ABSTRACT
Although this is a chapter about planning, it is important to recognise that the starting points for whatever children are learning are the children themselves, what they are interested in and how skilled practitioners build on those interests to extend learning. This may result in a framework to guide others and to assist assessment of learning. The chapter covers planning for all age groups from birth to the end of the Reception year and into Year 1. It takes as its basis the practice guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and the recent review of EYFS (DfE, 2011a) because they are the most comprehensive guides to provision and practice available to practitioners at this time. Importantly, the examples of planning come from the very best practitioners; they are ASTs (Advanced Skills Teachers) and skilled practitioners in nursery schools, Children’s Centres and Reception classes. There is discussion of the revised early learning goals and how they contribute to the ‘appropriateness’ of the curriculum for the early years. Each of the Areas of Learning chapters provides examples of the recommendations for the revisions and reductions in the early learning goals. The opening quotation, which comes from the current EYFS guidance, is a major factor in ensuring that practitioners strive to create the ‘enabling environments’ that support the experiences that children engage with and those that are planned to extend children’s learning. The commitments that place planning in a context in all settings are the key to successful provision.
