Nursery World - The practitioner role

Practitioners need to help each child to learn. They must recognise the child's current understanding and achievements and know what the child's next steps could be. This may involve the practitioner and the child working together in an activity chosen by the child. The practitioner can help children to achieve something new, that they could not yet do independently. It may involve the practitioner in talking with the child to establish what he or she understands. The practitioner also needs to know what misconceptions the child holds about, for example, how letters represent the sounds in speech. Such information will provide the evidence for the practitioner's judgement about what the child needs to be taught and helped with. In these processes, both the child and the practitioner play an active role together.

The practitioner also needs to know what misconceptions the child holds about, for example, how letters represent the sounds in speech. Such information will provide the evidence for the practitioner's judgement about what the child needs to be taught and helped with. In these processes, both the child and the practitioner play an active role together.

Ready or not

On the other hand, when the children are all expected to do the level one worksheet in the writing scheme in the same week, they are just passive recipients. There is no planning here for the children's different types of understanding about writing, or for their different levels of fine motor control.

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