Welsh practitioners issued with toolkit for Foundation Phase
A practical guide to implementing the Welsh Foundation Phase has been published by Estyn, the training and education inspectorate for Wales.
HM Chief Inspector Bill Maxwell at Pilgwenlly Primary School, Newport
Play and Active Learning is intended to be a toolkit for Foundation Phase practitioners. It sets out eight questions to help teachers and classroom assistants take an overview of their provision and review how well they currently plan, deliver and assess learning.
It highlights examples of how schools in Wales have applied an innovative approach to play-based learning activities, which range from staging a role play of The Three Little Pigs, to planting and cultivating an outdoor allotment.
The Foundation Phase has been statutory for three- to four-year-olds in Wales since September 2008 and was extended to four- to five-year-olds last month (News, 9 September). It will be statutory for all children aged from three to seven by the 2011-2012 school year.
Bev Jenkins, author of the report and Estyn inspector, said, 'We felt it was too soon to monitor how settings are using the Foundation Phase curriculum, but we wanted to visit lots of settings and playgroups and gather examples of good practice. We have turned the information into questions that practitioners can ask themselves to help them review their practice.'
Dr Bill Maxwell, HM Chief Inspector, added, 'Perhaps the greatest challenge is working out how to reap the benefits of a more play-based, experiental curriculum, but in ways that still maintain a strong focus on the need to improve achievement and attainment.'
Further information
Play and Active Learning is at www.estyn.gov.uk
