AnonyMouse_37030 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 Ok chaps have just spent this afternoon trying to formulate something that will work for our setting (Community pre-school for 2year - 5year olds based in a hall where everything has to be got out and put away each day)....so I have come up with the attached. First page relates to the areas of learning, not all of these might be filled in each week but as appropriate for the children we have in session (for example In Sept we lose all our older children to school so will be heavily focused on the prime areas for a while). Second page is our continuous provision which I have divided into two showing awareness of the activities younger children are more drawn to (mains focus prime areas) and then the other activities (specific areas). The third page is for our evidence which informed the planning that week post it notes, obs etc. links from other settings (where care is shared) and home links etc. The final page is a very brief evaluation of the week. I've no doubt others will be posted shortly which may be far more user friendly / in depth / visually pleasing than mine but thought I'd have a go. No doubt it will also evolve as we move through the autumn. EYFS 2012 planning draft.doc 5
Helen Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 Thank you for sharing all your hard work :1b It looks very thorough to me. In your evaluation, is there a difference between "What activities did the children enjoy?" and "What activities were popular?" You might be able to delete one, maybe?
AnonyMouse_63 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 Thanks for sharing it looks very user friendly Carol
AnonyMouse_37030 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Posted June 13, 2012 I think there might well be a difference...I might have one or two children really engaged in one activity which they are clearly really enjoying (showing lots of excitement etc)...yet have at the same time another activity which is very popular but not generating a huge amount of excitement....does that make any sense? for example I might have a whole herd of children playing in the home corner and having an OK time but doing so because its comfortable and cosy (they know what is expected etc...their friends are there).....I might conversly have a single child really engaged in an activity every one else shuns yet they are enjoying it and learning....for example when outside I have one little one who really enjoys picking up snails and looking at them...while everyone else runs a mile because they are yucky...but I take your point I could perhaps alter the wording a bit here and there. 1
AnonyMouse_19762 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 Ok chaps have just spent this afternoon trying to formulate something that will work for our setting (Community pre-school for 2year - 5year olds based in a hall where everything has to be got out and put away each day)....so I have come up with the attached. First page relates to the areas of learning, not all of these might be filled in each week but as appropriate for the children we have in session (for example In Sept we lose all our older children to school so will be heavily focused on the prime areas for a while). Second page is our continuous provision which I have divided into two showing awareness of the activities younger children are more drawn to (mains focus prime areas) and then the other activities (specific areas). The third page is for our evidence which informed the planning that week post it notes, obs etc. links from other settings (where care is shared) and home links etc. The final page is a very brief evaluation of the week. I've no doubt others will be posted shortly which may be far more user friendly / in depth / visually pleasing than mine but thought I'd have a go. No doubt it will also evolve as we move through the autumn. Thanks for sharing - looks really good to me! Do you use the Leuven Scales?
AnonyMouse_14268 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 Wow, your planning looks very detailed, but very easy to understand. We have not yet started to think about the changes we need to make ready for September as we are on a trainning next week(one and a half hours, not sure they are going to cover much in such a short space of time) I will download your planning to take into my setting to use as an example. Thank you for being kind and sharing.
AnonyMouse_37030 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Posted June 13, 2012 I dont tend to because our observations tend to be quite specific and it is often clear from the obs how engaged the child was in terms of how long they were there, what they were saying/doing etc. I think the scale is ok if your doing a whole mass of children and obs are minimal or where you have a child who is easily distracted (adhd) which can aid you in helping them. I have used it where I have a child with SEN so that other professionals can quickly assess the situation (as Ive often found they dont read the learning journeys and prefer a tick sheet style of analyses)
AnonyMouse_37030 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Posted June 13, 2012 you are welcome Zig Zag....we have only done this now because ; we have a very busy half term so if I didnt do it now it wouldnt get done! and because I want my team to be aux fait with it before we come back in September (they will have the summer hols to look at it all and ensure they are fully conversant). We have been moulding our planning ever since EYFS first came in we are still not as happy with it as what we originally used but our local authority disliked that because it was too detailed...so more or less made us change...since then we have tried a whole variety of styles/approaches but find we keep coming back to the same style. I have posted on here because I believe it is good to share idea look at different viewpoints and work together as professionals for the benefit of all children..so please feel free to download/share and adjust at will. :1b 2
AnonyMouse_19762 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 you are welcome Zig Zag....we have only done this now because ; we have a very busy half term so if I didnt do it now it wouldnt get done! and because I want my team to be aux fait with it before we come back in September (they will have the summer hols to look at it all and ensure they are fully conversant). We have been moulding our planning ever since EYFS first came in we are still not as happy with it as what we originally used but our local authority disliked that because it was too detailed...so more or less made us change...since then we have tried a whole variety of styles/approaches but find we keep coming back to the same style. I have posted on here because I believe it is good to share idea look at different viewpoints and work together as professionals for the benefit of all children..so please feel free to download/share and adjust at will. :1b I wonder if any of us are ever completely satisfied with our planning.........I know that I am always making changes to my methods :blink: :1b - we have now been given a sheet that our LA would like us to use........hmmmmmm
