How To Encourage Updating Folders Regularly

[thumperrabbit]

Ditto am in the same situation

[Jester]

In the EYFS class in our school the practioners are paid an extra few hours a week to do the profiles and have a staff meeting. For them they update every week and when in that room I used to update them every week though I did encourage the children to stick items in their books. I think it does depend on your staff, I worked with people who updated without being asked but know this is not always the case. I think it's a case of offering the extra hour paid as an incentive to do the work.

Edited June 22, 2010 by Jester

[Guest Spiral]

Gosh, this is certainly interesting and it seems that so many of us are coming against the same concerns;

 

Can we afford to pay staff to update folders?

Is the quality of input good enough?

Can we create systems to monitor the quality without offending staff?

Is it good enough when the folders aren't updated weekly/daily?

How can we ask for this when there isn't finance to cover the pay?

 

We have tried to do all manner of things;

 

- I have teamed staff up with a more senior team member so they can work together like a mentor

 

- Staff have been paid 10 minutes per key child to do their folders weekly - this is costly as we have 53 children though.

 

- I have provided in house support by showing techniques that can be used to the staff at meetings

 

- There have been visits from the Advisory Teaching expert from our Council

 

- when a staff member is supernumerary, they send another one off to get their folders done in a quiet space (it is rare that staff are supernumerary)

 

In the end, I am reverting to asking everyone else on the forum what they do! It is important for me to consider that my own expectations are too high - after all I am asking intelligent, part time staff who earn less than a supermarket employee, to provide a document which reflects a child's life time achievements.

 

It's a difficult balance and the more I think about it, the more I feel there should be gov't funding to cover the cost of demanding the staff do this.

 

Spiral .

[trekker]

Well at least i'm not alone in being caught out then.

I've had systems in place for checking reports each term and I guess I thought if they were at least passable the files would be too as after all the info comes from there - how wrong was I?!

I dont ask staff to do any more than what I do - I have more key children too...we all have an hours paid admin time per week.

I'll admit I go over the top when I'm doing files just because I want to send something truly special home at the end of the year but all I'm looking is something thats well presented, reflects the years experiences and a keypersons special understanding of a child....there is no excuse for falling below that. I will have to challenge it.

 

At least now Im aware I can, and plan to, make sure it doesnt happen next year.

[Guest jenpercy]

Well at least i'm not alone in being caught out then.

I've had systems in place for checking reports each term and I guess I thought if they were at least passable the files would be too as after all the info comes from there - how wrong was I?!

I dont ask staff to do any more than what I do - I have more key children too...we all have an hours paid admin time per week.

I'll admit I go over the top when I'm doing files just because I want to send something truly special home at the end of the year but all I'm looking is something thats well presented, reflects the years experiences and a keypersons special understanding of a child....there is no excuse for falling below that. I will have to challenge it.

 

At least now Im aware I can, and plan to, make sure it doesnt happen next year.

 

my staff were not doing any observations, planning or other paperwork. They come in at 2:30 and usually have 15 minutes before they have to go to pick up a child. they used to be allowed to leave early if children left early, but as soon as we announced evaluation 10 min meetings, I was told that it was impossible to finish clearing up before 6:30. Then we suspended the evaluation for a few weeks, and suddnely they were regularly ready to leave at 6:15. In the ned I announced that I was thnking of employing a Level3, who could do the job that they can't. They are all Level2. I also said that this would mean that we would be overstaffed and I would therefore have to make someone redundant. Slight improvement!!! I know that you are suposed to get better results from rewards and inducements, but they were just taking the piss.

[Guest]

I would hope that we have staff who would care enough to do this, but I'm torn like others because I don't see why they should do it in their free time for nothing on the wages they earn. We do pay our staff admin time to do paperwork where it is required.

 

If it was me, regardless of the pay, I would do it anyway like others have said. Mind you I am probably doing 20 hours a week free as Chair so I'm obviously mad anyway.

 

Just one thing I wanted to add as a parent, I have to admit that I have not read every page of the lovely folder sent home for me when my eldest child left preschool. It's nice for parents to have, but it's not something I have looked through endlessly (I'll probably drag it out when he hits 16 though!!)

 

To my mind it is a case that you are being asked to complete these folders to 'prove' what you are doing daily so that Ofsted etc. can check up on you. If you were fully trusted, you would be allowed to use your professional judgement and your 'sense' of each individual child to work out the next steps without having to document it all.

 

It broke my heart when we had a visit from some owls and as the children handled them the staff got out their sticky labels and camera to record what was going on for the folders. I do so wish they could have just relaxed and enjoyed the visit without having to 'prove' that a child had held an owl or whatever.

