What If Your Staff Really Can't Do Eyfs

[Guest jenpercy]

We had a long talk. I said that they had to be able to do EYFS with the next intake of children, so they could get in some practice on the current ones to round out their profies. This is the "observation" I was proudly handed

 

X spent a long time building a house with the TradeName bricks. She worked hard. her Dad was very pleased and he took a photo.

 

now to be fair - it was marked up a KUW & something else, I forgot which - but that was it. And it was the miniature real bricks with mortar. Lots and lots for them to have talked about. About a quarter of this year's children were in the EYFS range and yet most of my staff just don't get it. What can I do

[Guest]

I am not really sure what the exact issue is..... maybe I have missed other posts you have made.............

 

My after school club staff do not do observations at all.

 

They need to show to a visiting inspector that they have an awareness of the EYFS and they can show plans which indicate which resources could cover which areas of learning but after school club is a chill out place for our little ones at the end of long days.......

 

I don't believe obs need to be done in the club......... UNLESS something is said/ done which could be taken as a safeguarding type issue..... it isn't out of the realms of possibility that a child chooses this chilled out point in the day to tell staff something.

 

My staff also have a child who has had behavioural issues and they might feedback about this to his teacher.......

 

I don't understand the "what if staff really can't do EYFS".

 

Sorry probably no help at all there!

[AnonyMouse_1469]

I think, in this situation, you probably have to do the some observations with each member of staff, to talk about what you really observe together, and therefore what they can write up?Make sure they are noting how involved the child was ( Leuvers scales), and wether or not other children were involved? was this the first time the child had acheived a particular goal ( being able to catch a ball, for instance, then the child's reaction).if photo's are taken, especially by parents, where is the copy of it for the child's file? So, the child's voice in this, then the parents voice and yours, so they all come together to complete the picture you are trying to build? maybe your staff just need more guidance as to your expectations? good luck

 

 

ah...................just realised this is after school club, in which case, why do you need to do obs?If it's just to keep a loose file of what the children are doing, then it doesn't need to be too in-depth, surely?? maybe just some photos with an annotation beneath?

Edited July 5, 2010 by narnia

[Guest jenpercy]

Well it is my understanding that staff need to be able to point to sdome next steps for children., for which they need to know how the children tick. I am using observations (or trying to) for this. It isn't enough as far as I am concerned to shw a picture of what they were playing with, we need to know something about how they play. I'm not looking for a lengthy observation, just some indication of insight. I look at the next steps suggested by the staff, learn to share and take turns, is the same comment for everyone, regardless of personality.

 

I would love to think that we are overdoing it, but remember that we failed our OFSTED last year and only got satisfactory this year, so obviously the Inspector did not think we were doing enough in SOME way. I spent the whole inspection praying that the Inspector did not ask anything about EYFS, or the children - and luckily she hardly spoke to the staff, or the parents. I rather had the ipressino that although she was there 2 days, she was just checking that we had improved our failing areas. I would have complained that I didn't feel that the Inspection wqas thorough enough had I not bee grateful that the staff had not been questionned further.

 

(Actually, it might have been that they rely so much on the SEF these days -and she didn't think much of mine. It was one designed by ESSEX and not standard format, so she didn't mention it, I did. She was very dismissive, that we had begun ie mine was only 9 pages!)

 

I know that observations don't have to be written. But I need some proof that some insightful thinking about our children is going on.

 

And PLANS - what plans!!!!! They seem to think that following the child's interests means getting out yesterday's leftover paint and some scrap paper. So anyway OFSTED did not ask to see our planning.

 

My latest idea for getting staff involved is to play a game. We will take it in turns to describe a child without saying he or she, age etc, and the others will have to guess who we mean.