Short Term Planning Part Time Staff

[Guest]

This year I was moved out of reception due to my whole being off with my ankle and my friends who job share were put into reception. What with the new EYFS and not having taught in reception for about 20 years they are finding it hard to get to grips with the planning.

They are struggling for short term/medium term planning that they can both use. One works Mon-Tues and the other Wed-Fri so they are finding it hard to get stuff to use together. I met up with one of them today and we were talking about it and I said I would ask on here if there were any part time teachers who had some ideas on how to present their short/medium term planning in an effective way.

 

To add to the difficulties we are a special school for children with severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties (mostly PMLD in this class) so we always have to adapt everything anyway.

 

Thanks in advance for some help!

[Susan]

Just wondering if your friends ever got to grips with this Nichola as we seem to have let you down big time with no replies in all this time!?

[Guest]

Oh thanks for replying Sue. No, they are still using their own methods which are kind of working but would really appreciate the chance to see others planning or some advice. I had told them how good this site was in giving replies so I looked a bit daft when I said I hadn't had any.

[Cait]

They could register themselves and ask specific questions that someone might have answers to. My two deputies job-share, but as we're Preschool then it will be different from the planning you do in school

[Guest]

Thanks for replying Cait but not everyone is as IT literate as you or I and having to pay to join the group (our LA are not members of the forum so they would have to pay for an individual membership) is not something I'm sure they'd do with being such infrequent net users other than for sending emails and websites for the children. I think that it would be useful to see pre-school planning as being in a special school we always have to adapt anything that is developed for schools to make it appropriate for our learners.

[Guest]

HI

 

I ama job share in a reception class. I have worked with my jobshare partner for 5 years now and we work well. I did work the 2 days but as i have another baby and my friend has had a baby we have gone to 2 1/2 days each (i didn't want to loose her as a partner and she didn't want the 3 days) We also have the flexibility that we rotate and do 2 1/2 days one week then a 3 then a 2 and it is working really well. My friend has the PPA time well its the wed pm so i get if i do the 3 days.

 

The IT literate bit is vital i feel. We keep in constant contact through email which is the biggest help we also have E-Folio in our school and county so i can contact her at school as well and vice versa. We leave notes for each other and have a diary. Some things do get forgotten but we have a full time TA who usually fills in the pieces!!! I end up probably doing more than my 2 1/2 contracted days as well - they get more than 1 full time teacher out of us!!!

 

We plan together rough ideas and have been really trying to do as much through interests of children but we do have to have some idea as to then change things half way through a week is hard and we are still working on this. We are working on though working out how to plan say more daily as their interests change.

 

We have a PE session each, we try to take it in turns to have a writing activity, reading, number, art, music etc and try to see different children to work with. We use to work carosel system which did work well as we did our activity and then had time to observe/play with the children so not getting bogged down with getting through every child, but it has been envolving and i am constantly rearranging our timetables and plans its been a big learning curve this year we don't mind change and it has made as re-evaluate what we do well and not so well (we have ofsted looming sept if not earlier)

[Guest]

Hi there not sure if i can help- i am a manager in a private day nursery.

We had Ofsted recently and they loved our plans so here goes:

 

x We have a topic planning meeting every three months - staff meet to discuss activities under the six areas of learning and break the topic up into weeks for example week 1 - cars, week2 -buses etc. We also plan focus books, home corner, resources etc.

x We then transfer this information on to weekly plans as adult-led activities.

 

I was thinking maybe for you guys who do work part time, you could plan an activity for monday- then observe the children in a group observation, you could then use that information to plan tuesdays activity and so on. The children will have consistancy and it will be based on their individual interests (which is what the Eyfs is all about) At the end of the week you would have lots of observations to help to plan the following weeks activities and it will help you to share info about individual children.

 

x We also send home an all about me sheet to two children a week. This sheet includes questions such as: My favourite thing to do at home is? and I have just learnt to?

Again this info is used on the weekly plans as ideas for continuous provision (construction area,writing table, messy play etc)

 

I hope this gives you a little bit of help, i know daycare is different from schools but we are all working with the Eyfs x

[trekker]

Hi

Um not sure I'm on the right track but is the problem being that they need to know what each other has done with the children and need some way to record and plan together but they are not always able?

I'm preschool so not sure if I'll be much help but I was thinking if I was in that situation maybe a mindmap type thing would be an idea (done together if possible or one starts and the other adds to it later if not) ..displayed in the room to be added to as new observations are made and activities are introduced? They could each use a different colour to write on it.

Maybe a white board or simple diary for memos to each other when the change over occurs?

 

Medium term planning could just cover areas of learning you want to focus on over a half term...or special events that occur during that period...you could mindmap ideas for specific activities / experiences that are relavant...then short term plans are done day to day and so each just plans how and then implements one of the mindmapped (or new) ideas with the children, records it on the map along with a note about initial 'next steps' you'd considered that could then be implemented (or not) by the other staff member.

Plan sheets could be filed so that other staff can refer back if necessary.

 

Hopefully some of this will help..it is a tricky one

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies everyone. It would be great if someone had some actual plans I could print off and show to my friends. They know exactly what they want to do in the class (a very difficult class to have in reception as 7 out of the 9 aren't able to move more than roll to the side independently so makes it hard when providing child led activities etc) it's just finding a way in which this works within the new EYFS and yes, the idea of being able to do the reviews and looking at them independently and together. I just thought in writing on here that there maybe samples that I could show them to give them some ideas. We have to do such tricky assessments and as a school we already have a good observation practice in place it's just trying to get their heads around the EYFS stuff really.

Thanks again.

[Guest]

I'd be more than happy to share plans but working in mainstream I don't know how useful the plans would be.

[Guest]

I'd be more than happy to share plans but working in mainstream I don't know how useful the plans would be.

 

Thank you! That would be really helpful if you could. I can't say personally how useful it would be but I can pass it on to the YR teachers.

[Cait]

Well here's some of ours

 

Blank short term Cait can be used for spontaneous or planned activities for a key group

 

Observed interests and next steps doesn't need much explanation

 

Wall info for all about me is the 'stepping stones' Things that can be 'looked for' across adult led activities and more 'formal' planning on specifics

 

Weekly plan is what the two deputies complete together. They show planned experiences and specific children's 'next steps' which relate to observations and interests. This goes up on the wall in the staff area and enables continuity of provision across the joint staffing.

 

I hope some of these help a bit.

blank_short_term_Cait.doc

Observed_interests_and_next_steps.doc

wall_info_for_about_me.doc

weekly_plan_march.doc

[Guest]

Thanks so much Cait.

[Cait]

Thanks so much Cait.

 

 

Any use?

[Guest]

I shall pass them on to my friends to see if they are any use to them. I can't comment as I haven't really got into the EYFS planning, only in conversation with them. I'll let you know what they say.