Attendance sheets - all on one page, or separate sheets?

[Mouse]

New year = new attendance sheets!

If you do a separate sheet for each child, do you put them in each child's folder or keep them all together? And what if a child leaves, do you take their sheets out & file them away with their other paperwork, or do you leave them with the others?

What about with Ofsted? Do they want a record of whcih children you had on which day (ie. one sheet that shows all the children that were there on a certain day), or are they happy to have separate sheets for each child?

How do you do it?

[Happy Bunny]

I have all my children on one sheet, if I did individual ones I would end up losing half of them.

[cupcake22]

I have a sheet for each child that the parents sign at the end of every month.
If the child leaves I take the sheet out & file it away. I always log times in & out so that I known who was here when & at what time.

Cupcake22

[rickysmiths]

I have always had individual ones. I have always used the NCMA Attendance register.

Paid dividends when a parent made a complaint about me to Ofsted just before Christmas and I was able to copy the childs pages of the attendance register and send them off with no problem of messing around removing other names.

Also my parents sign the attendance register each week. Again greatly in my favour over the complaint because the parent had signed thus confirming their child's attendance.

I don't think it is the other parents business if a child is off sick, odd day off or on holiday either so not appropriate for the parents to see others attendance records.

[miss mopple]

I have a page per child and they all stay in one file through the month and at the end of the month I file them into each childs records folder

[Mouse]

I have a page per child and they all stay in one file through the month and at the end of the month I file them into each childs records folder

Thanks everyone.

That's what I was thinking of doing Miss M.

I have printed off a calndar page for each child & clipped them all together. At the end of the month I will file them away.
Are Ofsted OK about you not having one singkle sheet to show all the children wheo were with you on any specific day?

[rickysmiths]

Thanks everyone.

That's what I was thinking of doing Miss M.

I have printed off a calndar page for each child & clipped them all together. At the end of the month I will file them away.
Are Ofsted OK about you not having one singkle sheet to show all the children wheo were with you on any specific day?

All Ofsted need is to see you are recording the exact time each child is with you. It doesn't matter how you record it as long as you do. i know some cm's who just make a note in their diary.

[uf353432]

I think it depends on the number of children you look after. I have 25 kids on my books - so have 2 attendance registers - one for preschoolers and one for school/holiday children. I only record their initials and where I have kids with the same initials I put their age in brackets after. If I did individual sheets I would be going through reams of paper and buckets of ink. I don't ask parents to sign mine either. If a parent incurs extra costs as a result of extra hours - I confirm that in an email at the time it happens and then invoice.

When I had much less children I used to have parents sign the hours, and have a sheet per child - but actually it becomes a logistical nightmare to do that with a huge book of children.

I keep all my attendance sheets in a folder split into months of year - so as a child leaves they drop out of the list.

[AliceK]

I have 1 sheet per child which is for a month. At the end of the month they are filed in each individual childs folder. I have a note in my diary of who is in on what days, times etc but my attendance sheets note down exact times in and out.

xxxx

[Penny1959]

I used to record in a diary - parents weere suposed to sign - but some didn't and sometimes I was asking them to sign several things (such as attendance, a bump. some medication)

This year I am trying something different - you will have to wait a couple of months for feedback if works or not :D

I have brought each child a normal A5 diary (from poundland) and in it I am recording attendance, comments from parents (well the ones I need to record) my observations and any medication / accident.

Parents HAVE to sign every day - and where no information for something I write NONE. (I am hoping that some parents will get fed up of seeing NONe in the space for their comments and start providing a bit more info)

If I have given medication or there has been an accident I will be scaning the page and emailing to parents (see no point in a paper copy - as I often used to find the copy screwed up in bag or ripped by child. As each child has a email folder on my computer it will be easy to show Ofsted that I have given them a copy)

First two days have been good so far - and in fact better than expected as one parent who hardly ever signed befored has signed both pages - and provided some useful info about her child's development - as she liked the idea of it being put in child's book :)


Penny :)

[Mouse]

I used to record in a diary - parents weere suposed to sign - but some didn't and sometimes I was asking them to sign several things (such as attendance, a bump. some medication)

This year I am trying something different - you will have to wait a couple of months for feedback if works or not :D

I have brought each child a normal A5 diary (from poundland) and in it I am recording attendance, comments from parents (well the ones I need to record) my observations and any medication / accident.

Parents HAVE to sign every day - and where no information for something I write NONE. (I am hoping that some parents will get fed up of seeing NONe in the space for their comments and start providing a bit more info)

If I have given medication or there has been an accident I will be scaning the page and emailing to parents (see no point in a paper copy - as I often used to find the copy screwed up in bag or ripped by child. As each child has a email folder on my computer it will be easy to show Ofsted that I have given them a copy)

First two days have been good so far - and in fact better than expected as one parent who hardly ever signed befored has signed both pages - and provided some useful info about her child's development - as she liked the idea of it being put in child's book :)


Penny :)

That's interesting Penny. Do the books stay with you all the time, or do parents take them home to write their comments?

