EmilyTapestrySupport

The Activities feature on Tapestry can be used so your child's setting (school, nursery, childminder etc.) can share activity ideas with you and turn these into planned activities. If your child's setting has chosen to use this feature, you can find it on the browser version of Tapestry from the options at the top of the page. Please note, this feature is not available on the app, so you will need to be logged in to Tapestry through a browser. However, planned activities will appear on your main feed while using the app. We'll start by looking at planned activities. These are activities the school or setting have set for your child/children to complete. To skip to the section on our activities collection (activities which have been added but not necessarily been set as planned activities), click here. Planned Activities When you click on the 'Activities' option, you will be taken to the Planned Activities section (1). Here you will see all planned activities that have been shared with relatives and linked to your child/children (2) for you to do with them. If you're looking for a specific type of activity you can use the page filters to narrow down the activities you see (3). Clicking on the cog button at the end of a row of an activity (4) will give you the option to reply straight away to an activity with an observation (5). Also, if you have been given permission, you will see an option to download media within the activity (6). If you want to see more about an activity, you just need to click on the name of it (7). When you click into a planned activity at the top you will be able to see some information about it such as who created it and when. You will also be able to see the names of your child/children that have been included. If other children have also been included you will see how many but you will not be able to see their names (1). At the top you will also see the option to export the activity as a PDF (2). If the activity includes any media, photos and videos, these will be shown below the title (3). If the option for you to download media has been permitted, underneath the media you will see the option to download (4). In the yellow notes section you will see information about the activity itself, explaining what you need to do (5). If you see a section called 'Links to and from this Planned Activity' it means the activity is linked to activities in your setting's own collection or other observations (1). You can click on the 'Show full list' button to see what it is linked to (2). Once you click on this button you will see everything this activity has been linked to. In this case it is linked to an activity in the setting's own collection (1). This will be shown in chronological order with the green line indicating when this activity was added. If you don't want to see this section anymore, you can just click on the 'Hide full list' button (2). Finally, at the bottom you will see a section where you can add any questions or points of discussion you have. You can write these in the notes box (1) and then you just need to click on the 'Add Reply' button (2). Alternatively, if you are ready to do this activity with your child/children, you can click on the 'Reply with an Observation' option (3). This will allow to add an observation where you can show your child doing the activity and it will automatically link the observation to this planned activity. Our Activities Collection The other section within Activities that you can access is called 'Our Activities Collection'. This section is for activities that your child's setting have added but haven't yet been turned into planned activities. You can get to this by clicking on the tab at the top of the page (1). If you're looking for a particular activity you can use the search bar (2) or the page filters at the top of the page (3). Just like the Planned Activities section, for each activity you will see it's title, a profile image and some text from the notes. To see an activity fully, just click on it's title (4). Once you have clicked into an activity you will see any media that has been included (1). At the top you will also see a button the export the activity as a PDF (2). Underneath the media, you may see the option to download any attached photos and videos (3). Whether you see this or not will depend on your child's setting's user permissions. In the yellow box you will see any accompanying notes for the activity (4) and below that, you may see a section for you to ask any questions you have about the activity (5). Again whether you see this will depend on the setting's user permissions. If are you are allowed to comment, you just need to put your text in the notes box (5) and then select 'Add Reply' (6). So, that's the Activities feature on Tapestry. We hope you enjoy using it. Back to contents page

We have now released an update to the iOS version of the app (4.1.9), for iPhones and iPads, which includes the ability to schedule observations on the app. You can see how to do this in this tutorial on how to add observations on the iOS app.

To make it less confusing for relatives when they are setting up or resetting their password, we have changed the 'strong' password policy option for them. Now the two requirements are: The password must be at least 20 characters Must not be a common password, or an obvious variant of the school's name or person's name This change will not effect any existing passwords or password policies.

