Questions questions...

[Helen Dempster]

Do any of you write a written report (similar to schools) for your mindees? if so, how often do you do them?

[sarah707]

I do a short summary every 6 months or so and ask parents to contribute.

I add a few photos to show the child having fun - I find that encourages parents to get more involved :D

[migimoo]

I'm just starting to do this-am going to send home what amounts to a summative assessment along with their LJ's for a few days every 6 months-don't know how to get my parents involved tbh-don't think they'd be too thrilled if asked to complete any paperwork:blush:

[jumpinjen]

I send home my LJs with a sticker saying 'please sign and write in any comments'...... first time i add a letter suggesting things they could comment on such as how involved they feel in their child's care, how they think their child is developing, if anything in the Lj has surprised them, do they have any pictures they want to put in? It starts them off and I usually get something in there!

Jen x

[lorettacritchet]

Thats a great idea....Its one of my ways of personal improvement but most of my parents don't read the LJ's. So do you parents come back, sign and give it back to you? I just give them an explainaition and a copy of the LJ. Most of my parents don't even write in the daily diary


I send home my LJs with a sticker saying 'please sign and write in any comments'...... first time i add a letter suggesting things they could comment on such as how involved they feel in their child's care, how they think their child is developing, if anything in the Lj has surprised them, do they have any pictures they want to put in? It starts them off and I usually get something in there!

Jen x

[jumpinjen]

Thats a great idea....Its one of my ways of personal improvement but most of my parents don't read the LJ's. So do you parents come back, sign and give it back to you? I just give them an explainaition and a copy of the LJ. Most of my parents don't even write in the daily diary

I've never had them write in the daily diary.... so instead I started a log book with a page for every month (just a spiral bound notebook) and I write down any comments parents make at the door, and initial it so I have a record of liaising with them even thought they don't write in the diary!

My parents usually keep the LJ from end of one week until sometime through the next week and write in it and sign - sometimes need reminding to sign - I ask them at the end of the day they return it -sometimes I send an e-mail reminder about comments and they reply with e-mail comments and I print and stick them in then get them to sign it....

Jen x

[bunyip]

I do regular sit-down-over-coffee reviews with parents. I then add their comments as input to a written report, which is just a few lines for each aspect of learning and development. ie. Where the lo is at, and what to work on next.

I started trying to do this every 4-6 weeks and soon found I was driving both myself and parents mad. :blush: So I'm now trying to find the best frequency for these reviews, bearing in mind I have different children more or less often each week.

The one thing I have worked out is that it's best to do the meeting on the same day as the children make cakes, as we get to eat the results.:jump for joy:

[jumpinjen]

I do regular sit-down-over-coffee reviews with parents. I then add their comments as input to a written report, which is just a few lines for each aspect of learning and development. ie. Where the lo is at, and what to work on next.

I started trying to do this every 4-6 weeks and soon found I was driving both myself and parents mad. :blush: So I'm now trying to find the best frequency for these reviews, bearing in mind I have different children more or less often each week.

The one thing I have worked out is that it's best to do the meeting on the same day as the children make cakes, as we get to eat the results.:jump for joy:

Love it - I do my 'sit downs' every three months ish.....

[miffy]

I started doing them termly but now do one every 6 months. I have a box for parents comments and also a sheet that they fill in about what their child is enjoying doing at home, new skills they've learnt etc. most parents do fill these in.

Miffy xx

[rickysmiths]

No I don't do school like reports on my minded children because I am not a school. I never will do them either. I have plenty of chats with the parents they have the LJ and I think they would think I had completely flipped if I gave them a written 'report' on their child. I am not a school or a teacher in that sense and children are reported on and assessed often enough between the ages of 5 and 18 never mind doing it pre 5. Why are we so obsessed with writing everything down and reporting and making our paperwork mountain even higher?

If a Learning Journal along with the Ages and Stages sheet is done effectively this is all you need to do. Ofsted aren't looking for anything else nor is the EYFS. Everyone complains about the paperwork so why on earth invent even more?????

Sorry I must be in my stroppy mood tonight. :laughing:

[BucksCM]

No I don't do school like reports on my minded children because I am not a school. I never will do them either. I have plenty of chats with the parents they have the LJ and I think they would think I had completely flipped if I gave them a written 'report' on their child. I am not a school or a teacher in that sense and children are reported on and assessed often enough between the ages of 5 and 18 never mind doing it pre 5. Why are we so obsessed with writing everything down and reporting and making our paperwork mountain even higher?

If a Learning Journal along with the Ages and Stages sheet is done effectively this is all you need to do. Ofsted aren't looking for anything else nor is the EYFS. Everyone complains about the paperwork so why on earth invent even more?????

Sorry I must be in my stroppy mood tonight. :laughing:

Did you not get the sewing machine going then??!!:(

:D

[sarah707]

The Ofsted inspectors guidance for inspections under the revised EYFS (released Aug 2012) states that in good provisions (note - this is not an outstanding requirement - it's for a good grading) providers -

• Complete ‘regular and precise’ assessments of children

This - to me - suggests strongly that we will need to write some type of learning and development summary.

It does not say it has to be long... and the EYFS makes it clear that paperwork must not take us away from the children.

I hope this clarifies :D

[singlewiththree]

I do it termly and incorporate it with next steps as my planning for that term for the child and it compliments my individual planning. Mine doesn't look like a school report, I include photos and then on the other side of A4 I put group planning and trips we are planning, courses i'm attending and other general changes to paperwork etc

[bunyip]

The Ofsted inspectors guidance for inspections under the revised EYFS (released Aug 2012) states that in good provisions (note - this is not an outstanding requirement - it's for a good grading) providers -

• Complete ‘regular and precise’ assessments of children

This - to me - suggests strongly that we will need to write some type of learning and development summary.

It does not say it has to be long... and the EYFS makes it clear that paperwork must not take us away from the children.

I hope this clarifies :D

Thanks Sarah.

I don't think it takes us away from the children - it just replaces the social lives we all used to have. :D