Ways to help your child with maths and numbers

Trying to put a help sheet together for parents so that they can support their children's numeracy? This is useful...

Ways to help your child with maths and numbers

management time - who is entitled to it?

I manage a team of 5 other practitioners in our busy EYFS unit. Yet we are all managers in our own right as we have the responsibility to observe, assess and plan the learning of each child in our key group.

The planning is done through analysis of learning and discussions during our team meetings but what about the other work involved such as updating assessment information and recording any significant evidence in children's learning journeys?

From the outset of my role, I have been committed to allowing each practitioner some PPA (preparation, planning and assessment) time. We are lucky as our ratios are favourable - in a large unit we have 1:15 in Reception and 1:9 in Nursery.

I shared my expectations with the team at the start of my contract and my belief that we should all be able to access some 'time away' to carry out our duties. This had never happened before - with the manager and other qualified teacher being the only members of the team that were permitted to take any PPA. 

It was agreed that we would all be flexible and plan accordingly for everyone to take time out each week to update their learning journeys and have some time to reflect and this has led to the rest of the team covering for a 1 and 3/4 hour period each day - with slightly raised but legal ratios in order for this to happen.

The result of this has impacted on the quality of planning, the range and suitability of learning opportunities and a deepened understanding of each Key Person's children. The cover periods are successful because the planning and interventions are so much sharper.

I realise that we are in a good position as we have a unit with very skilled and committed staff but taking the decision to release them has raised morale and had a positive impact upon the quality of provision.

During my many years as a consultant, I came across so many practitioners who were frustrated that they had no time during school hours to reflect. When it is only teachers that get PPA time it can also be very divisive - and the challenge for EYFS leaders is to be creative - looking to their own team and within the senior management team to find ways in which to ensure that EYFS practitioners who have Key Person responsibilities to access non-contact time. It may not be possible weekly but ways need to be found to allow some time during a half term.

The tiger who came to tea

Last term we covered a really great unit of work based on Judith Kerr's popular children's story 'The tiger who came to tea'. As it was such a success, I noted down some of the ideas that were used incase you may find them useful as a starting point for your own topic. Our 'Tiger Day' was particularly successful and as a result we intend to do regular theme days both to enhance learning and fundraise for resources.
I hope you find these ideas useful http://notecook.com/drinks/the-tiger-who-came-to-tea-planning-ideas-for-learning/

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

The nativity went well today - the lead star was too tearful to perform and spent the entire play perched on her mother's knee. One of the wise men dipped out at the last minute, refusing to wear his costume so only 2 kings and 3 camels made the journey to the stable. There were no little 'accidents' - which was a saving grace as we have had a few during rehearsal!

It has been a good day - the families enjoyed it and the children sang their hearts out! 

I realise today how I have missed being in school at this magical time of year.

EYFS and the information highwaymen

Why would you want to employ an EYFS consultant like me when you have google at your fingertips?

I am asking because today I have been thinking about my unique selling point (USP). If I am really going to build this business from scratch then I am going to have to ask myself a few challenging questions.

I have created myself a massive reading list (as if I am ever going to have time to trawl through it all) in attempt to keep abreast with what is going on in the EYFS sector. The tweeters have flooded in with tasty tidbits asking 'have I read this' or 'have i seen that?' - all very interesting I am sure but in a practical sense there is just too much bird seed to digest at one sitting.

This is a strength and a weakness of the Early Years sector. It is no wonder the practitioners and teachers at grass roots level are in a state of confusion. The information on hand is awash with commentators, politicians, experts and researchers who upload their opinions, points of view, studies and rants with enthusiasm, which on one level can be admired but on another be overwhelming.

At the core of all of this information are children. Children who need caring for, educating and nurturing through the earliest stages of their life. I can't help but think that we should be doing more to help busy teachers and practitioners through the quagmire of opinions and advice and instead be on hand to help them reflect on their own practice and the impact it is having on raising the standard of early education and care in this country.

Information is good and knowledge is very powerful. As I have said before, the EYFS sector must continue to build a powerful, knowledgeable and resilient army if it is to hang on to what we all know is right for young children. But information and training is not enough. We must build strong networks of professionals where we can reflect, debate and decide together what is right. This army must of course include parents, governors and senior leaders.

Investing in a good consultant means that you will have a critical friend by your side to help and support you through the changes ahead. A good consultant will offer objective opinions when they are sought and listen to your concerns with sensitivity and understanding. Academic papers, articles and commentary are too often one way traffic. As a consultant I help practitioners unpick information that they have heard or found - it is part of an important learning process for us both.

My USP (Unique Selling Point)

• I offer some time and space for settings and staff to reflect, evaluate and improve their practice through coaching and offering them key questions to guide them to be the best they can be.
• I can offer solid, practical and sound advice if it is asked for and I am happy to contribute with creative and energetic ideas about how to move practice on.
• I talk in plain English and where possible am committed to be jargon free. Where there are terms which need to be understood, then I take the time and effort to explain them and encourage questions.

Questions are good and in my world there is no such thing as a stupid question. We cannot hope to build a future for children if we are not prepared to fully understand what the expectations are - or why they are there.

I haven't been away from schools and children for too long. I am fresh out of an associate deputy headship and I know the pressures that schools have upon them in this climate. Money and time is tight but time for children is even tighter.

