Following on from my recent blogs about different types of observations here...
And carrying out joint observations with Ofsted inspectors here...
And developmentally appropriate next steps here...
And the learning characteristics here...
And tracking children’s progress through the EYFS here...
I have been asked to write a blog about planning – so here you go!
I see lots of planning forms shared by childminders keen to ask my opinion. ‘Do we do enough?’ they often ask me. Sadly, a lot of childminders do way too much planning (in my opinion of course –and if you are happy with yours please don’t change it!!) and completely overwhelm themselves every week with complicated planning sheets provided by over-helpful Local Authority advisors who started out wanting to improve practice but left their common sense in the office.
‘What does your planning look like?’ childminders ask me… well my planning works for me and it might not work for you, but I am more than happy to share what I do, because it’s manageable and it helps me. However, if it is not manageable and it doesn’t help you then please don’t use it!
I use 2 main types of planning – individual and group.
This is the most important – it helps you to show that you know your children really well. It includes information taken from as many different places / people as possible including –
· The child – observations of their current interests, learning styles etc; talking to the child and asking what they want to do next;
· The child’s family – taking account of what the child is doing at home in the evenings, at weekends, on outings etc;
· My own ideas – developmentally appropriate activities I think the child/ren in the provision might enjoy based on the seasons, weather, numbers, letters, songs and rhymes etc – all the things that children enjoy doing inside and in the garden;
· My resources – using the toys and games I have in my playroom and garden shed to extend children’s learning as much as possible during their time with me;
· Outings – to the park, toddler groups, walks in the local area, singing sessions, soft play, meeting friends etc which support the children to learn about the world around them, making friends etc;
· Other settings the child attends – if relevant.
My individual planning is very simple –
· I say what the child has enjoyed doing – this is often called retrospective planning…
· I talk about experiences I am going to provide for the child to do next… I can’t make the child do them, but I can supply the ideas and resources and make them exciting and interesting so the child wants to join in and learn new things…
· I talk very briefly about what the child has done when joining in with our group planning (which I will talk about in a moment).
I use my play plan to record individual planning – you can find a copy with a completed example on the Independent Childminders Facebook group
My play plan is in free files on the Childminding Forum here and there is a completed sample on the Facebook group (please excuse the handwriting!)
I know, before you tell me, that it is not a requirement to record / write planning for the group. I use group planning because it works for me. I care for quite a few children through the week between the ages of 1 and 10. They are all part time, so my group planning is a series of ideas for things we might do to celebrate a festival, mark a global event, think about a special day etc.
Group planning complements individual planning – most of the day is taken up with meeting children’s individual care and learning needs. Group planning is the little bit extra that I do to support children to learn new things… and take their learning in new directions. It doesn’t really work for younger children unless they want to join in.
Date – March 30th
Theme – Mothering Sunday
Why? – I always ask myself – why am I planning this? What will the children get out of it? Is it worthwhile? Does it reflect their current interests? Is it something they will understand? There is no point in planning if I am so far off beam that nobody ‘gets’ it and all my plans go in the bin.
So… why plan for Mothering Sunday? – I will write some planning / gather some activity ideas because the children have seen cards and gifts in the shops and some of the older children have asked to make cards for their mums.
Activity ideas – these ideas can be planned inside the house, when we are on outings, in the garden etc. They focus on things the children might enjoy doing. I will, of course, change them depending on the children’s ages, their abilities, likes, dislikes, interests etc. These are just some general ideas for the week… we will probably do lots more as well and I will write them in later.
So… activity ideas for Mothering Sunday might include – talk to the children about significant femals in their lives (PSED / C & L), card making / craft / collage (A & D), talking about our mums (C & L) and why they are special (PSED), taking and printing photos (UW), learning a new song to sing to mum (A & D), writing mum a poem (Lit), making mum some buns (Maths) etc.
Outside activities – these ideas are focussed on the garden and taking learning outside. Ofsted are looking for planned outside play every day, so I find it helpful to have this section in my planning to focus myself.
So… outside play activity ideas might include - planting daffodils (UW), making mum a chalk picture (A & D), writing ‘mum’ with paints at the easel (PD), buying flowers and arranging them to give to mum (UW).
Book of the week – I always have a book of the week in a basket with some appropriate puppets or small world characters to help bring it alive. Sometimes, the children will choose a different book and that is fine – we will go to the library and see if we can find it if I don’t have a copy on my shelves. Over the years I have built up a collection of special books for different occasions – we read them through the year but they become our focus book for special events and festivals.
So… our book of the week for Mothering Sunday is ‘My Mother’s Sari’ by Sandhya Rao.
Home learning idea – it is a requirement of the EYFS to share ideas about how children’s learning might be extended at home. It is not a popular requirement among childminders – but it is a requirement so let’s look at how you can comply with it easily.
So… home learning idea for Mothering Sunday – give parents a copy of your bun recipe, praise their child’s stirring technique or counting ability when they added the decorations - and suggest they make the buns at home with their children. Yes, it really is as simple as that.
Main EYFS links – I have given you links in the planning sections. I just note what I have covered in the children’s learning. I don’t link to statements in EYO because that is not necessary – EYO is not a tick list, it is guidance to suggest what children might be doing at each age. I simply link to main areas of learning, knowing that I plan across all 7 areas of learning throughout the day anyway - when children are involved in our care routines, outings, outside play etc.
Other group activity ideas – if there are other important things happening like a birthday or local event, I will add a note to remind me here.
Comments – I want feedback from parents and children because that’s how I improve the service I offer! I am not worried if the comments are negative because they help me more than positive ones – although of course positive make me feel good! I ask parents or children verbally for their thoughts and I write something down – it doesn’t take me long and it’s not an exact science. If feedback is particularly useful I include it in my SEF.
I keep my group planning and put it into a big folder filed in month order. I use it in future years – I have ideas from magazines and online as well as my own notes so I do not put children’s names or family details on my group planning sheets. I am not the most creative person in the world so if we do something crafty and it works, I take a photo for my album (no children’s faces) so I can remember what we did next year.
You can do lots of other types of planning - if you want to and if they work for you. A lot of childminders use continuous provision planning - you don't have to but it can be helpful. If you would like further information about different types of planning, please see my e-book 15 ‘EYFS planning’ available for £4.99 from my Knutsford Childminding website.
I am happy to answer any questions you might have – please email me, tag me on the Facebook group or find me on the Childminding Forum (sarah707).
Chat soon, Sarah.
Here is my annual planning calendar for this year detailing some of the multicultural, diverse and religious and home festivals and celebrations we MIGHT cover with the children depending on time available, their interests and ideas for their learning. I don't keep rigidly to a timetable - if the children's interests take them in other directions that is great because they are still learning... I hope you find it useful x