Helen

Tapestry includes a SEND assessment framework which you may find more appropriate to use with children who have been identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities. The framework is based on the old Development Matters document (2012), but we have removed the age bands (calling them stages instead) and also added many other statements which could help in identifying those smaller steps of progress that children with SEND might demonstrate.

To enable this on your account you just need to go to your Control Panel, which you can access by clicking on your name in the top right-hand corner (1) and then selecting 'Control Panel' from the drop-down menu (2). 

Once you are on the Control Panel you just need to click on the 'Settings' option on the left-hand side menu (3) and then select 'Assessments' from that drop-down (4). You then just need to look for the 'SEND' option and once you find it, click on the 'Configure' button (5). 

You will then get a pop-up box where you just need to tick the box to enable it (1). If you also choose to display the framework to relatives they will be able to see the assessments in SEND that you've made as part of published observations (2). They won't be able to make assessments themselves though!

It's also possible to download a copy of all the SEND statements from here (3).

Remember to press 'submit' if you make any changes (4)! 

Once that's done you can get started with making observations! To do this you just need to go to the Observations tab at the top of the page (1) and then click on the '+Add Observation' button (2). 

If you have more than two frameworks enabled on your account, then you will just need to select the SEND framework from the list of them. If you only have two or just the SEND framework enabled, you won't need to do this and it will show already. 

The seven areas of learning are the same as for the older EYFS 2017-2020 Development Matters assessment framework (1). If you select an area you will see that the aspects are the same as well (2). 

At the top there is also an option to download a document with all the SEND statements in (3). 

Once you select an aspect and click on the drop-down arrow, you'll see there are a number of stages to choose from. These equate to the age-bands from the old Development Matters. For example stage 1 is 0-11 months, stage 2 is 8-20 months etc.

In this example, we are going to choose stage 2 in Making Relationships:

You'll see there are two sets of statements- the first set being in italics. These are the additional SEND statements. The remaining statements (not in italics) are the original Development Matters (2017-2020) statements .

Although the advice on every page of the Development Matters document advises against using the statements as a tick-list, many settings supporting children with learning differences and disabilities find that they are better able to demonstrate small steps of progress by refining each statement. This is how you can perform your assessments within this SEND framework.

Select the required statement by ticking the box (1) and click the drop down arrow (2) to choose the refinement of emerging, developing and secure. Make sure you click 'save' at the bottom of your screen.

The child's journal will now have this entry:

We hope you find this helpful!

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Hi Panda007,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for making your first post :1b

Sorry I can't help with your question, but I'm pretty sure someone will come along soon!

Hi,

I've moved this into the Tapestry forum area. :1b

At the moment, the only place you can upload a word document is in reports, but we're hoping to allow this for the obs screen in the future.

I so agree; and I really urge you to stand up for what you believe in! Using the age-bands as a guide and using the refinements of emerging, developing and secure (for the age-bands alone- absolutely not for each statement) I think is the best way of using Development Matters. You can show progress of the children adequately through this method, and it prevents everyone getting so hung up on the statements as a means of assessment and deciding which of them are the next steps for each child. The best ammunition you have against the overuse of statements for assessment is Nancy Stewart's (the author of Dev Matters)own article here, and the statement at the bottom of each page of Dev Matters telling us that they are not a ticklist. :1b

Hi,

If you're using the Development Matters age-bands, then I would argue that we should expect them to be (and hope them to be!) in the age-band that matches their chronological age. Disregarding their actual age and deciding that, for example 30-50 or 40-60 emerging is where they 'should' be, seems to make nonsense of the age-bands and refinements.

However, I know reception classes have to do just this!

I'm worried about nursery having to do the same, though- but in your case here, it looks like you'd expect a child of 36 months starting in January to be 30-50 developing.

Is there a reason you've set a nursery baseline expectation? A child of 36 months starting at nursery could be 22-36 secure?

Yes, I would agree with Rebecca; if you only have one device in the room, your staff can't all be using it!

Hi Amanda,

Welcome to the forum :1b

We often think about this one when we're deciding what to introduce into Tapestry next. But, our general feeling is that if we did that, then staff would be tempted to either assess at the same level, or slightly higher- regardless of what they're observing! So, for example, a child has been assessed as 22-36 emerging. We make this available on the obs screen, so when staff next observe the child, they are 'steered' to either choosing the same, or to go for 22-36 developing. No matter what the child has achieved.

That's what we think at the moment, so this feature always gets put further down the 'to do' list! But, we always review what's on this list and regularly adapt our priorities depending on feedback. We'll wait to hear what other weavers think.....

Hi,

We really advise you not to have just the one assessment period (ie the whole year). You won't be able to show progress over time, if there is only one period.

Tapestry does average the assessments over the period- so to explain what's happening with your account, one of the team would need access. Could you send in a support ticket to tapestry.support@eyfs.info and we'll help you work out what's going on?

You don't need to use a refinement for every observation- in fact, many settings just choose an age-band and then make the refinements at a later date- perhaps every half-term when you're reviewing how your children are doing. Refinements are indeed for the age-band not each individual statement.

