fay

We have small areas inside and out for adults or children to use as quiet spaces. We use these for 1-1/ small group but we have found pegs very useful. Each child has a named peg that they keepin their tray and if they want to play with an adult or have some quiet 1-1 time they give the adult the peg, unfinished games and work can also be marked up for playing/completing the next day. Wearing the pegs is a bit cumbersome but it means you don't forget and you know the order the children came to you. Once the children see it works and know they will get a turn they go off quite happily and play elsewhere until they are called. I also have pegs that I keep and use to ensure I have spent time with the whole class and no-one has gone under the radar.

Hi I'm not sure if this is what you had in mind this is an older version of our continuous planning - newer ones are at school.

Snack time plan.docx

Thanks Mundia

And will you be using it to time planting in your garden. My father in law, a life long gardener by love and profession always did and was in no doubt that it made a difference, judging by his garden he was right.

phases of the moon clock, so you always plant seeds on a waxing moon.

many years ago, when you could get away with it - I used to give my reception children a sheet with line drawings of all their clothes on. they would check their clothes ( we had a pool so under wear too!)colour in/tick the clothes that were named and write/copy a note to their mums aking them to name all the things not ticked - worked well ! there's nothing like an indignant child pestering to motivate parents.

Now we have a laundry marker and regularly pile up all the unamed clothes , and ask the parents to find and name them before they go.

[

We were once 'ticked off' because we had the door to our room 'propped open' (door stop thingy) - we were told that as it's a 'fire door' (metal inside - not a fire door with a push down handle) that it should be closed at all times as it's there to prevent fire entering the room.......

Good luck

Thanks

yes we can't prop our doors open and we need bring the level of the playground up to make a level walk through the fire door and then ramp it, there are six pages of things to do around the school.

and really the most likely thing to cause fire would be the irate members of staff!!!

I've never heard of anything like this in my life! I can perhaps see the logic behind his comments re your final exit door - but actually the strips are probably easier to negotiate in an emergency than a door, but what do I know?

 

I'd be inclinced to contact your Local Authority urgently for clarification. Maybe he is just being overzealous. Either that or he's on a mission to close every pre-school in your area.

 

Sorry I can't be of much help.

Thanks Maz

- you are quite right - The free flow doors are much easier to go through than the actual doors which the children can't open because their too heavy!!!

My EY co-ordinator is contacting county, but our school H&S person wants us to follow instructions and not be difficult.

I have asked if it's possible to speak to the fire officer and clarify some statements, I know there are some things he hasn't mentioned that come into the relevant safety documents ( I won't be pointing those out!) and his quotes from these documents about furnishings and displays are not correct. I'm looking for information to support our point of view.

We have just had a fire safety inspection and been told to follow his instructions or be closed down! these are remove all fabric and soft furninshings, without the appropriate fire safety markings all of which is probably all of our fabric and furnishings, our free flow door strips must be taken down or tied out of the way beacause the door is a final exit, the excessive amounts of paper or card - my creative area - must be thrown out, cut down on display boards and anything hanging from the ceiling. My outside door must be a fire door and so I must take down the fence because I cannot exit into an eclosed space???

If we do all of this we won't be getting good scores in anyone else's inspection including ECERS and Ofsted which we are due.

What does everyone else do?

Does all of your fabric have the correct british standards.

Are you paper free or do you put your paper in tins?

do you freeze at free flow?

I know he is correct and they will burn but it's so unlikely to catch fire I feel it's a reasonable risk to take.

please let me know what you do - is there a way to avoid becoming a sterile environment?

Sorry I don't have at them home but they are based on the forms in Managing medicines in schools and early years settings

downloadable from here:-

hopefully

I have always had my planning looked at, up until my present head it has been on a weekly basis, Long ago it was a termly plan and a diary recording how each day had gone.

Now all of our plans go on the server, printed copies are kept in the classroom files, or in my case up on the wall, and annotated as necessary. All planning is monitored half termly by the head and senior management team, with comments being fed back individually/at the staff meeting as appropriate.

I don't use them either and I also heard that Ofsted shouldn't mark people down

ECERS do though no matter what evidence you have - so I am in two minds for my inspection as I still have the covers.

There are whole socket covers here

http://www.babysecurity.co.uk/categories/3...-Socket-Covers/

Even one to one, in one of my reception classes a very experienced LSA was helping a child with their cutting skills, he was not reliable with his scissor control so she was watching closely and helping/intervening as necessary. When a child across the class slid over and cried out she looked up and in the few moments it took to register what had happened and turn back, the child she was with had cut a swath of hair from the front of his head!

Fortunately, his mum was OK about it. and most of the the class came to realise cutting your own hair is not a good idea, without needing to try it themselves first.

We used a baby monitor, I picked up a pair from a charity shop, it was one with lights, that lit up more lights the louder the noise so you didn't have to have the whole procedure boadcast during carpet times. Worked well as long as we recharged the batteries.

Devondaisy

I think you are quite right to be concerned, you have been watching carefully over a period of time and working on his weak areas. you haven't made a rushed decision. He is obviously nervous/concerned about moving about and needs help.

His mum is fortunate that you have noticed and are concerned.

Telling mums is the worst part of what we do, A lot of mums do not see or do not want to see. One of my colleagues own children had motor problems and despite several years experience with small children she hadn't noticed. We had some very difficult days when I suggested the child saw an OT.

Just a word of warning... I had problems with some children I wanted to refer for OT assessments

I needed a GP letter and the GP couldn't see the problem and were reluctant to help.

Do you have an inclusion team you can talk to? if you need some extra back up.

Children flap for a number of different reasons - boredom, excitement, fear, comfort and just because they like it.

