A guide to the revised EYFS: Part 4 - Planning

The issue of planning in the EYFS is one which frequently gives rise to heated debate because of uncertainties about the 'what' and 'how' of planning. Alongside this, anxieties are also often expressed about perceived or real demands for particular types of planning from bodies such as Ofsted.

In reality, the only requirements about planning in the current framework are found under the heading 'Organisation', which states: 'Providers must plan and organise their systems to ensure that every child receives an enjoyable and challenging learning and development experience that is tailored to meet their individual needs' (DfES 2007).

The specific legal requirements that address this area relate to practitioners undertaking 'sensitive observational assessment in order to plan to meet young children's individual needs' and to practitioners having to 'plan and provide experiences which are appropriate to each child's stage of development as they progress towards the early learning goals'(ibid).

In many ways, it could be argued that the levels of concern experienced by many practitioners about planning in the EYFS arise not from too much guidance, but from too little. So, this is an excellent time to reflect on current planning, and to consider its purpose and value so that any time used for planning is time well-spent. Planning for learning has to work in practice - for the child, the setting and the practitioners - if it doesn't do that, it is not worth investing time in developing it.

DRAFT EYFS

We are told in the draft EYFS document that the EYFS 'provides a secure foundation through learning and development opportunities which are planned around the needs and interests of each individual child' (2011) and that 'Each area of learning and development must be delivered through planned, purposeful play and through both adult-led and child-initiated activity.' It also states: 'A positive environment is one in which children's experiences are planned to reflect their needs, and help build their confidence' (ibid).

It appears that little has changed in relation to planning, which may be a relief for some. However, for others this may lead to new anxieties about how, in the absence of detailed guidance, practitioners should begin to plan for the revised EYFS.

A very positive steer in the new guidance is that we must begin with children's individual stages of development, their needs and their interests. With the unique child as the starting point, we are then reminded that: 'In planning and guiding children's activities, practitioners should be guided by the different ways that children learn' (ibid). So, in order to support children's learning and development, all planning in the EYFS must begin with:

• children's needs

• children's interests

• children's individual stages of development

• the ways that young children learn.

How we determine these needs, interests and stage of development will be based on our discussions with parents and children, our own observations (and those of colleagues) and transition records and any other sources of information available to us. We must also ensure that we support:

• children's learning and development across the prime and specific areas of learning

• their progress towards the early learning goals.

In addition, we should plan to:

• ensure that children have opportunities for purposeful play

• provide for both adult-led and child-initiated activity

• show how we intend to help children to develop the characteristics of learning, which are: playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically.

EFFECTIVE PLANNING

Effective planning sets out information clearly and simply, illustrating what the setting intends to do to ensure progress in children's learning and development over the period of their time in the setting, taking account of each child's individual developmental stage, their interests, and the learning and development requirements of the EYFS. In addition, it will identify how practitioners, resources and the environment will support children's learning and development.

WAYS OF PLANNING

There are no hard and fast rules about what planning should look like in the revised EYFS, nor about what types of planning should be in place. The only requirement is that planning should be fit for the purposes described in the revised document and meets the requirements set out by individual schools, settings or groups of settings.

Underpinning all planning should be evaluative questions about its usefulness and whether it makes a difference to teaching and learning in the setting, regardless of whether a child is five months old or five years old.

• The emphasis in the prime areas will be on the broad areas of child development: personal, emotional, social, physical and linguistic.

• In the specific areas, there will be a greater emphasis on the acquired skills of early literacy, counting, calculating, creative development, understanding the world and many more.

If the setting is an all-age setting, there are likely to be different approaches to planning for babies and under-twos, twoto three-year-olds and children from three to five. This is because of the changing needs of these groups of children.

BABIES AND CHILDREN UP TO TWO YEARS

The younger the child, the more flexible planning should be. Routines and schedules need to take into account children's needs because each will have their own individual patterns of play and activity along with those for resting, sleeping and feeding.

Finding out about the youngest children will take place as part of an induction process well before they attend the setting, and planning their first days in the setting will be done with their parents.

The Key Person: Working with parents

From the daily routines reported to their key person by mothers of two six-month-old girls (see box), it is obvious that even though their experiences are similar, both babies are used to doing different things at different times. Milly enjoys a wide range of activities and spends a lot of time outside, while Evie appears to spend longer sleeping, and playing indoors with her toys.

It may be that Evie's mother has omitted some details of Evie's day, but clearly, when practitioners discuss with both mothers their children's routines, they will need to plan activities that have continuity with their experiences at home while also building on and extending them.

Planning for both babies will focus on the prime areas, identifying each individual aspect of Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language and Physical Development. The role of the key person will be crucial in this, ensuring that both Milly and Evie have all their needs met, particularly for positive relationships with others in the absence of their own mothers with whom they have close, warm, loving relationships.

