your planning?

**littlepixies** · 02-11-2009, 07:18 AM

Hey guys... just trying to find a different way to create less paper work with planning....
at the moment i do a theme spider diagram of ideas for that following month... then break this down in to weeks with another page which lists activities in the eyfs sections to show how they link

Does any one just do a weekly plan... not broken into days so it can then adapt easier to different situations? so its the week in adavnce with list of activities.. which then have the link to part of eyfs?

would be nice to hear thoughts just feel i have so many parts for my planning.

**sweets** · 02-11-2009, 07:34 AM

i dont plans as such!

mrs ofsted and my DW told me that detailed plans arent necc.

short term plans are just your next steps on obs
medium planning is things like what days you go to toddler grps, soft play etc
long term plans can just be a list of festivals and birthdays.

i told ofsted at my insp that i just go with the flow of what the children want to do and the weather! she said thats absolutely fine and reams of paper are not needed.

if your planning works for you then go for it, but just letting you know that it doesnt have to be done

moogster1a · 02-11-2009, 07:48 AM

I'm with sweets.I don't write down planning. I know when the playgroups are and festivals etc. and short term planning might be having a walk if the weather's nice rather than playgroup or craft play inside etc.

**helenlc** · 02-11-2009, 08:14 AM

I use the weekly planning sheet on this page: (scroll down about 3/4 of the page)

http://www.bromleycma.org.uk/eyfs/planning.html

I find it quite easy to fill in and link things to the EYFS.

Hope that helps

**sarah707** · 02-11-2009, 08:19 AM

With the little ones, I work in the short term mostly from children's interests.

But I also have a long term plan including festivals, community events, birthdays, celebrations etc.

I have a lot of older children after school and it's important I include them as well so I do a lot of group planning for them.

Hth

**Chatterbox Childcare** · 02-11-2009, 09:24 AM

I have a 2 year rolling plan for themes and then a monthly plan incorporating 2 activities based on these themes per week (not always used) and then I add into the month as we go along.

I don't link until the end of the month as it could all be time wasted if the planning isn't done.

**Ripeberry** · 02-11-2009, 10:19 AM

I've been involved with our local pre-school for years and they used to always do planning and themes and recently they were told NOT to do any planning just very basic stuff related to festivals and seasons and focus on each individual child instead and base things on their interests.
So in a way I suppose it makes MORE work, but it's all more relevant.
I don't plan anything myself, I just go by the mood of my mindees on any given day and also it depends on the weather! I'll still input seasonal activities (playing with leaves, making crafty things with an autumnul theme) and incorporate festivals, but it's not written down as such

**PixiePetal** · 02-11-2009, 11:56 AM

I only have 1 part timer at the moment

I have a file called IDEAS.

Broken down into months with festivals/celebrations written down and activities for those or where to find things about it in books/online.Then a rough theme and ideas with areas of learning noted by the side.

I sometimes use these but sometimes not

- they are there if needed or we need some ideas. Jogs my memory for past activities too which can be repeated/changed.

**littlepixies** · 02-11-2009, 12:05 PM

Hello.... gosh.. i thought that we HAD to plan activities on a daily basis for those were looking after and make sure they are linked to eyfs.. and filed for ofsted, so noww im well confused.

do i need to plan? or can i just have a file of activites lol

or can i do observations... then put follow on activity and where its linked? but i dodnt do observations every day..

**youarewhatyoueat** · 02-11-2009, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by littlepixies

Hello.... gosh.. i thought that we HAD to plan activities on a daily basis for those were looking after and make sure they are linked to eyfs.. and filed for ofsted, so noww im well confused.

do i need to plan? or can i just have a file of activites lol

or can i do observations... then put follow on activity and where its linked? but i dodnt do observations every day..

Go with what most have said, and the plans you make should be very loose and adaptable to the childrens interests, I have an ideas folder which is just my continuous provision to show what we can do. I 'plan' to go out every morning and do messy play or whatever, I have a short term planning sheet which I jot down ideas for next steps, this I use untill it looks a bit scrappy then get another out, it could be a few days or weeks, it doesn't matter. you do what works for you, with the minimum amount of paperwork and time.