In this tutorial we're going to cover how to add an observation using the Android version of the Tapestry app. To do this using the iOS app see this tutorial. While you can view view Memos and Planned Activities though the latest version of the Android app, it's not currently possible to edit them or create them using the app. You need to sign in via https://tapestryjournal.com/ to do this. Once you’ve logged in via the Tapestry app, you can add an observation by tapping 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 need to add a title for your observation here 2) Use this section to add your notes 3) In the 'Pictures, Videos and Audio' section you can add media from your device library, or take a photo, video, or audio clip through the app on your device. 4) You can add children by tapping on 'Select children' 5) Assessments can be added by selecting 'Pick assessments from list' 6) You can add flags through 'Pick flags from list' 7) If you have the EYFS 2021 Flag set enabled you'll also see a reference material section you can tap on, with links to relevant information to support your observations. 8) If you have permission, here you can change the status of an observation from not in journal to either in journal or staff view only or scheduled 9) If you want to change the time/date of the observation, you can do that here 10) If you have the additional information field enabled, you will see this at the bottom 11) Tapping on 'cancel' will give you the options of either deleting the whole observation, or saving it as a draft 12) At the top you can see the status of the observation to remind you whether it will be added to a child's journal 13) Once you're done adding your observation, you can click on 'Upload' Selecting Children When you choose the 'Select children' option to add children to your observation you will be presented with a list of every child you can see on your account. At the top you have the option to select all children (1) and you can also search for a specific child using the search bar (2). If you want to select children from a specific group, you can tap where it says 'No filters' which will bring up the group filters you can select children from (3). One helpful new feature you will notice after you have made an observation on the new app is that in the Children section, you have the option to see children that have been included in a recent observation show up as a group and you can then quickly select this group to save you having to select the children individually. To see any groups of children you recently added to observations, tap on the icon of 4 children in the top right-hand corner (4). Now at the top you will see the children that have been recently selected and you can simply tap on this option to include them in your observation (5). To stop seeing previously selected children, tap on the four child icon in the top right-hand corner again. Otherwise to attach children, just tap on their names and you'll be taken back to the observation you're creating (6). Adding Assessments Tapping on the 'Pick assessment from list' 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. Then go through and select your relevant subject and area. Add any of the relevant statements (1) and then press 'Done' (2) to go back to the Assessments main page. Here you'll be able to see that one statements from the assessment framework has been selected for the observation (3). To return to the observation just click 'Done' (4) once more. A handy feature is the ability to 'favourite' assessment frameworks. To find out how to do this, you can have a look at this tutorial. Adding Flags Selecting 'Pick flags from list' 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. Once you select 'Flags', You'll then 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 'EYFS 2021'. When viewing the specific flag set you'll see another shortcut to the reference material (1), and you can tap on the star icon (2) to favourite this flag set so it will show at the top of the Flags screen for quick selection. Once you've made your selection by ticking the flag set and relevant area/s (3), tap on "Done" (4) at the top of the screen. You'll see an overview of the flag set(s) that you've selected for this observation (1). If you're happy with the selection then just click on "Done" (2) to return to the observation. Once you are finished adding your observation remember to tap on 'Upload' in the top right-hand corner. How quickly your observation uploads will depend on how large the observation is (if it has a lot of videos, especially if they are longer videos, this will make the observation larger) and it will also depend on the strength of your internet connection. If you are trying to upload a large observation or your internet connection is weak, this will become queued in the background. Let's have a look at what happens when an observation becomes queued. Queued uploads You can see if this has happened as at the top of your observation list it will say "[number of observations] upload queued". Tapping on that will show you any uploads that you have queued. As soon as the observation has finished uploading, it will move from this area onto your main observations list. If an observation is taking a long time to upload, we would recommend switching from WiFi to your 4G/5G. We would also suggest trying to upload in different areas in your location, preferably nearer the router. If after trying this, 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. So, that's how to add an observation on the Android app. Linked below are tutorials on how to edit, delete and change the status of an observation, as well as how to save draft observations and how to reply to observations with another observation. Editing an observation on the Android app Deleting/changing the status an observation on the Android app Draft observations on the Android app Replying to an observation with an observation on the Android app Back to Main Tutorials Page

The Care Diary function on Tapestry allows settings (schools, nurseries, childminders etc.) to input meal, toileting, nappy changes and sleep entries for a child and if they choose to, they can share these with parents and relatives. If your child's setting decides to share Care Diary entries with you then you will see an option for 'Care Diary' at the top of the screen when logged in to the browser version of Tapestry (1). Click on this to view entries for your child/children. This is what the page will look like if there are any entries for your child. If you have more than one child in a setting, you'll see their names at the top with a tab for each child (1). Also at the top of the page you will see a box with the current date in it. This means you will only be viewing entries for that date. If you want to see previous entries, you can just click on the calendar button (2). Clicking on this button (1) will bring up a pop-up calendar where you can choose dates in the past to view entries for then (2). Back on the main Care Diary page you will see at the top of an entry it will tell you what kind of entry it is (1). For example in the below screenshot, we can see it is a meal entry. You will then be able to see details of the entry such as when it happened and who made it (2). It may be the case there are several Care Diary entries for you to view, in which case, you will just see them in a list which you can scroll through. Back to contents page

If your child's setting (school, nursery, childminder etc.) permits it, you will be able to view and possibly edit, your child's About Me on Tapestry. This section allows settings to set questions so either they or you, can input specific information about a child. To do this you will need to be logged in to the browser version of Tapestry from tapestryjournal.com. Once logged in, just click on the 'Children' tab at the top of the screen. On this page you will need to select the name of the child you want to view the About Me for (1). Then from the drop-down, select 'About Me' (2). Remember here you will only see the names of children you have been linked to. If it says 'Enrolling' by their profile picture this means they aren't fully active yet and instead have been added as enrolling. It's not possible to use the full functionality of Tapestry with children that are enrolling, you can only view their Overview page and access their About Me. Now you are on your child's About Me page, you can scroll down to see all the different questions (1). At the top you have the option to export this page (2) and you might also have the option to edit it as well (3). If you have the option to edit and you press this button, you will then see a list of all the questions with boxes underneath where you can input your answers. Just like so: Once you're done just remember to press 'Save' at the bottom of the page! Now when you view your child's About me, you will see any answers you have filled in. They will be indicated by a different font to the question. Back to contents page

