Guest Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 Wasn't sure which part of the Forum to put this in as it is about the Foundation Stage and Birth to Three Matters !! Any way. In my new job I am trying to set up the planning from scratch. I oversee all of it and we have children aged 6 weeks to 5 years. I am in the process of setting up the pre-school planning and have been advised to make a kind of topic web for each of the areas in the nursery to show learning that is going on all the time. I have written some of the stepping stones the children might be achieving for each area. Fo example the Role play area, quiet area, mark making area, messy area, outdoor play area, etc, (each one has stepping stones, yellow, blue, and green in all the ELG areas) I have complied a long term plan listing a main topic each month with sub topics that can be tailored to meet the age of the children with each topic listing how in general we will cover all the ELG's. I have adapted this form for BTTM by changing the 6 colums to 4 and listing what aspects of the BTTM we will be covering similar to the FS. I have yet to do the medium term planning!! The advisory teacher is coming back at a later date to go through the short term planning with uss. Quite nice as she is giving it to us in bite size chunks that don't seem so daunting!! ON the Birth to Three Matters Planning. She has advised us to sit down and write how each area in the BTTM links to the stepping stones. For example: A strong Child ~ Me, myself and I links to the PSED in the ELG's as well asKUW, CD and PD. I will be listing the aspects and also the stepping stones relavant. I am also goping to create a 4 part topic web like I have for the FS in each of our play areas. Using the 4 areas in the Birth to Three Matters and listing what the children may learn in that area. The reason I am doing this is because we have one large room for our over 2's so the FS needs to be run along side the BTTM as we are sharing the room and equipment. We also hope that children can then achive things according to their stage of development rather than their age. So they can move though from BTTM to the FS as their own pace rather than suddenly having to try and achieve the ELG's just because they have turned three. (I also have time to do this as we are not fully open yet!! ) I would love to know how others are blending these 2 together to cater for their rising 3's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Sorry Dreean, I can't help at all with your dilemma, but when I explain the "enlightening" morning I have just had, you will understand why! I am an assistant at a pre-school (26 children per session, 24 months to rising 5). I am not privy to the children's records (progress or otherwise) because the leader and her deputy control these on a 'need to know' basis. For my lastest OU assignment, I had wanted to see a particular child's progress records, so that I could put my latest observation better into context. I met with a brick wall. Today I went in (a non-working session for me) and I begged. The response I got is that he will not be funded until next term and so there are no records on his progress or achievements (he will be 4 in June, and so will start school in September this year - funding for 3-year-olds has only just reached us). The leader explained to me that even if he was funded, there would be no records on this term, because she and the deputy "tick the boxes" retrospectively at the end of each term. Also she said that because he is not yet 4, he wouldn't be included in the FS curriculum anyway: he would be covered by BTTM. Anyway, until he is funded, they wouldn't be keeping BTTM records either. Oh, and the setting is not using BTTM yet, because she and the leader have not yet been trained to use it (and as yet have no date for doing so). Well, as I have said in a previous discussion, "Hurry up OFSTED" - this is a setting that needs guidance, and a lot of help in knowing what is required. Diane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_64 Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Sorry Dreean, I can't help either. In Scotland we have a different Foundation Curriculum and no BTTM! Diane - been reading all about your plight over the last few weeks. Just wanted to say how bad I've felt on your behalf. It's always disappointing when the people you work with don't take their work as seriously as you and have no desire to improve the quality of the service they're offering. Just use this as a learning experience and look forward to better things in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Thank you Carol. I'm biding my time now, hoping for something better, either here or elsewhere. I cannot rock the boat any more. It doesn't do any good. And since it doesn't help the children, there is no point. I just don't question anything anymore, I just accept it. If it wasn't for the children, I would hate it. The children make some of it worth putting up with. Anyway, someone out there can help Dreean - when I asked to "borrow" settings' BTTM planning/records to "fabricate" some records for a 2 and a half year old (for study purposes only), lots of you came up trumps. Thanks! Diane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Hi Diane I am so sorry that you work place is so frustrating. Don't you have keyworkers or something like that? It is sugested in the standards to have them for each child so they settle better and can gain a close relationship with an adult, etc, I only hope that when OFSTED come in you won't be so worn down that you will be able to help them get it right!