Do I need to plan?

[Vikkileeds]

I have been planning for my under 5s but other childminders at my local group have said they don't plan full stop. On my course I was given a planning example but not sure if they said it was compulsory. I have long term planning which basically has a topic each month. Then I do daily planning e.g. trip to park, painting, bug hunt, I then link it to an area of learning and then give a sentence on how the children found the activity.

What do other people do?

[sarah707]

It depends at the end of the day on how much you are happy to do and what you want your inspection outcome to be... if you do a little bit more then it tends to follow that you will do better at inspection.

If you enjoy planning and it improves outcomes for the children then keep doing it...

the only thing I do differently is show my individual planning. Each child has an individual play plan which shows their interests and then what I have planned for them to follow their interests.

Hth :D

[handeme]

I currently have 2 1 year olds so dont done monthly topics or yearly plans.

I plan weekly for them, list the days of the week and the activities we are doing and which area of the EYFS it links too. That way I am sure I am covering all areas.

I do a monly newsletter which I detail a book and rhyme of the month, which we do and read everyday so the children know the actions and movements.

c x

[sfox2003]

Like Sarah said, it depends on how you want to do at inspection. I dont think its compulsory to have planning, however it is compulsory for you to consider the childrens interests & plan/arrange activities for that.

I keep very thorough plans because I want to have plenty of evidence for OFSTED and my Network Coordinator. Having the plans not only prooves what I am doing but it also helps me reflect on my practice.

I have a long term yearly plan. Then i have weekly plans which I insert what we will do on each day & how they fit into the 6 areas of learning. The things I plan for directly link in with observations Ive done on the children. I mark on who Ive planned the activity for, it could be all the children I have on that day or just one or two of them) and then I highlight what kind of activity it is ie 'child lead', 'adult initiated', 'parent linked' or 'other setting'. On the back of each weekly sheet I jot down all the incidental things weve done that I couldnt plan for (to take it one step further and prove I am responding to the childrens likes/dislikes/interests etc). You know yourself, you can plan but 50% of your day happens spontaneously, so I try to record those things as 'incidentals' on the back of my weekly sheets.

I probably do too much, but I find it manageable. Its a good system and its ALL about evidence if you want a good/outstanding when OFSTED inspect.

HTH's