**Madminder** · 02-11-2009, 03:35 PM

When I was first accredited 8 years ago I did topic webs as part of my medium term planning and then made up an activity sheet for each of the activities included on the web, linking them into what was then the Foundation Stage and filing them away. Each weekend I would look at my medium term plan to see what the theme was for the next week and pull out a selection of 6 or 7 activities for that theme and check that I had the resources to do them. Then each day I would look at the weather, judge the temperament of the children and decide which, if any to do. Often I would end up taking a lead from the children (the best way in my view!) and do something completely different! Then I would just make up a new activity sheet for that, make a note of the date it was done and file it.

This worked well for me and Ofsted and EY were quite happy with it. I haven't been accredited for a while now but carried on doing it anyway and when EYFS came in I just updated the activity sheets with links to that and it work fine.

My minded 3 yr old just started nursery so I asked them if I could have copies of their medium and short term plans so that we could work together and ended up being asked to go in for a meeting. The head was very suprised that I even knew about EYFS, let alone had read the pack and was working within it! They have just had their Ofsted inspection and got good but do not have any medium term planning and their short term planning is all child led. Ofsted were happy with this! The meeting ended up being very productive and now she has asked to come along to our childminding group so that she can learn more about how childminders work - if only more nurseries were like this!

**littlepixies** · 02-11-2009, 03:41 PM

yes see thats sort of what i have been doing... the topic web with ideas scattered then broken down in to weeks for that month with one activtiy for each day on a weekly sheet then broken in to links with eyfs

Think im going to just do a monthly topic web with activites scattered.. colour coded link with eyfs. then just write up each activity if i do them dating too.

**Playmate** · 02-11-2009, 04:13 PM

[QUOTE=Madminder;564419]When I was first accredited 8 years ago I did topic webs as part of my medium term planning and then made up an activity sheet for each of the activities included on the web, linking them into what was then the Foundation Stage and filing them away. Each weekend I would look at my medium term plan to see what the theme was for the next week and pull out a selection of 6 or 7 activities for that theme and check that I had the resources to do them. Then each day I would look at the weather, judge the temperament of the children and decide which, if any to do. Often I would end up taking a lead from the children (the best way in my view!) and do something completely different! Then I would just make up a new activity sheet for that, make a note of the date it was done and file it.

This worked well for me and Ofsted and EY were quite happy with it. I haven't been accredited for a while now but carried on doing it anyway and when EYFS came in I just updated the activity sheets with links to that and it work fine.

My minded 3 yr old just started nursery so I asked them if I could have copies of their medium and short term plans so that we could work together and ended up being asked to go in for a meeting. The head was very suprised that I even knew about EYFS, let alone had read the pack and was working within it! They have just had their Ofsted inspection and got good but do not have any medium term planning and their short term planning is all child led. Ofsted were happy with this! The meeting ended up being very productive and now she has asked to come along to our childminding group so that she can learn more about how childminders work - if only more nurseries were like this![/QUOTE]

What a result

wish we could have more nurseries like this.
Over the last year I have tried so many different types of planners and got my nickers in a twist, basically because i want to keep my outstanding I was trying to impress. when Mick went into hospital 6 weeks ago all written plans went out the window, have the children suffered? No I think they are benefitting more from taking each day as it comes and doing things on the spur of the moment. With 6 children under 5 rangeing from 11mths to 4yrs, I thinks our plans are better being fluid and unrestrictive and if Ofsted ever get round to doing our inspection (4 years now

) I will tell them so!

**PixiePetal** · 02-11-2009, 06:03 PM

OctoberAutumn, Book week, Diwali, Grandparents Day, apple day, Halloween

AutumnMake a hedgehog and put him in hibernation box(NCMA Magazine) CD, KUW

Book week ( 5th- 11th) Visit to library CLL
Make a book mark CD
Read lots of books CLL
Make a book CLL, CD
Talk about favourite book/characters CLL, PSED

Diwali (17th)Story if Diwali KUW, CLL
Decorate a candle CD
Indian sweets KUW, CD,PSRN
Rangoli patterns PSRN, CD, KUW
Mendhi on paper hands CD, KUW

Grandparents day(4th)Make a present for Grandparents KUW, PSED, CD
Make a card for grandparents KUW, CD, PSED

