In the moment learning

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Looking for advice re schools for my 3yo.

One of our local schools seems really lovely. Children are really happy, staff seem really warm. They mentioned that they use "in the moment learning" and "helicopter stories". I've looked these up (I am not a teacher and know nothing about education) and they seem like great ideas, but I as wondering how they actually work in practice? This is a 3 form entry school in a very socially mixed area of London. Class size is 30 and they have one TA floating across the year. How on earth do they manage to actually teach anything?

Our other option is the polar opposite - very strict with the attitude that the children should finish the activity set and then they can go and play.

My daughter is what you might term a "free spirit" (if you were being kind!) and I really don't know what would suit her. She'd love the first school, but would she actually learn anything??

Thanks for any advice!

All schools have to cover the National Curriculum but these two do it in very different ways. Arrange to visit the schools while they are teaching and see what you think. Look up the SATs results.

Thanks! We have visited. The first school was happy chaos. The 2nd mich more structured.

Historic sats results not great at the first one but it's hard to judge because of covid, plus they've recently had a new head. 2023 results not published yet - will be out in December apparently.

Early years do not cover the national curriculum, the Early Years Foundation Stags statutory framework sets out what children must be taught in their early years.

Op thr first school sounds fabulous and exactly how early years should be.. children learn through play! The second sounds draconian.

Please don't insult the practitioners in early years by assuming they are not teaching anything... they will be facilitating learning in a much more personalised and individualised way than at the second school!!

Fwiw I've been teaching in earthly years for 15 years and I'm now early years lead in my school and across a large MAT. I also lead training with the local authority.

Early years not earthly years 🤣 (it does feel longer at times!)

Thanks @Mammyloveswine

I didn't mean to insult anyone, and "teaching nothing" was an exaggeration, but it seems literally impossible for any human to facilitate that sort of learning for 30 kids! If you could explain how it works it would be really helpful and make me feel much more comfortable 🙏

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This is a good link!

www.structural-learning.com/post/in-the-moment-planning-a-teachers-guide

Thanks @Mammyloveswine that's really helpful.

It sounds wonderful and like it would work amazingly in a private school with 15 kids per class/loads of TAs, but I still don't understand how it would work in practice with 30 children and one teacher to observe and watch for the "spark".

The school mentioned having "focus children" - each child apparently has one week as the "focus child" per term. Putting that together with the info in the link seems to suggest that they only really get "observed" for one week out of the term, which doesn't seem ideal...

If anyone has any experience they can share that would be great. It seemed like a lovely school with lovely teachers and I want to chose it for my daughter but at the moment I feel a bit uncomfortable because I don't understand how it functions.

Bumping for anyone with practical experience of in the moment learning in an under-resoursed state school...

One last try...

So my youngest DD is at an infant school that very much believes in learning through play. So in reception, she got a phonics input and maths input every day. There are activities are set up and there’s free flow through the two classrooms and in the outside area which is large. They don’t have free flow for maths and phonics. It is very much organised chaos and they also follow the children’s lead. However it’s amazing how much the teachers picked up about her, despite having a class teacher, the reception classes teachers were very much a team and everyone contributed to the observations. They also encouraged my DDs to try different activities. I wanted my DDs to love learning and enjoy school both of which has happened.

The school still have an element of free flow and playing in the afternoons even in year 2. Academically she’s excelling in reading and maths, and her writing is really coming on. She‘ll go to the juniors next year where things are more formal and the results are good. (DD1 is at secondary and doing very well academically and socially.)

Look at the whole school rather than just reception - what happens further up? I always look at the year 6s (or year 11s in secondary - we’re in an area 11-16 schools) is that how you’d like your DC to turn out.

Thank you @Ionacat that is really helpful and reassuring, and I really like the advice to look at the year 6s!

You also want to consider your child's personality. Free play can look lovely, but not all children thrive on it.
My oldest and youngest far preferred year 1 where it was structured to year R which was free play. (In ds' case part of it was that he had glue ear so couldn't hear anything that was going on in year R)

I teach in the 1st school type of set up. Go for the 1st school, you can bet that the teaching will be very specific, differentiated and developmentally appropriate. By the time the children are older they will have all the tools needed themselves to get alot from formal teaching approaches. It's really hard work for staff but great for kids and based on their needs 'in the moment' and not pushing them through the mincer because the plans say so!

Thanks @MargaretThursday, I think she'd prefer a bit of structure, but I'm mainly worried about her being told off all the time for running around and talking, and then being put off school!

Thanks @PTSDBarbiegirl !

Are able to say a bit more about how you choose which children to focus on at what time, and ensure they all get sufficient attention? I don't doubt that you do it really well, but it would be good to have a tangible idea of how how it works!

'In the moment'. Nursery staff make regular observations and assessments of your child's development. They do this by watching them play, playing alongside them and by engaging them in some adult lead activities. 'In the moment' means that they know what your child needs to learn as their next step to help them make progress and teach it 'when they can ie asap ie in the moment'', rather than planning to do it two weeks on Friday.

This is when it is most relevant and they already have your child's attention and interest. This allows the child to then practise using opportunities to try out the new vocabulary/knowledge/skill in their play. It means if staff have a good understanding of child development then they can spot 'teachable moments' matched to children's individual needs and can do it there and then.

It is built around play opportunities or daily routines eg learning to fasten their own zip, have a go at wiping their own nose whilst looking in a mirror so they can see the impact of their actions/ self-care etc.

Sorry, that was long!

With in the moment planning, lot of thought is given to the environment, what is provided and making everything accessible to children.
Young children instinctively learn through play, and through interactions with each other. Adults spend time with groups of children in the environment, it isn't just 1:1 time with individual children.

The teacher might observe a group of children exploring weight and capacity in the sand and water area, so might decide to intervene by asking questions (encouraging thinking together) making suggestions or sharing her knowledge, or adding other equipment to the area.

The teacher will be observing children constantly - the 'focus week' just means that during that week they will write down a few of the observations.
Not writing observations all the time frees up teaching time - in the time a teacher has got out an ipad to take a photo and write an observation about Jimmy filling buckets in the water tray, she could have introduced new vocabulary, pointed out how the marks on the side of the buckets can be used for measuring, made suggestions about which buckets hold more water etc.

Now the structured school might teach capacity on a particular day or lesson, by having the children sit on the carpet and watch the teacher demonstrate capacity and show them a scale with millilitres on the smart board. The children then might have a capacity worksheet to complete before they can go and play.

The curriculum is the same in both schools, the learning objective is the same - it just happens in a different way.

I'd go for more structured and smaller class sizes. Or Montessori. If she's a free spirit. State schools can be brutal places. Smaller classes are better.

Thank you @makeminealargeoneagain ,

And thanks @WonderLife ! That's exactly what I was looking for. It sounds a bit less utopian than the theory and I can envisage how it works which really helps.

Thanks @Flyhigher - I wish smaller classes were an option but sadly not 😔. 30 kids per class in all of the potential schools.