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Observations for the sake of evidence aren't needed, but they are still a vital part of good practice in the early years. They should be used to capture the development of the child, and be useful to you for planning for the child's next steps. If you have 12 key children for example, would you be able to confidently plan for each of their next steps in all areas with nothing to refer back to? For this reason, some children who you know are accessing what you're planning, may not need many observations as what you have planned is being met and you can develop the next steps from that planning. Other children though may need more support in accessing the provision you have planned, in which case, they would may have more observations to remind you of where they needed that support, or where their strengths were. A while back I wrote this for Nursery World which you might find interesting: Falling in love with observations all over again

Hello, We have been thinking about observations in Reception and just wondered if they are still being done and if so how regularly? We appreciate that we no longer need to do them but they can be useful in getting a holistic view of the child. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

It certainaly has whooshed by!! We are now mid Jan, and this usually seems like the longest month of the year- not this year

We are looking for a friendly and enthusiastic person to join our small team Part Time Pre-School / Nursery Assistant (term time only) - Working for Essex About the role Part Time Pre-School / Nursery Assistant (term time only) Permanent, Part Time £23,344 per annum, Full Time Equivalent - equal to £12.10 per hour Location: Chelmsford Working Style: Fixed-base worker Closing Date: Wednesday 22nd January 2025 at 11.59pm Please note this role is being offer as a Part Time opportunity, working 13 hours per week, term time only (38 weeks per year), with a pro rata salary of £6,874.29 Per Annum and covers the following shifts: Monday: 9am to 3.30pm Wednesday: 9am to 3.30pm To apply you must hold a level 2 or above accredited qualification in Early years childcare and education and have experience of working in an early years setting. Adult Community Learning (ACL) is ECC’s provider of lifelong learning experiences for Essex residents. ACL offers childcare facilities for parents to help them move nearer to, enter or progress within the workplace or gain skills to enhance life chances. The Nursery/Pre-school is registered with Ofsted and is also open to community children whose parents/carers are not attending ACL. Responsibilities The Nursery/Pre-school Assistant will be part of a team and will be expected to provide high standards of quality care within the nursery/pre-school with responsibilities encompassing the environment, resources and experiences offered to children and their families. They must: Ensure rich and diverse indoor and outdoor play experiences are offered taking regard of the EYFS and the individual needs of children. Be a key person carrying out all related responsibilities. Observe, support and extend children's learning. Maintain accurate and effective children’s records. Work in partnership with parents/carers and other family members. Ensure that children are kept safe and understand safeguarding, and when necessary follow Child Protection Procedures. Demonstrate good practice with regard to special needs and inclusion. Promote positive attitudes to race, culture, gender, religion and abilities. Undertake a shared responsibility for health, safety and cleanliness throughout the nursery/pre-school. Be responsible for participating in all self-development activities including appraisals and supervision meetings, team meetings etc. The Experience You Will Bring Essential: Level 2 qualification or equivalent by experience in childcare. English and Maths Skills at level 2. Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build rapport with both children and adults. The ability to plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children’s emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities. Desirable: The ability to work effectively under a variety of circumstances and develop skill within the role. The ability to plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children’s emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities. First Aid training Level 3 qualification or equivalent by experience in childcare.

Good morning - 'tis Friday Another week has just whooshed by. Hope the weekend is kind to all x

I would second The Eden Project - you could even have a go on their ridiculously high zipwire if you felt brave enough 😉

Wow thank you so much I will print this and do a bit of googling. There are 13 of us! 3 childen 1yr 5yr snd 6yrs and then ten adults ranging from 36 -72!

The Eden project is well worth a visit. The lost gardens of Heligan if you are interested in gardens. (not sure what time of year you are going though) St Ives is lovely and I think about an hours drive away. (Watch out for the seagulls if eating outside). If you come down to the lizard peninsular, which is the most southerly point you have to visit Kynance beach which is just outside the Lizard village. You have to get an Anne’s pasty if visiting, one of the best pasties around! And if you do make the journey down visit Coverack cove and go to Roskillys farm near st keverne. Roskillys is a working farm but has the most lovely restaurant in the old milking parlour and courtyard. They are famous for their ice creams and the food is amazing. There are beautiful woods and ponds to walk around and animals to feed. I don’t know the part of Cornwall that you are staying in that well but will ask my sons partner who is from Padstow as she will know better than me. What age range are you going to be in your group?

