You may be aware that we are no longer using the red ‘Learning Journal’ books to keep photographs and observations on your child.
We have decided in light of the new Early Years Foundation Stage guidance, that we are going to be using ‘In the Moment Planning’, to allow Key People to spend more time with the children and less time completing unnecessary paperwork.
We would like to explain ‘In the Moment Planning’ to you.
What is In the Moment Planning?
Planning in the moment is nothing new, it is exactly what a parent naturally does every day with their child, it is also exactly what a skilful practitioner has always done. Every time an adult looks and listen to a child they are assessing and planning how to react. The adult will be considering whether they can add anything in the moment to benefit the child. If so, they will respond and interact accordingly.
What will this look like?
The nursery setting is organised so that each child can decide where to go, inside or outside, which resources to use, whether to be alone or with others and for how long they want to stay at an activity. This is what we call ‘free flow play’. This allows the child to be more involved in their play and follow their interests. However sometimes the child might get distracted for a number of reasons: they may not know what to do or how to do something, or how to use a piece of equipment, another child may be disrupting their play or they may need help. When this happens, the child will seek help either from another child or an adult. This is when our skilful staff step in and assess what is needed for the child to carry on. This is what we would call a ‘teachable’ moment. These moments will be recorded as observations.
However, we will only record these teachable moments for Focus children each week. This keeps paperwork to a minimum for our staff and allows them to spend more time playing and talking with the children.
What is a focus child?
We will be focusing on specific children every week, one child from each key group each week. Your child should have one focus week each term, three focus weeks in a typical year.
The Key Person will then record the teachable moments and interactions that have taken place for that week and these will be kept in a file and recorded as Learning Stories. The stories will build over time to produce a journey for their time at Arlesdene.
How will I know when my child is a Focus child?
Your child’s Key Person will tell you if your child’s is the Focus child for the next week. When it is your child’s Focus week you will also be sent a form to complete and return to your child’s Key Person.
What if my child is not a Focus child?
Just to reassure you, all the adults will be interacting with all the children as they normally do, but just recording interactions with the Focus children.
How can I help my child?
The week before your child’s Focus week, you will be sent a form to complete so that you can tell us about any interests or events you will have done or will be doing in that week. This will be need to be sent back to your child’s Key Person by the Monday of the Focus week.
At the end of your child’s Focus week, your child’s Key person will discuss what has been happening that week at school with you, either in person, by phone call, email or Zoom. You can share anything you have seen, send in photos or notes about any learning that is happening away from Nursery and together we can work together to support your child learning.
We feel sure that ‘In the Moment Planning’ is the best way for us to move forward and if we all work together each child will flourish.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask a member of staff.