12 replies to this topic

[dangermouse]

We have two rooms next to eah other which are open plan. The staff plan together, assess together and have a learning journey book for each child which every member of staff feeds into. We also produce termly report. We are now being asked to fill in Devons learning Journey. WHY? Anyone else in this situation?

[HappyMaz]

What is Devon's Learning Journey and what about it has upset you so much - intrigued to know more!

Maz

PS I'm sure I haven't welcomed you before, so welcome to the Forum - there's always someone here to vent your feelings to!

Edited by HappyMaz, 11 July 2009 - 07:08 PM.

[sunnyday]

Hi dangermouse ......tell us more.....

Sunnyday

[Susan]

What sort of setting are you? The only statutory assessment is the EY profile and I think it will state quite clearly within that you should be able to choose your own means of recording your assessments?

[Lucy P]

I think this is a link to it!
Have not had time to have a look yet though.

[Susan]

Thanks for that info Lucy.

Looking a the guidance, Devons Learning Journey is for PVI settings in particular and it seems sensible that consistent records reach Reception classes. This provides meaningful and appropriate info for the next setting to build upon and most importantly acknowledges the important role that all early years settings have in the education of the children.

I would feel upset too Dangermouse if this had not been explained to me and I would look at amending the info that you already keep so that you do not feel that this a duplication of what you already do but that it sits alongside it.

As a reception teacher it has always been frustrating for me that the info provided by preschools has not been more easily translatable into usable info when the children move on as it is often obvious that alot of time and trouble has gone into the record keeping but I need to be able to see quickly and easily what I need to know not have to plough through reams of paper or worse still ticklists!

Good luck.

[Panders]

I liked this transition document. In Kent ours is under review again, ours is called My Unique Story,with more consultation with practitioners. At the present time the Kent model does not offer anywhere to write in depth comments about each learning area, nor about the age/stage a child is currently being observed at across each of the aspects.

[sunnyday]

Yes ... have to agree with Panders ....... this is soooo much better than Kent's 'bar graph' which we are to use for transition.......sorry dangermouse I like it

Sunnyday

Edited by sunnyday, 12 July 2009 - 09:59 AM.

[jmb]

I was lucky to be asked to pilot the Devon Learning Journey this year, and as a result of cluster meeting discussions they have also come up with a really good transition document - simple but imformative.

My Journeys have lots of photographs and any 'work' they have done and personally I only put in one or two spontaneous observations per area each term and one long detailed one. The photo's show them other skills they have acheived.
Parents love them, although I can imagine not being too happy being asked to fill in another Journey if you already have one in place.
I'm assuming you are not in Devon dangermouse.

jackie.

[dangermouse]

jmb, on Jul 12 2009, 11:59, said:

I was lucky to be asked to pilot the Devon Learning Journey this year, and as a result of cluster meeting discussions they have also come up with a really good transition document - simple but imformative.

My Journeys have lots of photographs and any 'work' they have done and personally I only put in one or two spontaneous observations per area each term and one long detailed one. The photo's show them other skills they have acheived.
Parents love them, although I can imagine not being too happy being asked to fill in another Journey if you already have one in place.
I'm assuming you are not in Devon dangermouse.

jackie.

I most certainly am in Devon. We produce 3 reports a year and all staff work and plan together in the unit nall of this info is passed on verbally so the person this is helping is yet another government department1!

[Panders]

dangermouse, on Jul 11 2009, 20:06, said:

We have two rooms next to eah other which are open plan. The staff plan together, assess together and have a learning journey book for each child which every member of staff feeds into. We also produce termly report. We are now being asked to fill in Devons learning Journey. WHY? Anyone else in this situation?

May I ask Dangermouse - do all the children you have go to the same primary school or setting when they move on from you?

The way I would view all this is the three reports each term round up what has happened during that term, in Kent, under our current system, we would choose only significant learning to report about out of the six areas, one may, therefore only choose to write about 3 areas, this would be a simple sentence, i.e. Johnny has begun to count one to one, e.g. when he was helping to count cups for snack time, he counted exactly how many he needed by touching each one and saying a number for it. Another area might suggest he has begun to be independent in personal hygiene, and the third, "noticing changes to colours mixing as he painted.

The transition document however is quite a different beast! This document rounds up all that a child can do, not just their achievements in one term. It gives a clear, sucinct idea to the setting/school they are going into what a child is like.

Now if you are moving children from your nursery to year R, maybe you can do that verbally very easily if you are all on the same site.

The children at my setting go to at least 4 different schools. One reception teacher told me that last year she had children coming to her class from 21 different settings! Some of those were work place nurseries and so were miles away, she could not go and visit the children there before they came to school, the transition document therefore became an important way of communicating about those children.

[dangermouse]

Panders, on Jul 12 2009, 20:31, said:

May I ask Dangermouse - do all the children you have go to the same primary school or setting when they move on from you?

The way I would view all this is the three reports each term round up what has happened during that term, in Kent, under our current system, we would choose only significant learning to report about out of the six areas, one may, therefore only choose to write about 3 areas, this would be a simple sentence, i.e. Johnny has begun to count one to one, e.g. when he was helping to count cups for snack time, he counted exactly how many he needed by touching each one and saying a number for it. Another area might suggest he has begun to be independent in personal hygiene, and the third, "noticing changes to colours mixing as he painted.

The transition document however is quite a different beast! This document rounds up all that a child can do, not just their achievements in one term. It gives a clear, sucinct idea to the setting/school they are going into what a child is like.

Now if you are moving children from your nursery to year R, maybe you can do that verbally very easily if you are all on the same site.

The children at my setting go to at least 4 different schools. One reception teacher told me that last year she had children coming to her class from 21 different settings! Some of those were work place nurseries and so were miles away, she could not go and visit the children there before they came to school, the transition document therefore became an important way of communicating about those children.

That I can see thepoint of but almost all the children are from our Nursery to our Reception, that is why I am so frustrated. This is just extra work for the FS staff. They have done more than enough already!!

[Panders]

Hi Dangermouse, this is what I suspected - you can very easily handover children to your Reception - in your case I would agree the paper work appears ridiculous. I suspect that Devon cannot enforce this upon you - Kent are always saying to us that "of course, you don't have to do this, it's just good practice!" as far as I am aware there are no Transition Police yet! I would though perhaps bear Devon's transition document in mind for those children moving out of your area to another county etc. these documents really do assist in helping to settle in a new child.