Guest Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 (edited) This might sound like a strange question but i work in a day nursery and was wondering how school terms work? For example is there a spring, summer term? and how long do they last ? Thinking of maybe changing my topic plans to termly if it works for us. Ill be grateful for the info!!x Edited April 11, 2009 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Hey - in my authority the year is split into 3 terms with a break of a week in the middle - Autumn 1st and 2nd half, Spring 1st and 2nd, Summer 1st and 2nd. They usually last between 6 and 7 weeks although sometimes slightly more or less depending on timing of Easter and the days Christmas fall on. Although this year the second half of the summer term is going to be a very very long 8 weeks! Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Hey - in my authority the year is split into 3 terms with a break of a week in the middle - Autumn 1st and 2nd half, Spring 1st and 2nd, Summer 1st and 2nd. They usually last between 6 and 7 weeks although sometimes slightly more or less depending on timing of Easter and the days Christmas fall on. Although this year the second half of the summer term is going to be a very very long 8 weeks! Hope this helps! Thats great thanks- Do you do topics? Is it one topic per term or one topic the 1st half then another for the 2nd half? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittycat1279 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 We're the same as Ems - this is this years term dates. Autumn Term A - 3rd Sept to 24th Oct (7 weeks 3 days) Autumn Term B - 3rd Nov to 19th Dec (7 weeks) Spring Term A - 5th Jan to 13th Feb (6 weeks) Spring Term B - 23rd Feb to 3rd April (6 weeks) Summer Term A - 20th April to 22nd May (5 weeks) Summer Term B - 1st June to 22nd July (7 weeks 3 days) The 7 week plus terms are hard going though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 we used to do topics half termly so for 3 terms we would have 6 topics killowengirl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Do you do topics? Is it one topic per term or one topic the 1st half then another for the 2nd half? I have a topic in mind at the start of each half term but generally we go off in a completely different way to the one I had in mind! I know some people do not use topics but I find it easier to have a starting point at the beginning of the term xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 I knew i would find out on here- thanks guys x So when you did topics, how did you plan for them? did you have a planning meeting to plan medium term or did one person do the plans then feed back to others? I know it will be a little different from day nursery plans, but i would like to show a consistant approach and work closer with my local schools x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittycat1279 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Thats great thanks- Do you do topics? Is it one topic per term or one topic the 1st half then another for the 2nd half? We do topics - sometimes they last for half a term but not very often. In Autumn A we did Starting School, Harvest and Colour, Autumn B we did Celebrations but that was broken up into Birthdays and Christmas, Spring A we did 3 weeks on Teddy Bears and 3 weeks on Toys, Spring B we did 4 weeks on Africa and 2 weeks on Easter. After Easter we will be doing 3 weeks of 'stuff' coming from the children. They thought of doing something about a magical egg (I think Easter was on their mind) so we are going to lots of imagination stuff using the egg as a stimulus. We are then having a music week as we have an orchestra coming in, then after that a healthy week to link in with walk to school week and sports day. The last half term we're not sure what we're doing yet but we have a trip booked to an Owl, Otter and Wildlife Sanctuary so it will be animal based. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittycat1279 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 I knew i would find out on here- thanks guys x So when you did topics, how did you plan for them? did you have a planning meeting to plan medium term or did one person do the plans then feed back to others? I know it will be a little different from day nursery plans, but i would like to show a consistant approach and work closer with my local schools x We plan as teachers then feed back to our TAs - we do an activity planner first looking at the 6 areas and working our topic throughout then look at what ELGs we're covering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marion Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 We plan as a team and don't have termly/half termly topics. We plan from the children's interests as far as possible and stay with their topic as long as the children remain interested and are learning so sometimes a topic may only last for a week or may last for a month or longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 We still use topics as adult-led activities and then plan our continuous provision and areas under the childrens interests! Whats your thoughts on maybe changing our topics to 3 topics chosen by us then 3 chosen based on the childrens interests worked out over the terms?? for example: Autumn A - Sept/Oct- People who help us Autumn B - Nov/Dec - (Childrens interests) and so on..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlettangel Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 We do plan termly or half termly but using the childrens interests.. Next term we are going to have a hospital as the girls are really into tending to each others injuries currently (!!) and then outdoors we are taking up the boys interest in construction and having a building site! I like the idea of topics, as theres a place to start with planning!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marion Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Personally I don't like the idea of planning a whole term ahead never mind a whole year (having taught using set topics for many years). I think you can plan for what ELGs you intend to cover and fit those ELGs around the child rather than fitting the child around the ELGs if you see what I mean. We plan for two days and see where the children take us and sometimes our planning is retrospective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 I do the same as Marion, and personally I find it so much easier, jackie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 just want to say we have 6 terms a year, have done for a few years now. supposed to make terms more even not sure if it has really worked but does mean when early easter we just have a weekend off and then more in April. Inge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buttercup Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 if you want the term dates for your local authority go to your local council website and they should be on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catma Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 We're the same. 6 even terms. Last year Easter was a long w/e and then the holidays were 2 weeks later. Cx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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