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SCRAN Early Years: Evaluation Report - Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Evaluation of the SCRAN Early Years and IT Project

An evaluation of the development of a web-based resource for early years centres by the charity, SCRAN, and its piloting by a range of pre-school centres located in five Scottish regions.

Aims of the evaluation

 To assess:
  • the overall impact of the SCRAN Early Years and IT Project on the participating pre-school practitioners;
  • the impact the project has had on the embedding of ICT within the curriculum;
  • the effectiveness of the training programme and materials supplied;
  • the views of children on the SCRAN resource, and their attitudes to it.

Key Findings

1.  Overall impact on project participants

  • Participants showed high levels of enthusiasm for the project at the outset, in part due to the efforts of the project officer; however, lack of clarity in communicating  the purpose of the project and the role of participants in evaluating the resource, combined with limited duration of each phase, undermined initial commitment.
  • In a small number of centres, parents were kept informed of progress in the SCRAN project but few were actively involved in it.
  • Greatest curriculum impact was made in the areas of children’s Communication and Language and Expressive and Aesthetic Development.
  • Although project participation was especially useful for encouraging practitioners to reflect on the value of using internet websites in early years settings, little evidence was seen of change in teaching style.

2.  Impact on embedding ICT within the curriculum

  • Most settings reported that participation in the SCRAN project had only a minor effect on children’s access to and use of ICT, but that the variety of media and diversity of images were a welcome asset for engaging very young children.
  • The level of adult support needed to assist children in managing the resource was seen as a major drawback as it was time-consuming and impeded their ability to act independently. 

3.  Effectiveness of the resource, training and support provided

  • The majority of centres found the resource content very attractive but difficulties encountered in accessing and utilising images (on the early version of the website) and the general lack of interactivity undermined initial enthusiasm.
  • The training was seen as an essential component which had proved an enjoyable and worthwhile opportunity for the majority of participants; however, many would have liked more time for exploring the site and action planning.
  • All settings recognised the importance of the project officer’s role for sustaining the project over time and for maintaining communication links; most centres considered the support provided to be of a very good standard.  

Research methods

The research adopted a mixed methods approach in order to collect a wide range of evidence from project participants. In addition to in-depth interviews with the Project Development Officer and SCRAN personnel, the evaluation team undertook a review of the project structure and relevant resources, such as the training programme and evaluative feedback received from participants. The design also included:
  • a practitioners’ questionnaire distributed to all participating settings;
  • 10 interviews with early years practitioners;
  • observation of children using SCRAN materials at 2 sites.

Learning points

  • Prior to the commencement of this type of project:

review the project plan to ensure that it does not place unrealistic demands on participating centres and the project officer – for example, by involving too many pilot centres over too wide a geographical area;

it is vital to audit practitioner expertise and experience, as well as availability and accessibility of suitable ICT resources in pilot centres, in order to anticipate any potentially inhibiting factors; 

ensure that the project aims are explicitly linked to other relevant training programmes and national strategies (e.g. LTS) in order to help participants understand its value to their overall professional development;

give practitioners plenty of notice regarding the start date of their involvement;

issue practitioners with clear guidelines setting out exactly what they are expected to evaluate, as well as when and how this should take place.

  •  During the project:

ask participants to keep a brief diary of their experiences or to create a portfolio of tasks and activities undertaken;

encourage centres to use a range of methodologies for evaluating the resource, such as lesson observation;

provide a continuous programme of opportunities for training in order to sustain participants’ enthusiasm, ICT skills development and self-confidence in using the resource;

allow sufficient time for familiarisation with the website;

provide centres with intensive, sustained support from a project officer supplemented, if possible, by involvement of a local advisor;

encourage networking between centres to promote local mutual support;

collect examples of good practice that can be used to inform new centres interested in the resource as a teaching and learning tool.

  •  At the end of the project:

mark its completion in a significant way, such as a celebration of pupils’ work or a final feedback session for practitioners to share their experiences and make recommendations on the resource;

seek opportunities to share project outcomes with all key stakeholders, and to provide feedback to project participants on their contribution.

 

Research team

Centre for Education and Industry (CEI) at the University of Warwick:

Professor Prue Huddleston, Director of CEI
Faith Muir, CEI Regional Director
Craig Grewcock, CEI Regional Director
Christine Hirst, Research Fellow
Joanne Thompson, Research Fellow

 

Warwick Institute of Education:

Mary Briggs, Primary/Early Years PGCE Leader

References and useful websites

The following resources can be downloaded from the LTS website; also, see their directory of educational websites for links to sites appropriate for early years:
  • A Curriculum Framework for Children 3 to 5 (Scottish Office: 1999)
  • ‘ICT in Pre-School – a ‘Benign Addition’?’ – literature review (LTS: 2002)
  • ‘Come Back in 2 Years!’ – study of the use of ICT in pre-school settings (LTS: 2003) 
  • ‘Early Learning, Forward Thinking’ – national policy framework for ICT in early years (SE/LTS: 2003)

 

SCRAN Early Years Project - Full Evaluation Report (309 KB)
This was last updated on: 11 April 2007Accessibility