BenTapestrySupport

I love the idea of getting them to understand 'buying' the snack too!

One thing I used to do which worked well for us was, we had a photo of each of the children in one pile. When the children wanted snack, they would then go find their photo, put it in a pot, and then take their snack. This was so we could see who had taken their snack that day, and we didn't use it to make children have snack if they hadn't - but we at least knew who we could mention it to in passing if they wanted snack. It takes some getting used to for the children - some forgot to move their photo (sometimes because they forgot, others so they could get more snack!) but once it was established, it really helped as it didn't interrupt anything.

Hashtags are definitely a great way to add these and filter by them. You can use the Additional Information box for this and hide it from relatives (in User Permissions) if you wanted. Another option would be to create a set of Bespoke Flags which you apply to the observation in which you talk about the next steps. Bespoke flags - adding and editing flag sets

I think one of the points I've picked up from conversations I've had with settings that have been through an inspection, from Ofsted themselves and also my own experience when I was teaching (but under previous framework) is, whilst there is no need to have anything written down/recorded, staff must be able to talk clearly about the children, the provision put in place for them, and also why you have planned those next steps for them. If a conversation between the member of staff and inspector doesn't answer the questions clearly or is muddled, then the inspection team may want to dig deeper into this, and this is when having something written down may help. It shouldn't be a requirement though. The main issue is though, when an inspector asks someone a question, panic can set in and their thinking might not be as clear as if it was when they were just having a conversation with other staff. This can (unfairly) make it sound like they don't know their children. Also, as @louby loo mentions above, if the member of staff is away, what systems do you have in place to ensure that their key children aren't missed? It certainly shouldn't be anything too detailed as it's just the backup and shows that you've thought about it.

Hi, and welcome to the forum! I have just moved this to the Teaching and Learning area which will hopefully be seen by someone who can help. Would you mind letting me know what ARReads are please? Is it Accelerated Readers?

Hi, The first thing to check is in Control Panel - Settings - Flags - EYFS 2021 and configure. Make sure the box under Reflections is ticked to Enabled: The reason for this is because, only reflections (and observations) that have an EYFS 2021 flag attached to them will appear in the Areas of Concern screen. If you go to the Reflections tab, you will see all the reflections you have already added. Those with EYFS 2021 flags will have a purple or mustard coloured flag showing: If they do not have these showing, edit the reflection and scroll down to where you can add the flags. From here, select EYFS 2021, and the area/aspect you want to include. Once you save this, when you go back to the Areas of Concern screen, you should now see the reflection appear. If you are still having issues with this, please do email customer.service@eyfs.info and we'll be more than happy to look into your account for you.

Hi, With the new framework moving away from the tracking children through age bands etc, the new guidance materials from Development Matters and Birth to 5 Matters are designed in a way to not be used in the same way i.e no age bands to track through. These are really only to be used to support and guide your planning and provision. On Tapestry, the EYFS 2021 flags allow you to show which areas (from the 7 areas of the new Development Matters and the aspects from Birth to 5 Matters if you are using them and have them enabled) an observation is related to. These are not any kind of assessment though and just a way to help you find relevant observations later when considering the development of a child in each of the areas. The flagged observations then feed into the Areas of Concern screen, which is a space that allows you highlight any areas for a child where they may need extra support or need their provision in that area adapted. Once the child is developing as you expect them to and accessing the provision planned for them, they would then be able to be moved back to no concern. We recently recorded this webinar that covers how to use the EYFS 2021 and the Areas of Concern flags. Please let me know if you have any other questions though.

Hi, Welcome to the forum, and thank you for your question. The Additional Information box can be set to be visible or hidden to relatives in User Permissions. If you go to Control Panel - User Permissions - Relatives - Observations, and scroll down to the bottom of that section, you can set View "Additional Information" to either be permitted or not permitted. If you have it not permitted, relatives will not see that box when they login. This tutorial goes through the User Permissions for relatives in more detail: Setting user permissions for relatives I hope that helps answer your question.

