Ofsted help

[slipenders]

We recently had our ofsted visit. It did not go as expected for a couple of reasons. One being as tapestry is new into our setting and all staff were not confident in using the system, the other was because we could not show how the children develop. Since the visit we have started using a tick chart to mark the children's ages and stages but I feel we need to do more. We do checks on entry and 2 year. Can anyone share their ideas and how they record the children's progress other than on tapestry, or do some people only use tapestry as we used to?

 

Thanks

[Cait]

I used only Tapestry, as it showed the development I needed. (Using the snapshot tab) I could track progress of individuals or specific groups and Ofsted were very impressed with it. Whilst we were in transition between our old paper based system, staff still used their old paper methods, until we were into the second full term of using Tapestry, when there was evidence there to use.

[mrsbat]

I still can't get my head round how you can actually see all progress of each child in all areas from when they started to current day on Tapestry (I know you can see term by term but that's still not actually clear exactly what they have achieved overall) So we use our paper trackers alongside tapestry

[slipenders]

Thank you. That's the problem we had where we couldn't see what we needed to. We will continue to use paper trackers.

 

Thanks again.

[Helen]

If you let us know, in the weavers' future developments forum area, what you need, we'll definitely consider adding it. :1b

The age-band tracker shows you how the children have progressed over the whole time they have been with you.

The comparison screens allow you to compare progress over two assessment periods (soon to be several assessment periods). What else would you you like to see?

[Rafa]

The age band tracker? Remind me please Helen, how do I access this?

[mrsbat]

If you let us know, in the weavers' future developments forum area, what you need, we'll definitely consider adding it. :1b

The age-band tracker shows you how the children have progressed over the whole time they have been with you.

The comparison screens allow you to compare progress over two assessment periods (soon to be several assessment periods). What else would you you like to see?

Thanks Helen. I've looked at the age band tracker - is there any way to do this for individual children? On the screen I am on in snapshots it only gives the option for 'group'

 

Also what I really want/need to be able to see is not just how a child is developing in each area as a whole (emerging, dev, secure) but also how they are developing for each statement in each area - I know Tapestry say it's not a tick list and the statements are just suggestions etc - and I do agree in part - BUT schools in our area are asking for more detailed info in transition reports about what children can do, are starting to do and need support with, they have actually commented that our reports are not detailed enough just stating how a child is progressing in each area.

 

Also to be honest although ofsted state they don't want tick lists they also insist that they need to be able to see at a glance exactly where a child is at - not just which age band they are working in - which I guess is what the original poster is saying too?

 

At the moment we don't use Tapestry next steps because we just don't get on with them so we get our next steps from our paper trackers which consist of 2 A3 sheets which have all statements on from all areas of learning from 20 months to ELG - this is a clear, quick and easy way to see at a glance exactly where a child is working - we have had 2 inspections using this format and the inspectors have really liked how in depth they are - neither of them have said it's being used as a tick list or anything.

 

Sorry I've rambled on but as a setting we LOVE tapestry - it's totally changed our way of working, it's saved so much paperwork and all the staff and parents love it - it would just be handy if there was a similar way of tracking on there as we do on paper at the moment

[Ancaster]

We are just switching to Tapestry and have had many questions but so far everyone has been really helpful.

 

We have inputted our age and stage for each child as a baseline to show starting points for each child. We have then set our periods to three monthly which is when we would normally track age and stage and look at cohort groups, gaps etc.

 

We also use what we call a next step sheet for each child - a simple piece of A4 paper which the key person keeps for each child as a termly working document. The key person will note down things like interests, characteristics of learning and next steps for each of their key children as they arise which also then informs the planning. It also indicates how each key person knows exactly where each child is. Just as an aside, we don't use Tapestry next steps, preferring to use our own judgement based on actual knowledge of the children even though that probably sounds contradictory as we are after all inputting our own observations! We do however, have a slight concern that if we let Tapestry select everything for us this could have a negative impact on our own practice, knowledge of the EYFS and dare I say create a bit of a lazy culture!! I can feel the bullets hitting as I type!!!

 

On joining the nursery, each parent is given a print out of the relevant age and stage development matters (in a simplified format) for their child on which they highlight the areas that they know their child is already achieving and we input this as a baseline. We then do things like first days obs, next steps obs etc, etc, which will either support the parents claims or not! We then track from there.

 

It's very early days for us where Tapestry is concerned but even at this early point we can see that it will be a time saver!! The only thing we haven't been too impressed with is the two year progress check report but that may simply because we haven't quite got to grips with it yet!!

