What is it?
In the moment planning is an approach where early years settings plan a topic spontaneously based on what a child is interested in. Although it could be quite a shock for most of the modern settings who are used to the structure of pre-planned activities and lesson schedules, this child-led model is now gaining popularity among many early years educators. The system is all about completing the planning cycle in the actual moment instead of planning in advance.
Moreover, as Ofsted no longer stipulates providers to follow a specific teaching pattern, early years providers now have the discretion to create a balance between adult and child-led play and adapt the system effectively to suit their setting.
We have focus children
NOT focus activities.
After a child has been a ‘focus’ for the week then the child’s key worker will meet with the parents/carers to discuss progress and development. This kind of regular review is what strengthens the relationship between staff and families and allows staff to intervene quickly if a child needs additional support.
The adult goes to the child.
The child is NOT called to come
to the adult.
We have a workshop style environment
indoors and outside. Nothing is set out
on the tables. The children select what
they want to do in each area.
The principal is that resources are
accessible to the children and they are
varied, open-ended and high quality.
This gives children the opportunity to
select resources to support their chosen
activity.
Planning
We don’t produce a ‘planning sheet’ at the start of each week.
Instead adults will record, retrospectively, the learning that took place and the teaching support that they provided to facilitate it.
In addition, “Wow” moments are recorded for all children as and when they occur.
Tapestry
We have Tapestry, an online learning journal that allows parents to view observations and videos of their child’s learning in real time.
