How to add an observation on the app - iOS

[OlayaTapestrySupport]

In this tutorial we're going to cover how to add an observation using the iOS version of the app. For the screenshots, I'm going to be using the new iOS app which does include some features, like being able to filter children by group when adding them to an observation, that the original app doesn't have. To find out more about the new iOS app and how to download it, please see this page.

For information about how to add an observation on the Android app, please see this other tutorial.

 

You can check out a more comprehensive app walk through here, but, for now, let's get started on how to add an observation!

Once you’ve logged in on your app, you can add an observation by clicking on the ‘+’ button at the top of the screen.

 

 

I'll now talk you through all the options on the add observation screen:

1) You can add a title for your observation here. Note that you will not be able to save the observation unless it has a title.

2) Use this section to add your notes.

3) In the 'pictures and videos' section you can add media by taking a photo/video through your device or by choosing media from your device library.

4) You can add children by selecting 'Pick children'.

5) Assessments can be added by selecting 'Pick assessments'.

6) Flags can be added by selecting 'Pick flags'.

7) If you have permission, here you can change the status of an observation from not in journal to either in journal, staff view only or scheduled.

8) If you want to change the time/date of the observation, you can do that here. If you decide to schedule the observation, you will need to change the time/date of the observation to the time/date you'd like the observation to go live at.

9) If you have the additional information field enabled, you will see this at the bottom.

10) Tapping on 'cancel' will give you the options of either deleting the whole observation, or saving it as a draft.

11) At the top you can see the status of the observation to remind you whether it will be added to a child's journal. In this case it says 'Not in journal' so it won't be added. The other two options are 'Staff view only' and nothing at all, which indicates the observation is in the child's journal and is visible for relatives.

12) Once you're done adding your observation, you can click on 'Upload'. 

 

 

When you select the 'Pick children' option to add children to your observation you will get a list of all your children; you can select their names from the list just by tapping on them. To narrow down the children you see on this screen, we have added the ability for you to search children's names (A), as well as filter the children you see in the list (B). This will allow you to filter children by cohort, group, key person, gender, season born (UK), SEN, EAL, free school meals and pupil premium.

If you want to select all children that you have chosen to see, you just need to click on 'Select All' (C) in the top left-hand corner. Once you've added all the children you want to attach to the observation you just need to click on 'Done' (D).

 

 

One helpful feature you may notice when adding children is that Tapestry will remember the 5 most recent sets of children that have been added to an observation. You'll see these children appear under the 'Children (required)' heading and you can add them to the observation just by clicking on their names. 

 

 

If you want to remove a set of children from these quick links, you just need to slide this option across to the left (A). You can then either keep swiping left to remove them or you can select the 'Remove' button (B). If you start sliding and realise you don't want to remove this set of children, you can then just choose 'Keep' (C). 

 

Tapping on the 'Pick Assessments' option will then bring up a page where you see a list of all the assessments you have enabled on your account. To assess with one, you just need to select it. 

 

 

A handy little addition we've been able to add to this process of adding assessments is the ability to 'bookmark' them. As well as being able to favourite an assessment framework, you can also bookmark aspects/areas and age bands/levels/stages within that framework. You can use this to quickly add assessments for your most used ones.

To add a bookmark you just need to select the 'Pick assessments' button and then if you click into a framework, you'll see an 'Add Bookmark' (1) button on the bottom right-hand side corner.  

 

 

After you have added you've bookmarked any assessments, you'll be able to quickly access them by clicking on 'Bookmarks' (2) on the bottom left as seen on the screenshot above.

 

 

If you'd like to add a flag instead of or aswell as an assessment, then tapping on 'Pick flags' will allow you to see all of the available flags that you have enabled. You can click on any of the relevant flag sets to view and select them for the observation. In this case I'm going to select a flag from the EYFS 2021 flag set.

 

 

Once you've made your selection by ticking the relevant area/s (1), click on "Done" (2) at the top.

 

 

Then you'll be able to see the observation overview with the flag added.

At the top of the observation screen you can cancel adding the observation at any time. If you do this, or click on the back button on your phone/tablet, the system will give you the option to either save the observation as a draft or discard completely. This draft feature allows you to save what you're doing without adding it as an actual observation, and you can then return back at a later date to complete it.

 

 

A draft won't show up in your list of observations, but if you have any on your device, these will be listed at the top of your observation list.

 

 

Please note that drafts are saved for up to 91 days for staff members and after this they will be deleted. Also, drafts are stored in the device they were created on and will only be visible when the user that created them logs in onto that specific device.

To open a draft, tap on the red notification at the top of the observation list and then select the draft you'd like to continue working on.

When you upload an observation this will get queued. Depending on the size of the observation and the strength of your internet connection, the upload will take longer. 

 

 

Please note that your internet connection, size of observation (which will depend on the media you upload), and how busy the Tapestry traffic is will impact on how fast your observation is uploaded and how long it stays in the queue for. If you are finding it that it is taking a long time when connected on your WiFi, try switching to 4G. 

If after trying the above, you are still not able to upload an observation, please try running this test here and sending the results to us at customer.service@eyfs.info.

You can click on 'Prioritising uploading over battery' to instruct the device to ignore the battery save mode to push the upload faster.

 

 

To edit an observation on the app you just need to select the one you want to edit from the list (1) and then tap where it says 'Edit' in the bottom right-hand corner (2).

 

 

If you need to delete an existing observation all you need to do is 'Edit' (2) the observation and then tap on 'Delete this observation' at the bottom (3).
 

 

Restoring deleted observations can only be done from the browser version of Tapestry; this tutorial will talk you through how to do this. 

 

 

 

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