Welcome to the last Tapestry newsletter not only of the year, but also the decade! Before we share this month’s Tapestry news, we wanted to look back at some of the features we have added this year:

1. Pre–Key Stage 1 and 2

We added the Pre-KS1/2 framework in May of this year to help schools using Tapestry. This tutorial explains how you can enable it on your account. Once you have done so, you can then assess your observations against this framework and track them through two different screens.

For settings using EYFS we added a tracking screen that shows children who have reached a Good Level of Development at the end of the academic year. The data and scores for this screen are taken from the EYFSP submission point on Tapestry. You can read more about this screen here.

To make the process of arranging payment for Tapestry invoices easier, we added the ability to pay by card through Tapestry. All managers on an account can access this section by logging in through the browser version of Tapestry, going to the Control Panel and on the Overview page, clicking on the ‘View and pay your invoices’ button.

Reflections on Tapestry was designed to facilitate and support reflective practice within your setting. It is a place to gather thoughts and actions about your own teaching, the learning environment, or whole team approaches, and to record the ways these improve the outcomes for the children in your care. It provides you with a place to hold conversations and share ideas with staff in your setting. To learn how to use Reflections, you just need to watch these videos.

A much-requested feature on Tapestry, Documents allows you to add Word, PDF, Excel and txt files to an easily accessible area within your account. Once uploaded, files are scanned for viruses and can then be organised into folders of your own creation and shared with other members of staff. You can also choose to share them with parents. These videos walk you through how to use the feature.

Finally, last month we added the Cherry Garden framework. This was created by Cherry Garden school, an outstanding special needs school. Using their years of SEND expertise and parts of the Routes for Learning framework, they have created a child-centred assessment system for SLD/PMLD students. Progress can be shown linearly and laterally and there is also a unique Cherry Garden Orchard graphic which demonstrates a child’s learning to share and celebrate with parents. These tutorials explain how to use this new framework.