Edited March 2, 2016 by Ancaster

[BroadOaks]

Hope you get this answered soon, i have to shoot off, but i will relook tomorrow at this.

 

We have been using Tapestry almost 12 months.. and it is all we need to use! We recently got our improved Good grading and Tapestry really helped us to achieve this..

 

Will reply again soon if required.. to explain more

[Helen]

Hi Ancaster,

'We do however, have a slight concern that if we let Tapestry select everything for us this could have a negative impact on our own practice, knowledge of the EYFS and dare I say create a bit of a lazy culture!! I can feel the bullets hitting as I type!!!'

 

I totally agree :1b This is one of the reasons we are resistant to promoting the use of the development matters statements as a ticklist- where each child is expected to achieve them all, and if a child achieves one, the identified next step is the next one on the list, etc. Children deserve much better than this- they need staff to work with broader curriculum aims and be a bit more inventive with deciding on next steps.

 

Do let us know what you mean about the 2 year checks- is there anything else you'd like to see there?

 

mrs bat- if you hover over a child's name on the age-band tracker, you should be able to see how they've progressed through the age-bands. Let me know if you can't see this!

 

'Also to be honest although ofsted state they don't want tick lists they also insist that they need to be able to see at a glance exactly where a child is at - not just which age band they are working in - which I guess is what the original poster is saying too?'

 

Ofsted inspectors cannot expect you to use the Dev Matters statements at all- let alone as a ticklist. When they want to see how a child is progressing, they should be just as happy looking at age-bands with or without refinements, or the statements, or some other completely different assessment system.

 

We do often return to this discussion around the statements, though, and how they should best be used, if at all

[BroadOaks]

These statements are the best tool we have to "judge" children. They have been tried and tested for years and a lot of work and research has been put into them. They are almost perfect to be used as a "ticklist" in comparison to any thing else out there, that i am aware of?

 

They cover all areas of learning very well and even though they are a guide, it allows us to show progression in children's development very well. They also do a good job at visually identifying areas that are not progressing well, and allow us the opportunity to understand why.

 

OK we can get an idea from just being with children on a day to day basis without needing to complete any paperwork, but also things can get missed this way.

 

So after saying all this, i feel Tapestry does a great job at showing us visually how both an individual child is progressing in each area of learning and also how an overall group are progressing. It can also identify areas of learning that are lacking in the whole setting, and allows us to do something about it.

 

Wouldn't our jobs be much easier, to not need the paperwork at all. it can be obvious to see if a child is "delayed" in a certain area of learning. ie, speech delays, social attitudes, disinterested in being creative, can't count to 10 yet, lack of attention, etc .. and all we would need to do is encourage these "areas of learning" in the future to hopefully get this child up to "normal" levels. How accurate though, is this technique? And more to the point where is the evidence in case of the requirement for outside agency help. ie Speech Therapists being a common one.

 

So i feel Tapestry is the perfect tool to cut down paperwork, but also store a lot of evidence that utilise the best early learning goals that we can use.

[BroadOaks]

Now to go more in depth with Tapestry and how it can clearly show children's progression.

 

The Snapshot area.. allows us to choose and see at what level a particular child is upto in each area of learning, and when the last assessment was made. BUT this data is only accurate if the assessments are input accurately of course.

 

So for CHILD A - 24 months old - just started your setting. The first thing we need to do is input a Baseline period. let's say 6 weeks. During this 6 weeks we would try to observe as many areas of learning within the 22-36 mths age bracket, presuming parents haven't mentioned any developmental delays. Within the first 2-3 weeks we hope to identify any areas of learning we might need to "secure" from earlier bands. Let's presume all is good and we are making assessments in the emerging 22-36 mths goals for many areas. After the 6 weeks baseline period we hope to have assessed in all the areas of learning to give us that starting point, and accurate start. if you haven't got an observation but have seen that CHILD A can do something on a few occasions then it is ok to Manual input this into the baseline.

 

OK with the baseline LOCKED.. the next terms period ie SUMMER TERM 1 will be used to observe and assess to gain information into that period.. again the same process occurs.. with hopefully now Developing or Securing some goals and areas of learning once the child nears the end of the 22-36mths band. This will take you to possible AUTUMN TERM 1 for example.

 

When you have the many periods ie BI-TERMLY of accurate assessments, this is when the Analysis Data, and Snapshots can be used more accurately. The next steps can be very useful although as mentioned these are optional and thinking of your own is more personal. They are great for ideas however.

 

I hope this is of some help and i am sure there are many tutorial videos that explain this process much better. Stick with it, it really is a great tool.