[lynned55]

Suzie, you are so right!! We should be trusted enough to know these childrne. Some of ours have been with us for 2 years, 5 mornings a week and I have extremely experienced staff. I trust them and I know that they can tell you straight away what most of 'their' children are capable of and what is required to support/develop them. But unfortunately we are constantly being asked to prove this. I know exactly what you mean about your owl visit as well.. I often think, when parents have looked through or been given their childs learning journeys

, what a shock they must get when they start school!! Small paragraph once/twice a year if you are lucky and the older they get the less info you get!!

[Tigger]

Lynned55 We do learning journeys in schools too!!!

 

No key workers and I have 30 children.

 

S

[Guest jenpercy]

It broke my heart when we had a visit from some owls and as the children handled them the staff got out their sticky labels and camera to record what was going on for the folders. I do so wish they could have just relaxed and enjoyed the visit without having to 'prove' that a child had held an owl or whatever.

 

I thnik it so bad for childern to be endlessly photographed. It takes away theirownership of what they do, breaks their concentration and encourages them to be self-conscious and narcissistic

[HappyMaz]

I thnik it so bad for childern to be endlessly photographed. It takes away theirownership of what they do, breaks their concentration and encourages them to be self-conscious and narcissistic

Really? I guess it depends on the terminology you use, and what the purpose of the photograph is. Children in our setting love looking at photographs of themselves, and remembering what they were doing, who said what to who and what happened next. To use the owl example, parents who were unable to join in with the activity would just love the photograph of their child holding an owl - and the photograph would aid the child's recall of the event long after the real memory had faded. If practitioners can use this photograph as evidence of the children's learning too then that is a bonus.

 

Maz

[Guest]

I can see both sides of this. In our setting when used appropriately the children love looking at the photos too and remembering what they did and parents are very positive about their use. However we have a regular enrichment activity (fortnightly) and the staff seem to take the opportunity to step back every time and photograph. I've actually taken to hiding the camera from them on that day as we have so many pictures of the same things that it is driving me mad! I would much prefer the staff got their sleeves rolled up and joined in with the children for a while. No amount of modeling from me seems to encourage them to do this - I just get looked at as if I am mad!

[sunnyday]

I love photos, children love photos, parents love photos........

 

Today is a great example - we have been on an 'outing' - to our Primary School - the children have had a wonderful time - they used the 'Adventure Trail' and the schools (prize winning) Literacy Garden........we had a very special storytime inside the Tepee......I have 'snapped away' - I have produced small photos for Learning Journey folders and larger photos which will be mounted on display boards and used in our setting.........

 

I'm sure that the children, their parents and visitors to pre-school will be absolutely delighted to see the photos, which hopefully capture the wonderful time that was had by all........

 

I never take 'posed' photos - just completely natural - so there is certainly not any disruption to the children's enjoyment of activities - or big adventures like today!

[SazzJ]

We are the same. The committee want me to encourage staff to be involved in updating their learning journals but we don't get time during sessions and it's not fair to keep asking them to do them unpaid at home.

 

So stressful and yet here is me trying desperately to keep everyone happy

[sunnyday]

Sorry Spiral - we got a bit off subject there with our talk of photos!

 

We send our Learning Journey folders home - once every term...........we write 'records home - parents comments' on them and always get some super duper comments from parents..........

 

I have long felt that this gives a great incentive for staff (and me!) to do a good job in keeping folders up to date and interesting!

[Guest]

We also struggle with this. Last year we managed to secure an hour a week non contact time for staff to update - some worked speedily and made progress, others enjoyed tea and biscuits and worked at a more leisurely pace! This year we are full to bursting with lots of new children and the hour has disappeared so the new plan is to snatch time when we can and then meet more formally once every six weeks-ish to update our own key children but with input from others as required. We will be sending them home half termly (every 6 week-ish) and spending some time during session with our children so they can look at them, add to them, have a growing awareness that they are their special books etc...Our children love to look at photos - we have a scrap book record of pre-school and I think they would love to have their own. this is our plan - who knows if it will work!! I don't think there is a concrete answer - we are a pre-school, there isn't a bottomless pitt of money, or more significantly enough time to do a prefect job, but I think it's important to remember this journal is just a small part of the information shared with parents - I know ours will enjoy it but just as much they apprecicate a few words at the end of session, an email etc... We all do our best with a variety of children, parents and staff, we are not teachers and the most important thing is the experience our children have, not the evidence of the experience our children have - this is something we mustn't lose sight of.

Off my soap box now - just my thoughts! Interesting reading all of yours:)