Oh that would be lovely! I only know the house is in Watergate Bay and the postcode is TR8 4AA

Belated happy new year! Better late than never! Hope all the poorly people are better and the spring term has started well. Gezabel, which part of Cornwall are you coming to? Let me know and I will see if I can give you some recommendations.

Hi Trekker You need to have a crafty member of staff that could whizz them up on a sewing machine as they are only a rectangle sewn on 3 sides I guess. Maybe stupid suggestion but could you use large zip & seal type bags that you could then write names on or do they have to be big enough for a pillow too? Sorry never worked in a setting with beds so not sure what bedding needed. Sue x

oh dearie dearie me virtually half way through January and i haven't popped in to say Happy New Year (slap on tee wrists for me) I love all the grandchildren quotes - they are all such amazing little peole. My Granddaughter now 6 came for the day recently and we settle down to watch Sleeping Beauty. "Grandad can i sti with you?" 'Of course you can sweetheart." Then suddenly it was 'I have the best idea i could sit on your shoulder and be your parrot"🤣 So they sat on the sofa with her perched up on his shoulder! Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas. I have a big birthday coming up - a bit scary as it has a 7 in it!!!!! I was hoping it would be low key and maybe a family dinner somewherre. Nope! I had the most amazing suprrist at Christmas - it was supposed to be a secret until April but they were worried about letting the cat out fo the bag so decided to tell me. My wonderful boys have clubbed together and hired a house in Cornwall (somewhere i have never been but always wanted to go) All 13 of us are going and i am so excited i can't wait. Relly glad they told me so i can look forward to it. The house looks amazing - its huge, well needs to be as we needed 8 bedrooms!!. If any of you are about or know that part of the world i only know it is in Watergate Bay. Any idea of what to do would be great - plans forwater boarding padlel boarding cycle hire and a few other things. OK so enough waffle from me i hope 2025 has started off well for all of you x

I'm wondering exactly how one plays 'baby born' 🤷‍♀️🤣 I asked my grandson (aged 7) if he was enjoying trying 'school dinners' - all a bit of a big deal for him as he favours a pretty limited diet...he told me he likes "the pasta with mayonnaise and vegetables" - I said "oh that's so good, what sort of vegetables" - he replied "cucumber and turnips" 🤣🤣🤣

😂 When my GD is here we always have to play 'baby born' .... my daughter assures me she [GD] has never watched Call the Midwife- personally I'm not so sure this is true!😂

Youngest grandchildren are here..."can we do some drawing nana" - set them up with lots of drawing equipment - "nana what colour are intestines" - the mind boggles! 🤣

Hi - thank you for taking the time to reply ☺️ I had not been involved in dealing with preparing / storing the bedding in my setting until recently (it had always been set out by other staff as part of transforming the room for sleepers) so I was curious to find out how others did it. Apparently there is a monthly cycle and parents provide and wash them and they are stored stacked together...but that jarred with me a bit. I would think weekly cycle and separation of used sheets would be preferable but there have been no issues raised from parents or other staff at all. Can I ask where you get the little bags? - I've been looking but have only found drawstring ones and they are like shoe bags so quite big.

