• Do you give children an opportunity to talk about and retell their Christmas break experiences through a variety of media and activities? Using children’s first hand experiences and real conversations provides rich learning and assessment opportunities.

• Do you talk to parents/carers about what children have learnt during the break? Young children’s learning never stands still so make sure you know where they are now so you can plan your teaching accordingly.

• Have you reviewed your learning environment to ensure the continuous provision supports the children’s next steps in learning? Use your updated assessment knowledge to add new challenges for children and keep the environment interesting and engaging.

• Does your daily routine need updating to ensure it reflects an appropriate balance between child led and adult directed activities? What does that mean for you and your team? Is it the same now as at the start of the academic year? Does it meet the needs of new children joining as well as those that are more established? The EYFS says it’s an ongoing judgement for practitioners and I always say you know your children best and by focussing on meeting their needs you will know where that balance lies at the moment and why.

• Do you make each day count for every child and yourself? We only have today once and for young children at the start of their school life how we spend today will have long term impacts. Is it a race to get to a predetermined point or is it the start of an exciting learning journey? Are you driving them to a certain point or are you travelling the road together?
 

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow"

Albert Einstein