Recording Development (tracking Again)

[Guest]

A little bit of advice please....I am about to start in a new position as 'Floor Manager' and am looking at the way the nursery recorded development in the past...they used the 'Somerset Pathway' which i guess is a similar set up as many LA's produce - basically the EYFS outcomes all in a little booklet - problem being I don't like them.....in a previous job I devised my own (as I am sure most of you do) giving staff more room to record and stick evidence in (photos, sticky labels etc). I have hit a problem in that the Admin Manager of the setting has already prepared new 'Pathways' for September and is reluctant to use anything else...I know that this is my area, my responsibility to ensure that recording and observations are used effectively and so I feel I have to tell her that I can't use these documents....I really would not be happy for staff to be recording like they were.....they have been transferring observations and sticky label information onto the sheet and ticking off the outcome and then disposing of the actual observation.

I have said that the 'there and then' moment must be kept as evidence and therefore have a valid point to use a different format to record (being as there is no room on the SOmerset pathway document). My colleague's argument is that if that is the form the government suggest then we can't put the any more on....I am trying to convince her that we/I have to have a system that works for me and the children and the team, the government's LA standard example is no good.

My predicament is that I am new to the setting and be seen to be changing everything too soon....however I need to do it at the start of the term to ensure continuity....except for the children that already have pathways half filled in .....help...am I being fussy?

I suppose what I want to know from you folk is should I insist on using a format for tracking and recording that I think works ...I am the manager....and will it be awfully messy with some of the older children having old-style records? Do we transfer information onto a new format? HELP

Edited August 15, 2009 by Guest

[Cait]

That's a tricky one, and I can only give you an example from my own practice which may or may not help you! We were given our LA forms, which were just a list of the 'stepping stones' which we should highlight when they'd attained them - didn't tell anyone anything so we refused to use them as what we already had was better - and providing you can prove your point of how and why they are better, I don't really think there should be a problem- my EYAT was very happy for us to use our own as she could see they were better.

I have totally re-vamped our development records over the last few years and as I changed things we 'trialled' them with a child in our key groups then discussed what we liked/didn't like about them and honed them into something specific for us. This gave the rest of my staff some 'ownership' of the document and they were happier about it. I try wherever I can to avoid the 'this is how it's to be done' type of thing (not that I'm in any way suggesting that that is what you are intending!) as I know that there is the potential for my staff to dig their heels in!

As to your point about it being 'messy', why would it matter for a while? If your system turns out to be better, they will want them for all the children, not just a few, surely.

Could you buy some cheap spiral bound notebooks - one for each keyperson for them to do their obs in, then they would/could be kept in readiness for the change of system if need be? If they are kept securely then there's no worry about confidentiality. It would also provide a wealth of information for staff chats at other times - I know we've used ours!

Does this help you at all?

[Guest]

Thanks Cait...yes it is a great help....I think I need to take in an example of what I am proposing...the trouble is a bit of me does want to say 'this is how it is to be done' as I know that it needs to be up and running from the start of term and no one seems willing to get together to talk about it (tried to arrange a meeting and every member of staff excpet one has said they will only meet the day before we go back to nursery)

 

 

 

....I envisage a lot of procrastination before I have a document that everyone agrees with and feels ownership with....and so I am thinking of preparing the records and going for it with them and crossing my fingers....but of course being open to discussion, explanation and tweaking of it...thanks for your advice it is much appreciated...... :wacko:

[Guest]

Ok first of all I don't think a single child in my preschool in the last three years has had a file / learning journey which looked the same all the way through and no one complained! As Cait said if it is improving does it matter?

 

I know where you are coming from with the imposing something new. I'm feeling better about it as I already know my staff and they are more than happy for me to do the thinking on this one. Perhaps, taking from Cait's comments you could for now, let them continue with the tracking sheets which have been prepared but additionally ask them to use notebooks to record observations and keep these as part of the child's files. It would mean a notebook for every child so I don't know how that would impact on costs but they could be a simple exercise book. The tracking sheet could then be cross referenced to the notebook and with luck as they started to do this, the staff themselves might see how much better it would be to have all this altogether on one document.

 

Hope I have interpreted the system correctly and this helps some.