About The Bristol Standard

The Bristol Standard is recognised nationally as an outstanding self-evaluation framework and the benefits and impact of its approach have been well evidenced. Through team reflection and discussion, the strengths of the setting are celebrated and future priorities become clear. The Bristol Standard enables practitioners to talk more knowledgeably about what they do, why they do it and the difference it is making for children and families in their care. Settings who engage with the process are more likely to be judged as good or better.

Bristol Standard for play Provision 4th edition is now available

The brand new version of the Bristol Standard for Play was launched in October at a celebration event at Bristol Zoo. The Bristol Standard and BAND teams are very excited about the new look document. It has been written by a team of Play experts and promises to be an essential part of every Playworker’s toolkit. The document has a fresh new look with a new colour scheme, new photos and layout, making it very accessible. BAND mentors will offer support to those settings interested in using the Bristol Standard as their reflective tool to improve quality.

What one setting thinks about the Bristol Standard 6th edition:

The new edition is great. It’s lovely to read so many inspiring quotes alongside the detailed explanations of each dimension.
The paperwork has been really simple. It was our first online submission which appeared daunting but was actually very straightforward.
Our mentor provided great support. Everything was clearly explained and she is always reassuring during communication.
The Bristol Standard continues to form a large part of our staff reflection process. It informs the Practice Development Plan for the whole setting as well as individual room action plans. This holistic way of reflecting adds rigour to our way of working and provides joined up evidence of our strengths and areas for development.
The ongoing and thorough reflection has ensured that the children remain exactly where they should be, at the centre of every decision that we make both daily and on a long term basis.
Read more…

Bristol Standard goes international

Last year the Bristol Standard team were approached by Rajeev Ladva who is the Early Years Leader at a British International School – Bangkok Patana. Raj was particularly keen to use the Bristol Standard Outdoor Audit with his team who were about to look at improving the practice and provision in the outdoors. His team has found the audit transformational and we are looking forward to sharing some of their work with you in due course as a case study. In the meantime we have presented Raj with a certificate to acknowledge our international connections. Raj will be using the main Bristol Standard framework with his team over the next academic year and we look forward to hearing how this progresses.

Bristol Standard Survey 2019

Thank you to everyone that has completed the survey, this includes settings that are on the journey and those that are not in Early Years, Childminding and Play sectors. We really value your thoughts and the information we have received is helping us to move forward. If you haven’t already submitted your survey, it’s not too late We are acting on what you have suggested and are currently looking at the submission model. Watch this space..