Forum Fun!
Lots of fun has been had at the last couple of playworkers’ forums. Back in the summer, 14 playworkers eagerly entered into the world of superheroes. The room was alive with energy and enthusiasm as, in groups, they dressed somebody up, then gave them a name, a mission and a special power. Using recycled materials from the Scrapstore, 5 very unique and imaginative superheroes were born, including BAND’s
very own ‘Jedward’, aka Julie Edwards.
There then followed a good discussion on what people think of superhero and weapon play, including the benefits, fears and things to consider.
The last forum, in September, then posed a cardboard box challenge and challenged groups to transform a humble cardboard box into something else. We encouraged weird, wacky and wonderf
ul, using various bits of scrap from the Scrapstore and lots of imagination. Boxes became a fire eating dragon, Kruger the giraffe and mini-golf madness.
Both activities are great examples of easy and cheap things that clubs can do themselves. Each forum starts with something like this as it makes the evening more active and interesting and our aim is for people to go away inspired to do something similar.
Each forum also has Ofsted, training and DBS updates as well as discussions around anything topical and relevant to the world of play and out of school childcare. The agenda is always an ‘open agenda’ and so attendees are encouraged to add any items to it that they would like discussed so that they can get information, advice and suggestions from other settings. To get more of a flavour of the forum, some of the recent things discussed were:
- How to provide for EYFS children – most settings said they send home ‘All About Me’ forms for parents and children to fill out, to get information on each reception aged child, including their likes and dislikes, so they can then be best provided for. Some settings said they had good links with the school and reception teachers and liaise with them about individual children. They find out how and what they are doing and some try to base activities/resources around the school topics. One setting provide a separate space for reception children to be able to use at the beginning of each year, so they have somewhere quieter to go to if they wish. No group was providing separate activities for early years children.
- How to register the children on a daily basis – this query came from a setting wondering about the best way to register the children as they come into the setting each day. Some settings said they sit the children down in a big group and call the register, whilst other settings said the children come in and have snack and their attendance is then recorded as this is going on. One group have a member of staff positioned at the door and they register the children as they come in.
- Behaviour – one setting said they are having issues around behaviour as the procedure for dealing with it in the school has changed and has become much more informal. Another setting wanted to discuss behaviour resulting from children not always being able to play football or other similar games outside. This sparked a really good discussion on the need for schools and setting’s to work together and lots of people gave ideas for activities when going outside isn’t an option.
- Self-evaluation – this is something Ofsted are asking a lot about so we discussed what groups are doing and how they know what their strengths are and how they approach target setting. Within this discussion, we looked at the Bristol Standard, which is one way self-evaluation can be carried out.
Check our social media to see when the next forum is. You can come on your own or even with your whole team. Its always good fun, informative and a great way of meeting other settings. An attendance allowance can also be claimed. For more information or to book a place, please contact Michelle – michelle@bandltd.org.uk
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