We are pleased to say that the Learning Journey report is now live for Birth to 5 users. The learning journey works differently to the DfE version because specific outcomes cannot be ticked off under Birth to 5, however, you can still include any photos and notes you have included in the observation section. There are also a range of options you can choose, for example including next steps and as selecting the areas of learning to include.

We have also enabled a number of new reports for Birth to 5 users, and more reports will be enabled soon.

Please get in touch with us if you have any other questions relating to the Birth to 5 framework!

We are very pleased to announce that the EYFS Tracker is now ready to use with Birth to 5 Matters! Using Birth to 5 in the EYFS Tracker has the same, familiar look and feel, and gives you a seamless way to navigate through the content of the Birth to 5 guidance whilst considering each child’s development. Note that, following our close working with the Birth to 5 team at Early Education, there are some key differences compared to DfE guidance tracking in the EYFS Tracker. These differences include:

• You assess your children against the Birth to 5 "Ranges" and these are not split into bands (such as high, medium and low). Birth to 5 have provided us with a detailed written explanation of the reasons for this, and guidance from the DfE and Ofsted to support this position. Get in touch if you are interested in seeing this.
• You will not be able to "tick off" individual statements that a child has demonstrated
• There are language differences, such as "observation" rather than "evidence"

We will be adding new features and reports for our Birth to 5 users over the coming months. In particular, as our users get used to Birth to 5 tracking, we will be working with them to establish how the Learning Journey reports would work best with Birth to 5.

If you wish to use Birth to 5 in your tracking, rather than the DfE non-statutory guidance, then please get in touch with us and we will set you up with an account.

Birth to 5 Matters is non-statutory guidance developed by the Early Years Coalition, which is designed to support the introduction of the revised EYFS framework. You can read more here.

You may have seen that the DfE made some small changes to the revised DfE Development Matters (on 23rd and 29th July 2021). We’ve checked the differences between this and the previous version, so that you don’t have to!

There have been several minor changes to the wording throughout, to clarify the meaning, and to the introduction to clarify the aims of the new development matters.

A lot of the changes are visual – there is now a colour for each AoL and the layout has been changed, which makes it easier to use the document. There are some changes to the content too, but most are very minor and the changes should not affect your planning. Some points you may wish to be aware of are:

• The age stage statements about personal hygiene have been moved from Physical Development into Personal, Social and Emotional Development, but the content has not changed much.
• The statement about number bonds for reception children has been changed from “Automatically recall number bonds for numbers 0–10.” to “Automatically recall number bonds for numbers 0–5 and some to 10.”
• Some of the statements about what children will be learning in the characteristics of effective learning have been removed, and some of the ‘how to support’ examples have been changed, including extra examples added, which you might find useful.

We hope you find this useful when beginning to use the new framework this term!

The new EYFS Framework and DfE Development Matters are now available to all subscribers on the EYFS Tracker! You can now start tracking your 2021/22 data.

We will also be supporting Birth to 5 Matters this year – we are just carrying out some final tests and we will get in touch again once this is ready to use.

We sent out an email to all subscribed settings last week to ask about your preference for this year. Please look out for this email (which will have gone to the main contact for your setting) and let us know if you would like to use Birth to 5 Matters instead of the DfE Development Matters.

The old framework and all of your old data are still available on: legacy.eyfstracker.com

You can also continue to track against the old 2012 Development Matters if you wish (the new DfE Development Matters and Birth to 5 Matters are both non-statutory guidance, but note that it is a statutory requirement to carry out EYFSP assessments against the new ELGs from the new EYFS framework).

Early adopters no longer need to use the ‘pilot’ web address – tracking should be done on the main www.eyfstracker.com website - and will be able to follow on from their tracking last year as your data will be copied across.

Please get in touch with us at eyfs@mimeconsulting.co.uk if you have any questions!

We are very excited to announce that we will be supporting Birth to 5 Matters on the EYFS Tracker. A number of you have been asking us about this, so we’re really pleased that we’ll be able to offer this option to the EYFS Tracker community.

Our users will be able to use the Birth to 5 Matters guidance with the EYFS Tracker starting in the autumn term.

