I have enjoyed a wonderfully positive time training to be an Early Years Teacher since my last diary entry. I mentioned last time that my setting had been inspected by Ofsted as part of the usual inspection cycle which ends in July this year. The inspection, although very daunting, went incredibly well and I am delighted to announce we have been graded as ‘outstanding’ in all areas - our first ever. We were praised as being ‘an exceptional preschool’ where ‘all children, including those in receipt of funding, make remarkable progress in relation to their starting points’. My confidence in discussing our provision and justifying the changes I have made since becoming the manager, is partly down to my training to be an EYT. The course has built on my knowledge and skills and given me confidence as a professional.
Last half-term, I planned and was observed leading seven activities by my mentor. It has been difficult to fit these in around my work commitments and days at university and although I sometimes feel apprehensive beforehand, being observed has always been a positive experience. I particularly enjoyed planning a maths activity focused on shapes where I marked out shapes on the floor using masking tape. I had written name labels for the shapes which some of the more able children could match to the correct shape, based on the initial sound of the word.
The children were then encouraged to use a shopping basket to explore the setting, looking for objects which they would then match to the shapes. We thought about the properties of the shapes, counting the sides and comparing sizes as well as introducing 3D names.
At the beginning of this half term, I began a two week placement at Ledbury Children’s Centre which is where I am gaining experience with babies. A requirement of the Early Years Initial Teacher Training is to demonstrate knowledge of all ages from birth to five plus an understanding of KS1. My setting takes children from two years and above so a baby placement was necessary for me which I arranged in conjunction with the university. I chose a children’s centre as I felt this would be the most beneficial setting for me in my current position, furthering my knowledge of the services on offer which I could refer parents to. At the time of writing this, I have had three days at the centre and already have been developing my knowledge of babies. I particularly enjoyed a sing and sign morning where I joined three separate hour-long sessions with groups of babies and children, split by age. I was fascinated to see children as young as eight months using basic signs and learned many myself which I will be using on my placement as well as at my setting. It also seemed like a perfect opportunity to gather evidence that I had met particular standards so I asked the teacher to write a witness testimony confirming that I had participated, outlining some of the activities I had been involved in.
The centre leader has kindly scheduled in two treasure basket sessions for me which I will be planning and leading. My first session took place this week and provided me with plenty of evidence to meet the standards for babies. I ensured the resources and environment were safe by writing a risk assessment form and carrying this out prior to the session, I prepared the resources, considering the impact on learning and development and wrote an information sheet for parents and carers. The session went well - I was apprehensive that my knowledge as a parent on the development of babies had all been forgotten over time. Fortunately, everything has come flooding back and I'm able to observe a baby's play and engagement and consider how I can support this and encourage interaction. I observed their play with loose parts and was able to advise parents on how to provide this type of play at home. Now that the first session is out of the way, I’m very much looking forward to next week.
Next week, my tutor is coming out to the children’s centre to observe my practice with babies and to check the evidence I have been gathering adequately meets the standards. There will be a very quick turn around as my file will be submitted for the final time at the end of next week, giving me very little time to gather any remaining evidence. In hindsight, I should have arranged my baby placement to have taken place earlier on in the year so I wouldn’t be anxious about completing my baby evidence right before hand in!
Soon I will have my professional discussion with my tutor at the university which will be the final part of the course. This will involve me reflecting on my training, considering the influence my personal development and impact on my practice and presenting this in the form of a 1,000-word written document plus a discussion. Although I still have a little time to think about the focus for this, I am likely to talk about how my training to be an EYT has impacted on me leading the setting to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ grading from Ofsted.
If you have any questions about training to be an Early Years Teacher, please email news.nw@markallengroup.com and I will be happy to reply.