Have you got extended periods of time for the children to do their learning through play? I often found, especially at the time of year, anything longer that 5 minutes listening to me, the majority of the class had switched off. In the end I had my day structured so that 'teaching inputs' were placed either end of extended learning opportunities. e.g. Start of day, phonics - Child Initiated time for at least 90min - Maths - Lunch - Literacy - Child Initiated time. I could then work with small groups during that C.I time if appropriate, but the main focus for me was to support children in their development based on what they were doing in the things in the environment.

Hi. Can I just check whether you have enabled the EYFS 2021 flags on your account? Setting up EYFS 2021 Once these have been enabled, you should be able to see the Areas of Concern screen appear under the tracking tab. If you are still having issues with this, please do email customer.service@eyfs.info and we will be able to look into your account for you.

Know it's not really the same thing, but I had a child who was diabetic and had a pump fitted. We had to calculate the amount needed to be pumped in at meal times. For us though, the biggest issue was what to do if the tube from the pump came out - and parents and diabetic nurse came in and showed us how to replace it if needed. We made sure as many people as possible knew how to do this, but it was the responsibility of just a few to do it (but having more people trained meant that if there were a few people away, we were covered).

Hi, I think one of the great things about the new EYFS Framework is that it gives you the opportunity to move away from thinking about on track/not on track - because what are you comparing those things against? Before, it became the norm to use the Development Matters guidance as a way to decide this, but now, with the new Development Matters and Birth to 5 Matters coming out, we have a great opportunity to move away from this. The way I see it is that you would have your long term plans already in place - and these show what your children are going to be doing during their time with you. Threaded into this you will most likely have already factored in typical child development for the areas. Using your planning (be it weekly or however long you create them for) you can see how your children are accessing the provision that you have put in place for them. This planning can be guided by the new guidance materials if you wish, but also use the knowledge of child development that you and the other staff have to support this. Most children will be accessing your provision well, and in turn, making what you could say is expected developmental progress. Some children though may need extra support to access your provision. For these children, you can adapt your provision for them so that they get the extra support that they need. This might be for children with learning differences, but it could also be for those children who are what you could class as 'high ability'. The provision you put in place for these children reflects your expected development for them - it's all very individual. (This is where on Tapestry if you use it, you could use the Areas of Concern screen to highlight those children that do require extra support to access the provision and once they are then accessing their adapted provision, they could be moved onto no concerns again.) Doing it this way, means that you are really supporting your children's development, based on their starting points and able to spot those that might need support quickly. It might be that they don't meet the ELGs at the end of Reception, but if their development has been what you expect then that is the main thing.

@finleysmaid This is why it's important not to see this screen as "on track/not on track", because in that case, you are right, there is a chance that some children would remain in the 'Concerns' area and that is of no benefit to them really. The screen is really for you to track any children who are needing extra support for the provision that you've put in place for them. For a child with learning differences, your provision for them would reflect the support they need, and if they're accessing that provision, then there is no reason why they can't be a 'No Concern'. Likewise, if you have a "high ability" child who maybe starts to struggle to access the provision that you've put in place to stretch them, then there is no reason why they can't be a 'Concern'. We have just recorded this video on a practical use of this screen that you might find useful:

Hi @Mouseketeer I think the way to approach the Areas of Concern screen is not as an 'On Track/Not on track' screen. It's somewhere for you to monitor how the child is accessing the provision that you have put in place for them. For a high achieving child, you may be planning activities for them that will allow them to gain that extra depth in their learning. If you then find that the child is struggling to access this provision put in place, then you might consider putting them as a concern for a while so you can help them to continue to make developmental progress from where they are. Likewise, you may have a child with learning differences, who has a different provision in place, and they are accessing it just as you had hoped and making the developmental progress that you were expecting. They would therefore be a 'no concern'. The aim of this screen is to really help identify those children that need support quickly, and allows staff to put in place things to support their development as and when required. For most children though, who are accessing your provision as expected, they would be a no concern for their whole time with you, and by accessing the provision you have put in place, making the expected developmental progress.

The FSF continue to be proud sponsors of the APPG pressing the Government for support for our sector. In the Comprehensive Spending Review the Chancellor must ensure the sustainability of the sector. We are part of the infrastructure upon which the economic recovery of our country depends. The APPG have written to the Chancellor expressing our concerns. APPG on CEE - CSR letter to DfE.pdf APPG on CEE - CSR letter to HMT.pdf