Displsying plans

[kp0781]

For those of you who display your weekly/monthly plans how much info do you put up and in what format? I have had a visit from childcare officer who wants it displayed for parents and I can't decide how detailed it should be. I have a theme every couple of weeks And have activities planned for most mornings and afternoons but they don't always get stuck to!!

[loocyloo]

I have a weekly plan that has any visits to toddlers/soft play/ducks/farm/woods/beach etc, plus daily sleeps & story/song time, school runs & clubs. I then add any particular activity I want to do/for a particular child...ie making pizza for lunch on wednesday... This is on my notice board for parents...

However, I rarely do what it says & then just scribble over it!

[hectors house]

For those of you who display your weekly/monthly plans how much info do you put up and in what format? I have had a visit from childcare officer who wants it displayed for parents and I can't decide how detailed it should be. I have a theme every couple of weeks And have activities planned for most mornings and afternoons but they don't always get stuck to!!

If you read article 3 that Michelle from Planning & Observation training sent us - old articles from Nursery World Nov 2012 - it says

"Planning needs to be child-led, with a focus on children's starting points, tracking their learning and development and how practioners influence children's learning.

There is no need for themes or topics "children don't do autumn, they do kicking leaves!" to quote Jennie Lindon. Children create their own topics and themes. The focus needs to be on the practioner's knowledge of what their children's knowledge of what their children's next steps are in their learning development.

Planning should not be completed a week or two weeks in advance, it should be done spontaneously, on the go, day by day with clear links from children's current interests and experience - in short child led planning"

I have printed this out and have this displayed on my notice board, whereas you are going to have to move house again to get enough wall space for all the posters, certificates, planning and emergency evacuation procedures this development officer wants you to have on display!!:laughing:

[watgem]

Hectors House I absolutely agree i need you to talk to my DO about this lol, its one of the sticking points that is preventing me frm becoming accredited as i do not see how you can plan for a child 3-6 months ahead, I do a lot of retorspective planning which is shared in the daily diaries, and I write on a little wipeboard snacks and possible activities that may be available each day and Ofsted were fine with that, I keep very detailed observations linked to development matters/characteristics f learning etc which are are regularly monitored so that I can see possible next steps and where a child might need more support etc

[hectors house]

Hectors House I absolutely agree i need you to talk to my DO about this lol, its one of the sticking points that is preventing me frm becoming accredited as i do not see how you can plan for a child 3-6 months ahead, I do a lot of retorspective planning which is shared in the daily diaries, and I write on a little wipeboard snacks and possible activities that may be available each day and Ofsted were fine with that, I keep very detailed observations linked to development matters/characteristics f learning etc which are are regularly monitored so that I can see possible next steps and where a child might need more support etc

I see that you are also in Somerset watgem - the training I went on at the weekend was in the Somerset Centre for Integrated Learning (SCIL) course booklet -the OP who posted the thread (kt0781) was also at the training - although she has now moved to Wiltshire and has a tyrant of a Development Officer! We rarely see our Development officer and she is being made redundant in the Summer.

[lashely]

I'm only just starting out and plan free play for a few weeks. In this time I have been observing the children and finding out where they are developmentally. Thus week I have used the observations to plan simple activities around the childrens development stage and interests. E.g last week on a walk to the park the children loved looking at flowers and picked a few daisies. So today we are going to make spring pictures using our hands as the flowers and finger prints for bees and butterflies.

I haven't had an ofsted inspection yet so hope this will pass

[Optimalstar]

If you read article 3 that Michelle from Planning & Observation training sent us - old articles from Nursery World Nov 2012 - it says

"Planning needs to be child-led, with a focus on children's starting points, tracking their learning and development and how practioners influence children's learning.

There is no need for themes or topics "children don't do autumn, they do kicking leaves!" to quote Jennie Lindon. Children create their own topics and themes. The focus needs to be on the practioner's knowledge of what their children's knowledge of what their children's next steps are in their learning development.

Planning should not be completed a week or two weeks in advance, it should be done spontaneously, on the go, day by day with clear links from children's current interests and experience - in short child led planning"

I have printed this out and have this displayed on my notice board, whereas you are going to have to move house again to get enough wall space for all the posters, certificates, planning and emergency evacuation procedures this development officer wants you to have on display!!:laughing:

I didn't follow themes when I worked in a private nursery but I'm finding I do dip into themes now if a child's interest dictates one. we've done pirates, Chinese new year(it spanned two or three weeks as children were interested) and presently under the sea which is kind of an off shoot from the pirates as when doing pirates the children brought sharks into their role play and small world. One child's interest in sharks, he's a rising 5, led into research and I think he's been learning about sharks at school. So now my outdoor role play area(sand pit) is now not a pirate ship but an under the ocean sea world with a paddling pool full of small world sea creatures. My colouring, activity sheets, plain paper ( cut in shapes) and stencils are all sea creatures and the box of topic books are a mix of stories about sea creatures and non fiction books about the ocean and various different sea creatures. Sign language ( borrowed from something special magazine) on display are signs associated with the sea. Of course children all have access to alternatives as they can reach the storage boxes and shelves and choose something different.

My planning sheet isn't on display but normally laying around so parents could look at it if they wanted. However a copy of individual planning is sent home to parents- e.g. speech and language planning. My planning is generally a 'skeleton' plan of something I may do and resources that may be out to accommodate an interest the child had the previous week. E.g bags or things that allow for transporting for the child displaying a transportation schema. I fill the rest of the plan in as the week progresses highlighting the things they choose as child led. It helps me keep track of what's popular and not so at a given time.

[watgem]

Hi Hectors House mine is being made redundant too but keeps telling me that the LA is insistent on longterm planning and very detailed short/medium term planning even though I have heard that the government is trying to remove the LA 's control on this kind of thing t allow more of us to become funded, and even thugh at a cnference last year a fab reception teacher told us all his planning is in his head and Ofsted and LA were fine with it, I do find it frustrating when satisfactory preschols can get funding whereas god CMs have to jump through lots of hoops lol, anyway srry I've gone off topic here but I try and keep my displays simple and to a minimum, including planning, and am trying to work on emailing it to interested parents

[Boris]

I don't display my planning anywhere. I tell the parents what we've done after the event mostly! I don't do themes as such either. I read to the children a lot and if there is a story that they like, we'll pick it up and run with it. I will do activities based around the book, e.g. we have just done The Tiger Who Came to Tea. We painted a huge tiger and put it on the wall, acted out the story, made tiger masks, had a picnic etc. Parents saw the display and knew we were focusing on the story, that's as far as it goes!

[Optimalstar]

Awh I love the tiger who came to tea x

[sarah707]

I have just started displaying some weekly planning - to see how it goes as much as anything.

Some parents have taken an interest - others have ignored it or been too busy to look - it's only brief I'm not spending long writing it.

It's just one way of sharing information with parents. I would say if you do it in other ways then there's little point in displaying planning!

We need to find a balance :D

[kp0781]

Thanks for your replies. Tbh my parents won't be bothered as they have need with me for 2 years and are more than happy with what I do!!! Just seems something to do to keep LA happy.