Service)
- engage with the ETFY Speech and Language Therapists
- contribute with regular feedback and representation at ETFY delivery group or network meetings
Project evaluation
CYC will work with evaluation partners to continue to fund and complete evaluation of the ETFY approach.
The school or setting will share data necessary to enable effective evaluation including but not limited to:
- Early Years Foundation Stage Profile outcomes for children
- data from standardised assessments completed
- process and impact information about Elklan training
- process and impact information about speech and language therapy services
- reports on engagement with parents
Funding arrangements
CYC will meet the costs of the Elklan training and access to the ETFY Speech and Language Therapist services.
School and setting payments to join the approach and access training and support:
- schools will pay: £400
- settings will pay: £200
Other costs arising from participation in the project such as backfill will be met by schools or settings.
Should the school or setting decide to withdraw from the Early Talk for York approach after the training has been taken, the circumstances will be considered, and costs incurred by CYC may be recuperated from the school or setting.
Status of the MOU
This MOU is not intended to create a legal and binding obligation to expend funds or resources by either party, but is a statement of bona fide intent of the parties and to give absolute clarity around the partnership arrangement. It sets forth the entire understanding of the parties in respect of the partnership considered.
Duration of the MOU
This MOU will be valid from the date signed for 36 months unless terminated earlier in accordance with this section.
Either party shall be at liberty to terminate this MOU at any time by providing the other with a written notice of termination. On notice of termination any resources provided by CYC to the school or setting will need to be returned and costs incurred by CYC may be recuperated from the school or setting.