Help!baseline Assessments

[Guest Biker]

I hope all you clever people can help!

Currently we are tracking individual childrens progress through keyworkers observations both of child iniated play and adult led activities .These observations are then transferred into childrens learning journeys and keyworkers then highlight the appropriate development matters statement.Each week keyworkers have "target children" that they plan for either through an enhancement in a continuous provision area or through an adult led activity.The planning can be clearly linked to learning journeys and is based on next steps for children using their interests as a starting point.

Keyworkers know their individual children well and are quick to identify poss SEN etc.

 

We don't currently have a formal baseline assessment system for the whole group and our head is putting pressure on us to produce measurable statistics for how children progress from entry!

Can anyone tell me if and how they do this?

Our children start with us at 3 and we are a preschool based in school grounds.Ofsted are due anytime now too!

Help!

Biker

[Guest]

Hi there,

Each child could have their own copy of the development matters statements - you could highlight baseline assessment in one colour and from then on in another colour - or a colour per term.

 

We have a programme called J2SL which allows us to input data by code (the code refers to the term or baseline). It can then throw percentages out about progress...

 

I hope this helps

 

x

[Guest]

Hi

We are pre-school and not attached to a school.

 

When new children come to us we give the development matters statements to the parents and ask them to highlight in yellow what they know their children can do.

 

Then at the start of their file we put a code to say that yellow is parents intial assessment at such a date. Staff then set their next steps using this information as parents know their children the best. If we happen to observe something the parent has already highlighted we tick and date it to say that we too have seen it.

 

Not sure if this is what you may mean?

 

We do say to parents that if they are unsure of what a statement means then to not highlight it!!

 

Are you attached to the school ie not just renting rooms from them? Otherwise what has it got to do with the head? (Not being funny or anything!!)

[Guest Biker]

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for your speedy reply.Part of the childrens learning journeys is the development matters statements which is where keyworkers highlight and put in evidence in form of observation/photo.

My problem is the baseline -how and when.

Our emphasis in that first half term is on settling these children many of whom have never been left before so then we would not get a true reflection of their development.

I do like the idea of using a different colour highlighter for each term though.

Biker

[Guest]

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for your speedy reply.Part of the childrens learning journeys is the development matters statements which is where keyworkers highlight and put in evidence in form of observation/photo.

My problem is the baseline -how and when.

Our emphasis in that first half term is on settling these children many of whom have never been left before so then we would not get a true reflection of their development.

I do like the idea of using a different colour highlighter for each term though.

Biker

 

Hi Biker...could you ask parents for an inital assessment,either similar to what Marley said or we ask them to fill in a all about me booklet! You could then use statements like 'working towards' and then acheived when looking at the development matter age bands?

[Guest Biker]

Thanks Marley,

We are attached to the school though registered as a preschool but as we provide extended school services have had to come under school umbrella!Have recently expanded our provision with a new building allowing us to double our numbers hence the need for a stand alone inspection.

I like your idea,we know parents are the experts on their own children but not sure my head will agree but I may be wrong!

Biker

[Guest]

Hi we do a similar thing to what has already been mentioned ;

We use a highlighter in a different colour for each term and using them highlight the developmental matters statements as and when then children hit them.

 

We try and do a baseline at about 6 weeks but because like you say there is such alot of settling in to do etc it is only a sketchy overview of some areas that we have noted initial obs about.

 

As our children enter nursery at 3 we have a PLODs sheet for each of them

(PLOD: Possible Lines Of Development)

Basically an empty box for each learning area in which we note what we see from those first visits. So for instance through playing in home corner we might have noticed a child using numbers but unable to count. Or how small world play is what a child is drawn back to each visit. Or we may note a chil'ds speech is limited etc. It gives an idea of baseline entry but also a starting point to plan from the childrens interests

 

Hope this helps??!!!!

[Guest]

Hi!

 

I am also an NQT in nursery this year and am feeling a bit flakey about on entry assessment. I have found lots of pro formas from other settings where they have initial check lists of simple statements such as "I can count to five, I can put my own coat in etc." I have been using these as initial tick-lists for in nursery when observing or spending time with the children at a specific activity. I used them to help to collate my development matters points (I also use a different highlighter each half term) and then have submitted sheets to my head whether they are in line, below, or above the age expectations for all six areas of learning. Does this help?!

 

I also feel completely lost when thinking about to use PLODS effectively in nursery, I am not sure how to manage them for all the children! Can anyone help with this?

 

Zoziebell x