Topics Overlapping

[basilbrush]

Don't know if any other Reception teachers experience this, but thought I would share my frustrations and let off steam.

 

We are constantly planning activities that we feel are exciting and stimulating, but seem to frequently hear the refrain "but we cover that in Year 1" i e please don't do it in Reception. I can appreciate its frustrating if all the children are saying 'we've done that before', but its equally frustrating to plan exciting activities only to have them vetoed.

 

Surely there are some things that its ok to cover again. We cover Christmas every year don't we!

[Rea]

I'm not a teacher but I do seem to recall someone saying this before. Does it really matter if you do something again, surely R to Yr1 there are huge developmental changes so the topic could be covered in more depth or from a different angle. From your point of view they can have more hands on exciting stuff maybe than in Yr1. What about children who go to more than one setting, they are bound to do 'ourselves' at each one they go to, nobody complains then

[Guest]

I agree! A Year 1 teacher even asked me to change my whole planning for the year because she said it covered the same work as her Science scheme!!

 

I said I didn't see the problem as she should be covering the same work in more detail as part of the continuous curriculum. We introduce the topics in Reception, it is then upto the Year 1/2 teachers to challenge those children who are exceeding expectations, not for us to hinder them. They are SO cheeky!!!

 

You stick to your guns, and continue what you are doing... we are lucky that we get the opportunity to teach such a creatively diverse and flexible curriculum.

 

Good Luck.

[JacquieL]

We used a rolling prgramme over two years throughout foundation stage and KS1 and there were many area that we all covered but we planned coverage in different ways and at different levels. the skills and knowledge build on what's gone before so there shouldn't be a problem.

[Susan]

I think the term "spiral curriculum" is appropriate here and as Jacquie says it shouldnt cause a problem but I know from experience that it often does!

[Guest]

I have heard this lots of times - but do feel children benefit from opportunities to revisit topics to consolidate and extend their knowledge.

 

Is particularly an issue if you are trying to leave behind adult-planned topics and follow children's interests - you can't tell the children not to be interested in something because they're going to do that when they get to year 1.

 

Think like everything else early years we need to stick to our guns and continue to educate our colleagues.

[Guest]

Yeah I used to have that same problem. I don't think it matters if the topic is being covered again the following year as surely it will be covered in more depth as the children are older.

 

SB:)

[Marion]

When I first started working in my present school (many moons ago) everyone covered the same topic at the same time from nursery to Y6 and no one had a problem with it (except the topics weren't particularly child friendly but thats another story) everyone worked at the level of the children

[Guest]

In reception my topics are loosely based upon the year 2 science topics to try and avoid this. However in early years we visit growth, life etc so many times and many more that you can't help but visit some year 1 topics. So I think that as long as the y1 teacher knows what you have done they can simply take the children on from there - would have thought they would be grateful for you doing all the hard work laying the foundations and ground work for them to take it further!

Liz x