Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 In our primary school we have just set up a new foundation unit with nursery and reception together. I currently teach Y1 but have been asked to go and coordinate the foundation unit from Saptember. There will be myself, a nursery nurse and a TA for the first term and then another teacher appointed in January when numbers in Reception rise. I have taught in Reception before but not nursery and have never taught in this way. I am quite apprehensive about the move and would be grateful if anyone could share their experiences, positive or negative. We have one large room and one worry is about catering for the needs of 3 and 5 year olds in this one space. Thank you for any advice or experiences you can share with me!
Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 Hi we are also having a unit from September, pending building work being completed. Have you been to visit any other units? We are going on some courses arranged by our LEA and also visiting units, to find out about issues as regards to planning, timetables, resourcing, outdoor classroom, timing arrangments - nursery and reception, etc Any useful info I come across I'm quite happy to share.
Marion Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 hi and welcome to the forum We started our Foundation Stage Unit in September and must say I am loving working this way its so much better for all the children. Becky is visiting our unit at the end of this month and we are also visiting other settings. The most important thing we have learned is not to be afraid to change if you feel things arent working how you expected. There are a number of discussion on the forum about different aspects of FSU and 2 excellent articles.
Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 I am a nursery nurse in an early years unit. We have 38 reception children plus 24 part time children on each session. we have two teachers and two nursery nurses and the setting works well. all the children come to the carpet first thing in the morning for about ten minutes and then the part time children are free to go and choose their own activities while the reception children split into two smaller groups and do 10/15 mins phonics/numeracy sessions. we then take a small group to do other things and the rest of the group go and choose activities . we have three family groups and we go into these groups at the end of the session for story time. this leaves one member of staff to tidy up( or any thing else that crops up with young children). All the children have free flow outdoors all the session unless raining. hope this helps hope this is ok as it is my first posting In our primary school we have just set up a new foundation unit with nursery and reception together. I currently teach Y1 but have been asked to go and coordinate the foundation unit from Saptember. There will be myself, a nursery nurse and a TA for the first term and then another teacher appointed in January when numbers in Reception rise.I have taught in Reception before but not nursery and have never taught in this way. I am quite apprehensive about the move and would be grateful if anyone could share their experiences, positive or negative. We have one large room and one worry is about catering for the needs of 3 and 5 year olds in this one space. Thank you for any advice or experiences you can share with me! 50446[/snapback]
Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 Thank you so much for your replies. It's good to know that other schools are working in a similar way and finding it successful. I have visited another FS unit but they had lots of different rooms where as ours is one space with no divisions whatsoever. I think this is my main worry really as I am worried about the F2 children needing different experiences to the children who are just three and being able to manage all of these needs within one room. Thank you for sharing the structure of your session Marys, it's really interesting to find out how other people manage this. Would anyone else be willing to share how they structure their day to meet the needs of all the children? Any help or advice at all would be much appreciated.
Rea Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 Nothing to add to this topic I just wanted to say hello to Barbarann and Marys. Actually, can I just say about mixing 3 and 5 yr olds, it works in a playgroup with 2 and 4 yr olds so I wouldnt see a problem. I love the ages being mixed they can learn loads from each other. Day nurseries, from what I've seen dont mix the age groups and I think the children lose something.
Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 Hello Rea Thank you, I think you're right about them learning loads from each other. Hopefully I am worrying for nothing!
Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 oh i forgot to say we are all in one big room but depending how you set out your different areas it works really well. how many staff are you going to be having in your unit.
Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 MARYS- there will be myself, a nursery nurse and a TA in the first term and then another teacher will replace the TA in January when we get more in Reception. Glad to hear it works well all in one room- how do you set up your areas?
Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 we have a large carpet area which is split into three a literacy area with all red draws with jigsaws and literacy based activities and we have pots on tables with red pencils and coloured crayons a numeracy area with blue trays that have all the numeracy baased toys this area also has all blue pencils aut also coloured crayons.the middle bit of the carpet is were we gather first thing in the morning and the piano is also based here the teacher plays the piano and our children love singing.when the children go to activities this middle part of the carpet becomes a play area as the train set is near and the children can get trays out of the areas and take them to this space.area when the activities have been out because the trays are colour coded the children know which area they belong to. we also have three little snack tables so the children help themselves to their fruit and milk during the day. we have a carpeted role play area which we change every half term. our other area are paint,water, sand we then have a large table for markmaking,craft area, mallable and jigsaws. we also have a kitchen which is split and also used as a quiet room. we have cupboards with templates around most areas so the children can help with the tidying up. oh i have gone on a bit hope this helps
Marion Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 There are a number of discussions on the site .........think because the idea is relatively new we all work in slightly different ways http://www.foundation-stage.info/forums/in...ion+stage+units There are 27 reception children and 26 nursery children both morning and afternoon We have 2 teachers and 2 NNEBs. We dont tend to work in age groups but by level of maturity For the first 15 minutes or each session we split into 2 groups for registration (reception children lunch register) then become totally integrated for the remainder of the session. Each child is responsible for keeping a specific area tidy and once the unit is tidy we split into 2 groups for story (child's choice which group they choose) then for the final 5 minutes we split into nursery/ reception groups before going home. We have 2 large interconecting rooms joined by a smaller messy area all areas are clearly marked for purpose. In 1 room we have role play / reading area/ listening area/ fine motor table/ malleable table/ performance area/ music area/ art easels/ computer/independent mark making area and writing area (for more formal work) plus the interactive white board in the other room we have construction/ small work/ investigation/ lightbox/ d/t workshop/ block play area/ snack and a numeracy table (again for more formal adult led activities would take place in this area) in the messy area we have wet and dry sand/ water and creative activities. we also have a large secure outdoor area which we operate free flow. 3 members of staff will lead focused activities each day and the fourth will float/ observe.
Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 Thank you so much for all the help and ideas! I am feeling less apprehensive already and am beginning to get excited! There is so much to think about and organise isn't there! Today is the first time I have posted on this forum and I am loving it already
Marion Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 Its hard work setting it up but well worth it I love working as part of a team sharing ideas and skills
Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Posted March 11, 2006 Just wanted to echo Rea and say "Hello and welcome" to Barbarann and MaryS. Good luck with your FS units
Guest Posted March 18, 2006 Posted March 18, 2006 A unit sounds like a great way to work. Do you think it would be as effective if there was a teacher 0.5 jobshare in the unit, any thoughts on the best way a job share might be effective? Marion I am really looking forward to seeing your unit! I only wish you were going to be there!
Marion Posted March 18, 2006 Posted March 18, 2006 Hi Becky wish I was going to be there too but we have had it confirmed that we are in the next stage of Children's Centres and the Head has asked me to attend committee meetings (unfortunately the same day) so that we get some input into planning new building.
Guest Posted March 18, 2006 Posted March 18, 2006 Ah well perhaps we will see each other in April? FSU course! The county council are going to undertake the building work but they came out and discussed plans last November, still coming out to discuss plans. I think we may not be a unit for September, but we are top of the list apparently, however nothing is happening yet! We shall see. The problem I forsee is we have more than 30 reception children for september and if the unit isn't ready, then not sure what the head will do!
Guest Posted March 18, 2006 Posted March 18, 2006 Marion, would you mind saying where your unit is? I would be intertested in visiting settings who are operating in this way - if you are close enough!! I am in County Durham
Marion Posted March 18, 2006 Posted March 18, 2006 We are at Fishburn near Sedgefield. The Unit is fairly new we only set up in September so things are still evolving. There is another unit just a couple of miles away that is in its 2nd year so you probably could look at both if you wanted.
Marion Posted March 18, 2006 Posted March 18, 2006 Ah well perhaps we will see each other in April? FSU course! The county council are going to undertake the building work but they came out and discussed plans last November, still coming out to discuss plans. I think we may not be a unit for September, but we are top of the list apparently, however nothing is happening yet!We shall see. The problem I forsee is we have more than 30 reception children for september and if the unit isn't ready, then not sure what the head will do! 51111[/snapback] Both Mel and I will be at the April course so hope to see you then. Our Unit isnt purpose built so Im very jealous
Guest Posted March 18, 2006 Posted March 18, 2006 Our unit that I will be teaching in in September is purpose built as it has been built along with our children's centre which opens in a couple of weeks. What worries me is, as I said before, the fact that it is one large room with no divisions whatsoever. How do you go about planning to meet the needs of all the children from 3 to 5 in one room? Some children will be with us for 3 years!