You can update a reflection at any time on Tapestry. You might want to do this if your reflection is currently in the 'not ready for discussion' stage or if you have completed your reflection and you are ready to add an 'impact' for it. To do this you just need to click on the 'Reflections' tab at the top of the page. Next you will need to find the reflection you want to update in the list. Remember, to find a specific reflection, you could use the search functionality (1) or the page filters (2). This tutorial will talk you through how to use the page filters. Once you've found the reflection you want to update, you just need to click on the 'Edit' button for it (3). If you are editing a reflection that is in the draft stage you may want to add more information about the reflection (1) or change whether it is linked to any children or not (2). You will also be able to see whether it is currently linked to any observations or other reflections (3). To link it, you just need to click on the 'Link observation' or 'Link reflection' button (4). To remove any links added mistakenly, you just need to click on the 'X' button for that link (5). Remember if you want to change the visibility or status of the reflection, these options are at the top of the page (6). You might also want to add any supporting files, such as photos, video or documents (1). To help show what your reflection is about, you could also add Flags to it. To do this you just need to select a flag type (2). When you do this, you will then be presented with a pop-up box with the all the different flags for that type. You just need to select the tick boxes for the ones you want to add. If your reflection is finished, so the idea is actually something you have tried implementing in your setting, then you can scroll down to the bottom of the page to add the 'impact' of it (1). The impact might be an idea you have taken up in your setting or it might be you decided not to go ahead with ultimately. Once you're finished editing your reflection, just remember to press 'Save' (2). Back to Main Tutorials Page

If your child's setting (school, nursery or childminder etc.) chooses to, they can use a feature on Tapestry called 'Documents' which allows them to share specific files such as Word documents, PDFs, Excel sheets and PowerPoints with you, so you can then download using your Tapestry account. If they have chosen to share any files with you using this feature, on the browser version of Tapestry at the top of the page, you will see an option for 'Documents'. You just need to click on that. On the Documents page you will see a list of all the files that have been made available to parents/relatives by your child's setting (1). They might have organised these files into folders, in which case, you will see these on the left-hand side (2). You just need to click on the name of one to be taken into that folder (3). If you are looking for a specific file you can use the search function (4). For each file you will be able to see some information about it, such as it's name, what type of file it is and when it was added (5). You can also see that each file has to pass an antivirus scan to ensure the safety of it. To open a file, just click on the 'Download' button (6). Depending on the browser and device you are using, you should then see that file once it has finished downloading and you will be able to open it. Back to contents page

Hi all, We wanted to let you know that there is now an update to the beta version of the Android app available which includes some much requested new features! If you are using the iOS version of the app, please see this post about an update to the live version of the app. The beta version isn't live on the Play store, to access it you have to sign up to our beta program. You can do that by following this link here on the device you want to access the beta app on. Please note the beta is not available on Amazon Fire devices but do keep an eye out for an update to the live Android app in the hopefully not too distant future. It's very quick and easy to sign up to the beta program and hopefully you find the overall experience of using it better, but if after trying it out you do want to switch back to the current app that's completely fine - all the data you enter up to to that point will be saved. We know the current live version of the app is not perfect and does have some issues which is why our Android developers have been working hard over the last year to release a more stable version. Whilst we still think this beta version needs some more work, we believe it is a lot better than the live version and should offer you a significantly improved user experience. We also know many of you are very keen to see the new features we've recently added to the browser version of Tapestry (which I'll cover below), also available on the app. This beta version has been thoroughly tested by us one the devices we have available but one of the difficulties of developing apps for Android is the larger number of device types there is available. This means that the app could interact slightly differently on each individual type of Android phone or tablet. This is why we've opted to have a beta period instead of just releasing it live to everyone; To allow people to access the new features and so we can iron out any issues people encounter before it becomes the only version available. Hopefully that explains what the beta is and why you might find it beneficial, now let's take a look at those new features! They are: Clickable links We've already added this to the browser version of Tapestry but we know a lot of you also wanted to be able to do this on the app. This will allow you to copy the URL of a website and paste it into the notes section of an observation. When saved, that link will then become clickable, meaning you can select it and it will take you directly to that website.This is currently only available for the notes section of an observation and not the comments but this is something we are working on. Please note that if others users in your settings are using Android devices and aren't on the beta, then the links will not be clickable for them. View attached files Recently we added the ability to attach different file types, such as Word, PowerPoint etc., to observations, memos and reflections. Upon the release of this, when viewing observations with files attached on the app, you would only see a notice directing you to the browser version of Tapestry to see the files. With this update you will now be able to open and view attached files within observations through the app provided your device has the software available which will allow you to view them. Extended video limits To help you with your home learning during the current setting closures, we have temporarily increased the limits on videos to 10 minutes or 5GB. This was first available on the browser version of Tapestry and but it is now also available on this update. Please note that larger videos will take longer to upload and the time it takes will also depend on your internet speed. If you have any difficulties uploading longer videos, for example some older Android devices may also not have the memory available to allow bigger videos, we recommend you also try uploading them through a browser. So, if you would like to sign up to the beta version of the Android app and start using these new functions, you just need to follow this link here. Remember you can delete the beta app at any point to return to the current version and any data you you've added would be saved. If you have any questions about the beta Android app or have signed up and would like to provide feedback, please email customer.service@eyfs.info.

