Assessment dilemma, urgently need advice pretty please?

[Guest]

Hi everyone, my inclusion coordinator came to me today after a team around the family meeting with a family who's child joined us in September, so only this month. We use the wonderful tapestry as our learning journals but it appears to have provoked a reaction from the mother. The child is two and has a diagnosis of likely autism although their behaviour is not at all like we had described to us and put in handouts from the parents over our many meetings over the summer holidays. We have been super positive all the time, the child is doing fantastic! The parents at the end of each session appear to be less interested in what we have to say/write each day, then today at the meeting the mother produced another handout and has requested the child is not be assessed against the EYFS as it is too linear. They are in receipt of the two year old funding also. There were many other requests too.

So after a huge story there, sorry, I wonder what we can do, we are having a meeting to show her again how our assessments are made, recorded termly and tracked for her child, where we need there input, although as theyve only been with us a very short time we have only the tapestry entries, we haven't done our termly progress summaries so haven't started the tracker. My IC explained how they are encouraged to include entries as it would really help us, and how the whole obs, summary, next steps, parents input, tracker may help with there much desired diagnosis before he starts school. Is there another way we could assess and track????? I'd be greatful for any help and will answer any questions I can!

[playgroup1]

We had two children last year with Statements. Both had Down Syndrome, one of them with lots of medical issues too. We used Tapestry as a way of engaging with parents so they could see what they had been doing and parents included observations from home. But our assessment and tracking was mostly done using the Early Years Developmental Journal. This has learning and development broken down into smaller steps than Development Matters so is more appropriate for children with sen. So we didn't use the assessment part of Tapestry apart from CEL for one child at all whose parents were quite sensitive about him being compared to "normal" children. Your Inclusion Coordinator should know about the Early Years Developmental Journal.

[Helen]

And we have thought about adding the criteria from the Early Years Developmental Journal into Tapestry- how helpful would it be to weavers, do you think?

[finleysmaid]

As a child in receipt of funding they will have signed an agreement which should state that their child will follow the eyfs curriculum. So if they would like to be funded then they should accept the eyfs ....this is a bit harsh i know but is unfortunately the way it goes. (ive had to use this info before!) Maybe just try and go slowly at first ...these parents are going through a sort of grieving process at the mo...maybe they just need time?

ncb do a developmental journal which our lea use for sen if you wanted an alternative...does the child have an lea keyworker?

[finleysmaid]

link...

http://www.ncb.org.uk/early-support/resources/developmental-journals

[Foreveryoung]

We track our ASD children and other Sen children that normal trackers wouldn't suit on Locke and beech trackers aswell as the EYFS as the EYFS is too broad and big steps for some sen children and it doesn't look closely enough at the smaller steps to show development in a much more broken down format.

[dreamgirl]

Massively.

[Stargrower]

Yes please! Please, please, pretty please!

[Jeany]

Helen it would a huge bonus to have the Early Years Development Journals on Tapestry. We currently use Tapestry to communicate with parents and have paper verisons of the EYDJ but think it would be good for parents to have it all together.

[Aunt Sally]

I work with SEN children and agree with other members that EYFS is just too broad and doesn't enable staff to show progress. It can also be disheartening for parents. I think the developmental journals would be a great addition to Tapestry for staff working with SEN children. We still have a responsibility to show progress and this can only be demonstrated if it is broken down into much smaller steps of learning.

[Helen]

Thanks for your replies- I'll have a chat next week with the rest of the development team and see if we can do this :1b

[jocrow]

That would be great Helen, thank you!

[Guest]

thanks everyone, the meetings today so we will see how it goes