Planning.................

[Jenum71]

do you fellow childminders do planning for the activities etc that you are going to do?

Do we need to do planning for OFSTED?

I always plan activities for the next coming week, the parents then know what their child is going to eat/do, causes less chaos/stress, you can get the right equipment in etc

I'm not sure if we need to do planning for ofsted but it definately looks better

sorry i'm not being of much help

I do a monthly newsletter on which I give a brief description of plans for month ahead eg activities involving numbers and the colour red. I then have a plan for myself the kinds of activities we want to fit in, but I find that they have to be flexible depending on mindees moods and energy levels. I also include on the newsletter any festivals etc in the month that we will be celebrating.
In my portfolio I have a list of general activities I want to do throughout the next few months eg includes hallowe'en, bonfire night, advent, xmas, autumn colours etc with a brief description of what I want to do for each thing and my ofsted inspector was quite impressed that I had been thinking ahead.

Ok thanks!

According to my ECP assignment, I seem to plan everything down to the last minute (but allow for "free play")! In reality, the only set-in-concrete planning tends to be specific groups that we attend (eg. music) and school runs!!

I don't think OFSTED expect everything to be mapped out and in writing, but they quite like us having themes, to appreciate different religious festivals, and so on.

I rotate the toys and activities we have during the week (a large loft houses my own mini Toys'R'Us store!) so I tend to suit certain things to whichever children I might have.

Just re-read my post, and it makes it sound as though I just muddle through my days ... !!! (I'm not that bad!)

I am

I do muddle thro'

Since I started in August I always make a weekly plan of activities and then a more detailed one for the bigger activites (Trips, craft projects etc) At first they were just for me but then I started to give a copy to the parents on a monday so they knew what their child was doing.

Anyway the one week I didn't get one done (V. ill on sunday and couldn't manage it) was the week that OFSTED turned up for my inspection (about 3 weeks late!) one of the only points she pulled me up on was planning. She explained to me it was better to have plans but she didn't say if we needed it if you get what I mean. I think it just makes it easier for them when they inspect you because they can read through them while you see to the children.
Karen