Hi all, We've written this post to let you know about an update to the iOS we've just released. If you are using the Android version of the app, please see this post for information about an update to the beta version of the Android app. As well as some background changes, there are several new additions to the app. These are: Clickable links We've already added this to the browser version of Tapestry but we know a lot of you also wanted to be able to do this on the app. This will allow you to copy the URL of a website and paste it into the notes section of an observation. When saved, that link will then become clickable, meaning you can select it and it will take you directly to that website. This is currently only available for the notes section of an observation and not the comments but this is something we are working on. View attached files Recently we added the ability to attach different file types, such as Word, PowerPoint etc., to observations, memos and reflections. Upon the release of this, when viewing observations with files attached on the app, you would only see a notice directing you to the browser version of Tapestry to see the files. With this update, you will now be able to open and view attached files within observations through the iOS app. The only exceptions to this are odt and ods file types which at the time of writing cannot be opened on iOS devices. If one of these file types is attached, you will see a message underneath informing you that it can't be opened on a iOs device. Extended video limits To help you with your home learning during the current setting closures, we have temporarily increased the limits on videos to 10 minutes or 5GB. This was first available on the browser version of Tapestry and it is now available on the iOS app as well. Please note that larger videos will take longer to upload and the time it takes will also depend on your internet speed. If you have any difficulties uploading longer videos, we recommend you also try uploading them through a browser. We know a lot of you have also asked to view memos on the app as well and this is also something we are also working on adding. If your app isn't set to automatically update, to do this you just need to go to the App store, find the Tapestry app and tap to update. To see a full iOS app walk-through, check our tutorial here.

If you are a parent, relative or carer on Tapestry then whether you have permission to add observations or not is up to the setting (school, nursery, childminder etc.) that set you up with an account. If you have been given permission then it's really simple to add an observation, you just need to select 'Observations' at the top of the page (1) and then click on the 'Add Observation' button (2). The first thing you will need to add when adding an observation is to attach your child/children. If you just have one child on the Tapestry account, they will be automatically selected and you do not need to do anything else. If you have more than one of your children on the account, you will be able to select which child/children you wish to write the observation for and press 'Select Children' (1) to choose which of your children you wish to select. Once you have pressed on this button you will be presented with a pop-up showing you all the children you are linked to. You just need to select the box of the children or children you want to include (1) and press 'Done' (2). After you've attached a child or children, you will see their names appear at the top (1). If you want to remove any, just click on the 'X' button (2). Next, you will need to add a title (3). Again, it's not possible to save an observation without a title. In the 'Notes' section (4) is where you can add your actual observation, so what you saw your child/children do etc. By default the time and date of the observation will be the current time/date you are making the observation but if you want to change this, you just need to click into the 'Created/Scheduled' box (5). If you want to add any supporting photos, videos, audio files or documents, click on the 'Add Files' button (1). Once you've added any files you want, you just need to click 'Start Upload' (2). Once you've the upload has finished, you can edit it (3) or if you've added any media by accident, you can delete it either individually or in bulk (4). You can reorder media within an observation using the up and down arrows next to each item of media (5). Videos, audio clips, and pictures will still sit separately to documents when the page is saved, but you can change the order of them in each of their groups. You can also link your child's observation to other observations related to your child that you have the permissions to view (1). If your child's setting uses the Activities feature, and your child has been set an activity to do (2), or perhaps you have chosen an activity to do with your child from the Activities Collection (3), you can link the observation to these as well. When you're happy with your observation, just remember to press 'Save' at the bottom of the page (4). Once saved, your observation should look a little something like this: Back to contents page

