AnonyMouse_13453 Posted February 5, 2012 Posted February 5, 2012 Our Special files are split into 2. There's the file that lives in the child's tray which is full of their own bits and bobs and artwork etc and some photographs, many of which are annotated against the EYFS so that parents can see how what appears to be a simple activity can cover so many areas of learning. This file can go home whenever parents want, to share with family members. The pages with observations and the County Record sheets stay at Preschool in the Key Person file and only in very exceptional circumstances do they leave the building, and that's with my permission and they are returned the next morning. When this happens, only the pages that are relevant are taken home, not the whole file.
AnonyMouse_30128 Posted February 5, 2012 Posted February 5, 2012 can i just add to my initial rant and mention child minders too ....they 'take' their learning journeys home all the time!!! after all they live there!...
AnonyMouse_3307 Posted February 5, 2012 Posted February 5, 2012 Partly playing devil's advocate but in some seriousness, I saw the records of children (in schools) as the schools actually. We shared them with parents but I was primarily the person that wrote them, kept them updated and used what was in them to inform my summative assessments, which is surely the primary reason they exist anyway. All my reports were written at home using my records as aide memoires....I couldn't have written them otherwise as remembering the details for 30 children can be hard!!! Questions in my mind are: Where is it defined that they "belong" to parents rather than the practitioner/setting who are the primary users of them? What security is being breached by taking them home to write in them? What if things are kept electronically? e.g. ICT media used for capturing evidence - photos, voice recordings, video, scanned docs etc...schools using tracker systems often have info kept in this way. Who "owns" them? Cx
Guest Posted February 5, 2012 Posted February 5, 2012 Well, clearly most of us feel that we need more clarity on what is 'allowed', although I sense the majority of us see this as a common sense issue.However, its not acceptable to leave childrens personal details in Learning journals to minimize any safeguarding issues. I agree we need to start to question our EY advisors and SIPs more, as to be frank, I dont think they live in the real world half the time and have no idea of whats workable in a setting. it would be helpful the next time one of us have the big 'O' in to get some clarification on what OFSTED deem acceptable - and if the journals are the families or the settings.
AnonyMouse_64 Posted February 6, 2012 Posted February 6, 2012 I'm with Catma on this one in that I feel that any information we keep on the children belong to the setting whilst that child attends. Parents have a right to see it all, and even ask for full copies of it all, but they would not have the right to take it all away. That being said, we did allow journals to go home with parents and we never had a problem with them going missing. However, I think it would be up to the setting to decide what is going to work for them but there is certainly nothing written down about it. Similarly the issue of staff taking records home with them - it should be up to each setting to determine what is going to work for them. We had policy guidance in place about this, and to be honest it was unavoidable because we worked in a pack away setting and it would've been impossible for staff to update their key children's information or write reports otherwise.
AnonyMouse_3307 Posted February 6, 2012 Posted February 6, 2012 I dont think they live in the real world half the time and have no idea of whats workable in a setting. Oh yes we do. Well I do anyway. Cx
SueFinanceManager Posted February 7, 2012 Posted February 7, 2012 Oh yes we do.Well I do anyway. Cx Catma is right and as EY advisory teachers it must be a difficult time at the moment. Playing devils advocate......if your job was under threat would you go round telling settings to do things that go against the current guidelines? Not sure I would I am sure advisor's can see that sometimes a common sense approach is called for but may not feel able to say it. We all do things that fly in the face of the guidelines or instructions because we have always done it that way and got away with it but someone has to be the Grinch and lay out the official policy.
Guest Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 One of the points I was making about advisors was there didnt seem to be an 'official policy' on this which is why it was so complicated in the first place. of course Im sure some advisors are fabulous - you are very lucky to have one/be one However ours is critical, never gives positive feedback, has never said 'hello' to me ( just a mere mortal staff member before entering the office with my manager) and admits she hasnt worked in a setting for 22 years. Still, back to journals. we have decided to continue to take them home overnight for updating if necessary, on the understanding they are back on the premises during working hours.
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 Well, clearly most of us feel that we need more clarity on what is 'allowed', although I sense the majority of us see this as a common sense issue.However, its not acceptable to leave childrens personal details in Learning journals to minimize any safeguarding issues.I agree we need to start to question our EY advisors and SIPs more, as to be frank, I dont think they live in the real world half the time and have no idea of whats workable in a setting. it would be helpful the next time one of us have the big 'O' in to get some clarification on what OFSTED deem acceptable - and if the journals are the families or the settings. Im with Catma - i live in the real world also.........
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