Planning

[melc]

:1bHappy Bank Holiday Everyone,

It has been a while since I have been on the Forum. However, I am back and I am in need of help right now.

 

I am starting in a new position in September as EYFS Leader in FS Unit - Part time Nursery and Reception. I have been given the challenge of moving it from good to outstanding.

 

I have heaps of experience in Reception but very little, almost non-existent, in Nursery. So as you can imagine I have things whizzing around in my mind.

 

We have already made a start on reorganising the environment to help with children's independence and access to resources.

 

My biggest concern is the planning. What should Nursery planning look like? What should focus teaching look like in Nursery? Should I be able to request planning from the Nursery teacher so that I have overview? What should be recorded in learning journeys?

If anyone has any examples of planning that they are willing to share or any advice I would be most grateful.

 

Thank you

 

Mel C :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Melcatfish]

Hi Mel,

Is the whole school new to you or are you just taking on the role in your current school?

I work in a school Nursery, my planning has some similarities to the planning in our Reception classes but also some differences.

One of the things I love about Early Years is that there isn't a universal answer about what it should look like in terms of planning, learning journeys or, most importantly, in the setting.

If the whole school is new to you I would start by asking them what they currently do, find out what bits they like best about what they do, why they think it works and then what they don't like \ doesn't work. That way rather than going charging in and throwing the baby out with the bath water you are able to build on what is already good and maybe offer a fresh eye to help with the things that need further tweaking.

Regarding your question about Learning Journeys, we have used Tapestry for the past year (click on the link in the menu bar above if you are not familiar with it) It has revolutionised our LJ's, bye bye time spent printing and sticking in photos and annotating or adding stickers! Of course you still need to spend time adding the observations but it is quicker, and crucially for you in your role you can set up yourself as a staff member with full access so you can access the LJ's at any given time. By far and away though the best thing is the way it involves parents in their child's learning, if you are tasked with reaching outstanding you are going to need to demonstrate how you work with parents, improve the home learning environment etc... and that is something Tapestry will offer you great opportunities to do - it is reasonably priced so unless they already have LJ's that do all that then I would really give that some serious thought.

Good luck, let us know how you get on!

Mel

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