Observation, Assessment And Planning

[Guest terrydoo73]

This is the weekly planning sheet we use in our playgroup (NI). We have been in operation for 6 months now and due to return in September with 7 of the previous children (only turned 3 when started with us) and 7 new children. On advice from our Early Years Advisor we have been told to try and make the attached section of learning outcomes user friendly ie language we use states clearly what we intend to achieve from the resources we put out under each heading. We have no experience in this at all and have I guessed tried to go with what we thought was expected of us!

 

We have also been told in our assessment and observations to try and make a note of little things that are said on a daily basis rather than J played in the sand and said .... followed by us putting in what this demonstrated ie shows achievement and concentration in an activity. In this way we are supposedly not saying the same thing repeatedly but actually showing progression in development.

 

Help! How can we do this effectively? My idea is to put in the learning outcomes after we have put the resources out ie seeing what the children actually do and then from that knowing they have achieved something and progressed!!

 

Other than actually having a clipboard in the Playroom and making constant notes I am just lost!

weekly_plan_blank.doc

[Cait]

Well that looks user-friendly. Have you done a search on here for continuous provision planning? You'll find some useful things which should save you 'reinventing the wheel' Do you use the EYFS documents too in NI?

[Guest terrydoo73]

No we don't use the EYFS in NI.

 

Thought this was user friendly form but our problem is in the evaluation - I would prefer the evaluation alongside the resources and learning outcomes because we have to put in the headings ie sand - children preferred etc etc

 

What do we put in adults role for instance? Also the individual needs planning - I don't think this is appropriate as we never use it?? Children's evaluation - I mean what do we put in there??

 

I think we should be changing the form but it was the Early Years Advisor who gave it to us when we first opened and she is helping us through these initial months. To my mind the form is too small - I think an A3 would be better but then it might become too wordy.

[finleysmaid]

do you know terry i dont recall you telling us you are in Ireland before...how odd! As to your planning this is the same as you have posted before so what do you want to change? I think there comes a time when your early years advisors and development workers need to back off and let you get on with the job in hand...decide how YOU want to do your planning and stick to it for half a term and then evaluate and see what is working and what is not. As long as you are following an observation/assessment /planning cycle then they cant really tell you off!..we all do our planning differently you have to discover what works for you and have the courage of your convictions.

[HappyMaz]

Individual needs planning - this could be anything from recording that you have provided a different/additional resource in response to a child's/group of children's interest, or to showing any additional support needed to enable a child to fully access an experience.

 

As for children's evaluation - ask the children what they liked or enjoyed most about their session, record what they say on your plan so you can show how your planning responds to their needs/interests.

 

I'm with finleysmaid in that everyone's planning is different. I also think you need to ask your advisor why s/he is suggesting you change things, and what you will achieve by making the suggested change. Perhaps s/he could fill out a planning template with you so that you can see exactly what is expected?

 

If you think an A3 form would be easer to use and would give you more scope, then why not try it? You might find that having extra space to write in as the session and week progresses will enable you to use your planning as more of a working document, and in turn this might enable you to show how you plan for individual children much more explicit.

 

We didn't have a column for the adult role in our weekly plans, but this would be covered in any detailed plans we did for individual activities/experiences. Learning outcomes would be included in continuous provision planning, and in activity planning. I think the trick is to achieve the right balance between giving enough information because if the weekly plans are too detailed peoople might not have time to read them which will defeat the purpose really.

 

What curriculum framework do you use in Northern Ireland?

[mundia]

Hi terrydoo.

Very often when an advisor gives you a document, its just there to give you a kick start, perhaps you can clarify with her next time that its Ok to tweak it to suit yourselves?

 

Im always a little wary of recording 'learning intentions' on a plan for child led play..if it is truly led by the child, how we we possibly know what the children will learn by it. Continuous provision plans such as Cait and Maz mentioned, can give ideas about what chidlren may possibly be learning in any one area and are flexible enough to allow for children to do their own thing.

Personally, the only time I would have a specifically defined learning intention would be for an adult led activity when I do have in mind something specific I want the children to do.

 

Your 'individual needs' section could be for if you have planned something in particular for a specific child, but I would only do this if it is not covered anywhere else on the plan. It would appear to me that this could also fit in your 'specific interest' section.

 

The adult role could define your staff deployment for that week, or it could be about something specific you have in mind. So for example, you notice that children don't really know how to use the book are, and your books are getting trodden on and ripped. You decide that an adult will be in or near the books are to model how we choose, read, and return books etc.

 

I can see why you would prefer an 'evaluation' section at the end of each row, so do it if you think its better that way.

 

Children's evaluation is exactly that, they can voice this, or you can see this in what they choose to use and to do. If you have a key person time in your session, it can be part of any reflection on the day.

