Our New Planning Process
We recently overhauled our planning process, in favour of a system that brings you as the parents into our planning structure, with an in-depth insight into what your child’s life is like at the nursery. We refer to this system as ‘in the moment planning’. This ensures that the setting is more child-led, giving them free will when it comes to making choices. We have restructured the way we store play items and toys, so that children have free reign when it comes to what to play with and how to play with it. This offers an enabling environment and allows children to explore and investigate using their own initiative. Observation, assessment and planning are all carried out by a moment-by-moment basis.
So where do you come in?
Each child will be a ‘focused’ child at least once a term, with observations on all children still being carried out. When your child is due to be a ‘focus child’, you will receive a parent consultation sheet to fill in the week before, as we want to know your understanding and knowledge you have of your child, and we would like you to share anything significant happening in your child’s life at the moment. Together, we will plan activities to meet your child’s needs, helping us plan for their future learning and development. Activities that occur are recorded when the cycle is complete. These records are on the learning journeys for the focus children and on "planning in the moment" sheets for activities in which a group have become involved.
Why do we work in this way?
We put focus on the children, not on the activity. Children learn and experience in the here and now, and don’t store up their questions and curiosities to ask tomorrow or the next day. It is in that moment of curiosity, interest or question that is the teachable moment, where the adult can step in with the answer or encouragement. By using this cycle on a moment-by-moment basis, the adult will be always alert to individual children (observation), always thinking about what it tells us about the child's thinking (assessment), and always ready to respond by using appropriate strategies at the right moment to support children's wellbeing and learning (planning for the next moment).
What is the point of 'in the moment planning'?
One of our main focuses is for children to become independent, free-thinkers who make their own decisions about what they would like to do. Our nursery environment is varied in terms of different rooms with different contents, as well as safe and secure outdoor areas. All areas are unique and offer different experiences and challenges. All areas offer a workshop style environment, with minimum items pre-set on tables, meaning that the children can select what they want to do in each area without being influenced.
How do the adults facilitate this?
Our staff are there to facilitate learning through observations and interactions. Our staff get to know each individual child very well, and have a sound understanding of child development. This ensures that the adults enhance and extend the learning at the appropriate level. Our staff build relationships with children, helping them to learn to socialise and react in different social situations.
Our Ofsted Review
All children progress well in their learning and development. The nursery team effectively monitors their progress and identifies their next steps of learning.
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Nothing is more important than your child's wellbeing. We provide a caring and stimulating environment in which your child will flourish.