Millfield Community Nursery School
Where every child fits
Bell Street, Sunderland SR4 6JR
01915532775
PLANNING & ASSESSMENT
Rationale
Planning and Assessment at Millfield Community Nursery has its philosophy, with regard to children’s learning grounded in providing a child centered, inquiry based approach to learning where children follow their own highly personal interests and through this develop new skills and understandings. This approach has been influenced by the Reggio Emilia philosophy where documentation of children’s work is used to inform practitioners of the learning that is taking place. (Malaguzzi 1996; Edwards, Gandini and Foreman 1993; Katz and Cesarone 1994)
“In Reggio Emilia, where we have explored this methodology for many years, we place the emphasis on documentation as an integral part of the procedures aimed at fostering learning and for modifying the learning”
p.78 Rinaldi, C. Making Learning Visible 2001 Reggio Children
Documentation, in the forms of observation has long been encouraged and practiced in early childhood education. Susan Issacs as far back as 1930 made detailed anecdotal observations of children, which informed the basis of her analysis of children’s learning. More recently Goldschmied (1987) claimed that observations of babies playing with a treasure basket gave valuable insights into children’s learning and their interactions with one another, and Helm Beneke and Steinheimer (1998) whose documentation of an early years project enabled, they claimed, others to see the learning that took place.
Observation is a key feature of the documentation systems used with the Nursery. EYFS states that one feature of good and effective early years practice is:
“Practitioners must be able to observe and respond appropriately to children informed by a knowledge of how children learn and develop and a clear understanding of possible next steps in their development and learning”
DfE Principles for Early Years Education 2012
Our documentation systems are concerned with understanding the learning process and place the responsibility on the observer to observe, describe, interpret and explain i.e. to construct meaning not just measure performance. (Rinaldi (1995) Katz and Chard (1996)
“Meaning does not come from seeing or observing alone; meaning is not lying around in nature waiting to be scooped up by the senses, rather it is constructed.”
C. Rinaldi Observation and Documentation Paper given at the Research Conference Reggio Emilia 1995
The systems in place in the nursery for planning and assessment support this approach to child centered, inquiry based learning and offer the flexibility to make the real learning that is taking place visible to the staff, the parents and to the children themselves.
The nursery has identified within its continuous provision the fundamental resources for each learning area that allows for children to follow their learning interests independently or with adult engagement.
The Nursery has in place a yearly overview of units of work that may take place throughout the school year. These units do not have a finite time limit and could run throughout the year or be revisited during the year. This is in line with the nursery’s child centered approach to learning.
The planning of these units is recorded on the half termly planner,which identifies what we hope the children will learn, how they will learn and how we will know what they have learnt. It also identifies the characteristics and attributes being developed as part of the unit of work in line with the nursery’s 21st Century Learning programme and British Values.
Planning for individual learning interests is record in the Weekly Planning Sheetwhere opportunities for children to learn something they may not know or be able to do are identified alongside significant learning interests of children. Enhancements to the continuous provision are also recorded.
Group activities and story times are planned for using the group planning sheet, a learning target and success criteria are identified and the evaluation is used a part of the nursery’s assessment systems.
Assessments
The nursery uses the Early Excellence online Assessment system (EExAT). This system allows for evidence to be uploaded, a tracker completed and learning stories, which parents can access on line or upload their own evidence..
On joining the nursery a baseline assessment of each child is carried out within 2 to 3 weeks of starting, using the EEaAT tracker.
The trackers are updated on the child’s birthday and half birthday for an age related assessment and at the end of each term. Process is evaluated using the one line reporting function.
Each half termly unit of work has its own specific formative and summative assessments identified and observations of children inform these assessments. It is completed during and at the end of the unit as appropriate.
These run alongside observations of children engaged in child initiated learning which can be uploaded as evidence onto EExAT and used for learning stories.
An assessment of the development of the characteristics and attributes is updated as appropriate using observations and photographs as evidence. These are placed in the child’s learning journal.
Learning Journals
Each child has their own individual Learning Journalthese journals build throughout the year and show the child’s individual progress by tell their own individual ‘learning’ story. Journals will include evidence from each of the unit’s of work, evidence of individual learning stories and collaborative group learning stories and evidence of characteristics of effective learning. Events throughout the year and information shared by parents are also included in the learning journal. All photographs and pieces of work are dated.
The Learning Journal also includes assessments in the form of reporting to parents,
Parents are invited to contribute some pieces from home.
At the end of the year the child will be given their Learning Journal to take home and keep as a record of their time at Millfield Community Nursery School.
Learning Journals have a photo and the child’s name on the cover.
Each Learning Journal includes; a half termly cover sheet, staff page and 3 wishes sheet. Evidence is placed by date and builds into a developmental record of the year. The learning Journals are used to support children in being reflective thinkers by revisiting the learning captured in their work and the photographs,
Reporting to parents
Look at me know
Each term the key worker completes a ‘Look at me now’ report; this focuses on the child’s interests and how they like to learn. Parents are invited to add their comments.
Transition to Reception Reports
These reports are written in June before the child transfers to their Reception class. The report includes comments on the prime and specific areas of EYFS, the characteristics of Effective Learning and comments form the child about their learning.These reports are also shared with the new school.
Parent Consultations
Parents are offered an opportunity to discuss their child’s progress each term with their key worker. Parents are also able to discuss any concerns they have at any time by making an appointment with the Headteacher or their child’s key worker.
Policy update November 2017 / Review as & when requiredSigned by Headteacher
Shelagh Morpeth
Signed by Chair of Governors
ZafIqbal