Steve Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 There are many products on the market which allow various sorts of admin and record keeping for foundation stage as well as other key stages. Most seem to be very expensive - out of the reach of the average nursery setting. I've suggested here before that it might be interesting to specify what it is the average Foundation Stage setting manager would like to see in such a program, and then find out how much it would cost to put such a program together, making it available to FSF members either as part of the subscription fee, or for as little on top of that as possible. One big advantage is that we could offer a support forum by and for the users with no extra hassle or overhead. What do people think of this idea? It's likely to be a long term project and might not prove practical - certainly it would depend on enough funds becoming available from the subscription fee to pay for the software development. Too ambitious to think about or worth discussing further? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_63 Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Hi That sound like a good idea Steve. I have looked at a range administration software and its very expensive. I have paid my subscription and would be happy to pay a bit more to cover the use of the software. Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1490 Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Steve that is a very good idea count me in. I am off to reggio will be thinking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Excellent idea Steve..im all for it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 As all the commercial management software packages are so expensive this would be a great idea-providing we pay a realistic price for it Steve. I don't think that you should be putting a whole load of your time and effort into it at your own expense. So, yes I would appreciate an affordable program and will put some ideas of what I would like included together if you decide to go ahead with it. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 18, 2004 Author Share Posted July 18, 2004 Hi all - Thanks for the feedback! To be honest Linda, this isn't something I would be thinking of doing myself - too big a learning curve involved I'm afraid. What I was thinking is that we could discuss in great detail here what we'd ideally like to see in a program of this sort - flesh out the features and reporting options and so on. This would then enable someone to design a database system that could deliver what we want. If we then get to the stage where the site is getting more revenue in from subscriptions than we need, we could then buy in the services of a professional programmer/analyst to deliver it - it would then be freely available to forum members for as long as they were members. As with the other project (QA assurance), I think it's more of a long term aim, but like many other people I think the cost of this type of software is so high (unreasonably high given what it requires) that it effectively excludes the smaller settings from being able to use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 20, 2004 Author Share Posted July 20, 2004 And since people are obviously chilling out at the end of term and it's all quiet, I thought some of you might like to try a demo version of one particular example of this sort of software. You can find it here - they have a Foundation Stage version. I've downloaded it already and will have a look over the next week or so, although I'm also semi detached for the first couple of weeks of the summer break. A word of warning though - it's a big file - 32 MB or so - so only try downloading it if you have a broadband connection! It's fiendishly expensive, but maybe worth looking at to see the sort of thing that is becoming available. Probably only realistic to state sector - reception or Foundation Stage Units - see what you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Hi Had a look and although it does look good i dont think it wouls be suitable for nursery........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 21, 2004 Author Share Posted July 21, 2004 okey doke hali - Thanks useful to know. Do you want to kick off with a set of things that you would like to see in a nursery orientated program? Or maybe nursery record keeping is less formal than reception Foundation Stage record keeping, and doesn't require software of this sort? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Give me time to think on that one steve....brain has gone into holiday mode Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_79 Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Took over 12 mins to download with Broadband. This looks reasonably user friendly to me, Steve, although exactly how useful I'm not sure! Similar in lots of ways to Curriculum Complete. I'd really like to Early Years Complete, both by Skills Factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 22, 2004 Author Share Posted July 22, 2004 Hi Susan - Yes I've heard of the Skills Factory one, although I haven't looked at it yet. Perhaps we should try to get hold of a review copy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_63 Posted July 25, 2004 Share Posted July 25, 2004 Hi Steve I have just looked at thee skills factory one and it looks very good, you get 4 packages (planning and record keeping, End of year reports, Foundation stage planning and IEP and target setting). It is £90.00 for a single user licence for the whole package which isn't as expensive as others I have looked at. I have also just looked at Childs play (www.turntidesoftware.com). Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 25, 2004 Author Share Posted July 25, 2004 Hi Carol - I noticed the Skills Factory price was a bit more realistic than the others. The Classroom Monitor, from Prime Principle, in particular seemed very high in price, with an annual 'Support' contract which wasn't far off the purchase price of the Skills Factory one. It's difficult to tell whether you're comparing like with like until you've gone through all the features in depth, however. I'll try to put together a table of features to see if it helps distinguish between the products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 25, 2004 Share Posted July 25, 2004 Hi, I've just looked at the Skills Factory 'early years complete' (sound like a prescription puppy dog food!! ) and that looks pretty good. Just to have everything in one place would be great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted July 25, 2004 Share Posted July 25, 2004 Hi Steve tried to get brain working..not much sucesss im afraid.... I think with nursery maybe there is not such a need..although i think if i owned it , it would be a different matter. i do think planning and record keeping would be useful, but so on reports and things like that.. Sorry..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_2732 Posted August 1, 2004 Share Posted August 1, 2004 Sounds good, Steve - will have a think, too. Might be able to come up with something, seeing as my holiday is now over! Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 Hi everyone, I'm from Prime Principle and a new subscriber to this forum. Thank you for your comments above about our Program. You have drawn to our attention that the pricing structure that is seen on the website is actually for the National Curriculum Classroom Monitor. We have not yet decided on a pricing structure for the Foundation Stage Module (it hasn't been released yet - release is in September) but we had thought that something along the lines of Pupils------Initial Price-------Upgrade and Support (not compulsory after yr1) 0-20--------£100------------- £30 20-50-------£175------------- £40 50-100----- £250-------------£60 would make the program a more realistic price for the smaller nurseries. What do you think about these prices? We would also be delighted to hear any other suggestions to improve the program and ways that we could make it more user friendly. If you don't have broadband and would like a demo we can send you a demo CD. Please PM or email your address. Thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 Hi Steve this sounds really exciting, i have said for many years "wish there was something out there, that we could all follow"............... also many years devising my own, but never really happy with it!!! with everyones knowledge and experience through "been there, done that" hopefully we might find something that could be used in many early years environments!!??, will definately put my "pennys worth" in, when i get to this part of my paper work, as we will be looking hard and fast at this area of our development. Hi Chris thanks for your post iam really interested and have sent you private message julia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 4, 2004 Author Share Posted August 4, 2004 Thanks for that Doris. I'll be looking to get more ideas from you and others once people start getting themselves organised in September. Chris - welcome to the forum and thanks for your first post (and subscription!). It will be useful to have your experience of the product to lean on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 Thanks both of you, We really appreciate any feedback that you are able to give, it is difficult finding something that 'fits' in with the needs of so many diverse and different nurseries/ reception years etc and some sort of hard and fast wishlist might be the sort of useful grounding from which we can tailor Classroom Monitor to fit your needs. As an aside that we are currently considering: we have feedback from some quarters that the P-Levels of the National Curriculum could be a useful additional resource to build into the program. I am aware that for SEN it is important at primary level (along with a few other things), but we have recently had some comments that P-Levels are used by a number of FSP practitioners for monitoring and planning as well. Is this the case in your experiences and if so do you use it alongside the FSP or instead of? Thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 4, 2004 Author Share Posted August 4, 2004 Hi Chris - You'll find a fair few conversations about the use of 'P' levels in the Foundation Stage. It is being used by some areas, but it is generally regarded as bad practice and to be discouraged. You can find a good discussion here about their usage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 We only use 'p' levels for the special needs children and this is a whole school/ county scheme. The important things are the stepping stones and early learning goals which feed into the FSP. For the special needs children 'p' levels are only used for those on statem,ents and they are used alongside the early learning goals which are the most important things in foundation planning and assessment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_379 Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 Have just looked at the curriculum complete... ordered a demo copy. It looks really good for KS1 and 2 but a little confused with the early years package as it doesn't seem to be under our headings.... there isn't a foundation stage report format either.... couldn't fine any of the stepping stones or early learning goals... off to look at their website and e-mail them. So any other suggestions of software appreciated to use throughout Reception and KS1 Moan over Lorna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 I agree with that Lorna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted September 26, 2004 Author Share Posted September 26, 2004 Hi Lorna - I'll be posting a review of an alternative (classroom monitor), which has some very good features in it - much more useful for reception than nursery, but certainly foundation stage focussed, within a couple of days. Regards, Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 Hi Lorna and others - I've just posted a review of the Classroom Monitor software as promised. I'm going to close this discussion down here, and open a new one up in the reception assessment and planning area, which will probably be easier for people to find. You can find the new discussion area and a link to the review by clicking here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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