If you are set up with a parent/relative/carers account on Tapestry there a couple of ways your account might be activated. These are: Your account will be activated immediately and you will be provided with a password. You will be sent an activation email. You will be given an activation link. Let's go through how to do each. If you are given a password You just need to go to tapestryjournal.com and enter the email you were set up with (1) and the password you are provided with (2). Do remember that passwords are case sensitive. Then click on 'Log in' (3). If you're not able to login, please contact the setting (school, nursery, childminder etc.) that set you up with an account for assistance. After you've logged in if you want to change your password you just need to follow this tutorial. If you are sent an activation email Firstly, if you are told you have been sent an activation email and you do not see it, do check your spam and junk folders as our emails can sometimes get filtered into there. If you are looking for the email, the subject line will be 'Create your Tapestry login'. Once you've found or received the email you just need to click on the 'Create your password' link. If this link doesn't work it is probably because it is past the 30 day period the link is active for. If this is the case you just need to ask your child's setting to send you another one. Clicking on the link will take you to a page where you will need to enter and confirm a password that meets the password criteria (1) and enter and confirm a 4-digit PIN (2). When setting your password, the criteria above will turn green when met. The PIN can be used on the app version of Tapestry to quickly log back in if you've already logged in and the app times out. Once you've done this you just need select 'Submit' (3). On the next screen you will see a message letting you know you have successfully activated your account (1). The link in the activation email will now become invalid. You can then enter your email and password (2) and then select 'Log in' (3) to enter your account. If you have been given an activation URL It's also possible for you to be given an activation URL rather than an email. The URL will look something like the one below: https://tapestryjournal.com/resetpassword/dzWkzh6YYzQjFh10UOVQohnJyDNZ9653nwPa66irkML7SOu3_UlnM_486DsoXliDzHZhGqeG88ezdfNu6c_QnQLB0m4VjaDNrDbcd_juSwXlE2ycPQy_1P1zKNEqk8PcLrDyn5ajg_ucXinWaLn6c1bvpTu8LkTNKr8t17iP1DVaL0abEBZ22EqJJ8AX7R9wMRILBJA34JmPeR7zksnjo7LGMHtfsfL5VH8iAK6oJL6yaLB9oIVADW2Eq1yfMt You just need to copy and paste that URL into your web browser of choice and then follow the same instructions for activating your account by email. Just like the link in the activation emails, this URL also only stays active for 30 days. If the link becomes invalid, you will need to contact your child's setting to help you get set up. Back to contents page

Hi lynned55, Speaking on behalf of the Tapestry team (hopefully they are all okay with that.....), thank you! Sue shared your lovely message with us and I know everyone is really pleased that you are finding our new resources and features helpful. We completely understand what a horrible and stressful time this is for settings and I'm just happy if we're able to help or relieve some pressure in any way. Hope you are all staying well and safe. Emily

We are approaching the point where our security certificate for Tapestry will be renewed. We wanted to let you know that this time, we are planning to stop using 'Enhanced Validation' on the certificate. Enhanced Validation didn't change how secure your connection to Tapestry was, but in times gone by, it would show a green box in the address bar of the browser stating that the site was owned by 'The Foundation Stage Forum Ltd'. The idea was that, when you logged into Tapestry, you would do some research to establish that, yes, The Foundation Stage Forum Ltd is the company you wanted to communicate with and that, yes, the name had not been changed. In practice, almost no one did those checks and the people that did check could be fooled by a certificate registered to a company with a similar name. So it didn't add any extra security and, worse, could lull people into a false sense of security. For that reason, modern browsers are no longer showing the green box. Instead, they just warn if a site isn't secure. While the enhanced validation approach to security has been retired, there have been other new approaches invented to keep certificates secure, such revocation lists, certificate authority authorisation, the online certificate status protocol and certificate transparency. We have been adopting those new approaches as they become available and we think the time has come for us to retire the enhanced validation on our certificate. By retiring the enhanced validation we will also, by a very small amount, be increasing the security of Tapestry because the process of managing the enhanced validation was complex and required the transfer of and storage of confidential information between us, the validation authority and our servers. Now we can keep all the confidential information in one spot, with much greater security, eliminating both a (albeit tiny) security risk and a (slightly larger) risk of a bureaucratic mistake rendering tapestry inaccessible. If you have questions or comments on this change, please do get in touch by emailing customer.service@eyfs.info.

You're very welcome!

Hi both, I just wanted to let you know that this feature is now available on Tapestry! So when you go to the split a group observation, you will see a button to split all. We hope you find this helpful! Best wishes, Emily

