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It's been a little while since the last newsletter - hope you haven't missed us too much! The new EYFS is now upon us and the FSF is as busy as it's ever been with discussions on how it's being implemented - visit the EYFS forum to read through some of them. If your parents are wondering what all the fuss is about, the Every Child Matters website has a useful leaflet explaining it from the parent's perspective. It would be great to get some feedback from any settings that have been inspected by Ofsted recently, to see how they are interpreting the EYFS.
For any of you who are taking an EYPS pathway (or who are already EYPs), you may be interested in a new website resource we recently launched - EYPSf, which can be accessed at www.eyps.info. This is only fully accessible to EYPs and candidates who work within local authority areas which subscribe to the EYPSf. You can check whether your authority is amongst them and find joining instructions at this page. If not, remember you can always access the EYPS forum area here at the FSF.
We're delighted to welcome Plymouth City, Milton Keynes, Medway, Portsmouth City, Wigan and Newcastle to the local authority scheme and the FSF. Teachers, practitioners, and other providers from these areas can now register and subscribe free of charge (visit the LA index page to learn more).
Additionally the following authorities have renewed - members need do nothing, their individual accounts will automatically be re-subscribed:
Welcome back to you all!
Play and Exploration
The importance of play and of practitioners who are "playful".
Enabling Environments
How can we ensure that the environments we provide will extend and support children's development and learning?
A Unique Child
What does the EYFS mean by the term "a unique child", and how can we support each child's individual development?
What Lies Beneath?
An analyst's personal view of some key issues and challenges surrounding the success of the new EYFS
Attachment Theory and the Key Person Approach
The Key Person Approach is now a fundamental part of developing secure relationships between staff and children in early years settings. Why is it so important and what is the theory behind it?
Positive Relationships - The Principle: Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person
Martine Horvath discusses critical aspects of positive relationships and how to promote them in your setting.
There have been far too many conversations since the last newsletter to do them justice. But here's a small selection:
Mark making and handwriting
"...I have a few children who have started back this term showing the interest to write their names. In my setting we do provide lots of activities both inside and out that supports and strengthen Gross motor skill. We also provide lots of marking opportunities such as table top painting, gloop etc etc. I feel that as they have shown this interest I should be supporting it and provide support to form the letters correctly so they do not have to re learn when they start school in Jan. However what I am concerned about is being told this is not my job and that I should leave it to school. Obviously I will not be sitting and making them trace all day long but as the situation arises. Perhaps you have used some good ways to support these skills...."
Initial Assessments
"...I have just started out as an NQT in a reception class. I need to do intial assessment with the children but I am confused by what evidence to collect at this stage - i have done write your name, going to do number recogniton and sound recogniton. Am I on the right tracks? I spent last week playing with the children and this week trying to do assessments, with the observations being very thin! Any ideas for intial assessments and guidance on doing intial obseravtions would be grateful as I am feeling like I am behind with everthing, i dont think I will be starting proper lessons next week!...."
Taking over payroll from committee
"... I am currently the manager of a committee led pre-school and I am looking at doing it without the committee...
Is anyone else aware of or using a payroll company to pay the wages, sort the p45/60's and help out with the payroll?..."
Busy outdoor area
"... We've just introduced proper free-flow outdoor for everybody (at last - thank goodness) whereas before we said 8 children at a time. I plan for one adult always to be outside and one to be inside (me and my TA take turns each day). The thing is that almost everyone is outside!! I think its great when I'm out there, but I feel a bit odd when I'm inside with a tiny number of children and my TA's got everybody else! I'm beginning to wonder if my indoor environment planning isn't interesting enough..."
Putting Principles into Practice
"... How are people referencing the four principles into practice in their planning. Any advice greatly appreciated..."
Let's Celebrate the good things in your setting with EYFS
"...I thought it would be good to celebrate together what we are doing well, what changes we might have made that are for the better. It doesnt mater how small, but just think, what has gone well for you in the past few weeks, and tell us about it..."
Learning journeys help
"...HELP I am really struggling with how to set up learning journeys, any help would be gratefully received ..."
Multi-sensory room
"... I have just taken on a job as nursery teacher in a maintained nursery school teaching 3-5s. Havent taught quite this young before and am having to make some adjustments. I have been given the task of converting the music room into a chill out/multisensory room while still being needed for music sessions - does anyone have any ideas?..."
EYFS Ofsted
"... Monday morning as I arrived at pre-school two Ofsted inspectors were waiting. After all our hard work over the summer spending weeks researching formats, looking at implementing child initiated activities and deciding the best path for us to take we went back to work determined to meet the challenge of EYFS. As you will all know the first few weeks can be hard when you have new starters and our plan was to settle the children into pre-school over the first two weeks then really begin to implement our planning. You guessed it the first morning this was due to occur Ofsted were at the door. We had three new children including twins who cried most of the morning, one staff member had phoned in sick and we thought we were ready!!!! How wrong we were! The result satisfactory in every area. For me it was a bitter pill to swallow (we have always been good) especially as we were the inspectors first setting inspected under the EYFS and they had put us in as a childminder had come up first but they felt two inspectors turning up on her doorstep may have been too much (I agree) so we were up first..."
If you're having problems with the 'View New Posts' feature, try using the 'Today's Active Topics' link on the forum index page. You can set it to show topics that have been started or contributed to over the last 24 hours, the last x days, the last week etc.
The Foundation Stage Forum - more conversation than you can shake a big stick at...