 

Good luck with it all. Planning always evolves over time, and its there to support you and your children so it must be meaningful for you and not just a paper exercise.

[Gezabel]

No we don't use the EYFS in NI.

 

Thought this was user friendly form but our problem is in the evaluation - I would prefer the evaluation alongside the resources and learning outcomes because we have to put in the headings ie sand - children preferred etc etc

 

What do we put in adults role for instance? Also the individual needs planning - I don't think this is appropriate as we never use it?? Children's evaluation - I mean what do we put in there??

 

I think we should be changing the form but it was the Early Years Advisor who gave it to us when we first opened and she is helping us through these initial months. To my mind the form is too small - I think an A3 would be better but then it might become too wordy.

 

HI Terrydoo

Please don't take this the wrong way but I think you should believe in yourself more. Your EY advisor is just that, there to 'advise' she may be more experienced but she is just trying to help you along the way. I can't see the problem in taking the format she gave and making it work for you.

We all work in different ways and different formats suit different people. It takes time to get one that works for you and your team.

We were discussing a format the other day for an ongoing record of child observations. I came up with one that i thought was good but my colleagues wanted to tweak a couple of columns and that was absolutely fine by me.

 

If I were you I would put the evaluation where you want it and make it A3. I honestly don't think the EY advisior will mind, just thank her for her form and say you have altered it slightly, there is no right and wrong way, there is a host of ideas and formats around and it's about trial and error to see what works. Good luck.

 

Oh and just to cheer you up our EY advisor gave us a planning sheet and it was very strange! too small, titles we wouldn't use and boxes in the wrong place so we ended up not using it at all and she really didn't mind. SHe said it was about throwing ideas into the ring and finding what works and she really liked what we came up with!

[Guest terrydoo73]

Thank you soo much for all your replies - I am going to print them out, sit down and think this whole sheet through and adapt it to suit us!

 

I can see what my Development Worker is saying - she is trying to get us to move away from this themes idea and I would agree with her - it is far too much pressure on us and at the same time we are not really following the children's interests. My problem is always - if we have continuous provision how much stuff do you actually put in each area to have sufficient to cover all areas, I mean for instance in the small world would you put all the farm stuff, all the garage stuff, all the house and furniture, all the people and stuff to do with firemen, doctor, police etc etc???

 

When we were looking at our provision at the end of June we discovered that after 2 weeks none of the children were playing in the water for instance so we were looking for ways to enhance it. Should we really do this or just go with the flow!

 

I know I have a big problem in terms of self-belief but it is all trial and error at this stage.

 

For us at the moment it has all been about getting PEAG places - which is the Government paid scheme for children to attend playgroups. This would keep our Playgroup viable as we would be entitled to £1500 per child per year and it is going to be a real struggle to qualify for this. We need 8 children to be considered and at the moment are being asked to investigate those children who have started attending our local primary school over the past 3 years and see if they attended playgroup and which playgroup. This will help the funders to decide if there is a need in our area and if children are going outside the area to access provision not necessarily to our immediate neighbours who are only 2 miles away but rather to the other provision which is 6 miles away. In explaining this I am trying to show you the curriculum we would be following because once in this PEAG scheme we would have to follow the local Education authorities guidelines but at the moment we can basically do what we want!

 

Our Registration authority is keen for us not to have PEAG's until we are more established as it can help us get on our feet and I can see where they are coming from but the local community does not have a bottomless pit of money available. To try and fundraise this would mean we would have this added responsibility on a continuous basis ie every month to find enough to pay for our salaries. We have been successful in obtaining nearly £2000 since January for equipment and resources and the parents have backed us 100% in fundraisers but I cannot see them coming up with the ideas to raise funds never mind actually getting involved in the actual fundraiser!

 

Anyway back to the problem in hand - I am going to look carefully at this form again and your suggestions to see if I can change things slightly. We normally keep this form on our parents notice board in the hallway but our DW said we should have another copy in the playroom and add to it at the end of the session each day so it is something that we just don't look at and dread filling in the evaluation sheet at the end of each week. I think it should be a joy because it will give us time to reflect on what has been said and done on a daily basis and thereby seeing significant developments, thus increasing our own self confidence!

[liberty]

Specifically looking at the water play - I would record what water play had been provided. Record that over two week period it was observed that children were not visiting the area. Record (for example) that child xxx had been observed dressing dolls on several occasions - therefore provide enhancement to water area to enable washing of dolls / dolls clothes - drying line and pegs etc. Or observed child xxx displaying interest in plants in garden - record that watering cans provided to water area. Observe what happens (or not) and record on planning, enhancing area in response to children, which will then possibly link to further planning for water area (and also involve enhancement to other areas). Each activity tries to link observed child's interest and encourage interaction with water. Maybe a shorter length of time before area changed.