We’ve written this series of articles to help you prepare your Tapestry account for setting closure in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. We hope they offer some help and guidance in this difficult time. If your setting has already closed, we recommend you still take a look as you may find the advice here is beneficial. In this article we’ll look at preparations you can do on your account relating to children. Linked below you’ll find articles for staff and relative preparations as well. Please note, this article is intended for managers on a Tapestry account. How to prepare your Tapestry account for setting closure and remote learning: Staff How to prepare your Tapestry account for setting closure and remote learning: Relatives What we will cover here is: Are the children on your account set up correctly? Have you assigned key children to staff or set up manual groups? Creating folders in Documents for a group Adding an About Me for a child Let’s get started. 1. Are the children on your account set up correctly? You can use this time to ensure you have any information you need for children on your Tapestry account. You can do this by going to the Control Panel (1) -> Manage Children (2). Here you will see the names of all the children on your account. In the section for each child you can see their date of birth (3), so you can check this is correct. If you haven’t already, you might want to take this opportunity to add profile photos for your children (4). To do this you can click on the ‘Edit’ button for the child you want to upload a photo for (5). To upload a photo for a child you just need to click on the ‘Add Photo’ button at the top (1). It might be a good idea to take some time to go through the rest of this page to ensure all the information is correct and to add any information that is missing (2). 2. Have you assigned key children to staff or set up manual groups? Now would also be a good time to ensure you have the children on your account organised into groups. This will make it easier for you in the long run when adding data for them on Tapestry. The first way you can do this is to attach children to staff as their key children. This can be done by going to the Manage Staff page on the Control Panel (1), then click on the ‘Manage Key Children’ button (2). Here you can see all staff on your account. You can go through each one and click on the ‘Edit Relationships’ button to assign children. If you then wanted to set it so staff can only view their key children, you just need to follow this tutorial. If you also wanted to set it so you can only see your key children, this is the tutorial you will need. As well as/instead of this, you may want to create manual groups of children. To do this, stay on the Control Panel and select ‘Manage Groups’ from the left-hand menu (1). To add a new group, just click on the ‘Add Group’ button (2)! You can add as many groups as you wish here. 3. Creating folders in Documents for a group In the Documents feature, you may want to create folders for each class or group on your account. Staff can then put files in there for that specific group of children and share them with relatives too if they wish. Please note that if you make files in a folder accessible to relatives, this means all relatives will be able to download them. To do this you just need to go to ‘Documents’ at the top of your page (1). To add new folders to your account you can click on the ‘Add Folder’ button (2). Once you have organised your folders, you can then upload files using the ‘Add file’ button (3). This tutorial talks you through the process. 4. Adding an About Me for a child The last thing you may want to consider doing is setting up ‘About Me’s’ for children on your account. You can use these to input information yourself, or you can ask parents to fill them in about their child. This may be a good opportunity for you to learn additional things about a child which you can later use for planning activities. To add an About Me, go to the ‘Children’ tab (1), click on a child’s name (2) and from the drop-down, select ‘About Me’ (3). If you want to fill in a child’s About Me, click on the ‘Edit About [Child’s name]’ button. If you want to allow relatives to see and edit their child’s About Me you will need to go to the Control Panel (1) -> Settings (2) -> About Me (3). If you scroll to the bottom you have the options to allow viewing (1) and editing (2) of children’s About Me’s by relatives. Above this you can also add any of your own custom statements (3). You may want to add some custom statements specifically related to PSED and how the child might be feeling in the current situation. Once added, these will show up on every child’s About Me. For example: How I am connecting with others: (e.g. facetiming with a relative, sending a recording of me singing, taking photos of me and sending them to my friends) Things I have needed reassurance about: Things I am being confident about: These are the feelings I have been sharing: If you scroll back up the page you can choose which of the default questions supplied by Tapestry will be displayed (4). So, those are things you might want to consider doing on your account in preparation for your setting closing, or if it already has. We hope you found it useful and we hope you and your children and families stay safe and well over the coming weeks.

