Guest Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Hi I wonder if anyone knows the answer -I am a reception teacher working in a foundation stage unit. Our PE coordinator feels that reception children should be doing 'proper' timetabled PE lessons and although I certainly dont think it would do the children any harm I am not sure if it fits into the EYFS curriculum-we have access to the outside area for much of the day, have all sorts of physical equipment (climbing , balancing . provide bats,balls,hoops etc. use the parachute on occasions but I am worried in case I should be doing the formal type of PE lesson that is done in school. We struggle to fit everything into the day as it is -i.e. we have short sessions of carpet time and provide longer periods for uninterrupted play. The Nursery teacher also was wondering about doing a PE lesson -although I did say to her that I felt this would not be expected. Any advice would be appreciated as we just want to 'get it right!' Thanks for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wolfie Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I attended an update day for the early years advisors in our authority last week and this subject came up because we had a physical development advisor speaking to the group - he said that there should definitely NOT be any formal P.E. lessons in either nursery or reception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Thanks wolfie -I am going to show your reply to our PE coordinator!!! Hope you dont mind-I thought that we didnt need to do formal PE- I will probably do one or two lessons in Summer term to ease transition to Y1-but I also felt that there was no need as long as we were delivering the EYFS curriculum correctly -cheers !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 We have a formal timetabled session in the hall, but I use it for all sorts of things! - not always PE - it does come in handy when the weather is really foul. I think you have to look at things over the whole year - children will do PE in Y1 and this could be a bit traumatic for some if they have never been in the hall in a formal way at some point during their Reception year. Also how do children get the chance to do floor based movements such as rolling, tumbling - our play ground is either mud or tarmac! I do this more formal PE as part of transition to Y1 and this satisfies everyones needs (and tick boxes!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_64 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 We have a formal timetabled session in the hall, but I use it for all sorts of things! - not always PE - it does come in handy when the weather is really foul. I think you have to look at things over the whole year - children will do PE in Y1 and this could be a bit traumatic for some if they have never been in the hall in a formal way at some point during their Reception year. Also how do children get the chance to do floor based movements such as rolling, tumbling - our play ground is either mud or tarmac! I do this more formal PE as part of transition to Y1 and this satisfies everyones needs (and tick boxes!) Just an observation here and not meaning to criticise! What makes you think it is less traumatic to be in the hall in a formal way in reception than year 1? Surely the whole point of waiting until they are older is that they will be more capable of coping with more formal demands by this stage in their development. Children should never go through playgroups/nurseries/schools being 'prepared' for the next stage. Each stage should be developed (and celebrated!) in its own right as the children are ready and not before. It is the Y1 teachers role to make sure that moving to a more formal curriculum is not traumatic by planning appropriate activities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_8466 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Children should never go through playgroups/nurseries/schools being 'prepared' for the next stage. Each stage should be developed (and celebrated!) in its own right as the children are ready and not before. It is the Y1 teachers role to make sure that moving to a more formal curriculum is not traumatic by planning appropriate activities. Ooh Beau - are you sure we're not twins separated at birth? In the words of the great Mrs Merton - "lets have a heated debate!" Transitions are (or rather have the potential to be) fraught with difficulties. There are so many aspects to this that we could be here for days and days... Maz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_379 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 We have two hall slots a week which we tend to do PE. The children love it and its a great opportunity to teach skills. Yes we also have continuous access to the outdoor.... some weeks we may only use one session or none at all. We do a variety of movement, dance, gym, circle games. traditional party games.... The children always look forward to PE and often ask is it PE today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I teach PE with my class. We don't have large climbing apparatus in our outside area so I don't believe I would be fulfilling my duties as a provider if I didn't take them into the hall and use the large climbing things in there. As others have said it is also a great space for movement and dance. I have 2 timetabled hall slots per week which I use for a range of things including games, drama, dance, PE, music etc Again, as others have said, the children enjoy PE sessions, and if we don't go in in one of a timetabled slots they notice and ask about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 We also have a timetabled slot for P.E which the children love and they can't wait to go into the hall. It is great for dance and gymnastics but also games. We have access to outdoor at all times so always have bats, balls, skipping ropes, hoops etc outdoors as well as bikes so we can see the children using these during Child Initiated activities Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_17960 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Hi I wonder if anyone knows the answer -I am a reception teacher working in a foundation stage unit. Our PE coordinator feels that reception children should be doing 'proper' timetabled PE lessons and although I certainly dont think it would do the children any harm I am not sure if it fits into the EYFS curriculum-we have access to the outside area for much of the day, have all sorts of physical equipment (climbing , balancing . provide bats,balls,hoops etc. use the parachute on occasions but I am worried in case I should be doing the formal type of PE lesson that is done in school. We struggle to fit everything into the day as it is -i.e. we have short sessions of carpet time and provide longer periods for uninterrupted play. The Nursery teacher also was wondering about doing a PE lesson -although I did say to her that I felt this would not be expected. Any advice would be appreciated as we just want to 'get it right!' Thanks for any advice. Unfortunately, you are in the middle of the proverbial 'devil and the deep blue sea' - on the one hand top-down pressure from the school subject co-ordinators and on the other, the ideal free EYFS philosophy that you cherish. Though not desirable, it IS possible for you to dovetail the two in a way that you feel comfortable with. My early years unit (two Reception classes and Nursery) also have dedicated PE sessions in the school hall; non-negotiable! I had to get involved in some serious CPD when asked by the PE co-ordinator to write a scheme of work (and lesson plans) for the Nursery and I quickly found that it was possible to base my plans around 'stepping