Use Of Cbeebies

[Guest]

Hi

Just need some opinions first of all please - I'm foundation leader but teach in Year 1 - our Reception staff have got into a habit that is every snack time the children watch some kind of cbeebies program- eg. number jacks, charlie and lola etc - this is partly so the Class teacher and TA can each have their break of about 10- 15 minutes ( one goes then other goes afterwards) or do the odd job or two. It is used again at the end of the day occasionally to reward children who have tided up -

would appreciate people's views!! ( I have my own views on this but would be interested to know what others think)

[Guest]

Hmmmm!!!!!!!

 

Can see both sides -

 

TV can be used to open a debate / learn things e.g. numberjacks may support children's number skills, you could get some PSE work following on form the Charlie and Lola episode.

 

However - there is also research that TV can be damaging to developing brains. It is implicated in the rise in ADHD and in bringing on premature puberty.

 

Could the same aim be achieved with a story tape? Or a story time with each staff member reading a story?

When I wored in Primary schools, break time was at playtime for teachers and assembly for TAs.

 

I am anti-telly but realise this is a personal not a professional view.

[Guest]

I'm not entirely sure there is any reason good enough for sticking the children in front of the TV at school unless it's part of aspecific lesson (eg. we watch something relevant then talk about it and have follow up activities), except perhaps on the odd day like the end of term when the class might watch a film as a treat.

 

As teachers and TAs they are there to teach the children, not stick them in front of the TV whilst they do 'odd jobs'. That's the sort of thing you might expect a parent to do at home sometimes, but not someone who is being paid to interact with and teach a class of children. I can see it's awkward with the adults taking a break, but why shouldn't the teacher continue teaching through the TAs break time? She's there to teach and many teachers don't have any TA at all. Of course it's more difficult with leaving the TA there since she isn't there to teach, but could the teacher's break be moved to assembly time or something?

 

My instinct would actually be that the children would get more out of joining the rest of the school for breaktime on the playground so the TA and teacher could take their break together than they are doing from watching TV everyday.

Edited May 16, 2010 by Guest

[Lucie]

nope don't agree that the TV is good use - we talk together at snack time. I use cbeebies if it is a good resource for something we are doing in class but not just to sit chn in front of!)

 

- However I did put a story on (6mins) last thing on Friday bc i was by myself and hadn't sorted bookbags and felt a bit overloaded - this just gave me a bit of time to get ready for the end of the day! No excuses for this though really - i should have been more organised.

 

x

[Susan]

Its a difficult issue, I think there can be a place, if there is interaction and discussion afterwards although personally I dont use the TV in my current school but not as a babysitting activity although if the children are enjoying what is offered then maybe once a day is ok but not twice.

 

I can remember being allowed to watch Thunderbirds in school as a treat at the end of term, and I hated it--how I managed to sit still and quiet on a hard floor in a group of 200 children I cant now remember but I am always very dubious of activities such as this.

[Guest]

As a Reception teacher I used Words and Pictures and Numbertime DvDs to support the concept we were currently working on.

Am also a big fan of Auntie Mabel and Pippin-Nobody explains 'sewage' quite as well as her!

We probably watched a maximum of 30 minutes a week in 2 x 15min slots.

 

I do not beleive it should be used a s reward-what message does that give?

I would rather see T.V used to give the teacher a 10 minute space to prepare bookbags etc. than the teacher feel more and more stressed as the day continues and there is no space to gather thoughts and set-up properly for another activity.

Reception children need a lot of support and as such their teachers can find themselves giving up alot of their break-time to prepare resources, set-up activities, tie shoelaces, do zips, change trousers etc. Year 6 teachers are often first into the staffroom because their children can look after themselves.

I think you have to build in a bit of 'quality downtime'.

[Guest]

A little controversial and certainly don't mean to offend anyone but as someone working in the daycare sector (allbeit on smaller ratios) that doesn't have morning breaks - is a tea break necessary?

 

Agree with others who say to use the time to set up an activity or watch a meaningful programme with follow up etc - better justification but probably not every day

[redjayne]

My opinion on TV use in Nursery ( and would also apply in Reception I feel) is that the children get more than enough of it at home and that we should not be encouraging it further. I refuse to allow a television in the Nursery, and when over the years I have been challenged by staff I have explained the rationale behind it.

[Inge]

As a parent I would not be happy if my child was doing this.. do parents know? are they aware?

 

so much is lost during sack time if they are not interacting with each other and at reception age they would not necessarily need a staff member to sit with them.. I worked F1 and our children managed to get own snack sit eat chat and put away once taught how to do so, and I know others have them preparing the snack and washing up afterwards very successfully... why cannot the older reception age manage this when our younger ones are.

 

add an adult sat with them having her break at the same time with then and the learning extends and is a a really good time for discussion, chat and all sorts. We often had adult sat with them.. this is the way so many of us have worked for years.. no break in the morning.. except with the children... ( and no break at lunch or afternoon either!)

 

sitting in front of telly for eating is in my mind also a big no.. how many times do we say children don't sit at table to eat meals but in front of telly on a tray.. setting a way of life which excludes so much.. we cannot stop this at home but can in any setting..

 

as a reward... also not keen, a story or some other activity, music and dancing, something the children love to do..

 

as a learning tool, providing there is some discussion, interaction or extending.. not an issue... for me anyway

 

what happens lunch time? assuming they join the rest of the school and a break is taken at the time.. more than I ever got!

 

Inge

[Guest]

thanks everyone for your views - much appreciated - my worry is that there is little interaction during or after the program - it really is used as a time for the children to have thier snack and the staff their break. when I said 10 -15 minutes this tends to be for each adult so the children are sitting far too long. I can understand the need to get a few jobs done or set up for the next activity but this is rarely an issue as the focussed activity runs throughtout the morning. Reception work on a slightly different timetable to the rest of the school and have access to outdoor play most mornings so giving the staff a break with the others wouldn't work. I know for a fact that if Ofsted popped along it wouldn't be on -I think a few changes may be afoot in my opinion once a week would be plenty - there's loads of other things that would benefit the children and be a better use of time. So thanks for your viewpoints !

[Jester]

Teabreaks? what are those, we grab a cuppa at the end of the day or at lunch if time.

 

I think using the a TV is fine- when appropriate- I have used Words and Pictures and Numbertime in the past if it fits in with what we are doing. This week we are doing football maths so I will be showing them an old video of football- but this will be in context of what we doing in class and I will be asking them questions about it afterwards.

 

As for TV at snacktime- no, I don't agree with it, snack time should be an opportunity for the children to be interacting with the staff and lets face it most children have their snack at home in front of the TV more often than not! why do it at school/nursery?

[SmileyPR]

Teabreaks? what are those, we grab a cuppa at the end of the day or at lunch if time.

 

I think using the a TV is fine- when appropriate- I have used Words and Pictures and Numbertime in the past if it fits in with what we are doing. This week we are doing football maths so I will be showing them an old video of football- but this will be in context of what we doing in class and I will be asking them questions about it afterwards.

 

As for TV at snacktime- no, I don't agree with it, snack time should be an opportunity for the children to be interacting with the staff and lets face it most children have their snack at home in front of the TV more often than not! why do it at school/nursery?

 

I totally agree 100% with ALL that you say!

[thumperrabbit]

I totally agree with everything said above, on another note

 

As the mum of 2 kids slightly higher up in primary school I can't believe how many films they have seen at school. Everything that was on the telly at Christmas my two had already seen when I asked where, as I knew it wasn't at home, the replies were always "at school"!!!

[Guest]

thanks all it just confirmed what I was thinking !