new child. what order to do things?

[hulahooper]

Got my first mindee starting on Monday. I have a settling in period chart from south glos. Then as I understand it, I will meed to do obs and then can do planning and review and next steps. Is that the correct process?

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[bunyip]

I can't comment on your county's "settling in period chart" as I've not seen that particular one.

Ofsted are very keen on setting a 'starting point' as a base from which to measure progress, so concentrate on that for the first few sessions/weeks. Parental involvement and partnership working are also hot topics. So include input from parents and any other setting the lo attends in both the starting point and in future observations/assessments/reviews.

With that in mind, I incluse a "Wow moments" page in each lo's daily diray, so parents can write down achievements and experiences from home. I also have a page each month on which I suggest an activity to try at home, and leave space for the parent to note down their own observations and feedback. :)

[The Juggler]

agree with Bunnyip. What's important and what ofsted will look at is:

did parents input into child's interests before starting (so you will need to ensure you get info from them informally or formally with a form)
then observe child
evaluate where you think child is at/what s/he likes
plan from there :thumbsup:

[hulahooper]

We have wow slips at school for my boys so thats a brilliant idea.

We did a about me with mum.

When u say where the LO is at, what do I need to measure that or note it with.

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[migimoo]

I've only just done my first starting points as we were told absolutely nothing about them by my local training/DO:angry:...I looked at the development matters for the relevant age group and used that as a rough guide,ie, "X holds a brush in a pincer grip....X initiates play/imaginative play/chats about her day/communicates when she needs the toilet"

Hope this is right and is helpful.

[bunyip]

We have wow slips at school for my boys so thats a brilliant idea.

We did a about me with mum.

When u say where the LO is at, what do I need to measure that or note it with.

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Like Migimoo, I use the EYFS Development Matters (ages & stages) as a rough guide. Also note the degree to which the lo is employing the 3 characteristics of effective learning, which are covered in some detail on pages 6-7 of Development Matters.

[The Juggler]

We have wow slips at school for my boys so thats a brilliant idea.

We did a about me with mum.

When u say where the LO is at, what do I need to measure that or note it with.

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not sure how old child is but yes, use the EYFS development matters as a guide so

is child walking, cruising
feeding with a spoon
saying some words

happy when left, settles and engages in play

:thumbsup:

[hulahooper]

How am I noting this? Shes 18months. If u could give a written example pls.

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[hulahooper]

Or is there a sheet where we can tick the points?

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[The Juggler]

i would say don't be looking for a tick list of things rather note what she IS doing. just scribble little notes when you see things or make a list end of each day/week for first week or so.


very simple notes literally just - can feed self well with spoon/fork
helps dress self by offering an arm, tries to put shoes on or whatever.

Maybe to make it easier for you to get your head round and to make it easier, design a settling in sheet that works for you hon. An A4 with PD, PSED and CL as headings and just note what you see. Don't make it too prescriptive so you are 'looking' for what EYFS has written down rather note what you see and see where that fits when you look at development matters later.

DM is quite prescriptive and I can't always find what I've observed in there so if you have a struggle with evaluating what you see, come back and someone will be able to help tell you where it fits. :thumbsup:

[hulahooper]

Thanku for putting up with my questions. Do u have or know of an example?

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[bunyip]

You should get down to the library and check their childcare studies shelves for a good book on Early Years Observations. There are various ways of doing it. Each CM will have their pefrred method, although it will go down best with Ofsted if you can use a variety. Tick lists are definitely at the bottom of Ofsted's popularity chart at the mo. :thumbsup:

[The Juggler]

also, check the free downloads section here once you have posted a bit more :)