This article has been brought to you by Slough Borough Council's Early Years Advisory Teacher, Karen Loft, for the attention of all Early Years and Childcare Practitioners.
It’s that busy time of year again where you’ve received a brand new cohort of children and have undoubtedly spent most of your time getting to know them as individuals and building those positive relationships with the children in your class. You will have been observing and understanding the children as learners: their starting points, their unique dispositions to learning, their interests, their family life and wellbeing, their prior knowledge and any potential gaps in their learning. But all of this is only useful if we do something with that information to ensure children make progress.
In a world where schemes of work dominate school curricula and filter into early years classrooms, we need now, more than ever, to really consider what is best for children and their learning and development. The planning process should always begin with the individual child and their starting points. Starting anywhere else, doesn’t tend to end well and often leaves children with gaps in their knowledge and vital skills left underdeveloped.
Read the full article here: Planning Ahead: Building on Children’s Starting Points in the EYFS | Early Excellence