hello,
I am due for Ofsted to come at anytime (more than 1 year overdue).
I have at the moment only 3 children ( 2 under 2 and one 2 1/2 year old).
2 of them are part time only and quite new so learning journey is small.
The one I had for the longest time and more days has left my setting in April for a month and is now back: when she left I gave my learning journey to parents with all paperwork, as she is now back full time I asked them for learning journey back AND......................... they don't have it!!
They told me I didn't gave it back to them while I did give it back and am 100% sure ( I give it back when they leave the setting anyway).
How can they loose a big ring binder folder??
This was my biggest learning journey to show Ofsted when they come and now I have got nothing to show.
WHAT SHOULD I DO?
I have daily diary still but that's not much.
Should I start a new one from scratch and copy again all the forms...as if she was new to me??
Such a pain, I am furious with the parents and should have make them sign a letter saying I handed it to them when I did.

How can Ofsted judge on something I don't have?
thanks

Don't stress! Ofsted will be used to inspecting people who have quite new children. It is the quality of LJ that they will want to see, not the quantity. Also, it's not just LJs that they look at - it's all your paperwork so make sure everything else is up to scratch.

You can't really be cross with the parents to be honest. You did the right thing by giving them the LJ - they do not have to keep it! They are perfectly entitled to bin it. It's a sad fact that we can put our heart and soul into LJs and they are not always valued by others. I would start afresh with this mindee's paperwork and just forget the fact that you had an old LJ. In your mind, see her as a new mindee - if she hadn't come back then you wouldn't have had her learning journey anyway.

hello,
I am due for Ofsted to come at anytime (more than 1 year overdue).
I have at the moment only 3 children ( 2 under 2 and one 2 1/2 year old).
2 of them are part time only and quite new so learning journey is small.
The one I had for the longest time and more days has left my setting in April for a month and is now back: when she left I gave my learning journey to parents with all paperwork, as she is now back full time I asked them for learning journey back AND......................... they don't have it!!
They told me I didn't gave it back to them while I did give it back and am 100% sure ( I give it back when they leave the setting anyway).
How can they loose a big ring binder folder??
This was my biggest learning journey to show Ofsted when they come and now I have got nothing to show.
WHAT SHOULD I DO?
I have daily diary still but that's not much.
Should I start a new one from scratch and copy again all the forms...as if she was new to me??
Such a pain, I am furious with the parents and should have make them sign a letter saying I handed it to them when I did.

How can Ofsted judge on something I don't have?
thanks

Poor you!

If you really have nothing for the learning journey, then I would just start another one from scratch, including all of the forms again (as if she was a new child). When Ofsted come, I would just say that she started with you on X date and here is her stuff.

(I would be tempted not to mention her previous stint with you as they are generally only looking at the stuff relating to children with you at the time of inspection, and not those who have left your setting since last inspection. I could be wrong on this point, and, if so, I'm sure someone will be along soon to correct me.)

Moving forwards, I would suggest that you now always copy everything that you hand to a parent when a child leaves your setting, so that you always have a copy for purposes of inspection etc.

Good luck,

L

My understanding of ofsted's expectation is that they are looking to see how well you know the children in your care. The learning journeys are just a tool to demonstrate that. Why don't you do a summative assessment of the child in question to show that you know her inside out. They really only care about the children in your care at that specific time - my inspectors have never really taken much time looking at old paperwork/scrapbooks even though they tell a long tale of how the children have fared in my setting. And on the day talk to your children lots and explain stuff to the inspector lots to show how much you know the children in your care and their needs.

thank you for those comments. The only thing which will be missing is the settling in ( she only left for 4 weeks) and I have been with her for almost one year. It is also annoying to have to copy all sheets again.
Anyway, thank you for your advise.

Hi, How frustrating for you- big hugs. I wouldn't worry about the size of your learning journey book, Ofsted are more interested in the actual contents. My part time children don't have as much in their folders as my full timers. You need to make sure you have starting points and next steps clearly shown. Ofsted are looking for evidence that you know your children and what they are capable of, and that you know how to support their development. I would suggest you explain to ofsted when they visit that the parent has misplaced the folder but you are hoping it will turn up and in the meantime start a new (hopefully temporary) folder. Do an observation so you have new/up to date starting points and go from there. X

Hello ,

I know it is frustrating when all your hard work has been lost ! I wouldn't worry too much about it , just do starting points again , tell Ofsted what happened when + if they come . I have just been inspected over a week ago , I was last inspected in July 2009 !
Regards