Newbie!

[Guest]

Hi guys, I am an NQT that has landed a job as a foundation and year one mixed teacher within my local area. Although i am very excited and newly trained I am also slightly daunted by the ways of managing the foundation stage profile - if any body could please offer advice or a link to some help it would be much appreciated! Also i came upon this site and thought it would be a great way to 'meet' other NQT's and Foundation/Year one teachers! SO please contact me if ya want to!

Please reply

Many thanks for your time

[Guest]

Hi Kirsten and welcome

I am a reception teacher. We manage our profile by having 6 boxes. Each is labelled with each curriculum area. We put all the evidence we collect for the profile in the boxes. We annotate each piece of evidence with the date it was collected, what it shows and the profile point it is for. To keep a check on who has acheived what points we keep a lists with names down the side and profile point across the top. We have one of these for each curriculum area. We get these sheets out at every planning meeting. We go through our assessment sheets and observations from the week and give each child a tick if they have achieved a profile point. Once they have 3 ticks we say that this scale point has been acheived. We then transfer this to the each profile every half term.

Hope this makes sense!! I know everyone manages the profile differently and i think it's about finding a way which works best for your team and your setting.

[hali]

hi and welcome.

[Guest]

Hi Kirsten and welcome!

I have had a mixed R/Y1 class last year, and again next year. We have had 6 A4 ring binders with plastic wallets in, one for each profile statement. In each wallet, we have a observation sheet for that profile statement that we photocopy when we want to do a focussed assessment of that area. we also put any photos to show evidence for that point. At the beginning of each of the 6 folders is one A4 piece of paper with a grid showing reception childrens' names and the profiel statements. When we are satisfied that they have achieved that point (from observations of free play and planned assessed activities) we highlight/tick the appropriate box.) We will probaby do the same for some of the Year 1 children who still have a long way to go on the profile in the autumn term too.

I like the idea of Lola's boxes too.

[Guest]

Welcome from me too you'll find loads of useful advice on here,

[Guest]

Hi, welcome from me too, luckily you have the summer holidays to take some time to look through all the useful guidance and information within the forums, articles, resources etc.

 

Good luck with your new class.

 

Peggy

[Guest]

Hi and welcome from me too!

[Guest]

Hi and welcome. I too will go back to having a mixed R/yr1 class next year having just had reception this year. I collect my evidence in a similar way to Lola which works well for me.

See ya around the forum

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the forum

[Guest]

Thanks for all the guys that have replied - i feel most welcome! Yes i intend to use my summer going over stuff and getting my head round things! Any advice has been gratefully received so far - i like the two recommendations especially the boxes! I just worry that the boxes may take up too much room?! Any other ideas would be gratefully received!

[Guest]

The boxes do take up quite a bit of space. We stack them - however they are useful as we can store evidence such as models etc.. in them

[Guest]

Hi and welcome ive only been a member myself for a week and im already addicted so be warned ! x jojom x

[Beau]

Hi Kirsten,

 

Good luck with the new job. You will get lots of advice from people here - don't hestitate to ask. You will also meet many people in a similar situation to you and hopefully make lasting friends too.

[Marion]

We use one leverarch file with individual dividers I adapted from this wonderful site. We pop in photos and post it notes and observations that provide evidence for the statement. It takes very little time or space and was praised by ofsted earlier in the year.

 

welcome to the forum by the way

[hali]

sounds good marion

[Marion]

Like you said somewhere........... we would get bogged down burried in evidence if we tried to keep everything

[Guest]

i' m having a thick moment- one of many unfortunately!!!!!!!

 

you have one lever arch file- is it divided into areas? does every child have a page or a page per area or more?

 

we have 6 folders- the thin A4 ones- one for each area. inside is a page with each child's name on. On these pages we stick photos, post its, stickers etc. then each page is used to inform my profile and my planning.

 

It seems to work for us

 

except that sometimes you do an ob and you really do not know which folder to put it into.

 

do you do any individual obs-formal 10 minute type obs on children etc.

 

just wander how other people manage these.

 

Thanks

[Marion]

I was keeping a page for each child for each area and was told this wasnt necessary and now only have a page for each area

[Guest]

Hi

 

Still being thick I apologise.

 

So you have a folder which has six sheets of paper in it total. then on this one sheet of paper for say CD you stick all your photos, observations, etc for all the children. So by the end of the year would you have added more sheets to the CD section. And they would contain all photos and obs for all of your children- say 25 children.

 

I m sorry for being thick, I'm presently emailing my LEA and asking then why they don't send me analysis of our school scores like other LEAs do. So i am kinda brain dead.

 

sorry

[Marion]

The advice I was given by my LA moderator was to use a file for all 6 areas - inside this file is a poly pocket for each of the statements and in each of these poly pockets we put two or three examples for this point - what a child who is achieving this point will be expected to show. (photographs/examples of childs work/ observation etc)

 

I do not keep evidence for every child and we work on 5 or 6 statements a year(decided by our LA moderation team/qca) to build up the file over a period of time.

