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birkdale star
11-10-2012, 01:51 PM
sorry again everyone, i dont think i have been told half of what i need to know.
what are learning journals and do you need to have one for every child, anybody want to do one for me because i really need one at the moment.
thanks everyone.

hectors house
11-10-2012, 03:07 PM
It doesn't have to be a printed book - although you can buy them, it can just be a folder with your planning, observations and next steps for a child, so yes you do need to have one for each child.

I don't think anyone of us would know half of what we do know if we relied on information given at local training sessions, we learn from trial and error and from forum support.

pinkbutterfly
11-10-2012, 03:07 PM
This is a link to what my local authority put together to help us Surrey County Council - Early Years Foundation Stage (http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/learning/early-years-and-childcare-practitioners/working-with-the-under-fives/early-years-foundation-stage) I find it helpful as it has examples as well as editable file.
You need a learning journal for each child in EYFS so that you can track their progress and see if the child is developing correctly.

Rick
11-10-2012, 03:15 PM
sorry again everyone, i dont think i have been told half of what i need to know.
what are learning journals and do you need to have one for every child, anybody want to do one for me because i really need one at the moment.
thanks everyone.

That's not very good if you haven't been given enough information to do learning journals or even know what they are. And no, only you can do learning journals for your mindees based on observations of their play. A learning journal is a record of the achievements of each of your under-5's. Once they are in full time education you no longer have to provide the EYFS or a journal, but it is good practice to find out from parents and other settings (including their new school) what they like doing, what they are good at/not good at etc. You could still provide a scrapbook maybe with a few photos/artwork etc but you don't have to do a proper journal.

It may also not be worthwhile doing a full journal for an under-5 who you only see for a morning a week for example. You could do a slightly more in-depth daily diary with a photo maybe.

You are required to follow the EYFS for your under-5's. Observe the children's play and note down what they enjoy playing with, how they play with each other (are they leading or following?) etc. This will help you plan more structured activities e.g. if they like looking at spiders in the garden, maybe do an activity where you make one out of pipe cleaners.

For your under-5's you will need to (approx once a week depending on how long they are with you each week) produce maybe half a page of A4 outlining what you have observed of their play and maybe a photo to back it up. Crucially you have to link this observation to the 'Development Matters' document (if you don't have this you should be able to find it on the internet). You have to find a statement under one of the 7 areas of development which tallies with what you observed (taking into account the age of your child-see Development Matters doc).

I hope this helps. It sounds like you may have to ask your childminding coordinator for help on this as it is quite difficult to explain in words! :)

Rick
11-10-2012, 03:28 PM
It doesn't have to be a printed book - although you can buy them, it can just be a folder with your planning, observations and next steps for a child, so yes you do need to have one for each child.

I don't think anyone of us would know half of what we do know if we relied on information given at local training sessions, we learn from trial and error and from forum support.

Yes I forgot the bit about next steps in my waffle I just wrote! I don't think you necessarily need to put planning in the journal do you (might be wrong!)? This is in the child's file. But yes, next steps (Development Matters can assist in the Positive Relationships and Enabling Environments column) and any WOW moments are in the journal (note anything done for the first time which is more noteworthy, e.g. rolling from front to back for first time)

Rick
11-10-2012, 04:00 PM
This is a link to what my local authority put together to help us Surrey County Council - Early Years Foundation Stage (http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/learning/early-years-and-childcare-practitioners/working-with-the-under-fives/early-years-foundation-stage) I find it helpful as it has examples as well as editable file.
You need a learning journal for each child in EYFS so that you can track their progress and see if the child is developing correctly.

Thanks for the link, very useful stuff! :clapping: