Guest Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Hi this is my first post so I hope it is ok. We have just had a visit from our Early Years Advisor who wants us to make the links between our observations and our planning clearer, but she could not suggest an effective and workable way to do this. Has anybody got any systems that would work? There are 2 of us who do the observations and 70 children, so we need something simple. Also in our nursery we have a morning and afternoon session with different children in each session, but have been told provision must be different for each session. Does anybody else provide completely different provision for morning and afternoon children? thanks Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 hi Jo welcome to the forum... Do you have different children am and pm, if so why do you need different provision????? To be honest i think we all keep striving for clearer planning but never quite get there..... I am sure others on the site will give you the invaluable info that you need.. enjoy the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millhill Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 (edited) My goodness, you have alot of work between you! I can only suggest that you observe 6 children per week (3 each) per session, evaluate their observations at the end of the week with a sheet like this one, T_observation_evaluation_oct_05.doc Then put the 'suggestions' in your planning for the next week. On the next week, you do not need to observe the children all over again as you will be observing 6 others. Just note on your planning who the activity is aimed at and perhaps ask your other member of staff (I assume you have one ) to write on a 'post it' a short narrative observation when the child is at the activitiy. It would probably be best to do just 2 planned activities per session, which allows for some differentiation between Am and Pm. Hope you work something out. Edited July 5, 2006 by millhill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Thank you I will show my FS co-ordinator the sheet and your suggestions. We have different children in each session and do differentiate the adult foucused activities according to their needs, but we have been told all activities should be different because we have 2 sets of children, do you do this? Thanks Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millhill Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 (edited) Hi Jo. We don't differentiate all activities, that is too much! and Ofsted do not expect you to either. When we had our inspection in September we did nearly all activities the same in AM and PM (we have different children too), just changed a couple of the focussed ones, like you do. We got a 'Good' for everything (no recommendations the 'planning' area) and the inspector was very pleased with our planning and observation process. At my pre-school, the children have open access to select their own resources for activities in the small world, construction, graphics, maths, art, sand, water and outside areas. We do not always plan activities for these areas. Not only would it be too time consuming on the planning part, but it restricts the children's spontanous play, which is so important in Early Years. Please don't let this FS Co's advise get you down, they are not always right. Stick to your guns and do what is best for you. Good Luck. Emma Edited July 5, 2006 by millhill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharonash Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Millhill can I ask how do you choose which children to observe each session/week Does someone sit in your workshop areas or do staff float around them all? We have just started this free flow/ continous provision approach and are feeling a bit lost. Do you still do focus activites if so how many a week and do you target certain children with these ? Are they adult or child led? Would really appreciate your advice cheers sharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rea Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Hello Jo, I dont remember welcoming you to the site before this. I used to work in a playgroup with two sessions with almost completly different children. The only changes we made to the activities were to take into account the childrens ages, they tended to be younger in the pm session. So instead of lego we'd swop for duplo. Everything else stayed the same. Dont be too concerned at your 'advisor', if her advice doesnt work for you you dont have to do it. And with all the other work you've got it would be silly to give yourself more by moving activities around. i USED TO OCCASSIONALY TAKE A STEP BACK AND WATCH THE WHOLE ROOM FOR A WHILE ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK, THAT USED TO HELP ME TO DECIDE WHO TO DO OB'S ON. (Oops) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millhill Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Millhill can I ask how do you choose which children to observe each session/week Does someone sit in your workshop areas or do staff float around them all?We have just started this free flow/ continous provision approach and are feeling a bit lost. Do you still do focus activites if so how many a week and do you target certain children with these ? Are they adult or child led? Would really appreciate your advice Hi Sharon. Click on this link to a previous post I made on our Observation, evaluation and planning. http://www.foundation-stage.info/forums/in...?showtopic=5845 The children are chosen on a rota basis, one keyworker's child per week. Free play can be daunting for some adults as they struggle to know what to do with the children when the children seem to be getting on so well by themselves. However to make free play successful and meaningful, it is important to allow the children to initiate an activity, observe them doing it then plan for the next steps. It may be just to plan next time to consolidate their learning by talking through what they are doing or to plan how to extend their play. For example, if you observe a child 'making a cake' and she tells you "it's for my nan", you could plan to introduce the story 'Little Red Riding Hood' to the children the next day, then suggest a role play making food for grandma, putting it in a basket, walking through the 'woods' etc. Taking into account the stepping stones such as 'introduce a narrative into their play'. The adults in the pre-school all have set tasks in a day, one will be observing, another doing the focussed activity (like the example), another cuts fruit with the children, washes up etc, another floats-playing with the children in child initiated activities. This ensures adults are all aware of what their responsibilities are each day and they are not left wondering what to do. I hope this helps with some of your questions. Emma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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