Is your head spinning with all the talk about the EYFS ?

[angeldelight]

Just wanted to hear everyones views about the EYFS

I have had so many messages in the last few weeks and every one of them are from members who are worried

Although we are trying to help everyone who comes here with lots of information - most of the members who have contacted me have been scared by what they are reading and a little overwhelmed with it all - thinking that we know it all and they dont

This is not just from new members either !

A lot of them have been on training / meetings like myself and been told to keep it very basic and simple but then you come here and get scared away thinking you are doing it all wrong

I dont think there are any right or wrong answers - I love paper work and I am not fussed by it but will still keep it brief

Some like to do pages and pages

But if you want to keep it simple that is fine too

What are your worries / concerns ?

Are you scared ?

Do you think that you are going to get it wrong ?

I have heard a lot of childminders are giving up because of the EYFS
That is such a shame

Maybe all of this is going around and around in your head and you just dont know which way to turn ?

Then tell us - we can all help each other

Angel xxx

[2kidsunder5]

Hi Angel

I for one am very daunted by it all. I think I have just about sussed it out when something else comes along. I got my head round doing observations then found out that I have to have a risk assessment for every single outing Then along came the SEF

I have not yet been on any course - I have an EYFS briefing session on Thursday evening. I have ben told by our co-ordinator that courses are being arranged for planning / observations and SEF. Thing is this is a legal requirement come 1st Sept and I feel let down by my local authority. All of the information I have has come from this forum - THANK YOU

I know of childminder in my area that have no idea what to do and I am sure there are many others around the country.

It seems to me that this has all been in the planning for ages, we have known it has been coming, but lack of training is a big issue.

To be honest I feel that alot of it has been and is being over complicated. I said in a previous post about a obs I did that was like an essay, then I see one on Bromley that is only a few words. I feel it is a confidence thing with me, I just need some one to look at what I am doing and tell me it is ok.

Rant over

Diane xxx

Please excuse the spelling my computer has lost its spell check ability

[crazybones]

I am not scared or worried by it at the moment. I can only do what I think is right and if I have got it wrong what is the worse than can happen - its only paperwork - the kids dont care unless they can draw on it. I am just fed up that nothing is straight forward. For example getting online to the SEF - that is doing my head in. I wanted to get everything in order for when I get back from hols so I can start fresh on 1st September but I am getting all my paperwork mixed up and maybe that is my fault for leaving it late but there are not enough hours in the day. Probably why have felt so rough the last couple of days. I am not going to think about it when I am in Spain.

[mimo]

I feel ofsted dont want to make it easy for us .For example its 2 quite thick booklets to read and the cards i dont know about anyone else but as soon as i pick it up i lose the ability to take any of it in ,its not written in a clear and consice way. They could do with giving us bullet points that are short and direct with what we need to do (someone is probably going to tell me there is and that i have just missed them ).
I do also feel that alot of the directives are trying to turn us into mini nurseries which is not what i want to be nor what any of my parents want me to be ,One is refusing to let me do written obs on her children as she sends them to nursery 1/2 the week for that and to me to have a home from home enviroment her 2 older children are at school all day so she wants them to have a less structured evening as she said if she wanted alot of structure they would be in full time nursery settings and after school clubs in the evenings ,she is herself a foundation stage teacher so has quite a good grasp of the eyfs. But they are just my views and i am sure in a couple of years time ofsted will replace it with the next fad.

[welshgirl]

I find the amount of paper work overwhelming, and I feel that I am being pushed into almost setting up a nursery environment. I am struggling to find time to do all of the paper work.
There are a lot of childminders in my area that are giving up, and the ones that are not, have put their rates up. I will follow suit and put my rates up too.
I find the booklet hard to understand, I wish they could just put it into plain English. I have not yet had training as the previous two courses were full. I have put my name on the waiting list for a course in November, but I am guessing that Ofsted will be visiting me before this time. I will just have to do what I can and if it is not good enough then maybe they will give me a low grade, but I fail to see what else I can do, with the lack of information that I have.
Most of the information and tips I have is from this website. I think all registering childminders should be told about this website. It really is fantastic.