We’ve written this series of articles to help you prepare your Tapestry account for setting closure in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. We hope they offer some help and guidance in this difficult time. If your setting has already closed, we recommend you still take a look as you may find the advice here is beneficial. In this article we’ll go over the preparations you can make with regards to relatives on your account, but below you can also find articles to help you with preparations for staff and children. How to prepare your Tapestry account for setting closure and remote learning – Staff How to prepare your Tapestry account for setting closure and remote learning: Children In this article we will cover the following: Checking relatives are set up correctly on your account Do you have the correct contact details for relatives? Relative user permissions Can relatives receive notifications? Do you know how to send information to them using Tapestry? Do they know how to use the different features? 1. Checking relatives are set up correctly on your account If you haven’t added relatives to your account yet, take a look at the tutorials linked below explaining how to do this individually and in bulk. Adding relatives individually Adding relatives in bulk Once they are added, to check they are all set up correctly you will need to go to the Control Panel (1) -> Manage Relatives (2). Here you can see all the names of the relatives on your account. If it says ‘Active’ underneath their name (3), this means they will be able to login. If it doesn’t say active, there are 4 other statuses they might hold. These are: Activating: This means an email activation link has been sent to the parent, but they have not yet followed it. You can resend it to them by following these instructions. Do make sure you remind them to check their spam/junk folders as our emails can sometimes get filtered into there. Not activated: This can happen either if you choose to not activate a parent when you add them or if they don’t follow the link in the activation email within 30 days. To activate them, just look at this tutorial. Inactive: This means a manager made them inactive. They can be reactivated if needed by following this tutorial. Awaiting deletion: This means a manager deleted them. They can be restored up to 90 days after they were selected to be deleted if needed, this tutorial explains how. Next to where it shows the status of the relative, you can also see the last time they logged in (4). If they have never logged in, they might need some assistance from you to be able to do so; we would recommend they try resetting their password. This tutorial explains how. The final thing you might want to ask your relatives is whether they are confident they know their password. Passwords can be reset at any time, so it’s not a problem if they forget, but they might feel more reassured if they are sure they know it. This article gives some advice on how to set a memorable and secure password. 2. Do you have the correct contact details for relatives? As we don’t have access to relative’s accounts for safeguarding reasons, we ask that they don’t contact us if they are having any issues as we are only able to send them back to you. There are several places in Tapestry where they are directed to you if they need any assistance, therefore it is important that these details stay up to date. You can check them, and correct them if needed, from within the Control Panel. You’ll need to select ‘Settings’ (1) and then ‘Contact Details’ (2). On this page, go to the section that says ‘If a relative needs to contact you’ (3). If you make any changes here, just remember to save (4). 3. Relative user permissions To make sure you are confident with what relatives can see or do on your account, we would recommend you take a look at the User Permissions page on the Control Panel (1). Make sure you select the ‘Relatives’ tab (2). Here, the permissions are divided up into different sections. You just need to select a section to see the permissions within it (3). To change a permission, you can click on the ‘Edit’ button for it. This tutorial will talk you through the whole process of setting user permissions on Tapestry for relatives. One permission we would suggest you look at is ‘View group obs media’, which can be found in the ‘Observations’ section. This is important as you may be adding more group observations now to set activities for parents, and they might need to be able to see the media included. 4. Can they receive notifications? If you will be using Tapestry to support remote learning, it will be especially important that relatives receive notifications when you add something to Tapestry. To check relatives are set up to receive notifications you will need to go to the User Permissions section mentioned above (1). Ensuring you are on the ‘Relatives’ tab (2), you will need to select the ‘Notifications’ section (3). If the option ‘Receive notifications’ (4) is set to not permitted, you will just need to click on the ‘Edit’ button to change this to permitted (5). Relatives can then adjust their own notification preferences by following this tutorial. 5. Do you know how to send relatives information using Tapestry? There are a range of features you can use on Tapestry to communicate with relatives, share resources with them and provide activities for them to do with their children. I’ll go over them all briefly below with links to tutorials to explain more: Observations: You might want to make particular use of adding group observations to set activities for key children or groups of children. Remember, you can split group observations if you then want to add separate pieces of information after, this tutorial will explain how. If you haven’t set up manual groups already on your account, take a look here. Remember to also use the tagging feature on Tapestry if you want to track observations focusing on a specific activity or task. This tutorial explains tagging on Tapestry. Documents: Here you can upload files and organise them into folders. You can choose whether you want to share files with relatives, but please note if you do share them they will be accessible to all relatives on your account. The instructions in this tutorial will show you how to enable this feature and this tutorial will show you to upload documents. Comments tool in the Care Diary: You may not have the Care Diary enabled for your setting currently, but you may wish to consider doing so to use the comments tool in it. This allows you to send messages back and forth with individual relatives. For more information about how this feature works, have a look here. If you wanted to enable the Care Diary to use Comments, you will just need to follow these instructions. 6. Do your relatives know how to use the different features? If you are thinking of using any of the above features for your parents and carers, you may need to think about how to make sure they are confident with accessing them. The Memos, Documents and Care Diary features are all only available on the browser version of Tapestry, so we would also suggest you make sure they are aware of that. You can direct them to our relative’s tutorials page, which you can find here if they need any assistance. This has a range of tutorials to talk them through how to use the different features on Tapestry so they can help their child learn at home and stay connected with you. So, those are all of the things you might want to go through on your Tapestry account for relatives in preparation for your setting’s closure or if it has already closed. We hope you and your children and families stay safe and well over the coming weeks.

