Making a toy/resources catalogue. How to go about it.

[asatess]

Hi. I have lot of toys and resources stored in my cellar. My cellar isn't registered by Ofsted so the children don't go down there. I rotate the toys weekly. My network coordinator has advised me to make a catalogue of toys/ resources with photos. I asked if she meant that I should photograph each item but she said it could be generic. Does anyone else do this and how do you go about it. Do you use real photos or, for example, just a picture of a doll. And what sort of headings or catagories? I have no idea where to start.

[KateA]

hi I used really photos of my resources and put them in a flip album for the children to look at. I grouped toys together so outdoor ride ons, junk modeling , small world etc x

[Maza]

You could have a search through the photos that you have already got. I'm sure you have one of the painting/playing outside/playing with blocks etc and could use that as an activity board/book rather than photos of each individual toy.

I started taking photos of toys but by the time I had a spare moment to start printing them out my mindees had grown out of the young toddler toys and were into more pre-school toys/activities which I hadn't originally photographed. I decided it was too much work and abandoned the idea. My current mindees are more than happy to ask/tell me what they would like if it isn't out already. If I had a child who struggled with this then maybe I would look into it again. x

[bunyip]

Exactly why would you want to do this?

In all honesty, if my network co-ordinator was coming up with ideas like this, I'd be advertising for a better ideas man. She clearly has more time on her hands than any CM I know, so maybe she'd like to do the work she's so happy to create for you.

Here's the SP. An Ofsted inspector will want to know that you have sufficient resources. You can show that you have enough for your day-to-day needs by showing her what you have out at the time they inspect. You can tell her there are more in the cellar and that you rotate them according to need and the age/stage/interests of the mindees. If she doubts you, then give her a torch and kick her down the cellar steps. If she's scared of spiders, put her ar5e outside and lock the front door (safeguarding) whilst you descend the cellar to bring up a few samples....... it will never get this far.

I had a reasonable number of books on display at inspection. I told Mrs O that I have more in the loft, to rotate, and we visit the library regularly. The nice lady was good enough to believe me, without asking for a list, the loft ladder or a trip to the library to blow the gaff on my cunning deception (....well, probably because it was true.)

Am I the only one who gets heartily sick of network coordinators, DOs and their ilk who are determined to justify their own existence by making ours more difficult?

[loocyloo]

You could have a search through the photos that you have already got. I'm sure you have one of the painting/playing outside/playing with blocks etc and could use that as an activity board/book rather than photos of each individual toy.

I started taking photos of toys but by the time I had a spare moment to start printing them out my mindees had grown out of the young toddler toys and were into more pre-school toys/activities which I hadn't originally photographed. I decided it was too much work and abandoned the idea. My current mindees are more than happy to ask/tell me what they would like if it isn't out already. If I had a child who struggled with this then maybe I would look into it again. x

That's how I feel! It is on my SEF as something I want to do ... But more so there is something there than because I really think I need to!

[asatess]

Ha ha. Love some of the responses. My network coordinator does seem to always leave me a chore to do. To be fair, my last inspection did say that the children should have more opportunities to choose their own toys, which I think is what she is addressing. But no I don't really want to photograph every jigsaw, bead set etc!!

[mumofone]

I was going to make a simple list/inventory of all toys, might this be easier for you to do? Spd taking photos of each item though!

[luckylady22]

I was going to make a simple list/inventory of all toys, might this be easier for you to do? Spd taking photos of each item though!

Hi, at my first Ofsted inspection one of my recommendations was to make toys and resources more accessible to children, so by the time my next inspection came around I had spent many hours taking a picture of every toy/resource that I had, printing it laminating it and putting it in a lovely flip chart book and leaving it out so the children could choose if they wished to do so. Lovely Mrs O, picked it up, flicked through it, told me it was pointless for a 7 month old baby and threw it on the table, suffice to say, I stopped taking pictures, and never used it again, at my last inspection, I just explained the toys/resources I had out were what was on offer that week, I had a couple of next step activities for the children that I had that day, and that was it, she was more than happy with that.

[Maza]

If the toys are in your cellar and a child wants to play with a particular jigsaw, what are you going to do with the children whilst you go down to your cellar to dig it out?

There are other ways of allowing your children to choose what toys they play with. What is your storage system like? Are they able to reach the shelves/boxes where the toys are stored? Do you put toys out each day or do you let them go and get something? x

[rickysmiths]

Hi. I have lot of toys and resources stored in my cellar. My cellar isn't registered by Ofsted so the children don't go down there. I rotate the toys weekly. My network coordinator has advised me to make a catalogue of toys/ resources with photos. I asked if she meant that I should photograph each item but she said it could be generic. Does anyone else do this and how do you go about it. Do you use real photos or, for example, just a picture of a doll. And what sort of headings or catagories? I have no idea where to start.

Just to say Ofsted no longer Register different areas of our homes. We risk assess and use where we like so if you RA and decide in order to chose Toys etc it is safe for the children to go with you into the cellar then you can do that.

[rickysmiths]

Hi, at my first Ofsted inspection one of my recommendations was to make toys and resources more accessible to children, so by the time my next inspection came around I had spent many hours taking a picture of every toy/resource that I had, printing it laminating it and putting it in a lovely flip chart book and leaving it out so the children could choose if they wished to do so. Lovely Mrs O, picked it up, flicked through it, told me it was pointless for a 7 month old baby and threw it on the table, suffice to say, I stopped taking pictures, and never used it again, at my last inspection, I just explained the toys/resources I had out were what was on offer that week, I had a couple of next step activities for the children that I had that day, and that was it, she was more than happy with that.

And I have to say Mrs O is quite right! However I know a cm that photographed her toys and resources and the places they went to like the park and put it in a photo album under the areas of learning. It was lovely but a lot of work. It was useful for her with the older children who could look at the book and ask for things that were not out all the time. She didn't disappear to dig them out the min a child asked she usually got them out the next day if it wasn't safe to do at once. It was also lovely to show visiting parents because it showed a better range of age appropriate things that were not always out.

I have started but it is a lot of work.

[julie w]

I have started to do this (over 2 years ago) I cut some pictures out of a catalogue of the toys and resources I have and plan to do photos of the rest. Though it could be another 2 years til I finish it.

[hectors house]

I have photos of the toys in the boxes eg: box of Duplo, box of cars, box of wooden bricks, box of playmobile - children choose what they want to play with and then they come to the garage (internal door through) to help me get them.