nearly bald...please help a stressed newbie... :D

[tilly69x]

hiya, ok a few probably jumbled qns so please bare with... :P

so for ALL children for ANY amount of time in my care i need to do obs and planning? how often must i do obs? a big one every 3 months and then if they do anything really fab and new then do one then? do i need to do a weekly plan for each child? how indepth does the plan have to be? just what areas im hitting each day, and why for that specific child? ill do a scrap book for each child where ill put photos in, write comments of what theyve done/learnt etc would that be sufficient to record the more regular obs ( not the quarterly) or do i need another copy for my own records after parent has taken scrap book? what else do i need to do/can i do to make it easier and more efficient? TIA!!! :) xx

[Tunja]

so for ALL children for ANY amount of time in my care i need to do obs and planning? how often must i do obs? a big one every 3 months and then if they do anything really fab and new then do one then? do i need to do a weekly plan for each child? how indepth does the plan have to be? just what areas im hitting each day, and why for that specific child? ill do a scrap book for each child where ill put photos in, write comments of what theyve done/learnt etc would that be sufficient to record the more regular obs ( not the quarterly) or do i need another copy for my own records after parent has taken scrap book? what else do i need to do/can i do to make it easier and more efficient? TIA!!! :) xx

Lots of questions so I will answer them one at a time.

Obs and planning is only required for children in the foundation phase. You do not need to do a big one at all. Write a sentence or two if they do something new. For example, roll over, crawl, string two words together, peddle a bike etc. Back this up with photos. Photos show a lot more than you can write. Some days you will have nothing to add to this. Use this as your learning journal and note in it if they need next steps. Eg pulls self to stand, next steps provide push along trolley. I keep the journal until a child leaves the foundation phase but share it regularly with parents.

My Parents each have a daily diary which informs them of any activity the child took part in, meals, sleep etc.

You can meet all of the EYFS for children under 2.5 years though your daily routines and continuous provision. You can make daily plans retrospectively as well as in advance and note them in children's diaries. This helps parents remember wellies etc. if you have planned an outing.

Tunja

[blue bear]

First of all there is no one right way of doing things, you will find a hundred different ways the trick is to find something that works for you and the mindees.
There are no magic number of obs to be done a month, the average seems to be about four, one long other one liners but again you will find a variation on this. If a child comes part time then observations will be scaled down to reflect the time you actually care for them.
You don't keep copies of observation once a child leaves and the learning journal or scrap book goes with them.

Planning should be individual following a child's interests or coming from the next steps highlighted on an observation. I tend to plan one activity per child per day but the child is involved in a whole lot more.

[tilly69x]

ok so they have a daily diary where we record meals nappies sleeps etc and if were going puddle jumping next day can we have wellies please.
then a learning journal where i record photos, things theyve learnt, where we can progress and how and can stick my obv's in? and then i wont need another copy of my obvs with them anywhere?
and then the individual planning, can that be stuck in thier learning journal or do i keep that in my own personal folder to work from?
thanks so much guys im just worried about doing it totally wrong then having to play catch up for months! lol! :)

[blue bear]

That all sounds fine to me, if it works for you then it is right.

Be confident in your choices and you will come accross confident to an ofsted inspector.

Planning in each lj is a good idea, I keep mine in a separate folder at the moment but might switch now. I use a glue stick or double sided tale to stick the bs and photos in the lj.

No you don't need another copy of obs that's just doubling your work load for no reason.