These are the statements we have covered in the past 2 school years

 

 

The statements that will be the focus during the school year 2004 – 2005, are as follows:

 

Communication, language and literacy

Language for communication and thinking

3. Talks activities through, reflecting on and modifying actions.

 

Linking sounds and letters

4. Across a range of activities, the child is able to name and sound letters of the alphabet, and can recognise almost all of them.

 

Reading

7. Retells narratives in the correct sequence, drawing on language patterns of stories.

 

Writing

6. Attempts writing for a variety of purposes, using different forms.

 

Creative development

5. Explores, colour, texture, shape, form and space in two or three dimensions.

 

Practitioners are expected to be able to discuss two or three different observations or pieces of evidence that led them to make their judgements about one child for each of these five statements. It can be a different child for each statement.

 

 

The statements that will be the focus during the school year 2005-2006, are as follows:

 

Mathematical Development

 

Numbers as Labels and for Counting

6. Counts reliably up to 10 everyday objects.

 

Calculating

8. Uses developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems.

 

Shape, space and measures

4. Talks about, recognises and recreates simple patterns.

 

Physical development

 

2. Moves with confidence in a variety of ways, showing some awareness of space.

 

7. Handles tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely and with basic control.

 

Practitioners are expected to be able to discuss two or three different observations or pieces of evidence that led them to make their judgements about one child for each of these five statements. It can be a different child for each statement

 

 

Its a very easy system to manage

 

Sarah posted these useful dividers for her file

http://www.foundation-stage.info/forums/in...ost&p=36622

 

Assessment/observations/post it notes etc once marked off on our assessment charts are thrown away, photographs and special pieces of work are put in the child's file and sent home at the end of the year

Edited August 24, 2006 by Marion

[Guest]

Marion, that is interesting becuase that is exactly what we do. An A4 ringbinder for each of the 6 areas. We have 1 polypocket for each statement and in that (or an empty one next to it, we put any photos/annotaions/feedback sheets from adult initiated task observation). We also put a class summary tick list at the front of each folder so that we can see what needs to be planned next.

The LEA has 2 areas each year that they moderate, so that tends to be the file that we try to focus more on each year. we keep some examples of evidence from previous years, but generally we start afresh each year with a new cohort. However, maybe the evidence would be useful to keep to show/prove how we have made our assessments.

[Guest]

I think your system sounds great - very sensible and usuable.

 

Can I ask, what would happen if someone came into your room and asked to see how you made the judgments for 'John's' progress against the Profile? Would you have to sift through your folders? Have I misunderstood the system.

 

I am very interested in doing your system, but just worry that this way, someone might slip through the net.

 

Our system at the moment - every child has an A4 file with 13 plastic pockets (each scale point) to put obs in (I know you are not expected to collect evidence for every child for every point) but this system instantly shows the 'gaps' and it is easy to access individual children.

[Marion]

When we were moderated thats exactly what happened the moderator asked for examples of why I had 'ticked off' X for profile point Y it was a case of saying this is what we expect to see from a child who has met that goal and X is able to do this this and this.

We do keep individual files but do not keep evidence for the profiles rather they are used to keep special pieces of work and photographs of special occassions

We also keep whole class grids which are highlighted when a child fulfills a statement on our assessment scale (broken down into smaller steps than the profile) and by looking at this any gaps are very clearly shown.

I have been moderated twice and OFSTEDed once since we adopted this system and have been praised for the effectiveness and ease of use.

[Guest]

I am so glad that i joined this site. Otherwise i think i would have continued to drown in paperwork and just be totally over come by it all. I shall definetely be using your system. Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest]

Thanks Marion. I really do think your system sounds great - very managable. But, I am worried that I would not be able to "talk the talk" . I have been reflecting on the last two moderation meetings I have been to and my conclusion is that those teachers who are articulate and can express themselves very well are the ones who seem to become the 'favourites' on the table and often get their children marked 'up' a point. (This is regardless of evidence, photos etc - just the ability to 'talk the talk') The whole moderation thing starts to become really quite subjective and personality driven.

 

So .... I am not sure I quite have the courage to adopt your system - but I will discuss it with my colleagues.

[Marion]

Our moderation process isn't about marking the children its more about checking that all FS teachers are using similar criteria for assessment

[Guest]

Marion - your moderation process sounds excellent. Thinking about it, our moderation does seem to be about individual children - assessing them - and not likes yours. Yours is how it should be I think. In September I am going to bring these issues to our cluster meeting which our Head of Early Years is attending.

[Guest]

Marion could i be cheeky and ask if i could have a look at how you break down the profile into smaller assessment scales.

Many Thanks