stones' whilst also thinking about skill areas/elements of the NC such as gymnastics, athletics, games, dance etc. at the same time. Picking it all apart enabled me to see and understand how efficiently and effectively our framework actually does underpin the more formal PE work. Although we are asked not to see the Foundation Stage as preparation for a later educational stage; by virtue of its developmental approach and the content of the National Curriculum, it actually is! Our framework asks us to 'plan activities where children can move in different ways' and effective practice is to 'use the vocabulary of movement such as gallop, slither etc' and there are formal learning objectives for teaching children to use 'different ways of travelling' with very similar similar vocabulary under the Gymnastics strand (level 1) of the NC. Similarly, we are also urged to 'plan target throwing and catching' games with our children which equates almost exactly to NC level 1 attainments for Games. Our framework also includes that young children will 'initiate new combinations of movement' and we should look, listen and note 'how children combine movements to make simple sequences' whereas in NC Gymnastics children should be taught to 'link actions in short movement phrases' Once I got my head around this I researched various aspects from developmental, teaching and safety points of view (our framework doesn't teach us how best to teach them safe jumping and landing techniques for instance yet expects us to observe them jumping and landing 'appropriately' when they jump off objects - I find it reassuring to know!). I also found it helpful to look at developmental markers for running, hopping, jumping, throwing etc. to help me when observing what children can do. From here I set about compiling a scheme of work where PE sessions are based around the skill developments in our framework; creatively using story boxes, rhymes, songs, chants music and other props as stumuli. It was a long journey, but an interesting and fruitful one. Good luck! Fingertips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I was quite taken aback when I read the quote Nursery and reception should not do formal PE. In our school, we are expected to do it, as part of our award for healthy schools. Reception have 3 timetabled slots in the hall: which equates to dance, gym and games (a football club provide this opportunity) Nursery have one session, where we share the resource with other children of the same age. I didn't see any detriment to the children accessing this resource, as they enjoy it, it provides them with different opportnities and increases self confidence. I can see what people are saying that if you are delivering 'EYFS' as it should be, then there would be no need to have a seperate time in the hall, but I feel it can enhance the curriculum (if taught and accessed appropriately) rather than be detrimental. A very interesting post... its got my brain ticking!! Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tinkerbell Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I teach R and yr1 so yes we do have 2 PE slots in the hall...we do lots of circle games and fun listening games as well as TOPS type of activities....we also go into whole school assembly 4 times a week!!!!! Tinkerbellx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_11485 Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 From here I set about compiling a scheme of work where PE sessions are based around the skill developments in our framework; creatively using story boxes, rhymes, songs, chants music and other props as stumuli. It was a long journey, but an interesting and fruitful one. Good luck! Fingertips Sounds like a great scheme of work - erm, is it for sharing? Or even for sale? I'm not happy with ours, it's really formal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Unfortunately, you are in the middle of the proverbial 'devil and the deep blue sea' - on the one hand top-down pressure from the school subject co-ordinators and on the other, the ideal free EYFS philosophy that you cherish. Though not desirable, it IS possible for you to dovetail the two in a way that you feel comfortable with. My early years unit (two Reception classes and Nursery) also have dedicated PE sessions in the school hall; non-negotiable! I had to get involved in some serious CPD when asked by the PE co-ordinator to write a scheme of work (and lesson plans) for the Nursery and I quickly found that it was possible to base my plans around 'stepping stones' whilst also thinking about skill areas/elements of the NC such as gymnastics, athletics, games, dance etc. at the same time. Picking it all apart enabled me to see and understand how efficiently and effectively our framework actually does underpin the more formal PE work. Although we are asked not to see the Foundation Stage as preparation for a later educational stage; by virtue of its developmental approach and the content of the National Curriculum, it actually is! Our framework asks us to 'plan activities where children can move in different ways' and effective practice is to 'use the vocabulary of movement such as gallop, slither etc' and there are formal learning objectives for teaching children to use 'different ways of travelling' with very similar similar vocabulary under the Gymnastics strand (level 1) of the NC. Similarly, we are also urged to 'plan target throwing and catching' games with our children which equates almost exactly to NC level 1 attainments for Games. Our framework also includes that young children will 'initiate new combinations of movement' and we should look, listen and note 'how children combine movements to make simple sequences' whereas in NC Gymnastics children should be taught to 'link actions in short movement phrases' Once I got my head around this I researched various aspects from developmental, teaching and safety points of view (our framework doesn't teach us how best to teach them safe jumping and landing techniques for instance yet expects us to observe them jumping and landing 'appropriately' when they jump off objects - I find it reassuring to know!). I also found it helpful to look at developmental markers for running, hopping, jumping, throwing etc. to help me when observing what children can do. From here I set about compiling a scheme of work where PE sessions are based around the skill developments in our framework; creatively using story boxes, rhymes, songs, chants music and other props as stumuli. It was a long journey, but an interesting and fruitful one. Good luck! Fingertips Do you still have this saved?! We are searching everywhere for help with PE lessons for the EY's as we teach formally? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wolfie Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I found this fantastic blog today about movement in the early years - don't know if it will be of any help but thought I'd share it anyway! http://movingsmartblog.blogspot.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 "From here I set about compiling a scheme of work where PE sessions are based around the skill developments in our framework; creatively using story boxes, rhymes, songs, chants music and other props as stumuli. It was a long journey, but an interesting and fruitful one." Fingertips I would also be interested in finding out more about this if you don't mind. My PE felt quite comfortable but my mat cover role will end mid year and I'm very aware that my approach and that of the teacher I'm covering for is very different so I'd like to feel as though I've covered all bases when she returns! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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