As EYFS 1966 said you should keep a note of occurrences and try to see what is happening as he begins to flap or stamp, it may help you understand him; does he have any other repetative actions or strict routines?

I would also note down :-

-examples of when his speech is out of context, is it out of context because he hasn't understood, you say he can't follow instructions easily or is fixated on certain subjects and he talks about his interests no matter what you have asked.

- his play, you said he plays along side does he join in with imaginative play? does he talk as he plays and is he making up a narrative or using one he has watched or heard. How does he respond when you join in, will he let you lead the play.

-does he understand about emotions and how other people are feeling?

You are obviously worried, are his parents? have you thought about a speech and language assessment as he has problems understanding instructions and possibly social communication?

We often have a number of children in nappies. We try to have one person responsible for one child usually the key person but it is whoever the child is most comfortable with, and a back up if they are not available. We change them in our disabled toilet because it has most space and now a large changing table. If they are going to be in nappies for the forseeable future it may be worth finding out if there is a changing table available through your county SEN people, changing on the floor is difficult for the adult and not that pleasant for the child but child sized tables are c£1000. Do you have a shower? cos they can be a great asset.

parents provide all the changing materials and spare clothes, we found it is easier if they send in a bag and fill it daily. We used to have a mountain of nappies and wipes and parents could take ages to buy another bag of nappies when the ran out.

It is a good idea to keep a few spares in school in case of bad or forgetful days.

I hope as a reception teacher you have plenty of help because if there is any time with only you in the class that is when the child will need changing. Heads seem to believe it will only happen once or twice a day and take a couple of minutes.

I have attatched a policy and routine plan

Hope this helps16._Nappy_Changing.docToileting___Nappy_changing_plan.doc

http://www.hertsdirect.org/docs/pdf/c/continence09.pdf

This may have some useful information for you - I cannot find the Leicestershire guidance which is where most people's comes from. We used it to write our policy,

We spent several years changing children on a mat on the toilet floor before getting a very nice child sized adjustable height changing table - we are hoping we won't loose it when the child we were given it for moves on.

Being inclusive is important but not well financed. We have a lot of children who come in needing changing and it can take alot of adult time, which is not provided for so other children loose out.

Thanks Mundia

We have used quite alot of the clips in the past, and talked about which statements they might support.

This is my first time running the meeting and I think we need to think a little more carefully about what we actually see evidence of - the format of the maths course is just right as a starter for that.

I am trying to sort out some observation moderation/training for our staff meeting. I can remember looking at an online course which showed a video clip and then asked if you had seen evidence for certain development matters statements. I thought it was on the DFES website but I can't find it now.... Please can anyone help?

Thanks

Sounds exciting, I love pondipping,

Just a word of warning and I apoplogise if you know this:-

Quite a lot of pondlife can fly - eg, beetles, water boatmen and pondskaters, so if your tray gets too warm they may fly off. If you are bringing your tray in on a daily basis for a short while you should be fine but I wouldn't leave it in the classroom, a tank with oxygenating plants would be better.

Also great diving beetles, water boatmen and larger dragonfly larvae can bite/sting. I have never had a child that's been bitten I think like bees they only bite/sting when threatened, but I have always been careful to warn children and teach them proper netting techniques and used plastic spoons to move the animals between trays.

Ideas - sorry I haven't any to hand at the moment have you looked in minibeasts in the resources section?

Here's another I bet you knew Cait,

A "swiffer" is a dusting tool it can be hand held or long handled and the pad is disposable. You can see/buy them on Amazon.

In our setting we try to change what is in our malleable/messy areas on a frequent basis: or to be more honest some of can't make playdough for love nor money - here some recipes we have collected.

messy_play.doc

It is a work in progress and I have not tested all the recipes. (some recipes may give rise to the playing with food debate)

As for the question of how successful a recipe is or a playdough maker you are we believe - because we have observed! - some children love oozy, sticky, slimy playdough and having extra flour to add helps and adds an extra dimension to their play.

As for adding scent cocoa gives a good scent and it's interesting to watch how children react to 'chocolate playdough'. You will have to decide for yourself how much you get involved and steer the 'inevitable' explorations...

Thanks Quinney that is just what I was looking for!

I think the paint brushes only work when you hold them over the correct arcs in the rainbow, when I tried sometimes they filled in the arc as soon as they touched it and other times they needed to be clicked on several times.

This is only a power point but it covers a christian wedding and a Pakistani Muslim wedding. Weddings_2.ppt if I have done that correctly

You can find the most wonderful pictures on some asian weddings sites - I can't find the one I used last time but these have some beautiful pictures and videos.

http://www.asianweddingphotography.com

http://www.asianweddingphotos.com/index.htm

Are his parents any help, he may tell them what he enjoys at your setting they will know what he enjoys at home. They could also tell you what he's like at home and in other places. Are observations any help or is he a floater without any apparent favourites? Could you ask him to photograph the things he likes around the setting?

you may need to begin by offering him a choice of two things to get him to choose, or use forced choice questions, will he choose by selecting the pictures you show him?

But you may decide he needs time settle some more. in which case I would play along side him for a while talking about what he is doing with out any apparent expectation that he will speak, then gradually begin to leave the end off your sentences. eg the train is going up the..... and use indirect questioning "I wonder what colour the red and blue paint will make?" so he can fill in the answer if he wants.

there is a space requirement in the framework pg 35

"In registered provision, providers must meet the following space requirements:

■■ children under two years: 3.5 m2 per child;

■■ two year olds: 2.5 m2 per child;

■■ children aged three to five years: 2.3 m2 per child."

so you would need to measure up your rooms - the space need sto be the usable playspace so toilets, cloakrooms, entrances don't count.

good luck I hope it works out to be enough space.