We’ve written this series of articles to help you prepare your Tapestry account for setting closure in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. We hope they will offer some help and guidance in this difficult time. If your setting has already closed, we recommend you still take a look as you may find the advice here is beneficial. In this particular article we’ll look at staff preparations. Linked below you will also find articles focusing on relatives and children. Please note these instructions are aimed at managers on Tapestry. How to prepare your Tapestry account for setting closure and remote learning: Relatives How to prepare your Tapestry account for setting closure and remote learning: Children Let’s get started! I’ve broken your staff preparations down into 6 sections as follows: Contact and setting details Organising your invoices and where to renew your account Staff user types and how to change them Staff user permissions Updating your policies Staff communication and wellbeing 1. Contact and setting details The first thing we recommend you do on your account is check your setting and contact details to make sure they are up to date. We would use these to contact you should we need to. To do this, you just need to go to the Control Panel (1) - > Settings (2). We then suggest you check ‘Your Setting’ (3) and ‘Contact Details’ (4). The screenshot below shows the ‘Your Setting’ page. This is what the Contact Details page looks like: 2. Organising your invoices and where to renew your account You can find all your invoices from within your Tapestry account. In this section you will also be able to see, and make payment for, any pending invoices. To find it you just need to go to your Control Panel (1) and stay on the Overview page. Here you will see when your subscription expiry date is (2) and a button that says ‘View and pay your invoices’, you just need to click on that to access your invoices (3). This will bring up a list of your invoices (1) and if any are pending, to make payment you just need to click on the ‘Pay’ button for that invoice (2). This tutorial will talk you through the process in full. 3. Staff user types and how to change them There are three different types of staff member on Tapestry, these are: Manager: They can do everything on an account and have access to the Control Panel where you can add children, staff and relatives. This is also where you can adjust all the different settings on Tapestry. Staff full member: They are set up with an email address and password so can login to Tapestry wherever. What they can see and do on an account can be controlled by a manager. Staff PIN-only: They are only set up with a 4-digit PIN so can only login to a device if a manager or full member of staff logins in first and then switches user. This staff type was designed for situations where managers don’t want their staff logging in to Tapestry from home. What they can see and do on an account can be controlled by a manager. Some of you may have set your staff up as PIN-only so they can’t login from home but now need to adjust your policy due to setting closure. To do this you just need to go to the Manage Staff section of the Control Panel (1) and click on the ‘Edit’ button for the staff member you want to change the type for (2). Then from the ‘Type’ drop-down (1), you just need to select ‘Staff (full account) (2). If you are changing the staff type from PIN-only to full staff member, you will also need to enter an email address and password for them. Remember to save the page when you’re done. See this tutorial for the full process. 4. Staff User Permissions Now is also a good time to check what your staff are set up to do and see on your account. You can do this within the Control Panel from the User Permissions section. The permissions are grouped into sections and if you select one, you’ll then see the list of permissions appear (1). To change whether something is permitted or not, you just need to click on the ‘Edit’ button (2). This tutorial will talk you through the steps in more depth. 5. Updating your policies You may have updated your policies in response to the need to allow staff to work from home. If this is the case, you can add any new or updated policies to the Documents section in Tapestry. This can be done by selecting ‘Documents’ from the top of the page (1). If you haven’t already got a folder or folders for your policies, you can click on ‘Add folder’ (2) to organise that. You then just need to click on the ‘Add file’ button to upload documents (3). Here you just need to select your file (1), give it a title (2) and a description too if you wish (3). Then choose a folder for it (4). Finally, you can choose whether you want relatives to be able to access and download the file (5). Please note this is a blanket setting, so it would mean all relatives on your account can download it. When you’re done, just click ‘Save’ (6). 6. Staff communication and wellbeing As your staff move to remote teaching and learning they will no longer be together for all the catch-up chats and meetings in which you share ideas, discuss children’s experiences and support wellbeing. On Tapestry you can use our Reflections feature to keep these conversations and this support going remotely. This tutorial explains how you can enable Reflections on your account. Once enabled, you can select ‘Reflections’ from the top of your page (1). To add a new reflection, you just need to click on the ‘Add Reflection’ button (2). You will need to give a reflection a title in order to save it (1), then in the ‘Reflection’ box you can add any thoughts you want to share with other staff (2). You can also choose whether a reflection is for a specific child or children (3). You can set different visibility levels for a reflection (4) and you can also change its status (5). Reflections can be linked to observations and other reflections to show a timeline of events (1). You can also add media to them (2) and give them a ‘Flag’ (3). Flags on Tapestry are pre-set and are designed to quickly show you what that reflection is about. For more information about how to add reflections and how they can be used, please look at this tutorial.

There are three different types of staff member on Tapestry, these are: Manager: They can do everything on an account and have access to the Control Panel where you can add children, staff and relatives. This is also where you can adjust all the different settings on Tapestry. Staff full member: They are set up with an email address and password so can login to Tapestry wherever. What they can see and do on an account can be controlled by a manager, this tutorial will show you how. Staff PIN-only: They are only set up with a 4-digit PIN so can only login to a device if a manager or full member of staff logins in first and then switches user. This staff type was designed for situations where managers don’t want their staff logging in to Tapestry from home. What they can see and do on an account can be controlled by a manager this tutorial will show you how. If you want to change a staff member from one type to another, you just need to click on your name in the top right-hand corner (1) and select 'Control Panel' (2). From there, go to 'Manage Staff' (3) from the left-hand menu and click on ‘Edit’ (4) for the staff member you want to change the type for. On the next page you need to click on the ‘Type’ drop-down (1) and then choose the staff type you want to change them to (2). Please note, if you are changing a staff member's type from PIN-only to full staff or manager, you will also need to enter an email address (1) and password (2) for them to login with. Staff can change their password later if they choose by following this tutorial. When you're done, just remember to scroll to the bottom of the page to press save. Then, you're done! Go back to Main Tutorials Page

With Covid-19 issues dominating the news and beginning to affect the normal functions of our society, we thought it would be useful to give you our perspective of Tapestry service provision over the next weeks, and also to advise you on how Tapestry may be able to assist with the closure of your school, nursery or other child provision. First of all, we'd like to re-assure you that we are offering, and have confidence we will be able to continue to offer, a full service. This means reliable access to the Tapestry platform, and also to the full level of product support you normally expect from us. Tapestry staff are currently working from home but everyone still has full access to the normal tools of their job, so we can function and communicate as normal. Therefore we are confident we can still provide prompt and effective levels of service. Additionally, and because of the current situation, we have decided to prioritise a number of new functions that have been in development for some time, intended to help teachers and practitioners offer resources and support to the parents and carers of their children. We will be publishing articles and other resources with suggestions of how to use Tapestry in a real world situation where children are not in physical attendance, and hope you will find these useful. For information about any new features and links to resources, take a look at this page. Finally, please do get in touch with any queries, suggestions or issues you may have by emailing customer.service@eyfs.info. Our education and support teams will help wherever they can, while our engineers will work hard to ensure Tapestry is fully and reliably available at all times. We all look forward to helping you continue to weave your learning journeys as more normal times return. Best wishes, Steve, Helen and the FSF & Tapestry team.