AnonyMouse_19762 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) I wonder if any of us are ever completely satisfied with our planning.........I know that I am always making changes to my methods :blink: :1b - we have now been given a sheet that our LA would like us to use........hmmmmmm Here it is! Handout - Planning format BLANK version.doc Edited June 13, 2012 by sunnyday
AnonyMouse_37030 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Posted June 13, 2012 I think this style of generic planning is usefull for those settings who have everything out everyday. As a get out and shut up setting this just isnt possible for use (wont bore you with details but our resources have to come up two flights of stairs and then be handed down from a stage area to the floor space...and then at the end of the session reversed). So we have continuous provision for specific areas which is out each day but the other stuff we get out on a rotational basis (this works quite well as children also are never bored as each day is slightly different). If children request stuff we of course go down and get that up for them...so its not rigid. What we have been finding though is that some of our resources get overlooked unless we write them down on the planning..and we get a bit stuck in the rut. I'm afraid I do not believe that a one size fits all approach works as we are all so diverse in our buildings, cultures, communities etc. Planning should reflect this and hence not be dictated...so long as it meets the needs of the children. 3
AnonyMouse_19762 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 Absolutely! :1b To be honest - I will give this LA version a bash........but I'm less then impressed 1
AnonyMouse_19733 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 Absolutely! :1b To be honest - I will give this LA version a bash........but I'm less then impressed I'm certainly not impressed, was it delivered via SIP as I've not had it and she is due to visit soon. I'll politely tell them they can keep it. :blink: 1
Guest Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) Thank you for sharing enuffenuff, I've been working all day today on some new formats for planning as like everyone else I am never completely satisfied with how we do it plus I'm trying to cut down on the amount of paperwork. So far I have devised 4 different types of planning sheet and am going to trial each for a couple of weeks between now and when we break up in august and then get feedback from my colleagues so that we should have a system in place for september that everyone is happy with. One of mine looks very similar to yours but I haven't differentiated between prime and specific on the continuous provision, can I ask why you have things like sand and water play under prime when you could cover all areas of learning within this activity? Edited June 13, 2012 by max321
AnonyMouse_19762 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 I'm certainly not impressed, was it delivered via SIP as I've not had it and she is due to visit soon. I'll politely tell them they can keep it. :blink: It was Pimms! :1b 1
AnonyMouse_37030 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Posted June 13, 2012 Max when we did our two year old training we were told that certain activities have to be provided specifically for this age group. When we did our EYFS 2012 training this week we have been told to focus on the prime areas for the 2 year olds). By putting sand under prime I hope to remind staff of this...of course there will be opportunities for the other areas but I do often find that some of my staff forget how young some of our children are and concern themselves with what will be known as "specific areas" and overlook some of the "prime" ones. for example I had someone say to me only last week (and I must say they are about to start their level 2 training but havent yet)...."Oh xxxxxxxxx doesnt know any numbers" to which my answer was "No but then they have only just turned 2" (one of those tall children who looks older than they are). So whilst all activities will of course cross over and cover all 7 areas I am hoping that by separating them on the planning sheets it will make staff more mindful of who the two year olds are, what the zones are they are most likely to engage with and also demonstrate to Ofsted the move towards covering all 7 areas as the children get older. Not sure Ive worded that very well but hopefully you get the gist.
AnonyMouse_19802 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 Yes tks fir sharing Enuffsenuff. I am constantly considering that 'there must be a better way' and with the new eyfs looming have decided to overhaul ours again!!! At the moment we just work out of zoned areas (continuous prov) next steps and child initiated dictate the enhancements to this and then if we want to introduce additional learning - an adult led activity added. The paperwork is minimalist to say the least....a working document! However its definately not transferrable and mostly in mine and the Managers head! Im liking your blank format and have downloaded to share with colleagues. Tks. question? In continuous prov do you put something different every day? or keep pretty much the same with enhancements across the week. Like you we are pack away setting and we do not have lotsof time at end of sessions for planning and evaluation so we need to keep it brief and simple.....otherwise it ends up Not Being Completed!! hence carrying it in our heads!
AnonyMouse_22106 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 I like your planning sheet too, thank you for sharing My question is do you have sand, water, craft and malleable/messy everyday?? We too are a total pack away group and wondering if we could possibly get all this, plus everything else out in time to open! 1
AnonyMouse_8282 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 Enuffsenuf. Thank-you for sharing, that looks good....sort of similar to what we currently do - but better!! ::1a Here it is! And - blimey Sunnyday........... I've always been a tad jealous of settings whos LA gives them 'planning support' (for want of a better word) ...............................but, I'm now thinkings we're better off not having anything!!! 3
AnonyMouse_8282 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 My question is do you have sand, water, craft and malleable/messy everyday?? We too are a total pack away group and wondering if we could possibly get all this, plus everything else out in time to open! We total pack away, and we alternate sand and water each day- so over two weeks they've both been out each day. craft and malleable/messy every day. We do have a good set up time in mornings, but not long at end of session. xx
AnonyMouse_31752 Posted June 13, 2012 Posted June 13, 2012 HI Enuffsenuff thank you so much for sharing. Your planning is fantastic and very userfriendly we are always changing ours too which seems to be a common theme I really like yours. I had sort of got mine to where I thought it was working but obviously will change again I like the fact that you have clearly marked out what activities is 'geared' up for the area of learning. We are pack-away setting as well so can understand the good points and bad as you've said. Actually I was also wondering if you have all of it out all session every session as thumperrabbit asked.
