Sometimes, I think we as teachers (and I’ve been just as guilty) try to fix situations and create smiles. We want children to be happy. That’s no bad thing but emotions are a part of life and I do believe that children should feel them. Sadness is a part of that life and feeling it and processing it is necessary.

Early Years Foundation Stage can seem overwhelming to those on the outside looking in. It’s a complex series of documents that places the child at the centre. All schools and Early Years providers who are Ofsted registered follow the EYFS. It is important to remember that EYFS applies specifically to England. To truly understand the complexities it needs to be understood that the entire foundation stage has been informed by some essential principles that are reflected throughout the framework.

Continuous provision is essentially all of the resources in the environment that have been provided by practitioners to extend the learning of the children in their care. Children are able to access these resources independently and safely, and use them to explore. They are chosen carefully and mindfully by the practitioner so that even in the absence of an adult the children are able to build upon learning.

Yesterday, I had my first inset day at my new school. It was a truly wonderful day and has put my mind at ease for September. However, many of you will be starting a new job in Autumn without having had that opportunity to ease in. With that in mind I thought it might be helpful to share some tips I’ve picked up for moving to a new school.

Planning backwards and sequencing should be paramount. Teachers should have a firm knowledge in knowing how things fit together. These need to be the fundamental building blocks. Planning a one off, individual lesson in detail with no idea how it fits into wider learning won't help the children. It might be a great lesson but with no understanding of how children learn and how learning will be embedded it's all for nothing.

Sorry

Just

Only

Apologies

If you don’t mind

A minute of your time

I’m no expert

Am I making sense?

The national curriculum’s coverage of art and DT in primary feels very vague. It barely covers a page and some of the statements are so broad it can be difficult to think about how that looks in terms of progression and learning.