Guest Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Hi I am quite new to this site and i just want to pose a general question- why do 'they' not come up with a planning systerm that everyone can use, that is the same all over the country and one that everyone can understand. Everyone on here has a different way of doing things and while I think that it is interesting to look at the different ideas everyone comes up with, it seems that we are all being judged by OFSTED on the same thing, but how can they judge us on the same thing when every one is so different. The schools have the Foundation Stage Profile for reception class and all of the teachers fill one of these in why haven't they got the same thing for us. Just when I think i am getting my head around it all I come on here and read some posts and then can't possibly see how I can be planning correctly. I have just been reading threads on child led planning and, in our group we just try to move them onto the next step, but others are looking at what they pick up through out the morning and extending them according to that. When it says enjoys messy play - ok as soon as they go over to the messy area then they are enjoying messy play, but I don't extend further than that should I be am I doing it all wrong, I just don't know. While I can see this site is absolutely brilliant for getting ideas and input it also worries me sensless that I am completely different from everyone else, am I the only person who feels like this? Do I sound really negative? I hope not I am just worried that I am not as good as I should be Deb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Oh deb, I am sorry to hear that you feel like that. You dont need to! Planning in particular is a very personal thing and just because you are doing something that someone else is not, does not mean that you are wrong. I hope someone with preschool experience will be along to help and reassure you soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marion Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Although I cant speak from a pre school perspective I agree with what Susan has said already. Planning is personal to each setting as is the curriculum. Yes we all follow the FS curriculum guidance but we all deliver it in different ways that is particular to our school/setting. I might add that technically I dont fill out a FSProfile either as my county has its own assessment scheme although this is used to report FSP scores. Try not to worry planning should be governed by your needs not you governed by it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 (edited) Please do not feel that you are doing it wrong, There is no wrong way of planning , just different ones, We all plan so differently because it is usually what works for you and your team, schools may have the profile to complete but the planning and how they achieve the goals is individual to the teacher and/or school. individuality is what makes everything so exciting. Using your example of enjoying messy play, we would record that, then say what they were enjoying about it, is there anything we can add to change or extend the experience and learning from messy play, for the reluctant is there something the child is interested in we could add to get them to play with it e.g. cars in paint, tools in to use instead of hand painting for mixing paint . This is often put in retrospectively, as often you will do this without actually realising that you are, it becomes the normal practice, in our setting everyone does this and jots it down on the plans. If a child is very engrossed it will be reproduced next day to allow them to continue , or the child will ask for it again or for something to add or change the play. The children should be learning from experiences, enjoying it , and if you are aware of the next steps for the individual child, able to supply an appropriate way for them to achieve this- the way you show this is individual to the setting. recent Ofsted only glanced at plans , they were more interested in the child, how we interacted, and extended learning in our daily routines etc. This is where profiles or records of achievements or what ever you call your children’s records came in, our LEA produce one for all to use if we wish but we produce our own , as staff like the input into producing it and it can evolve with the needs of the children and staff. As marion says the plans you do should be suitable for your needs, felxible and not set in stone , change adjust and work with what you feel is right. Inge Please do not feel that you are doing it wrong, There is no wrong way of planning , just different ones, We all plan so differently because it is usually what works for you and your team, schools may have the profile to complete but the planning and how they achieve the goals is individual to the teacher and/or school. individuality is what makes everything so exciting. Using your example of enjoying messy play, we would record that, then say what they were enjoying about it, is there anything we can add to change or extend the experience and learning from messy play, for the reluctant is there something the child is interested in we could add to get them to play with it e.g. cars in paint, tools in to use instead of hand painting for mixing paint . This is often put in retrospectively, as often you will do this without actually realising that you are, it becomes the normal practice, in our setting everyone does this and jots it down on the plans. If a child is very engrossed it will be reproduced next day to allow them to continue , or the child will ask for it again or for something to add or change the play. The children should be learning from experiences, enjoying it , and if you are aware of the next steps for the individual child, able to supply an appropriate way for them to achieve this- the way you show this is individual to the setting. recent Ofsted only glanced at plans , they were more interested in the child, how we interacted, and extended learning in our daily routines etc. This is where profiles or records of achievements or what ever you call your children’s records came in, our LEA produce one for all to use if we wish but we produce our own , as staff like the input into producing it and it can evolve with the needs of the children and staff. As marion says the plans you do should be suitable for your needs, felxible and not set in stone , change adjust and work with what you feel is right. Inge Edited November 3, 2006 by Inge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rea Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Try not to worry Deb. I've been in about 10 different settings since I started supply and the differences I see in planning, observing, assessing are huge. When I ran playgroup I never found a system that was easy for every member of staff, but we rubbed along, trying things and dropping things. I'm in a setting right now which only plans for one focused activity a day and all other potential learning is ignored, they also fill out the profile which I was under the impression was for use at the end of reception not for 3 and 4 yr olds in a community day nursery. From what I can gather, so long as you can show that you are planning so as to further develop the childrens skills then how you do it doesnt matter so much. Take a break this weekend and if you do revamp your palnning in any way dont overhaul the whole lot staright away, just focus on bits at a time and find out what suits you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Ok, dont know what happened only wrote an submitted once honest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreamay Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 you know inge it does that to me sometimes dont know why! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 oh - that's interesting. I'll see if I can find out what's going on there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Deb I'd say that planning is the one topic that is constantly coming up on this forum because loads of us feel confused, totally confused or absolutely confused! Seems to me, we are all trying to come up with a way of doing it that we understand and just when you think you might be getting it something else happens and you're left feeling uncertain again. Guess I'm trying to say, you're not alone! Some good advice given already, just wanted to empathize with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Agree with everything already said. Don't forget, all children are different and we need to be planning with our children in mind, not some non-existent 'model', so it's bound to be different everywhere. For instance, we have a sister nursery and although they use the same paperwork, the planning is often totally different. When we used to plan to topics, the activities and interpretation was very varied between the two nurseries. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Oh you have all made me feel so much better. I have just ajusted our planning again to incorporate BTTM any one that saw my other post will see why i don't want to attend the course. We were using the FSP to do all our planning on as of the summer but I ajusted it last term and have ajusted again this term so we are not using it at all just using the same layout. I am pretty sure we are OK as we are and I especially don't want to overwhelm my staff because they are all brilliant. We all really pulled our socks up last year and it was a massive group effort to bring us up to scratch and we all did it in a term. i have done appraisals with them and I always try to tell them that they are right in what they are doing and they all seem really happy so i definitely don't want to rock the boat too much for them. We have all learnt so much in the last year I just want to give them some stability instead of keep changin everything all of the time. I will stick with what I have got until ofsted come in ( I know we will get a visit shortly as we have just changed our location and had to reapply) if it is still wrong then, then I will look into different ways. Thanks for all of your comments Deb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreamay Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 I think you have done the right thing implementing BTTM in your planning. We have had the report back from ofsted yesterday and she mentions BTT in each area and how we have implemented it but especially in the planning!I did tell her tho that a member of staff had been on the BTT course and it was mainly focusing on babies in DN so decided not to send any staff on it but have done some inhouse training instead she was more then happy with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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