When professionals in the sector finish at the end of the year, they can regroup and start all over again. But a child doesn't have that privilege - after all,  you are only four years old once in your life!

Adventures with Adsense

Well that was an interesting ten minutes (which turned into an hour).
I have monetised my blog with a google adsense account but I had no idea what I was doing! Now it appears there are some adverts for restaurant coupons and a dating site on my blog. I wonder if the two adverts are inter-related. Go on a date and then produce the coupons when it's time to pay the bill!
I have absolutely no idea how the adverts are selected but no doubt I will get to grips with it all eventually!

I have spent the day looking at other peoples blogs - some of which are boring and some have been quite interesting. This has prompted me to ask myself what exactly do I want my blog 'to do'.
I want this to be a kind of diary really - an insider viewpoint of what it is actually like trying to start up your own freelance EYFS consultancy. I figured that as I actually only took my voluntary redundancy on Friday - it would be a wasted opportunity not to chart my progress.
So for a little change of direction - welcome to my very own learning journey!

Tomorrow is going to be a strange day. I am my own boss. Hmmm. This is a new feeling - no performance management, no targets set by my superiors and no 'having to get up at stupid o'clock'.
For me  - it also means not having to go to bed at a reasonable time, although I am not too good at doing that anyway.

I have written a list of things to do. The first one is go and buy some appropriate stationary (current list is written on a very scrappy piece of paper but hey - it is doing the job!)

I still have some goodbyes to write. I have done a few over the weekend and sent my new contact details to some colleagues I haven't seen in a while. Just writing the message that I have decided to go it alone felt strange in itself.

I think that is going to be one of the hardest things for me after having such a great bunch of people around me. So I have also made a note to my mental self that I must keep all avenues of contact open and build upon my network of people.

I've started tweeting, joined LinkedIn, commented on blog posts I have connected with, changed my email signature to link to my website, started a facebook page, and built my website all in the last week!!

So the playful learning journey continues - it is going to be an interesting ride :)

Playful Learning climbs the google listings!

I am on the SEO offensive to try and get my business website to the top of the google listings!
SEO (or search engine optimization) is vital if you want to get noticed with google. Your website may superb but it is worthless if no-one is going to get to see it.

So I googled the term 'playful learning'. My facebook page (linked to my business) is on the first page of google. But no sign of my actual website http://www.playfullearning.co.uk/ .

I then googled 'playful learning in the EYFS' and to my delight, my website and facebook page are position 2 and 3 in the google listings.

I must be doing something right!

Redundancy and the brave new world!

Just 2 more 'sleeps' and I will be a free woman! Well Freelance to be more exact.
I finish my associate deputy headship at school on Thursday and begin as a fully fledged independent EYFS consultant. After working for nearly 10 years for the local authority as a school improvement officer with a fantastic team around me, I know life is going to be very different.

Transition from EYFS to KS1 has been a large part of my focus over the past few years, alongside other related areas like change management in education. Change is both challenging and exciting for children and adults - and I am about to enter a period of great change professionally and personally.

This change is very timely. With public services in turmoil, education budgets being slashed and the coalition reviewing primary and EYFS provision then I am thankful that I will have some time ahead to read, analyse and prepare for this uncertain future.

I am taking a few days off over Easter but then I am fully open for business - http://www.playfullearning.co.uk/

Concerns over future EYFS inspection judgements within the whole school context

We already have a huge issue with inspectors understanding the playful learning approach in the EYFS. The EYFS review recommends that the EYFS is not be be inspected or judged upon separately which is a direct conflict between the reviews recommendations for playful learning and the primary curriculum review and consultation which is currently underway.
The new primary curriculum, it is rumoured will be based on a chalk and talk approach to the teaching of facts and rote learning with a return to the majority of teaching to be heavily directed.
I am gravely concerned that in the current climate, OFSTED will not invest in building their capacity to train and recruit EYFS specialists as inspectors. It will take highly skilled people to translate and correlate between the teaching and  learning requirements of the very youngest children to the primary curriculum.
Schools will need to prepare for the future by investing in training and support for their staff in order to empower them in delivering a playful learning in a way that makes it obvious to those who judge them.
The two issues that I am currently concerned with are firstly, we do have EYFS staff who are struggling with delivering quality learning through play. Focused, adult directed group work is often of better quality but breaks down when children enter periods of continuous and enhanced provision. Schools will have to be absolutely clear about what they are providing and supporting in terms of playful learning. For many teams this is a huge challenge - even ensuring that every adult has the same understanding and vision of learning through play and what it should look like is a struggle for some.
Secondly, the inspectors themselves will have to be qualified to judge playful learning and understand what it is and what it looks like.
On so many occasions, people judging the EYFS do not understand the nature of early learning and important aspects of child development. For example, many have commented during nursery inspections that children are playing alone and not interacting well with their peers. We should not have to explain to those who judge us that solitary play is part of the play continuum - spectrum if you like. I understand fully that practitioners should be encouraging children to playfully learn alongside each other but it is equally important to recognise that for some children, this is simply the stage in which they are at.
We are about to enter a very turbulent time in education at all levels - and we will need a very strong army of knowledgeable, confident, articulate and empowered professionals to protect the values of playful learning. Standing up to be counted is not an option - it is a necessity.

http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1063915/Inspections-judge-EYFS-whole-school/

http://www.playfullearning.co.uk/