[Pipsqueak]

Like Angel says - keep it simple and basic.
Top advice and posting there from Angel

Like Angel I don't mind paperwork (apart from accounts but that doesn't qualify lol ) but I am still not doing reams of stuff.

Start of simple, get organised, read the pack little by little (get Sarahs stuff ) take it all one step at a time

We all have different methods of working and what works for us may not necessarily be right for someone else. Treat what you read on her as pointers in the right direction and experiment till you find something that works for you.

[Mrs M]

Hello, I enjoy doing the observations but there is conflicting advice as to how many we should be doing. I have been told that the minimum is two per month which is fine by me as I've done about five per child for July. I do a simple photo ob form with the child's name, age, the date of the ob, a photo, a description, the area/s of the learning and dev that it relates to and the next steps. It's fairly brief and very straight forward. I also keep a "memory book" which has photographs in it which is for the parents when their child leaves my setting. The last thing I do is a monthly observation record which I send home to the parents. This details the child's development and is very detailed. This is something that isn't required but the feedback I've had from the parents has been good. I am fortunate that I don't do before and after school and I have three children on my books plus my own son. Yes, I find it difficult to find the time but when the children are playing in the garden, I'll sit on the bench and write a few notes. I like what the EYFS represents but I do feel that it's been talked about so much and it's become a confusing issue. Also, during my training, even the trainer didn't know some of the answers! However, the training overall was good. The main place to learn is here and from Sarah Neville! I have just had NVQ assessors here today and they asked me what I think the EYFS is all about and they were happy with my answer so it must be going in!!!

[2kidsunder5]

I have just had NVQ assessors here today and they asked me what I think the EYFS is all about and they were happy with my answer so it must be going in!!!

I completed my NVQ3 in June and my assessor had no idea about EYFS!!!

Diane xx

[Mollymop]

No, I am not scared or worried to be honest. I am going to take it all one step at a time. It's a change that not only us childminders are going to have to go through but Ofsted as well, so I hope it won't be too bad. I hope that after the first few months of EYFS we will all be feeling a lot better about it and wondering why we were worrying in the first place.
As long as I have this forum, I will cope.

[ChocolateChip]

The main thing that worries me is the obs, assessments (better not shorten that one down! ) and planning.
I feel a bit like Diane, I think I know what to do, and get all fired up and ready to go, then I read something else and I start panicking again.
I am booked to do courses in Sept and Oct, and luckily I have had my inspection, so I should be able to think rationally and take it step by step- but I hate this feeling of not really knowing what to do first.
Also it's probably me being totally thick but there seem to be a heck of a lot of Early Learning Goals to cover, are we supposed to have evidence of everything, or just a few spread over the 6 areas.
I know ticklists are frowned upon but I was going to try and develop one to use alongside a more detailed record with photos etc, that could be updated every 3 mths, say, but there are so many goals in the different areas I would be there for ever.
I fully apreciate the advice about keeping it simple but I can't seem to see how to do that.

[ChocolateChip]

Emma, I have just re-read your post, don't know why it didn't sink in the first time, but that's me! Anyway that has just given me a clearer idea of what I will do- so many thanks for sharing that!!

[Spangles]

I get stressed because I think I've got it all organised in my head and I know what I'm doing and then I read a thread on here where someone is doing something very 'deep' and complicated and I get all confused again!

I've actually thought about giving the Forum a break for a while so that I can avoid this happening but I'm just going to give the EYFS threads a wide berth for the time being.

I think that EYFS is quite easy to follow and do and reading everyone else's ideas is just complicating it for me! So, for my own sanity I'm going to just do my own thing - I think!

[Chatterbox Childcare]

Hi

I was confused and have taken it one step at a time.

No one can confirm how many obs per child Ofsted want, so until they do I am sticking with one per month. I have got my obs sheet ready and if it isn't right I am sure Ofsted will tell me.