Apple day (21st)Buy and try different apples, look at differences KUW, PSRN,
Pick apples PD, KUW
Make apple cakes CD, PSRN
Apple printing CD
Baked apples KUW,
Story – Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellog KUW, CLL
Apple worksheets, dot to dot/colouring CD, PSRN,

HalloweenPaper plate spider web – cut out middle of plate, punch holes round, thread with wool. CD, PD

That was my October sheet of ideas/planning. Used some of them and keeping for next year - will add things when I find them. Only one part time mindee and with free play too we were quite happy

**Madminder** · 03-11-2009, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by Sally McGeown

What a result

wish we could have more nurseries like this.
Over the last year I have tried so many different types of planners and got my nickers in a twist, basically because i want to keep my outstanding I was trying to impress. when Mick went into hospital 6 weeks ago all written plans went out the window, have the children suffered? No I think they are benefitting more from taking each day as it comes and doing things on the spur of the moment. With 6 children under 5 rangeing from 11mths to 4yrs, I thinks our plans are better being fluid and unrestrictive and if Ofsted ever get round to doing our inspection (4 years now

) I will tell them so!

From what the nursery (and others I have spoekn too) said Ofsted now seem to be quite happy with child led planning as long as you have profiles/learning journeys for each child showing that you are observing and moving them on.

**Madminder** · 03-11-2009, 12:45 PM

Originally Posted by littlepixies

yes see thats sort of what i have been doing... the topic web with ideas scattered then broken down in to weeks for that month with one activtiy for each day on a weekly sheet then broken in to links with eyfs

Think im going to just do a monthly topic web with activites scattered.. colour coded link with eyfs. then just write up each activity if i do them dating too.

What you do sounds very similar to what I have been doing Pixie. I have founf though that doing an activity sheet for all the activities on the topic web was worthwhile even if I didn't use them that time. They are all in a file and cross referenced so I can pull them out and use/re-use them whenever I need to. Saved time on forever thinkling up new ideas, especially when you have new mindies.

I would really love to see a standard, but flexible, activity sheet that all childminders could use and that there was a mechanism for sharing these through networks, support childminders, childminding groups and online forums. It would save us all so much time in planning, nursery chains do this all the time so why shouldn't we?!

**The Juggler** · 03-11-2009, 01:20 PM

I just use a spider gram for the month with some activity ideas and areas they link to. I don't do more than that as it's all fluid and activities change or new ones come up as I follow the children's lead.

**Blaze** · 03-11-2009, 01:50 PM

I have a file with loose themes for over the year with activities linked to EYFS & extensions to follow up activity if needed. I only plan to do a few activities a week - but should a child show interest - the planning is all there for reference. Whether that fits into the topic I'm on or not - it's part of my continuous provision IYSWIM. I do obs - next steps - then draw from my folder to meet individaul needs.

HTH

**Playmate** · 03-11-2009, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by Madminder

What you do sounds very similar to what I have been doing Pixie. I have founf though that doing an activity sheet for all the activities on the topic web was worthwhile even if I didn't use them that time. They are all in a file and cross referenced so I can pull them out and use/re-use them whenever I need to. Saved time on forever thinkling up new ideas, especially when you have new mindies.

I would really love to see a standard, but flexible, activity sheet that all childminders could use and that there was a mechanism for sharing these through networks, support childminders, childminding groups and online forums. It would save us all so much time in planning, nursery chains do this all the time so why shouldn't we?!

Here Here!

I think the one thing that stresses us all out is the fact that we all do things different and we always think someone else's way is better than ours. Some counties do have uniform paperwork that can be used by all settings, I just wish this would be bought in nationally.

**ChocolateChip** · 03-11-2009, 03:03 PM

Sally, I agree with you completely, that's exactly how I feel!

I have bought Sarah's planning book which is really useful although I don't do as much as she does

I choose a theme for each month (still fairly new so will try not to repeat the same things each year), write down some ideas of what activities, crafts, books, toys, events, etc. will link to this, make quick notes of how each item links to EYFS/ ind. needs and then see how the month goes- if we do the things on the list then great, if we decide to go to the park instead then that's fine too, we'll save the activty for another time.