Designated Safeguarding Lead for Education Settings (Level 3) This is a Virtual Course over 4 days - you must attend all sessions to for completion Monday 24th February Tuesday 25th February Wednesday 26th February Thursday 27th February Each session is from 9am to 12.30pm The course will offer delegates the opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding to perform this role. Southampton City Council training includes bespoke local safeguarding updates from professional experts in their subject areas to respond to safeguarding issues within the local context. This course will: Outline the role and responsibilities of a DSL in Education Settings. Outline legal and contextual procedures in relation to the role. Explain local process for reporting Early Help and Safeguarding concerns. Overview of Local Child Protection Conferencing procedures. To understand and raise awareness of FGM and Harmful Practice. Local Intelligence reporting procedures. Outline local safeguarding arrangements and awareness of Case Reviews. Give an overview of children who are missing, exploitation and trafficking. Overview of links between absence, safeguarding and educational neglect. Please note that delegates must have camera and microphone access, and be in a private area where there are not children present due to the content being discussed. Fee for training Southampton City Council Maintained Schools: £180 Subsidised price for Southampton PVI Early Years & Childcare providers and voluntary organisations: £115 Academies, free schools and other organisations: £215

Almost forgot it was Friday! Cold here, bu the only snow we've had was 1am last Saturday night- and that was mostly gone by the morning. No plans for anything but a lazy weekend! 😊

Southampton Emotional Literacy Conference Date Wednesday 22 January 2025, 9am to 3.30pm. Venue Highpoint Venue, Bursledon Road, Southampton, SO19 8BR. Lunch and refreshments are included. Conference theme Creating Compassionate Communities Keynote Speaker: Victoria Bagnall, Connections in Mind Launched in 2016 by Dr. Bettina Hohnen, Imogen Moore-Shelley, and Victoria Bagnall, ‘Connections in Mind’ pioneered Executive Functioning (EF) Coaching in the UK. Recognising the impact that EF has on all aspects of people’s daily experience (including their learning and behaviour), ‘Connections in Mind’ provide support for children, parents, and staff, leading to them becoming a Community Interest Company CIC in 2023. Workshops: There will be three interactive workshops. Sessions comprise a mix of key psychology, reflective learning, and practical ‘take-aways’ to help us explore what we can ‘think’, ‘feel’, and ‘do’ to create compassionate communities. Who should attend? Teachers School and early years special educational needs co-ordinators Senior management teachers Emotional literacy support assistants Teaching assistants Social workers Foster carers Educational/Clinical psychologists Conference costs Price for this course: £150 per delegate. If a setting, trust or cluster books three places at the Conference, the fourth place is free of charge. Southampton schools can use half a day of purchased EP SLA time for two conference tickets. Bring your Line Manager to the conference for just £50.

Morning all Cold old January here in Lewes. The snow on Wednesday came thick and fast about 4pm and any grit that had been on the roads had been washed away by rain and it caused chaos on the roads round here 😱 The roads are now clear but the snow is laying on the downs as it has been so cold since and so the downs look very pretty. I have a quiet weekend planned thank goodness....still trying to get over having had a house full for 2 weeks over the christmas holidays lol Take care all of you and keep warm Sue x

Good morning - 'tis Friday How is everyone? By 'eck it is so flippin' cold - not sure what else I expect for January - but I really, really don't like it - brrrr - we didn't get much snow but what we did get is lingering on. This week seems to have flown by and the coming week looks to be busy too - but no complaints, I will take it as it comes... Have two youngest grandchildren tomorrow which should be fun! Take care all - keep warm x

Hi I can understand the lack of space to store sheets (or anything for that matter). It does say in the EYFS to provide enough clean bedding and I don;t think it would be well received if we asked our parents to provide or wash sheets. Our children have individual bags (without handles or drawstrings) for that weeks clean bedding which we keep in a box (like those ikea folding ones) and kept with the beds or on a floating shelf at the other smaller setting. the children use their pictures on these bags to find their own beds and then keep them underneath while they sleep. Hope that helps, theres not many responses on this forum these days

Hi All Has anyone got any solid advice given by either local authority or first aid specialists on whether a nursery should have a 'LifeVac' or anti choking device?

A little late but wishing everyone a happy & healthy 2025. Hope the new term starts well for those back tomorrow (☹️)

Hi All! Nothing much happening here today, although I have offered to help prepare food for the GDs 5th birthday party tomorrow... where did those 5 years go? 😮 Very cold here, and hoping we can escape the snow this weekend. ❄️❄️❄️