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Hello again Carol, I feel like the forum's resident moaner! I dearly love working with children, and I feel that it is what I will do for the rest of my working life. Having drifted into it, I am unqualified. I am doing the OU level 4 certificate (..... and the the EY foundation degree) off my own bat, because my setting could not accommodate my desire for training. They are not supporting me, because they feel the setting does not need it (2 of 10 staff are NVQ 3, the rest of us are 'underpinned to level 2' or less). I would have been happy to do a level 2 qualification, but the setting thought it unnecessary. I chose the OU route because it was the only way (and that was before I heard about the SureStart funding for the first 2 years - an added bonus). Unfortunately the setting is badly run and badly managed. The leader and her deputy have the children's best interests at heart, but do not understand legislation and guidance (these are my forte - from a previous life). We do not have a keyworker system (the leader and her deputy are this to all 44 children on the roll). I have given up pointing out little things that might make a difference to the children's care and education (and I have tried to do this nicely). Unfortunately, the deficiencies also include safety aspects. As an example, our "fire drill" (a written, laminated, "procedure" on the noticeboard in the entrance hall) says that the children sit on the mat, the leader blows the whistle, children line up at the door to one of the 3 fire exits (a specified fire exit of the 3), they are counted, they leave the hall, they stand on the concrete immediately outside (approx 2 square metres), the leader calls names from the register, and the children re-enter the builing on-by-one. I asked at our last staff meeting: what would happen if it was a real emergency? what would happen if we couldn't leave by that one fire door? would we do a head count at the door (I suspect that the priority should be to get everyone out first)? who would search the hall (entrance hall, toilets, kitchen)? where would we assemble safely away from the building? what would we do if the register wasn't in the leader's hand at the time? what would we do if the leader had not removed the whistle from the first-aid box before the evacuation? how would we summon the emergency services (particularly if we had people unaccounted for)? .... and finally .... what would we do if we couldn't re-enter the building? I did say all this nicely, I promise. What happened? ..... "We've been doing it this way for years. It isn't a problem. " Resident moaner signs off ...... Diane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 3, 2004 Share Posted April 3, 2004 I shouldn't laugh diane really I shouldn't but the fire drill bit is so funny (not that it would be in an emergency!!) We practice our drills over a 5 day period every term, each day someone is reponsible for yelling 'fire'. This works really badly as our nursery is on 3 floors so if you are working on the bottom floor you have to run nearly to the top to yell fire. By this time we would be burnt alive!!!!! We have often got outside with the children and had no register or contact numbers and no matter how many times I have offered well meaning advice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we still do it this way. Made me feel so much better to read your post!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted April 3, 2004 Share Posted April 3, 2004 Oh Dianne i know its awful but you do make us laugh!!! i take my hat off to you - i dont know how you keep going..... keep praying Ofsted will turn up on your doorstep!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tigger Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 I would look for a placement in another local nursery, council or private owned or a preschool. Volantary if necessary and financially viable to you. In my setting we have access to our childrens keyworker files as we are the ones who run the keyworker activities, by that i mean we plan, evaluate, review and record our group of children, usually 8 per session. As three year olds have funding we also have the same stratagy for them but at a relivent level for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 Tigger, Thank you for your support. I would dearly love to be a keyworker, to be involved and doing nice me/child/parent interaction. Unfortunately, as a single parent, surviving because of tax credits, I need to be in paid employment (voluntary work does not count, even though the pay is not a lot different, lol). One day, when money is no object, I will do what is best for the children I work with, Diane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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