Guest Posted March 24, 2006 Posted March 24, 2006 Hi Marys, Great to read your description of your Early years Unit as it sounds very similar to ours! Same staffing and numbers of full / part time children & very similar daily routine but was just wondering if you manage to organise staff breaks during morning &/or afternoon sessions? We have 4 staff & 4 very definate rooms/areas including outdoors - as Foundation Stage Coordinator I am finding it almost impossibe to agree to my teams requests for tea/coffee breaks!It takes 1 hour for all 4 staff members to have a break - which means that for 1 hour every morning our adult/child ratios are far too high, especially when we often have toileting accidents to clear up during that hour!! The children used to stop part way through the session for group snack & 'talk time' & this also allowed staff to have breaks but this was really disruptive. We now operate a daily routine similar to yours - stopping at the very end of the session for tidy up time, followed by group story/singing etc.. Please could you let me know how you organise breaks (if at all!!) & how long your staff have for lunch? It would be great to hear from you. Thanks
Marion Posted March 25, 2006 Posted March 25, 2006 There are 4 staff in our unit and non of us take breaks apart from at lunchtime. We invested in non-spill cups and use these if anyone is desperate for a cuppa. Officially we are not entitled to a break until we have worked 4 hours so this coincides with lunch.
Guest Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 Hi Marion, Just to say I visited your unit today, and it was fantastic. Thanks for the directions, we still managed to get lost - and end up in Wingate, and got there eventually. Your Nursery Teacher was absolutely fabulous! I really appreciate all the planning templates and advice. It was nice to see a unit up and running and the children seemed so involved in what they were doing! I liked the way the staff were valued as a team. I can see you have done a lot of hard work, and it certainly seems to be very effective. You learn an awful lot from visiting another school, and I certainly have today. I am very grateful for all the help and support provided today by Mel. So please thank her, and thankyou too for putting me in touch with your school. I hope to meet you next Tuesday. Big Thanks
Marion Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 Hi Becky Sorry I couldn't be there. (was pretending to be the head at an extended schools workshop) Hope it was helpful and will pass your thanks onto Mel. See you Tuesday
Guest AMP Posted May 8, 2006 Posted May 8, 2006 There are a number of discussions on the site .........think because the idea is relatively new we all work in slightly different ways http://www.foundation-stage.info/forums/in...ion+stage+units There are 27 reception children and 26 nursery children both morning and afternoon We have 2 teachers and 2 NNEBs. We dont tend to work in age groups but by level of maturity For the first 15 minutes or each session we split into 2 groups for registration (reception children lunch register) then become totally integrated for the remainder of the session. Each child is responsible for keeping a specific area tidy and once the unit is tidy we split into 2 groups for story (child's choice which group they choose) then for the final 5 minutes we split into nursery/ reception groups before going home. We have 2 large interconecting rooms joined by a smaller messy area all areas are clearly marked for purpose. In 1 room we have role play / reading area/ listening area/ fine motor table/ malleable table/ performance area/ music area/ art easels/ computer/independent mark making area and writing area (for more formal work) plus the interactive white board in the other room we have construction/ small work/ investigation/ lightbox/ d/t workshop/ block play area/ snack and a numeracy table (again for more formal adult led activities would take place in this area) in the messy area we have wet and dry sand/ water and creative activities. we also have a large secure outdoor area which we operate free flow. 3 members of staff will lead focused activities each day and the fourth will float/ observe. 50509[/snapback]
Guest AMP Posted May 8, 2006 Posted May 8, 2006 if you have two inter-connecting rooms, how does one person float? We have 4 staff, but find that we need 2 people to float as we have a large room split by low furniture into 2 areas. If you are at one side, anything could be happening at the other. I am finding that having 55 children in 1 area is just manic.
Guest AMP Posted May 8, 2006 Posted May 8, 2006 We are at Fishburn near Sedgefield. The Unit is fairly new we only set up in September so things are still evolving. There is another unit just a couple of miles away that is in its 2nd year so you probably could look at both if you wanted. 51115[/snapback]
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