Cross Phase Planning - Nursery and Reception

Whether it is Nursery and Reception or Reception and Year 1 together - cross phase working and planning can be a HUGELY positive experience for children but if it is done 'properly' then there are lots of challenges for the practitioners.

Whilst adult directed activities are not such usually the issue, the main challenge comes through effective differentiation within the continuous provision. Your resourcing and challenge in all of your areas has to cater for the ability levels of all of your children from the lest to the most able. With two age groups together you are often significantly increasing the range of ability you are catering for.

I have never yet come across a setting where the provision has been set at too high a level. Usually the provision is aimed towards the younger children resulting in the older ones having long periods of their day where there is a lack of challenge and low learning potential.

The flip side of this is where the environment is planned for Year One and Reception children completely miss out on the Foundation Stage Curriculum apart from a few token opportunities to do some 'finishing off activities'.

Good cross phase planning can be done and the results can be VERY effective both in terms of personal development and attainment.

As I have mentioned before, I am working with The Friars Primary School where Emma teaches in the Nursery and Andy teaches in Reception. They both start their day in their own space, but after their first whole class input, Reception come into the Nursery space and the the two classes work together.

Attainment has been the big focus for our work together and the team are now able to clearly show how they plan to  meet the needs of their cross phase group. They have moved to objective led planning and child led learning and have worked hard to put differentiation and challenge into their continuous provision. They are still on their journey and I keep adding things to their 'to do' list, but they have achieved a great deal over the past year.

There is a strong focus on the essentials that have been identified by assessment and observation. Lots of work on communication skills and fine motor skills

With mark making a big focus it is important that the whole team are aware of where the children are developmentally and what appropriate next steps should look like.

All children have a short, fun, daily physical intervention which is aimed at consolidating their stage of development and moving them forward.

Fine motor/hand eye development

 

How many nuts can you screw on in a minute?

Some fine motor challenges then become part of the continuous provision

The fine motor focus is then carried on into the adult led activities. There was a great deal of interest in the 'Transformers' film and that interest had been used as the focus for some activity planning.

Still developing your fine motor skills here. If you are one of the children who is really motivated by 'Transformers' then this activity is 'sold' to you as a 'Transformers' activity. If not then the activity is flexible enough to engage you through another route.

Simple deconstruction then led to more complex electronics...

 

Using a battery to power a motor to make a propeller turn...

Discovering, then being able to explain why two batteries make your bulb shine brighter than one.

'Transformers' was also used to target specific children for writing development. A Transformers box was created for interest and then filled with provision aimed at specific development. The use of the contents of the box was modelled by an adult with a writing focus during CP

 

Then a baby bird fell out of it's nest in the outdoor area and the planning focus shifted. Because this is objective led planning NOT activity led, the teaching stays the same it is only the focus that changes.

An urgent message was sent to the Head who contacted the RSPB and their response was reported back to the children. (Leave it alone!)

The Friars have had a deconstructed role play area for a while now. One of their ongoing issues is the development of children's talk. Although it was being used for other role play, a number of children had started 'hairdresser' role play so the team had introduced a 'hairdresser' enhancement box.

 Great if you haven't had time to do your hair before you get to work!

It was really lovely to share in the engagement of the children and to see the progress that the team have made in ensuring that they are planning for attainment and challenge across the setting.

Next Steps? Well, pretty much for Emma and the team to keep doing what they are doing and now expand those principles into all areas of provision. How do you ensure that you have got differentiation and challenge in your sand, water, workshop or painting area so that children get the opportunity not only to try new skills but to extend the ones that they have already acquired?

So, that is what we are working on next. I will of course keep you posted on how we get on...

Alistair

Comments

[Kat]

The challenge of useful and engaging CP activities gets even harder when faced with a year one/two class where many of the children are still working on the EYFS goals. I find it impossible to find space and time to set up and allow the children to use decent, challenging continuous provisionj. If you have any advice or recommended reading I'd be very grateful!

[abc does]

Hi Kat - I have some ideas that would take up more than this reply box, so email me at [email protected] and we can have an email chat!

Alistair

[Alison O'Driscoll]

Where can I get some of the lovely posters seen in the first photograph showing the stages of children's mark making/pencil grip development?

[abc does]

Hi Alison

The Friars downloaded theirs from a website called getreadyforschool.com and then just blew them up to that size.

Hope this helps

Alistair

[Peter Lindley]

I have been looking too...and found this JPEG , which isn't that blurry. Print out & enlarge???

http://beafunmum.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/pencil-grasps-1024x470.jpg

BTW: The postman has just delivered your new book to me! Alistair...it is fab! I feel that I have absorbed quite a lot of what you have said whilst reading this blog/coming to the conference in Newcastle...but the book is great . Cheers!

[abc does]

Thanks Peter - I am also trying to source a set of my own that i can stick on the blog for free download.
Glad you like the book!

Alistair

[[email protected]]

Hi Allistair

Read your new book and inspired to make lots of changes before September. Totally agree with what you say re skills and not activity. IS there a list of key skills anywhere, for example you mention in your book introducing to chalks and pastels as an objective (particularly interested in KUW, PD and CD).
Many thanks
Suzanne

[abc does]

Hi Suzanne

There is not a list that I can find - as a result I am currently in the process of putting one together as part of a forthcoming book on Continuous Provision. It is proving to be a LONG (but very interesting) task! I will be sharing some of it on the blog to give you idea of the sort of thing I mean, so keep a look out!
Alistair

[Amey]

I second that!! It would be really helpful to have the posters - we considered taking phtoographs but the black and white line pictures look very simple and easy to recognise.
We have also decided to do this in our setting with scissors -highlighting to practitioners the cutting stage that child is at. As we have 35 2-5year olds accessing the area daily it is importnat for practitioners to be informed to help the child move on in their development.

[abc does]

Hi Alison, they are from a site called getreadyforschool.com but I am looking into having a set done that I can have on the blog for download. I will keep you posted

Alistair

[Lynsey]

Hi, I'd also like to know about those posters what a fantasitc idea!!

[Melanie Buttery]

I am interested in the photos showing the pencil grip development. where can I find them?

[abc does]

Hi Melanie

They are in the resources section of the blog.

Alistair

[Claire]

I would also like to get some of these!!