CMs - I am having a NIGHTMARE with my planning

Read article in Sunday Times. Said the government had asked for the review your link shows but that they had already pledged to abolish it as it stands. May be just a paper exercise with a pre-determind outcome!

A review of EYFS was ordered yesterday

Is this what you mean, HC?

Oops,excuse spelling! Too many fingers going at once.

happyclapper do you have a link?

Just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons,it's not going to help you much at the moment but to put the EYFS into some perspective I recently read an article discussing a huge study that has been done on the effectiveness of the EYFS curriculum and it was found that it was of no advantage to children AT ALL. Those who have been through it either in a nursery or home based childcare setting were no more advanced/prepared for school than those who hadn't. And surprise, surprise the government have decided that they are going to scrap it ithin the next 2yrs as it's cost them billions to implement, has lead to the loss of nearly 5,000 childminders and what was the other reason......oh yes, it doesn't achieve asnything. Lookes like the Conservatives are good for something!

They're not at all worried about planning in advance as my last report testifies. They want to see how you monitor each child's development in terms of progressing through the EYFS and how you link the activities you provide to the child's interests, strengths and learning.

I basically do not do any planning - personally I think too much emphasis is put on childminders to 'plan' for this and that.

The only planning I put down on my paperwork is when I do a monthly (yes a monthly) observation. Then I do the ob, assess what the child is doing, likes to do, and then put planning - i.e. what I plan to do next.

If the child is learning to walk, I plan to help him/her with that etc.

If child is interested in trucks, plan to get the books, cars, trucks out.

Yes, I do probably do a lot more other stuff like a daily diary which is a whole page for each child, but I would be tied to planning for four children every day.

I just don't do it and I'm sure Ofsted wouldn't be that worried.

I also have lots of issues with planning, as when I try it gets thrown out of the window - when mum says "we went to the seaside this weekend and collected lots of shells" BYE BYE planning, as while the child is interested they will learn loads more, so I go with what they enjoy.

Like BALD I do have a general yearly plan, as mentioned, and fill in other areas with children's personal likes, then do observations, to put in their learning journeys, ensuring I am covering all the areas of learning and development.

I do a basic weekly plan including the basics, such as park, playgroup, soft-play, walks, messy play, library, look in the learning journeys at what areas I would like to cover with each child.

I am trying to learn to become less stressed, I have recently done a questionnaire for parents to gain feedback (for future OFSTED inspection, and for the same reason the local nursery and I swapped learning journeys, and quite frankly mine were much better . Everyone is happy, I do the best I can with the time and resources I have and am trying to let some of the stress go.

No you don't have to show they have covered every point. I review the activities I do to make sure I cover all area of learning regularly. I make notes of each little bit of development matters I have seen evidence of on that particular child's learning journey. I don't worry about covering every bit - it is a guidance not a tick list.

You need to try out a few different formats and see what works best for you. Just bear in mind that you need to keep it as simple as possible and only write down what is actually useful. You won't get brownie points from Ofsted for writing things down for no purpose.

sorry for essay

my planning goes a bit like this:

yearly broken down into seasons then broken down to things or events to celebrate, birthdays/mothering sunday/fathers day/diwali/chinese new year, that kind of thing

This is the very basic framework on which I hang everything

Each child has obs sheets that I fill in, maybe one a week, maybe more or less depending on lots of things (time, are they having an explosion in development, are they here every day) and at the bottom I write the next steps and stick in a file

then at some point we do the next steps I suggested on the prev sheet and I write an obs sheet and carry on

Also I use the sticky pad system, brief notes that I stick into a form divided into the 6 areas of learning. I collate these over a 2 month period and then assess using a grid provided by the early years team and pass the whole file to parents for comment. This is a very clear indicator of whether any areas of development are being 'missed' because you might have say 20 on physical and 2 on KUW (exaggeration but you get my drift)

I follow the children's interests and don't do topics AT ALL

This works because I care for a small amount of children all part time

I have a sheet which I complete each day as my planning.

I pick about three activities from each day which I write up. This includes mealtimes and nappy changes because they are great learning experiences. I have one box for a few sentences about what we did and why. A column to tick the areas of learning that were best supported and a box for evaluation and next steps. This shows that I am following the children's interests, linking to the EYFS and planning next steps in response to their learning.

That is the sum total of my planning because I don't see the point of planning in advance.

I have a list of ideas for activities to draw on at moments when I'm struggling for inspiration but rarely use it because the children choose that activities each day and I follow.

I also fill in a learning journey for each child which is basically EYFS Development Matters with boxes to fill in with little details and dates. This was provided by Worcs EYCS. I put photos in there but rarely use formal focussed obs. I don't see the need unless there is a concern because as a childminder you have a small group of children and observe them closely all day every day anyway. Ofsted thought this was a great system because it meets the ethos of the EYFS perfectly.

I hope this helps you.

sent some stuff over give me a shout if you have any questions.

Just wanted to say,that dropping a morning sleep in 8 months old baby is not something you should aim for.Some children have a morning and afternoon sleep until 18 month,and it is perfectly normal for a healthy developing.

Obviously every child is different,but I wouldn't rely on the fact "she will be better if she drops a morning sleep".Children needs a lot of sleep at that age and maybe she is not sleeping enough in the night,so perhaps speak to her parents how long did she sleep at night,is she teething,waking up and so on.

You are doing all the right things and just starting to get to know her,so fingers crossed for you.

You can just put a couple of notes about next steps on the bottom of her observations. I have never yet written a detailed plan, because the children would change it anyway.

You may find it easier if you split your daily routines away from planning then you wont get to bogged down.

This is what I do I have a laminated list on the wall with our daily routine.

I have a topic that runs with the childrens interests so atm its the farm, next will be dinosaurs etc.

With the topic I don't plan as such, we go with the flow each day and fit our normal routine around the theme, so story time would be animal stories, rhymes old mcdonald, playdoh animal shapes, painting crops, flowers, you get the drift.

I then observe from what the mindees do during these things, I have blank obs sheets in the playroom and if I can I do it straight away, otherwise I go through the day books later and do a batch.

For actual planning for the individual child I do termly, then I link to the obs sheets and carry forward any missed or areas that I feel can be covered more thoroughly.

If you like I can email you some bits.

lollipopmother, you are doing exactly what you should be doing in the mornings which is meeting this baby's needs. Write down what you did and why. There will be bits of the EYFS under PSED (building secure relationships, etc) that it covers beautifully. Then do a line of how well you think it worked and what your next steps could be.

E.g.: She cried but stopped when you sang a particular song so you will do that again tomorrow.

Or: You asked mum what her favourite music or tv programme was and listened/watched together. It worked so you'll do that to settle her each morning.

or: she sat on your lap banging some toys together - next step could be to give her a wooden spoon and a pan to sit on your lap and bang (ok - perhaps you're too sane to do that but you get my drift).

When you've done that write it down, take a photo (close up?) and hey presto you've linked her learning to your planning!

You don't have to make it complicated or in depth and you can use meals and nappy changes in a similar way, not just play activities.

crap sensory??

Wooden spoons, and sieves, and bits of rope, and wooden blocks, and a sponge, and a stone??

So should you go for a walk to get her to sleep in the buggy?

Does she need more (or less) breakfast?