If you would like to learn more about using Birth to 5 Matters in the EYFS Tracker, please get in touch with us at eyfs@mimeconsulting.co.uk, or on 020 8099 4240

Birth to 5 Matters is non-statutory guidance developed by the Early Years Coalition, which is designed to support the introduction of the revised EYFS framework. You can read more here.

Many thanks to those of you who have been trialling the DfE early adopter version of the EYFS Tracker – feedback has been really positive! We have recently released new reports to the pilot site so you have the same familiar range of options as the old EYFS Tracker.

Following this successful pilot, all schools and settings will be able to use the new DfE framework site next term, though historical information from the old site will also be available to access. Additionally, you are also welcome to trial the pilot site this term – just get in touch with us via email at eyfs@mimeconsulting.co.uk or on 020 8099 4240.

Finally, a number of users have been asking us about using the Birth to 5 Matters framework with the EYFS Tracker. We will be providing you with an update about this soon!

Since the new development matters were released in September, we have been talking to early adopters and working on setting up our new pilot site. We are pleased to say that it is now up and running!

Following helpful feedback from our early adopter steering group, we have developed the system to allow you to track progress in line with the new framework, while still using the familiar EYFS Tracker interface.

If you are an early adopter and you would like to use the EYFS Tracker pilot site, please get in touch with us at eyfs@mimeconsulting.co.uk or on 020 8099 4240.

If you are a current user, we can copy your children’s details over to the new site, and you will continue to have access to the old site. If you are an early adopter but have not used the EYFS Tracker before, please get in touch and we can set up a trial account for you.

In our previous post, we let you know that we are preparing a version of the EYFS Tracker suitable for early adopters of the new EYFS framework, which is piloting from the start of this term.

We are still awaiting the release of the age-specific outcomes (development matters) for the new framework. As soon as they are released, we will start incorporating these into the new site.

However, if they are not released in the next few weeks, we will still make sure that early adopters who want to track pupils in the autumn term will be able to do so, using placeholders for the age-specific outcomes.

We have already been talking to some early adopters about their tracking requirements. If you are an early adopter who hasn't been in touch yet, and you would like to use the new site, you can let us know by emailing us at eyfs@mimeconsulting.co.uk, or calling us on 020 8099 4240. We would love to hear from you!

As you will be aware, on 1st July, the government published a new EYFS framework which is being piloted from September 2020, before being fully introduced in September 2021.

Those taking part in the EYFS reforms early adopter year will follow the guidance in Early adopter schools: framework for the early years foundation stage and those who are not taking part will continue to follow the existing Early years foundation stage statutory framework.

The seven areas of learning remain the same, but most of the aspects have been moved or changed. The ‘exceeding’ descriptors have also been removed. So far, the age-banded early years outcomes for the new framework have not been published, but we understand they are due to be released this summer.

We are busy preparing a version of the EYFS Tracker for those who wish to use it with the new framework in the autumn term. This version will be fully compatible with the new Early Learning Goals (ELGs). As soon as the age-banded outcomes are released, we will work on incorporating these into the new system and get in touch with our users.

There will be a new website address for early adopters to use - we will copy over your children’s details to the new website. However, the look and feel of the new website will be very familiar - there are still 17 aspects, spanning the same seven areas of learning. The same range of analysis and learning journey reports will be available.

If you would like to discuss how this would work for you from September, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

We have summarised some of the changes to the structure of the framework below. The wording of some of the ELG descriptors has also changed in some cases.

Firstly, we hope that you and your colleagues are doing ok during this challenging time.

Following the government guidance on dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, we wanted to give you a status update on the EYFS Tracker.

Our priority at the EYFS Tracker is supporting our clients and team during this uncertain period. As a result we have fully implemented a homeworking plan. This will ensure that we maintain a good level of service, whilst at the same time playing our part in reducing the spread of coronavirus.

Despite our staff working from home, we are able to deliver a business as usual service as we can manage the EYFS Tracker remotely. You can get in touch with us via email and phone, as normal. If you’d like to have a video call with us we can support this too.

We will continue to monitor the rapidly changing situation and provide you with updates accordingly.