You can create as many bespoke groups as you wish- eg for 'Short Note' children or those receiving S&L therapy. This tutorial shows you how. :1b

Me too! I tried very hard not to sound like a mad woman. :wacko:

Yes, completed it myself just now! It's so important we all voice our opinions. :1b

Have you considered Tapestry? You can export data from Tapestry via pdf/csv files at the end of the reception year, and you can create baselines against which to compare future progress.

Many schools are now using Tapestry throughout KS1 and 2 to provide a seamless observation and assessment system right through early years and primary- we are currently adding some new snapshots screens to the KS1 and 2 assessments which will provide your SLT with the data they need to track progress through the levels-free world we're now in!

The last inspection cycle ended in July 2016, and this means that anyone can be inspected again, in any order, during this next inspection period. So, if you haven't been inspected since from July 2016 to now, then you could be. :1b

Hi teddiemax06,

Tutorials 40, 46 and 47 are a good place to start to discover how your children are doing. :1b

HI Jeanie,

That isn't possible I'm afraid- because the child will be at different ages according the assessment periods that are listed in those earliest/latest and lowest/highest screens.

Happy Birthday from all of us at the FSF ::1a Have a lovely day!

A lovely, lively school in Kemp Town, Brighton would love to welcome an enthusiastic TA into their reception class, from now until the end of the summer term. Maybe you're a student who has just finished their early years/primary studies for the year? Or possibly you've already worked as a TA and aren't in work at the moment?

If you're interested in this position, please email me at helen@eyfs.info :1b

We're hoping that the next steps system will be much more flexible in the future, so, yes!

Here is the current version of our EYFS + SEND statements. We'd be really grateful for any feedback :1bEYFS + SEND Version 2.docx

The subscription fee for an individual is £20+VAT, Tinkerbell. :1b

I would just advise you not to select from the ELGs when you're making an observation, as they are only for reception teachers. Just stick to the age-bands.

No- that's my point- the ELGs are only for reception teachers at the end of the reception year. They are a summative assessment system, not formative.

I think we need to be clear that the Development Matters statements are not 'early learning goals' or targets, learning intentions, objectives, etc. (The ELGs are for reception teachers to assess children against at the end of the reception year). They are simply examples of the types of behaviours, skills and knowledge that children might demonstrate. Children obviously demonstrate a great deal more than this list of statements! The Development Matters statements were not designed, and we believe should not be used, as a ticklist to show which things children have 'done' and which ones they haven't. They are just guidelines, and children should not be expected to achieve them all.

Far better to look at the wider/deeper learning that a child is demonstrating to you- and then for staff to use their professional judgement to decide whether this it typical for a child of that age. Then, place the child in an age-band and/or refinement. Only then would we advise ticking a statement if it really matches what you've written in your observation. I don't agree with your idea of making sure a child is secure in one age-band before moving on; as you've explained, the age-bands overlap so I think this creates an unnatural restriction on the child's learning. If he/she is demonstrating learning at a higher age-band, it shouldn't matter that he/she hasn't had 'all the statements ticked off' in a lower one. The child is clearly working at the higher age-band (probably at the 'emerging' refinement).

If you carry out your assessments in this way, you will be able to see progress as the child moves through the age-bands and refinements.

Hi Broadoaks,

Why do you feel you need a ticklist at all? Using the age-bands, and if you wish, the refinements, allows you to demonstrate very clearly your children's progress- you really don't need to be ticking statements and then seeing which statements you haven't ticked! This leads to a very closed curriculum offer, I would argue; children need next steps that don't just rely on the next statement in the list. They need next steps to come from all sorts of sources- eg CoEL. I would advise that assessment isn't just about what the child has demonstrated, but about how he or she learns- and you don't need to measure this with any particular scale.

It's really interesting to see what's been happening in KS1 and 2 now the levels have gone; many schools are working really imaginatively now to demonstrate the breadth and depth of learning within each year's curriculum. And the ones I'm most interested in are the ones where they don't assign 'scores' to assessment. We, in early years, are generally really good at observing children and assessing them 'in the moment'; with not a ticklist in sight!

Just to be clear- your comment above isn't correct!

'The only problem with this is that if a child is only emerging or developing in 30/50 but for some reason a 40/60 emerging statement was selected, this would show the child to be at 40/60 emerging, rather than staying at the 30/50 developing we would expect.'

Your assessments for each assessment period are averaged- so making one 40-60 assessment would not show the child to be 40-60 if you have several assessments at 30-50. Lauren explains it much better than me here :1b

I would argue on what grounds is your year 1 teacher thinking this is in any way good? What does she think it will measure? Are your colleagues aware that the baselines were deemed not fit for purpose, and scrapped?

Thank you for your suggestions; as my colleagues Rebecca and Emily have said above, this is definitely on our 'to do' list- and I'm pleased to say is getting much nearer to the top! We are not expecting to be making any additional charges for the service. :1b