I had some time free this afternoon and read both EYFS books front to back and found that the information on the cards is the same as the written summary before each section. If you look closer there isn't a lot in the requirements and they give you ideas for your planning.

Next is the CD ROM which I think will give some visible help for planning, assessing and observing.

One thing I am short on is where to track each child's progress. Anyone got any good ideas or something in writing???

Lastly, I have seen posted on this forum that we need to do risk assessments which I agree but I cannot find anywhere in the framework that says we need to do school runs, toddler groups etc.. Where did I miss this? I have done standard ones on each room, garden, car, equipment etc...

Don't be phased by it, take it one step at a time.

Debbie

[donnahay0]

I had been worried about the observation and planning - was already doing it but didn't know if I was doing it right or how many I should be doing.

Anyway, the EYFS course didn't really give me anything I didn't know what it did do was confirm that the processes I already had in place were ok and it has given me the confidence I needed to just get on with it and stop worrying.

Once you break down the welfare requirements bit by bit you come to realise that we are doing most of it anyway and just needed tweaking here and there.

I looked at it as a positive thing and it has given me the opportunity to look at my business as a whole - which I can only see as a good thing for anybody who is self employed and wanting to get on the best they can.

I was nervous to begin with now all I can say is Bring it on!

[donnahay0]

[CODE]One thing I am short on is where to track each child's progress. Anyone got any good ideas or something in writing???[/CODE]

Debbie,

I took the information from eyfs framework Appendix 2 - Areas of Learning and Development. There are pages of information on development matters,look, listen & note, effective practice and planning and resourcing.

I am using the statements to put together my assessments I suppose a little bit like the trackers books but using my observations to back it up in more detail. Then I add ideas for the next steps. Once every term I print it off and give it to my parents who write down their comments - they get photos along with it which makes them happy.

I aso do daily observations (more for the little ones) this is based on a very simple form and they only get done if I think something is worth noting down. I then do one or two more detailed observations on particular activities during the month.

My simple form layout is:

Date / Observation / Areas of Learning (tick the relevant box / Evidence / next steps

My evidence box consists of O/P/A - Observation only, Photo attached or artwork attached - this just makes it easier for me to make sure I attach a photo at a later date when I finally get round to having them printed.

My observation and next steps for this form are literally one liners like - H took two steps unaided. Next steps - provide heavy based walker to help his confidence.

Don't know if this makes sense

[Chatterbox Childcare]

Thanks Donna

It does help

Debbie

[miss mopple]

I think the thought of the EYFS is more daunting than the actual thing tbh.

I already do scrap books and obs etc and have just formalised this into a Learning Journey so it is less haphazard. Its a simple system that has been designed by our local NCMA team and works for me.

I spent all day yesterday tweaking my policies to ensure that they tie in with all the welfare requirements and am happy that the legal side is all ok and I'm doing everything I should be ( well, except for sacking DH as my assistant but I'm going to write to ofsted today to do that).

I already do risk assessments so no problem there.

I have literally broken it down into manageable chunks and got my head around it bit by bit and its fine. Once I get stuck in its not as hard as I thought.

I think a big key is not to get too bamboozled but what we read online. So many people have their own ways of doing things, and its great that everybody shares info and working systems, but from that you have to pick and choose what is relevant and manageable to you. There are some fab records forms etc that people have shared, but they may not necessarily suit,so its best to find your own way of working and stick to it.

I have yet to start tackling the SEF though so may yet change my mind about the whole thing

[breezy]

I get stressed because I think I've got it all organised in my head and I know what I'm doing and then I read a thread on here where someone is doing something very 'deep' and complicated and I get all confused again!

I've actually thought about giving the Forum a break for a while so that I can avoid this happening but I'm just going to give the EYFS threads a wide berth for the time being.

I think that EYFS is quite easy to follow and do and reading everyone else's ideas is just complicating it for me! So, for my own sanity I'm going to just do my own thing - I think!

SNAP! I'm going to do what I think is right and keep it simple, I loathe paperwork and do not have time to go into great depths with eyfs, so I'll see how I go