Thank you,
Steve and Phil

We are excited to announce that, after a successful pilot, all users of the EYFS Tracker can use our new Sub-Bands of Progress report (P6). The report gives you a visual, colour-coded view of how much progress your cohort has made across the year. As with all our reports it can be filtered by year group, teaching group or support type, and characteristics such as ethnicity and gender.

Take a look here with your own data now!

We are now on YouTube! Check out our dedicated EYFS Tracker community hub.

It is an excellent resource if you are just getting started or need an EYFS Tracker refresher. Don’t forget to direct new starters to the training videos too.

Keep an eye out for further tips and updates demonstrating how to get the most out of your Tracker.

Watch, Like and Subscribe Today.

In anticipation of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law coming into force on 25th May 2018, we’d like to assure you that we are fully compliant. GDPR replaces the existing Data Protection Act.

The changes will not affect the way in which you use the EYFS Tracker

Please take a look at the links below to read an summary of "Key Facts" relating to our readiness, along with our updated Terms and Conditions:

EYFS Tracker: GDPR Key Facts

EYFS Tracker: Terms and Conditions

Lastly, here's a link to a video from the DfE which you might find useful as it explains the impact of this new policy, particularly within the education sector:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y09IHXv6u6M

Please note that by continuing to use the EYFS Tracker, this is regarded as acceptance of our new Terms and Conditions

We have improved the look of the learning journey reports so that they are easier to read. The changes are slight but each aspect is now separated and better aligned with the date achieved. The report is visually more attractive. It now uses bold colours to highlight headings and make it more professional looking. These pictures give you an idea of the new look.

You can now also export the learning journey to a Microsoft Word document. Users told us that they wanted to be able to edit the learning journey before sending it to parents. This can now be done in Word. You can still export the learning journey straight into PDF if you prefer.

For your 2016/17 learning journeys these changes are optional so you can still use the old version and method if you would prefer.

To use the new version, click on the button on the current 'Reporting' tab

We hope you like the new look and functionality. If you have any suggestions for how we can develop this feature further, please do get in touch!

As you may have noticed, as of today the EYFS Tracker has a brand new design which the team has been working hard on over the last few months. The features of the system are the same as before, and everything is in the same place, but the site should feel fresher and easier to navigate, particularly for new users. In particular, the icons at the end of the rows in the My Children and Results section have been amended, with easier access to the Next Steps and Characteristics of Effective Learning screens.

Here is a preview of what the new design looks like once you've logged in:

We hope you enjoy the new design – let us know if you have any feedback.

Happy tracking!

The EYFS Tracker service is now hosted by UK Servers who have been providing mission critical dedicated servers within the UK and Europe since 2004. They have a secure data centre in Coventry and store backups in the EU. The new company hosts over 4,000 servers for customers ranging from small business to multinational corporations. We are confident that the new providers are well established and their technology and processes are robust, ensuring that your data remains safe.

The EYFS Tracker itself remains exactly the same and there in no difference in how you can use it but please do get in touch if you have any questions or concerns.

Characteristics of Effective Learning

There is now a way to store information on the Characteristics of Effective Learning. These are the ways in which a child engages with other people and their environment – playing and exploring, active learning, and creating and thinking critically. They underpin learning and development across all areas and support the child to remain an effective and motivated learner. From either the My Children or Results sections, click on the notepad icon to enter free text for the child’s characteristics.

You can choose to output these notes in the Learning Journey reports

If you have any suggestions for how we can develop this feature further, please do get in touch!

Further Updates

• Spell Checker: We have added a spell checker to text boxes such as those in the Next Steps and Characteristics of Effective Learning sections. This will help produce accurate Learning Journeys in an easier way.
• Child Counter: At the top of the Results section there is now a box that counts the number of children currently being displayed in the list. This is useful to ensure that you aren’t missing any children or have children that should not be in the list.

Recording Next Steps in the EYFS Tracker

We have implemented a feature to allow you to record the 'Next Steps' for each of your children. From either the My Children or Results sections, click on the notepad icon to enter free text for the child’s next steps.

You can choose to include these next steps on the Learning Journeys, or report them via the Analysis section using the new P5 report:

If you have any suggestions for how we can develop this feature further, please do get in touch!