AnonyMouse_37030 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Posted June 13, 2012 The sand/water/malleable/home corner/books are out every day although the water might be something like having water in the home corner not in a full water tray. The mathematics & mark making areas are out each day and we have two plastic containers with four drawers in and in these we have a broad selection of items from those fields, then we have a set of 9 open topped drawers in a rack unit which hold a swathe of craft resources including tape, scissors etc and then a similar set of drawers which hold resources for construction/music/investigation/small world/role play...as these units have to be liftable everyday they hold just a taster these are then supplemented by the bigger resource boxes so we might on a particular day have the drawers containing bricks (various) up in the continuous provision and also get the large box of Duplo up or the large wooden bricks. If a group of children shows an interest in a particular resource from the continuous provision drawers the grown ups would ask wether they would like more of XXXX to play with and if the say yes then we get this out. Sometimes the content of these 9 drawer units is varied so for example the choice of musical instruments changes so that there is always something new to discover. 1
AnonyMouse_31752 Posted June 14, 2012 Posted June 14, 2012 so do you do a focused planning (i.e. maybe adult led from childrens interests/needs/requirements) or do you rely on your continuous provisions and adapting that at the time? sorry to be so noisy just finding it really interesting how other people in pack-away or any setting really work!
AnonyMouse_665 Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 we are on a trainning next week(one and a half hours, not sure they are going to cover much in such a short space of time) I will download your planning to take into my setting to use as an example. Thank you for being kind and sharing. dont expect too much we were told its not training just information. I think all we are going to be told are the changes and thats it. As usual the rest is up to us to sort out. Hopefully we can do that on here. buttercup
AnonyMouse_37030 Posted June 16, 2012 Author Posted June 16, 2012 so do you do a focused planning (i.e. maybe adult led from childrens interests/needs/requirements) or do you rely on your continuous provisions and adapting that at the time? sorry to be so noisy just finding it really interesting how other people in pack-away or any setting really work! It depends I think we do a fair mix of both.......by enhancing the continuous provision we achieve a lot but sometimes we are more focussed for example this last term I took an old broken CD player into Pre Sch and gave the children real tools and we took it apart and thoroughly explored the whole thing...ended up with them taking the speaker magnets out and then these have been added to the continuous provision but for safety sake with so many 2 year olds we couldnt have the screwdrivers/broken electrical equipment in the KUW continuous provision so would not have been able to explore the experience outside of an adult supervised focussed activity...but these are the exceptions...so most of the time our obs are obtained from the cont.prov....which I would think is a good measure of having those resources right. 1
AnonyMouse_20414 Posted June 23, 2012 Posted June 23, 2012 Hello Ladies I've not visited the FSF for about a year now - just finishing my last asssignment ... yr two Foundation Degree ... need I say more!! I have just revised my settings Individual Summary Sheet in preparation for Sept 12. We use this form as our half term summary for individual children and thought it may be of use to some of you! Dottyp x 6 WEEK SUMMARY.doc 2
AnonyMouse_14268 Posted June 23, 2012 Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) Ok I am going to be brave and share our planning sheet. It looks sooooo basic after everyone elses!!! We have been inspected twice while using theses planning sheets and have had no problems or concerns raised. Also our childrens centre teacher visited recently and really liked them. These are the sheets that I will start using in September as I have tweaked them to cover the revisions. Under each area of learning I specify which strand it is and what age band it covers. I really would welcome honest opinions as they do look very basic compared to most of the others I have seen on here. Planning.docx Edited June 23, 2012 by zigzag
AnonyMouse_2418 Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 Some good ideas here - thanks all who shared . Planning is always a bit of a minefield really, it has to be workable for staff, clear for occasional support staff/students to dip into when in, contain all the elements that the advisors and Ofsted like and be easily written and adapted as needed, that's a lot to ask for in one set of documents !
AnonyMouse_19762 Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 Hello Ladies I've not visited the FSF for about a year now - just finishing my last asssignment ... yr two Foundation Degree ... need I say more!! I have just revised my settings Individual Summary Sheet in preparation for Sept 12. We use this form as our half term summary for individual children and thought it may be of use to some of you! Dottyp x 6 WEEK SUMMARY.doc Hi dottyp - lovely to have you back with us - I wondered where you were! :1b Thanks very much for sharing your 'summary sheet' :1b 1
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