Are Foundation Units Going Out Of Fashion?

[Guest]

We have been a Unit for about 4 years now when we were stronly encouraged by the LA to add a Nursery to our school and start up a Unit. There's now the chance of some badly needed building work taking place and one thing that has been suggested is that we seperate Reception and Nursery. I spoke to the LA's head of Early Years to get her perspective and she said it's up to us!

 

Does anyone have any info on this. What's the national perspective and do people still see Units as a good way forward or are they going out of fashion??

Thanks

[Guest]

Oh I do hope not, we are still working towards getting money to build a building to house our unit, as currently we are in 2 different buildings, but operate as best we can as a partnership unit

[Guest]

My Head Teacher is now wondering if it will be easier to manage a 3 hr session in nursery and possibly flexible entitlement if Reception and Nursery were split.

 

My staff work so well together as a team and I'm sure it's being part of a Unit that helps to bring that about.

[Susan]

If you think you work well as a team, then you would almost certainly be able to work the logistics of the organisation that you need to work with those flexible and varied hours.

[catma]

It's completely up to your head how they organise and manage the classes for any year group in their charge. They would probably need the governing body's backing for a radical change but there is no requirement to have or not have a unit as a way of managing reception/nursery classes.

Cx

[ChrisAR]

After working in a Unit I would hate to go back to split year groups.

 

In my experience that leads to Reception having 'to be different' to Nursery and following a completely inappropriate timetable - literacy and numeracy hour anyone?

[Guest]

We have recently had a foundation stage unit built but the head has now told us that the results in FS need to be improved.....we have to have 8 children from 30 achieve scale point 9 in cll, psrn, psed and kuw. She thinks that the way forward is formal teaching. I feel as if I am fighting a losing battle. At the moment we are evolving as a unit. Anyone else had this experience and if so how did you address the issue?

[Guest]

We have recently had a foundation stage unit built but the head has now told us that the results in FS need to be improved.....we have to have 8 children from 30 achieve scale point 9 in cll, psrn, psed and kuw. She thinks that the way forward is formal teaching. I feel as if I am fighting a losing battle. At the moment we are evolving as a unit. Anyone else had this experience and if so how did you address the issue?

 

I wonder where your head came up with her figures from? My understanding is that to award point 9 the child should be operating at the same level as a secure Year 1 pupil. We are told that we have to have solid evidence of this observed through child initiated activities over a period of time, not as a one off observation. To say that 8 out of a class of 30 should be operating at such an advanced level seems misguided. If you were to teach more formally, how would you evidence the attainment bearing in mind that 80% of your evidence should be from child initiated learning? (I don't mean 80% of the time should be child initiated before anyone jumps down my throat!)

[Susan]

Formality does not equate with improved results. We are working hard to make our yr1 classes less formal and then yr2!

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies everyone and I am in complete agreement with you but sadly the fact remains that we are being pressured into operating in a different way. The head is being guided by our SIP who needless to say has very little early years experience. Maybe we are all being held accountable for yr2 results.

[Guest]

Sorry to seem out of touch, what is a foundation unit. Does it include children from 2 years of age and if so how do you do this..