Confused about tracking and showing progress

I know we have to show the developmental progress of the children we mind but what is the best way to do this? I was under the impression that we were not supposed to use the Development Matters or Early Years outcomes as a tick list but after a visit from the local EY Development Advisor I'm confused. She says to go through the list termly and highlight the things I know the child can do, each term using a different colour so I can show that they have progressed. I said that Highlighting was the practically the same thing as ticking but she swore blind that it is not. I don't mind using them this way for my own information to help with planning but I feel uncomfortable sharing them with parents.

Are there other ways to show progress?

Using a highlighter pen is a rather old fashioned way of doing it- it was popular a few years back but it is practically ticking as you are marking off exact statements as achieved rather than seeing the whole section as a 'best fit' for a child- a child may not achieve every statement and should not be pushed to try to fit them into each statement.

You can use a grid on a horizontal A4 sheet- Aspects across the top, age stages down the side. I make a horizontal mark (use a highlighter if you want, different colour each term) to show where the child is roughly per Aspect/stage- I do a mark across the top of the box if just starting in the stage and further down if secure in that stage. Then as time goes on the lines move down and you can see the progress and any areas that are lagging behind. There are other ways but that works for me.

I use a high lighter pen and my parents like it as you can see the progression. If there is something the child does at home then I mark it in a different pen but similar colour to the most recent highlighter.
I explain to the parents that I might not see every statement nor every bit of every statement but I look at the overall progression.

You are right that Ofsted want to see progress - but EYO is not very good for doing that because the statements only show a small percentage of the things children can do / say.

So... they are a guide only. You might not see a child doing / saying some of the statements - but you see them doing 100s of other things so you know they are developing at the appropriate speed.

Use EYO as a guide as it is intended - your observations show children are making progress - they are moving on to the next age and stage across the 7 areas of learning.

Hth :D