Chapter 1 · planning and evaluation
The one plan every other plan comes from
Yōgo told us what childcare is made of. This next section tells us how a nursery is supposed to actually plan it — starting with the plan that sits above every other plan you write.
The rule
Every nursery needs one overall plan
To achieve the goals of childcare, a nursery must create an overall plan, based on its own childcare policy and goals, that reflects each child’s developmental stage — organised and deliberate, so that the content of care unfolds as one connected whole across the entire life of the nursery.
But here’s the key
“Organised and deliberate” rules out drifting week to week
This isn’t asking for a folder of nice activities. It’s asking for one document that ties your nursery’s own philosophy to what actually happens in the room, on purpose, as a connected whole — not a set of unrelated weekly ideas that happen to occur in the same building.
In real life
The document new staff never get shown
I ask new teachers what our nursery’s overall plan actually says, and most have never seen it — they only know the week’s activity sheet. I’ve started walking new hires through the overall plan in their first week, so they understand which philosophy their daily lesson is actually serving.
A common misunderstanding
“The overall plan is paperwork for the office.”
“That document is management’s responsibility — it doesn’t really affect what I do in the room.”
“Every lesson I plan is supposed to be a piece of that same document, put into practice.”
Why this matters to you
Once you know the overall plan exists, questions like “why do we do things this way here” usually have a written answer. Ask to see it — it will make your own daily planning make a lot more sense.
Your turn
Have I actually read my nursery’s overall plan?
If not, ask for it this week.
About Bond Japan
NPO Bond Japan
Bond Japan connects international schools so they can learn from one another and deepen a shared understanding of early childhood education and care.