I currently do a daily diary (A5, lined book) for each child and have thought of using it for more than just me writing in it what the children have done. I have started to get parents to write a bit in about the child's time when they're not with me, and I have thought of putting more formal obs & planning in there. I have used it a coulpe of times to note accidents (and get signatures), then taken a copy of it for my records. I suppose I could put medication in there as well as long as I also keep a copy?

I currently do a LJ alongside my daily diaries (which are pretty detailed), but my aim is to incorporate them all into one. It's a bit daunting ditching LJs though when it's drummed into you so much that you should be doing them.

[Penny1959]

Hi Mouse

Yes these ones stay in setting - parents will see every day - and can ask for copies to be emailed (but I doubt they will ask).


I am also dropping the printed LJ idea as takes up too much space - parents not bothered - no one attending parents evenings etc.


What they like is photos and to chat.

So building on the years photo record (Power point) that each parent had at Christmas (twins parents had one for each child) I am going to try use the info in new diary to add to Power point idea and make a sort of Power point LJ. Who knows if will work - but as LJ's are NOT part of EYFS and have just soret of evolved into what most do now - I know I am ok with Ofsted requirements.

I forgot to mention that in each diary the Sat page will have brief summary of week and the Sun page ideas for next steps - this will then feed into the monthly summary / next steps - which will be a text page in the Power point.

As I say I don't know if it will work in practice - but worth a try because what I do know is I can not keep up with the LJ's in current format - and printing costs are far too much.

I will be interested in system thst you come up with.


Penny :)

[Mouse]

What they like is photos and to chat.


I could not agree more! I've yet to come across a parent who is interested in areas of development, but they all love the photos!

I already put photos in my daily diary and mini obs (eg. B was painting & noticed that when the blue & yellow paint mixed together, they turned green. That led us onto getting out the colour paddles and seeing what happens when we looked through the yellow & blue paddles at the same time. As a next step we will look at mixing different coloured paint).
The one thing I don't do in my daily diary is link obs to areas of learning or development age.

My plan is to carry on doing what I do & getting parents to write a bit about what the child is doing at home (or me writing down what they have told me), then monthly I will do a summary for each area of learning and some planning (some based on next steps from obs, some based on areas that I notice haven't been covered much in the month).

If I could include accidents & medication forms in the book it's going to cut down on a lot of folders and have everything together in one book.

Could you see it working or can you spot any obviousl flaws?

[sarah707]

I have a page per child and they all stay in one file through the month and at the end of the month I file them into each childs records folder

Same as miss m :D

[miffy]

What they like is photos and to chat.


I could not agree more! I've yet to come across a parent who is interested in areas of development, but they all love the photos!

I already put photos in my daily diary and mini obs (eg. B was painting & noticed that when the blue & yellow paint mixed together, they turned green. That led us onto getting out the colour paddles and seeing what happens when we looked through the yellow & blue paddles at the same time. As a next step we will look at mixing different coloured paint).
The one thing I don't do in my daily diary is link obs to areas of learning or development age.

My plan is to carry on doing what I do & getting parents to write a bit about what the child is doing at home (or me writing down what they have told me), then monthly I will do a summary for each area of learning and some planning (some based on next steps from obs, some based on areas that I notice haven't been covered much in the month).

If I could include accidents & medication forms in the book it's going to cut down on a lot of folders and have everything together in one book.

Could you see it working or can you spot any obviousl flaws?

I would ask the parents what they think - I know mine often like to share the children's books with other family members and friends, they might not want to show them details of accidents etc.

It's also good evidence for Ofsted if you ask for parents input.

Miffy xx

[Penny1959]

What they like is photos and to chat.


I could not agree more! I've yet to come across a parent who is interested in areas of development, but they all love the photos!

I already put photos in my daily diary and mini obs (eg. B was painting & noticed that when the blue & yellow paint mixed together, they turned green. That led us onto getting out the colour paddles and seeing what happens when we looked through the yellow & blue paddles at the same time. As a next step we will look at mixing different coloured paint).
The one thing I don't do in my daily diary is link obs to areas of learning or development age.

My plan is to carry on doing what I do & getting parents to write a bit about what the child is doing at home (or me writing down what they have told me), then monthly I will do a summary for each area of learning and some planning (some based on next steps from obs, some based on areas that I notice haven't been covered much in the month).

If I could include accidents & medication forms in the book it's going to cut down on a lot of folders and have everything together in one book.

Could you see it working or can you spot any obviousl flaws?

I agree with Miffy that parents may not want to share details of accidents and medications - which is why in my case those books stay in my setting - it will be the Powerpoint LJ that they share with family etc.

I think like me and my idea - it will be a case of trying it and then adpapting as needed (or going back to drawing bopard) Good thing is it is all evidence of continuing professional development.

Good luck with your ideas

Penny :)

[Mouse]

Thanks for the input.

I hadn't thought about the family sharing books with others, which I know they do. I know they would be happy to have just one book rather than a daily diary & a LJ. Very often the LJ entries have aready been noted in the diary, so they know what the child has done. I suppose the only difference is that in the LJ it's linked to development areas & includes planning.

I think I'm going to try combining LJs and daily diary, then keeping medication & accident forms in the folder.

I'll let you know how it goes!