Introduction When it comes to children with “special educational needs” (SEN) and disabilities, we tend to see a focus on observing for concerns only, leading to valuable threads of learning being lost. This is often because we are taught that early intervention is key, and the sooner we spot those “red flags”, the sooner we can prevent a delay or SEN. However, what may initially appear to be a delay could be a gateway to a developmental difference, including autism, dyslexia, or a developmental language profile, such as being non-speaking. Our initial concerns for some children may lead to adaptations in our practice that support neurotypical progress, but for other children, we may require a more permanent change in approach … Read More
Imaginative Play and the Overhead Projector
In the days before every classroom had a computer, never mind an iPad per child, schools were full of weird and wonderful contraptions to help to make your life more simple. When none of us had even heard of a photocopier we relied on the services of the Banda Generator. A spirit based printing machine that required you to write out your worksheets in special ink, load up a large drum with your master copy and then turn a handle like your life depended on it. Sheet after sheet of purple stained paper would then land in a pile – still wet and reeking of alcohol. Many a morning was spent in ‘the Banda queue’ observing some quite unnerving ‘jiggling’ … Read More
Continuous Provision Planning
Planning for Continuous Provision can be very time consuming and what gets written on paper often doesn’t translate into actual practice. I have been working with a number of schools and settings looking at how they can make their Continuous Provision planning less of a chore and more effective so, I thought I would share what we have been doing in the hope that it might be helpful. I would always start with the question ‘What is Continuous Provision?’ It is not just provision that is continually accessible. It is a selection of resources that have been placed in areas by practitioners that continue the provision for learning in the absence of an adult. Differentiated prompt cards for children to … Read More
Linked Provision
'Linked Provision' is a bit of a hybrid that I first used with a Reception setting to help them to get round their issue of hearing guided readers, without compromising their Continuous Provision. Since then I have worked on versions of it from Pre-School to Year One. So, what is Linked Provision? Well, the clue is in the name… It is provision that you link to a need that had been identified by observation or assessment. I would run it as a daily session – usually at the very beginning of the day. Everyone is engaged in activities that are themed around the identified need. The same activities are repeated every day for a week and the children get to … Read More