However, while planning for the youngest children will mainly focus on the prime areas, it is evident that in reaching their present stages of development, babies such as Milly and Evie have experienced many things in their short lives. So, the aspect of Communication and Language: Listening and Attention has been developed through a range of things - interactions with parents, carers and others, rhymes and songs, books and stories and being talked to about things they have seen, heard, touched or tasted (this is particularly so with Milly).

Since we know there are sensitive periods in the acquisition of language, it will be important to ensure that Evie too has close interaction to give her as many opportunities for developing her communication skills as possible, since she appears to have fewer experiences to support these than Milly. So, while planning should focus predominantly on progress in the prime areas, it should indicate that the ways children will encounter these will often be through activities that relate to a range of relevant mathematical, literacy, creative or other experiences, such as visiting a park to see the geese.

TWO-YEAR-OLDS

Planning for two-year-olds will be much the same as planning for children up to two years of age. However, many practitioners rightly comment on the vast difference in development between younger two-year-olds and those children who are approaching their third birthday (rising threes).

Planning for children in this third year must take account of individual differences, focusing on supporting children's development in the prime areas. At the same time it must recognise that some rising threes have the capacity, capability and interest to be engaged in activities such as make-believe and small-world play, problem-solving and role play and observing and raising questions about aspects of the natural world such as dandelion clocks, wildlife and muddy puddles.

Importantly, the specific areas, which have their roots in the prime areas, are evident right from the start in these everyday experiences and activities.

THREE TO FIVE-YEAR-OLDS

We are informed in the draft EYFS that: 'For the older age range, the balance should shift towards a more equal focus on all areas of learning, as children grow in confidence and ability within the three prime areas.' So, planning for children in this age group, who are developmentally ready, needs to cover all areas of the revised EYFS.

Ensuring that the balance between prime and specific areas is maintained will be important at this point, since children's development in the prime areas will continue well beyond the period of the EYFS into adolescence and adulthood. With this in mind, it is essential that the balance does not shift too far one way or the other so that the prime areas become secondary to the specific areas, or vice versa.

What needs to be borne in mind is that essentially the specific areas are how learning in the prime areas is applied. Initially, babies learn to differentiate between similar sounds (phonemes) that have different meanings - 'cat' and 'hat' - and this skill of discriminating sounds is a precursor to later language skills such as segmenting phonemes/sounds into words.

Similarly, vocabulary is an outcome of children's language development and a wide vocabulary is vital if children are to be able to read with understanding. So, planning should continue to fully reflect the prime areas at all stages of the EYFS, with the balance changing appropriately, depending on children's stage of development and interests.

Planning for the unique child in the revised EYFS will still mean, as now, that observations and assessments of the individual child inform practice. And, as happens currently, plans will be annotated, modified and reviewed regularly so that they truly reflect the developing, learning child who is motivated, curious and eager to learn. Ultimately, a measure of the effectiveness of our planning is what our practice is like. And a measure of the effectiveness of our practice is how children respond to what we provide.

Every routine, every event, every story, every interaction and every experience is an opportunity for a child's learning. Getting the tipping point right, from birth to the end of the EYFS, will be a major challenge for the future if we are to avoid there being too narrow a focus on the three prime areas with younger children, or too great an emphasis on the specific areas with older children.

THE KEY PERSON: WORKING WITH PARENTS

Consider these daily routines reported to their key person by mothers of
two six-month-old girls:

MILLY'S DAY
9.00 Breakfast, brush hair, change into day clothes,
nappy change
9.25 Play on blanket on floor with books, toys and
teddies
10.00 Milk
10.15 Watch a CBeebies programme
10.45 - 11.00 Sit on seat in kitchen playing with spoons
and containers while mummy does jobs
11.00 - 12.30 Long nap
12.30 Nappy change, freshen up, drink of water
12.45 In pushchair - walk
1.05 Lunch
1.40 In the park or looking at the geese on the
pond, or rhyme time
3.00 Nap (one hour)
4.00 Nappy change, milk, music and dance at home,
stories, Peekaboo
5.00 Out for walk in pushchair

EVIE'S DAY
7.00 Power nap for 30mins to one hour
8.30 Breakfast
10.00 On playmat where we play and sing songs
10.15 Watch baby TV
11.00 Milk - then tired so I will put her
down for another nap
11.00 - 12.30 If Evie doesn't want to sleep we will go back
on play mat
12.15 Lunch
12.45 Milk
1.05 Then more playing on mat
1.30 May nap again for up to three hours
4.00 Playing and cuddles
5.15 Dinner time

REFERENCES

• DfES (2007) The Early Years Foundation Stage: Setting the Standards for Learning, Development and Care for Children from Birth to Five. DfES Publications, Annesley, Nottingham

• DfE (2011) Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation: Setting the Standards for Learning, Development and Care for Children from Birth to Five: Stage Draft for Consultation. Web-based publication downloaded from DoE website