"delivering" Post It Observations

[Guest Wolfie]

What systems do people use to sort out all the "post it note" observations that they do each day and make sure that they get delivered to the right keyworker for inclusion in individual children's files? Do you have trays with the keyworker's name on and their list of children, do you have an A4 diary and put them all on the corresponding page for keyworkers to sort through themselves...or something different?

 

What works best for you and your setting?

Edited May 1, 2007 by Wolfie

[rosepetal]

Hi Wolfie,

I smiled when i read your post as i have only just introduced 'post it notes' as a way of recording snippets of observations into the room I am room manager in, i have set it up as follows, 3 staff, we each have an A4 Polly pocket with a sheet of A4 paper in the front of it with each of our names and the first names of each of the children we are KW to. The polly pockets are attached to a cupboard door, so all staff who are in my room can record information, (this includes staff who may be in my room on a break cover, or as a stand in etc) and pop the post it note into the relevant polly pocket. The A4 sheet of paper is used to hide what is written on the notes as they are obviously confidential. (Therefore parents or any visitors cannot see what has been written about other children.) We have prep time daily for an hour, which allows staff to write the notes up, children's names are high lighted on the post it notes to make it easier to see straight away which child the note is for. I have also introduced a system where i have made up a type of check sheet, where i have included the ELG,s and the Stepping Stones which we aim to have adult led activities for, for the week, i do this on a 6 weekly basis. With the children's names written down the side, when we do an adult led activity and the children have taken part and achieved the desired stepping stone, we put a tick by their name and a mini sentence as to how they acheived it, we then at the end of the week, transfer that information into the child's personal profile, this is just another simple way of gaining information by observing. Not sure if that all makes sense or if it is of any use to you at all, if not, let me know and i will try and put a sample of the sheet a have made myself.

 

Rosepetal

[hali]

we put them all in th home/nursery communication book box and its up to staff to look them out

[Guest]

We have a board to stick them on so the room leader can access info for informing plans for next day/week and then they are filed in key worker's individual files for evidencing and recording.

[Guest]

I have those little plastic clips you can buy for sealing bags for the freezer etc. We each have one pinned up on the board with a sticky label name above and the post its are just clipped to the right keyworker. Space saving!

[Guest sqpeg]

dont do post it notes now! trialling this at moment

we have a sheet of paper with the headings who, what said/done where why?

and each member of staff adds to it over the session

[Marion]

We stick them on the assessment wall then put them in the bin (after the information has been transferred to the class assessment sheets.)

[Guest Wolfie]

The assessment wall? Is that like the "working wall" that someone recently started a post about?

[Marion]

Actually it is a wall in what was formally the disabled toilet shower We blue tack our county's whole class assessment sheets to the wall and 'colour' them in as we go using different colours for each half term.

[Inge]

dont use post its... use sticky labels....

 

put in box which has envelope for each keyworker and childrens names on outside...

 

keyworker then sticks it into relevant page/area of childrens individual files.

 

i also put photos in them to add to the files

 

Inge

[Deb]

Same as rosepetal, we have 5 plastic pockets blu tacked inside a cupboard, with the name of the keyworker and their keychildren's names on the outside. Post it style notes are then put straight into these pockets. If possible, we will share it with the keyworker verbally too but not always possible. Just wish all staff were committed to doing them and that they were used to inform planning!

 

Like the idea of a sheet of paper of who did/said what, could be very useful for planning for individual needs.

[Guest]

we have A4 size sticky label, with about 15 rows printed on each sheet, this is available on a clipboard, all staff write comments during the session then they stay there until each staffs allocated 'file time' ( others then have time to read them). then put in files.

We do try also to write straight into the childrens achievement files which are available on our reception desk.

 

attached is an example, which were typed up from photographs showing development ( this was pre this system because some children had little evidence to put in our new files which we started in Aut 06)

 

Peggy

AUTUMN_2006_COMMENT_SHEETS_FOR_SCRAPBOOKS.doc

[Guest]

Just trying out a system whereby each child has a plastic file in a ring binder - the intention is that observations are made and popped into the relevant files. At the end of the week we are planning to discuss the observations as a team, then plan the following week depending on the observations. The individual child's key worker will then have their child's obs to keep in file. The keyworker of course can access the observations to inform their individual child's planning during the week.

We'll also get to see who does and does not contribute to the observations!

[Guest]

We are a pre-school with around 45 children on roll. Our system is a cork noticeboard with a small envelope pinned open for each keyworker with a list of the keychildren's names under each pin. Dated observations on Post-its (actually small squares of paper which are much cheaper!) are popped in the envelopes as they are written. The keyworker empties her envelope regularly -one advantage of this system is that the envelopes don't hold much paper- and sticks the notes into the child's record of achievement which is an A4 document with a page for each area of learning. Once a term the ROA is shared with the parent who is invited to add comments. When the child leaves a summary is sent to the next setting and the original document is given to the parent. I have frankly been amazed by how well this system has worked for us and how popular it is with the keyworkers.

[Guest]

We use the same system as Dasher. It works well but not all staff add to it!

[Guest Wolfie]

Thank you, you've all confirmed what I thought was probably the best way in one form or another!