1. Unit 3.8 Understand how to plan to meet the needs of the developing child

2. Learning Outcomes
LO1 Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years.
AC 1.1 Explain why the early years practitioner plans to meet the individual needs of children.
AC 1.2 Describe approaches to planning to meet individual needs of children in the:
Short term
Long term.
AC 1.3 Explain planning in relation to current frameworks.

3. 1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.1)
Time: 15 mins
Are you someone who likes to plan everything in detail, or do you like to be spontaneous?
Consider:
Organising a day out with friends
Buying a birthday present for a close family member
Travelling abroad
Going to a music festival
Using the bus and train to get to your destination.

4. Planning to meet individual needs
1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.1)
Planning to meet individual needs
All children have individual needs and rates of development.
Carefully thought-out plans will support children to move on to their next stage of development or milestone.
Practitioners will plan a range of activities and experiences that will be age and stage appropriate for the children they are working with.

5. Planning to meet individual needs
1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.1)
Planning to meet individual needs
Practitioners will plan to meet the individual needs of children to ensure that they grow and develop.
All children are individual and unique, and practitioners will plan accordingly.
Planning for individual needs will support the holistic development of the child.
Meeting individual needs will mean that children will be able to progress to the best of their own ability.

6. 1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.1)
Time: 15 mins
Discuss what might happen if practitioners do not take individual needs into account when planning for children.
Consider:
The possible effects on development
An activity that is too difficult
An activity that does not stimulate or challenge the children
An outdoor area that is set out just before the children use it
A disorganised setting that does not follow a theme or curriculum.
Learners should discuss what might happen if activities and experiences are set up without any thought or planning.
Learners can use positive and negative experiences from their own setting.
This activity should show that a complete lack of planning can have a negative on a child’s holistic development.
Some learners may say that a spontaneous activity can have positive outcomes, and this will be discussed further in later activity slides.

7. Approaches to planning
1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.2)
Approaches to planning
All settings will have planning meetings where they will discuss short- and long-term plans.
A short-term plan will cover a short amount of time, and could be for one activity, one day or one week.
A long-term plan can cover anything from a term to a year.

8. Approaches to planning
1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.2)
Approaches to planning
Short-term plans can be:
Activity plans
Lesson plans
Weekly plans
Individual Education Plans
Individual Learning Plans or Journeys.

9. 1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.2)
Time: 15 mins
Research two examples of lesson or activity plans for early years settings.
For each one consider:
Similarities
Differences
Headings
Layout
What you like and dislike about the plan
Are there any spaces on the plan for meeting individual needs?
Plans are readily available on the internet. If learners do not have access to PCs for this session then a variety can be sourced and printed before the lesson.
Learners should decide which plan they prefer based on content, layout and how user-friendly it is.
Learners will further develop this during the Extension activity by comparing their chosen plan to a plan or plans from their own setting.

10. Approaches to planning
1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.2)
Approaches to planning
Long-term plans are more general, as they will cover a much longer timeframe.
A long-term plan will give practitioners an overview of topics that will be covered.
It can also include planned trips out or visitors to the setting.
A long-term plan is usually displayed for all to see, and this then helps practitioners to carry out their short-term planning.

11. 1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.2)
Time: 20 mins
Create an outline of a long-term plan that would show topics to be covered in a day nursery from January to December.
Consider:
Seasons
Festivals
Topics
Areas of learning
Indoor and outdoor areas
Trips or visitors.
Learners can create this by either using IT or large sheets of paper and pens.
The completed plan should show a range of topics and reflect the changing seasons.
Learners can break the plan down into months or half terms, and then show the general areas to be covered in that time.

12. 1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.2)
Long term: topic examples
Short term: activity examples
Winter
Snow picture
Making soup
Colours
Threading beads
Sorting cars
All about me
Plate faces
Height chart
Life cycles
Butterfly paintings
Bug hunt
Being healthy
Obstacle course
Making healthy sandwiches

13. 1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.3)
Current frameworks
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a framework that must be followed by all early years providers who care for children from birth to 5 years old.
The EYFS is split into three sections:
The learning and development requirements
Assessment
The safeguarding and welfare requirements.

14. 1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.3)
Current frameworks
Practitioners must plan according to the guidelines set out in the EYFS, and this includes covering all the areas of learning.
The three prime areas:
Communication and language
Physical development
Personal, social and emotional development.
The four specific areas:
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design.

15. 1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.3)
Current frameworks
The National Curriculum is followed by all state schools for children from 5 to 16 years old.
The National Curriculum is broken down into ‘Key Stages’, and children aged 5 to 7 years old follow Key Stage 1 (KS1).
Teachers must plan to cover all the subjects in the National Curriculum.

16. 1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.3)
Current frameworks
Key Stage 1 subjects:
PSHE
Computing.
English
Maths
Science
Geography
History
Design & technology
Music
Art RE PE

17. 1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.3)
Time: 15 mins
Discuss your experiences of planning within your setting.
Consider:
Short-term plans
Long-term plans
Following the relevant curriculum
Planning meetings
Are you involved in the planning of activities or lessons?
Do you feel your setting makes effective use of planning?
Learners should compare their own experiences, and discuss what works and what needs improving.
If learners are not actively involved in planning within their setting, then they should be encouraged to take in planning suggestions.

18. 1. Understand approaches to planning when working with children from birth to 7 years (1.3)
Time: 15 mins
Ask for copies of any short-term plans used in your setting. Compare these to the ones reviewed in the Independent research activity.
Consider:
Similarities
Differences
Headings
Layout
What you like and dislike about the plan/s from the setting
How does your setting plan for individual needs?
This activity will further encourage learners to review a range of planning sheets.
Blank planning sheets are adequate for this activity, but learners may gain more of an insight as to how they are used if they can access completed plans with the names blanked out.

19. Summary
Practitioners will use a range of planning approaches to support them to meet the individual needs of children.
Plans can range from one activity to one year in length.
Practitioners must follow the relevant curriculum when planning for children.

20. Plenary
Name three types of short-term plan.
Name all three prime areas of the EYFS.
What age range does Key Stage 1 of the National Curriculum cover?