I Need Advice Please!

[Guest]

Hi Im an currently an NQT and I teach in reception. We have a nursery class in a seperate building to our main site and recently the head teacher and nursery teacher (foundation stage head) have proposed integrating nursery and reception in the nursery building this septempber when there will be less nursery children attending. This may be due to a distressing transistion last year when some children were upset about the move for weeks. I have been asked my opinion on this move and if i think it is a good idea. As the nursery building is not big enough (indoors or out) to accommodate all the children when more nursery children begin it would mean reception having to move back to our present classroom after half a term. Would this cause more distress? When I mentioned this to the head he said it would almost be an experiment to see if it would work. In a perfect world I'd love to have a foundation stage unit and purpose built building. As i have been asked for my opinion on this matter I would like some advice from more experienced practitioners as to if they feel it would work. Thanks for any advice x

[Susan]

hi kat, if you were to think of this as a transition exercise whereby you and the children get used to one another in their familiar surroundings before moving together to the main building then I think this could work very well.

[Guest]

Hi Kat

I would think that spending some time in the place the children are used to will be of benefit to them. They will get used to a new teacher, yourself, before they move to their new classroom, so you all move together. Think of it as a positive and I am sure the children will cope better.

Good luck

Linda

[Guest]

During the half term would the room be availble to you so you could take children across to the room to do things that you know they enjoy such as large scale junk building projects, help you develop the role play area and contribute to planning the layout of the room ready for when they move in so that they feel it is going to be something special for them. And if they can see that they will be having a continuation of the nursery things they enjoyed they should feel much happier about the move. And I'm assuming that you will not have a routine that is vastly different from their nursery routine - self registration, same access to outside play and such like so they shouldn't be feel upset when the mover finally happens.

Isn't it nice to have a Head who is looking creatively at ways to deal with the problem. I hope it goes well

Lyeska

[Guest]

Thank you all for your replies, i like the suggestion of taking the children in small groups to the new class room to do activities and set up role play area. I feel a lot more positive about the change now thanks