THE ROYAL BOROUGH OF KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA
Early Years Nursery Officers and Teaching Assistants
Professional Learning Cluster
Bevington Primary School – 18 March 2011 – 0930 to 1230
Brief Notes of Cluster
Chair: Maddy Luxon Advanced Skills teacher (Support Staff)
Janis Denselow Training and Development Manager (Children’s Workforce)
Present
Jackie Domican St Charles R C Primary School
Janet Brown Park Walk Primary School
Marilyn Dooley Gailis Ashburnham Primary School
Patricia Moorhead St Charles R C Primary School
Hattie Wilson EY Consultant RBKC
Aadila Bronkhurst Park Walk Primary School
Alison Selkirk St Francis of Assisi Primary School
Clare Jarvis Oxford Gardens Primary School
Georgina Gilbey Avondale Park Primary School
Jane Magnami St Clements and St James Primary School
Rita Allum St Clements and St James Primary School
Sue Haslett St Clements and St James Primary School
Professional Learning Clusters
· The Clusters will provide opportunities for sharing good practice and hopefully promote local networking
· They take place termly and are hosted by different schools within the Borough. Each meeting includes a tour of the school. ONE OR MORE COLLEAGUES ARE WELCOME.
· It is ESSENTIAL that each participant takes AT LEAST 1 practical resource or strategy back to their school to develop their own practice.
· Practitioners will be encouraged to lead sessions and present an aspect of their practice. Support will be available for people who choose to do this. These presentations will always be written up and circulated at the cluster.
· Training, career pathways and qualifications will be a permanent feature
· Outside speakers will be invited to give mini presentations on a range of topics
· Support staff will be given a ‘voice’ and an opportunity to raise issues and influence the agenda
Resources Circulated
· Copy of Hattie’s powerpoint presentation, ‘Outdoor Garden Development Booklet’. Saved on memory sticks
Sharing Good Practice
Bevington’s new Early Years outdoor learning space
· At our EY PLC kindly hosted by Bevington, Lydia Sherman (Foundation Stage Teacher) told the story of how the school had transformed the outdoor space into a garden for the children in the Foundation Stage. Planning and consultation was careful and extensive – involving all stakeholders. Work on the garden started on the first day of the summer holidays 2010 and the garden was fully operational shortly into the new academic year.
· The tour of the garden was inspirational.
· Hattie Wilson (RBKC Early Years Team) presented the booklet on ‘Outdoor Garden Development’. She has pulled together intelligent thinking around planning, resourcing and building into one place.
Further sharing
· Marlyn Dooley Gallis recommends the ‘Purple Mash’ website (http://www.purplemash.com/ ). Visit the site to access free apps. Ashburnham had a month’s free subscription.
· Denise Walker (Holy Trinity) shared her folder of photographs, useful to recall how the room and tables were set up for the children. The photos are used to instruct others on how to set up the tables. Parents also express interest in this visual display.
· Janet Brown (Park Walk) bought outdoor suits for the Foundation Stage. She recommends the supplier (‘Jack in a pack Kids’ as recommended by Marilyn Dooley Gallis) and added that you don’t need to order a huge number.
· Aneta Kisic Tramburora (Oxford Gardens) enthused over the Numicon resources. Staff and children love it. Can be used flexibly (even with songs, as well as printing, pushing into dough, etc) and has really supported progress in number recognition, counting and number bonds. Children demonstrate greater confidence.
· Jackie Domican (St Charles) shared ‘Our making book’ which is made up on extra photos taken and not used elsewhere and records a lot of activities. Children like to come back, look at the photos and reflect on what they’ve been done in the past or what they remember about their feelings when they did the activity. Parents also like to see what their children have been doing.
· Shammeram Nersey (St Francis) recommended the ‘Sing Up Pyramid Pack’ . See website for further information: (http://www.singup.org/ )
· Anne Marie O’Sullivan (St Charles) demonstrated her EYFS ‘easy to use’ record sheet which allows her to quickly see areas where children were not demonstrating their learning. This is a very good tool to support future planning. St Charles use team work very effectively to address gaps in profiles.
· Maria Bourke (St Charles) described how she leaves chalk outside in the playground and the children use this to cover the playground with numbers
· Nadia Choucair (Avondale) described innovative ways to use phonics resources
Tour of the Nursery, Reception and Garden
Colleagues found this inspirational, taking photograph of fabulous resources deployed imaginatively and creatively. The exciting use of the outside area provided lots of practical ideas
Local Authority update: (1) Three Borough working (2) Revised Green Binder
· Three Borough’s may share education services from September 2011 (RBKC, Hammersmith and Fulham, Westminster). The exact details have yet to be announced.
· Green Binder for Support Staff – updated guidance and resources can be found on the RBKC website http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/educationandlearning/cpdforschools/greenbinder.aspx
Further information
· The new CPD pages are a culmination of resources on CPD aimed at all school staff including professional frameworks and school to school sharing opportunities. Visit these pages at www.rbkc.gov.uk/educationandlearning/cpdforschools
· Recommended good value wet weather gear is ‘Jack in a pack Kids’
· NEXT DATE FOR EY PLC Friday 24 June at MIDDLE ROW Primary School The focus is on ‘Making quality observations’
· In the Future PLCs (2011 2012) Early Years coordinators, Early Years Teachers and other teachers with expertise will be invited to share their good practice and lead on innovative practice for the benefit of Nursery Officers and Teaching Assistants working in Early Years.