Small Settings EYFS

Small Settings EYFS

by: risingfox - 05-11-07 18:46

After having attended a conference on EYFS which was organised by our local borough it was clear yet again that the government is keen to phase out the small private nurseries and no longer interested in the well-being of the child. Everything is based on 'play' and child initiated. What about numerals and letters? We are the ones to prepare children who go on to reception classes where a child who can write his/her name is welcome, who recognises numbers and letters. Oh no. everything is play and very little adult initiated.

Observations and assessments. We should be hands on at this stage which is so important for children at nursery school age. The children can rule the classroom they no longer need us.

I discussed the EYFS with my staff and they are all extremely depressed. There is no future for nurseries. The government should have looked at education as whole in this country and see that it is already a total failure. Pride and individuatlity are out let us join the mass.

by: Rose

I'm presuming if you're teaching letters and numerals that you are QTS? I never taught these except through games, songs, rhymes etc just because I didnt want to teach something the wrong way, unless the child was particualry interested and then I would support them. I like the idea of having a document that makes people observe and more importantly use those observations to help each child to develop. Theres nothing to stop interactions taking place while at the same time a note book is jotted on, its good for the children to see us writing, it confirms that marks have meaning, and writing has a purpose. We all learn best when we are happy, so following a childs interests is best for everyone, less bad behaviour from boredom, or from having to do what they dont want to. The reception teachers I have spoken to over the years were particulary happy if children could listen, join in, follow simple instructions, dress/undress and could work independently, it would be a very sorry state if all our children were only welcome in reception if they can write their name.

After all these are babies, who should be playing at their own pace.

RE: RE: Small Settings EYFS - 06-11-07 16:06

by: risingfox

Thank you. Yes we also teach the children through games, songs, rhymes, poems etc. We wait until the child is ready to introduce them to numbers and letters. We teach them the Montessori way. All letters phonetically. I quite agree that children should see us write which is very important but I don't agree that we should  write down observations all the time. We love being with our children. It all depends if the children go on to the independent sector or state sector.

 

 

by: maz18

i think that children should be able to be children untill they go to school.

by: tezza

hello there just wondering if anyone has started planning for the new eyfs yet am just beginning to discuss it in my setting and wonder if anyone has any ideas we cater for 2 - school age children and we want to update planning for them and am getting stuck could anyone help pleeeaassee

by: max321

Hi we starting using the EYFS in september and it has revolutionised the way we work with the children.  We are all much clearer in our knowledge of what interests them and are then able to plan more effectivly from this and this has resulted in better behaviour and more focussed play which has to be benificial for all children.  An added bonus has been that staff are more knowledgable and this has impacted on our relationship with carers.  We have produced sheets containing the main goals from age 2 - 5 and put a space next to each to put in our evidence, these are obtained from daily observations using sticky labels which the keyworker then updates to the childs files. This then shows where each child is and, more importantly, what activities they are accessing and therefore areas to expand on. hope this helps

by: tezza

your ideas sound great any chance you could email me a copy to look at would be most grateful

teresa@josland789.freeserve.co.uk

by: risingfox

Delighted to read that some practitioners are happy with the EYFS. I would also be most interested in receiving a copy to look at. Thank you and good luck with your hard work!

RE: RE: Small Settings EYFS - 13-11-07 11:29

by: max321

will send an example sheet as the whole document is 40 pages and is too much to e-mail. Let me know your address

RE: RE: RE: Small Settings EYFS - 13-11-07 21:21

by: tezza

not sure how to let you know my address would love to see your documents but how

by: Millie

Has anyone read the recent documentation from Early Years and Childcare International - the Evidence project?

It is a really interesting find! - I have read all the replies in this section and it is great that so many practitioners have a passion for the children they care for.

But recent statistics state that our education system has gone pair shaped due to introducing early education methods into pre-schools in order to prepare the children for Reception.

It was never meant to be a pre-school remit that that children should be able to read or write before entering Reception.  Indeed research has shown that children starting so early often burn out in Year 1, and do not go onto further education in this country compared to most of Europe.

Nordic regions such as Denmark, Sweden and Germany for example do not start formal education until 7 years old.  Prior to this they are at Kindergarten where they undertake child initiated play, learn to socialise and form relationships.  When they undertake formal education at 7 their standard of education in terms of reading and writing far surpases ours very quickly in that first year.  A lesson which the government are begining to take on board and review. 

So many times have I been into settings as an Assessor and Internal Verifier to support nvq students, to be shown how well the children  are sitting down, doing writing, maths, not allowed to be children.  Some are little old ladies and men echoing their teachers and parents, learning merely through rote.  But what these children seem to lack is freedom of choice, spirit (apart from those children who are jumping from the ceiling due to lack of outdoor play. or freedom of choice).  Half of them when they leave to go into Reception, can not put on their coats, dress themselves or communicate effectively with their peers.  These are the basic skills which children need to cope when moving up into Reception.  Even Reception is being reviewed and it has been announced that play will now continue to be the format introduced for learning and that Year 1 they will begin more formal education.

So practitioners take note, let the children play, observe and plan for their development in only the way that we have been taught - to enhance their development, not hinder. Let the children be children and play indoors and outdoors.  When they go into year 1 introduce formal education slowly, alongside play.  They will be adults soon enough!

by: Millie

Me again - found these quote by Owen (the founder of the nursery school sytem in the UK)

 I have found the children have derived very little benefit from being rapidly instructed in reading and writing, particularly when no attention has been given on the part of the superintendent to form their dispositions and their habits (Owen, 1927, p.88)

Today we hold thge pupils in school, restricted by those instruments so degrading to body and the spirit - the desk and material prizes and punishmenbts.  Our aim in all this is to reduce them to immobility and silence - to lead them where? Far too often toward no definate end.  Often the education of children consists in pouring into their intelligence the intellectual content of school programmes.  And often these programmes have been compiled in official department for education, and their use is imposed by law upon the teacher and the child.  Ah! Before such dense and wilful disregard of the life which is growing within these children, we should hide our heads in shame and cover our guildty faces with our hands (Montessori, 1912, pages 26 to 27).

by: Rose

Interesting quote from Montessori. The opening post said they teach them the Montessori way. I'm possibly reading things wrongly, but would that not be at odds with Maria Montessori's approach?  Unless the poster is a Montessori trained teacher in which case she would know better than I.

by: Millie

Yes I agree, quote does seem out of  character with Montessori approach, asked my Foundation Degree teacher last night and she said that they did not go to school until around 6/7 in those days (1912)! - just goes to show how we have bought the system forward to meet parents needs and the governments for getting parents back to work. 

by: lexie

by: lexie

by: monty

Montessori discovered how young children loved attaching the symbols to the sounds and then blending these symbols to communicate through a written language.  This is not at odds with her quote above bemoaning the teaching of empty disconnected facts - filling an empty vessel.  The approach Montessori devised from her observations of children was developmental rather than teaching, i.e., children are natrually inquistive of the world around them, our task is to satisfy that natural curisiity rather than dictate the timing and content of their learning.  If a child has had experience through rhymes, songs, and lots of i-spy, has had the chance to coordinate the movement of their hand through practical, purposeful activities, has had the opportunity to move from puzzles to more precise discrimination of shape and form, they all that is happending at around 3.4 or 4 is that the next step is to combine interest in sounds of words with the symbols that represent them.  From there is is not great leap to express youself though construcing short phonetic words, and doing similar with reading.  This is not teaching reading and writing, it is following a natural interest at a timetable dictacted by each individucal child.  This is very different from saying to a group 3, 4 or five year olds 'we are all doing to these letters together now' (whether you like it or not).