Anyone Not Doing Learning Journals?

[Guest]

Hi

 

At the moment we have not be doing learning journals for the children in our Reception classes as other staff members and the headteacher are not sure of the purpose and value of these journals for us as teachers.

 

Is there anyone else that has not yet started the learning journal process or is doing it in a different way that may be more manageable for us to make for 60 YR children?

 

Many thanks!

 

Kerry

[Guest]

It's great to hear that there are some schools out there not doing these! Whilst I know there are many benefits to doing them I always worry that teachers and schools feel pressured into doing them even though they are not under any obligation to do them if they don't think them necessary.

 

They are great for communication with parents and letting them have a record of their child's time in reception, but apart from that I'm not sure they have any benefits that you couldn't get by recording things in a different manner if that is how you feel comfortable with and if learning journals would cause a significant increase in your working load (work-life balance is important after all, especially in a reception class where the teacher can end up with 30 learning journals to update, rather than in a nursery where a key worker might have only 8 or 13).

 

If you are looking for an alternative way to perhaps display children's progress to parents perhaps you could have a display board near where the children are dropped off/picked up where you post photographs, great pieces of work and even quotes from the children each week. You could build it up over a week, or a half term or whatever you decide and then start afresh.

Edited February 27, 2010 by Guest

[Guest]

Thanks for your reply Kariana, you made me feel much better!

 

We do everything that would go into a learning journal, it's just not displayed in the same way (its all in one lever arch folder with a section for each child with work, photos and obs). We are just worried that if we have Ofsted in or anyone else we will be penalised for not having learning journals.

 

x

[HappyMaz]

We do everything that would go into a learning journal, it's just not displayed in the same way

Well if it contains everything that would go into a learning journal then surely it is a learning journal, isn't it? You're collating information about each individual child's progress, so you're doing the work, just presenting/storing it in a different way. I guess the only difference is the number of lever arch files you need, and how you show them to parents when they want to see how their child is doing.

 

We all do things differently and I think its important to be confident in what we do and why - and if we can justify our decisions to anyone who asks then it doesn't really matter what terminology we use, does it?

 

Maz

[Guest]

Thank you for your input HappyMaz

 

[Marion]

We aren't doing Learning Journals instead we've opted for Margaret Carr's Learning Stories to share with parents

[Guest tinkerbell]

Its the sharing information with parents that Ofsted want to know about.They asked me if the parents just helped themselves to their childs learning journal and liked the fact that they were easily accessible.

 

So its really how you make the childs information available to parents

 

Tinkerbell

[Guest]

We don't do them either as with 78 children and 3 staff we dont have time. We do take pictures which are downloaded into each child's individual folder and when the child leaves these are all put onto a disc and given to the parents as a record of their time in nursery.

[Knoksk]

We dont have learning journeys. Instead I have 6 files (all the areas of learning) With sheets in with the P scale discriptors on. When I have done an observation I stick it in the correct place - usually on post it notes. I also take pictures and stick these in with quotes underneath from the children. The idea is as long as I can prove some of the class are doing these things It covers it.