Further Updates

• If you have a child who leaves and then 're-joins' your setting you can 'reinstate' them yourself by clicking on the 'cross' mark on the end of the relevant row in the 'My Children' section. There is a 'Reinstate Child' button on this menu.
• FSP Return - You can choose how to treat 'L' within the 'EL Goals' category allowing you more flexibility in the way this data is returned.
• If you find any of your evidence images are showing the wrong way up, you can now rotate them in the tracker. Click the 'rotate image' button within the evidence section to get started.
• You can also now choose to display larger images in the learning journey, via an optional setting.

New Year EYFS Tracker features

We've been working hard on some great new features for the new year and are pleased to announce that they are now available for all to use.

• You can now import children into the Tracker using our handy template spreadsheet, as well as via the existing 'CTF' option. Click the button in the 'My Children' section to get started.
• Assign specific administrators who control who else gets access to the data in your setting. Change this, per user, in your 'My Account' page
• Forgotten your password? You can now reset it yourself.
• Can't remember which report you ran last time? You'll find the reference codes and date run are now printed in the footer.

Also note that when you move children 'up' an ageband in the results section, the High/Medium/Low indicator will automatically be reset to Medium.

These additions were made as a direct result of feedback and requests by members of our user community, so if you have any questions or suggestions for further enhancements please do get in touch!

New Age Related Expectations report added

We're pleased to announce that we've released another great report on Age Related Expectations! This one, labelled S7 in the Summary Reports section, shows you in one place what proportion of your children are at or above age related expectations across all 17 aspects. There is a handy graph to help you understand where additional support may be required in your setting. The usual range of advanced extra filters are available to allow you to further understand the performance of specific cohorts.

This report was a built as a direct result of feedback and requests by members of our user community, so if you have any questions or suggestions for further enhancements please do get in touch!

New Assessment Periods

We are excited to announce that you now have the option to track your children 6 times a year in the EYFS Tracker. The time points are called Autumn 1, Autumn 2, Spring 1, Spring 2, Summer 1 and Summer 2. As well as users that wish to track twice per term, this feature should be particularly useful for settings that have children joining throughout the year as it provides more time points for you to include an "on entry" assessment.

The same great range of reports are available for schools and settings using the 6 time point option.

New users can select the 6 time point option when starting their free trial. Existing users can edit their settings in My Account, by clicking Edit Details.

As ever, please get in touch if you have any questions or suggestions for further enhancements.

New Summary Progress Report

We've added a new report which summarises our popular P4 report across a whole cohort and allows you to group the results by various contextual characteristics. The report can be found on the 'Summary Reports' tab and accessed by clicking the S6 icon image:

Note that practitioners are still encouraged to supplement the analysis with their own judgements of the progress of their children and the report provides a separate table for you to fill in.

Enhanced Learning Journey Report

We've taken on board recent feedback from our users and added the facility to upload your own logo to the Tracker which can then be used to personalise your Learning Journey reports with a cover page. Get started by uploading your logo in the section (click 'edit details'). We've also improved the appearance of the Learning Journey reports at the same time.

More Updates!

We've added some additional enhancements to the system which you may also be interested in:

• You can now filter both your pupil and results lists by Support Types (if you use these)
• In the 'evidence' section you can distinguish those outcomes for which you have uploaded photos to, from those which have notes or those which have both!
• We've also added this public blog page to keep you further updated

As ever, please get in touch if you have any questions or comments.

Childcare Expo 2014 - Kensington Olympia

We will be exhibiting at the Childcare Expo in London at Kensington Olympia on the 28th and 29th of March. It is a free event for anyone working in the Early Years and Childcare Sector. We are offering FREE one to one training for existing users and any new users that sign up at the event as well as sign-up discounts and more. It is set to be an exciting two days with loads on offer so please come and see us if you are planning on being there!

Pupils and Children

We've updated references to 'pupils' throughout the EYFS Tracker with the word 'children' instead, which better reflects the way that the Tracker is used in a diverse range of Early Years Settings.

We've also amended the 'Pupil Reports' section so it is now titled 'Learning Journey'.

You should notice no other differences in functionality but please do get in touch if you have any questions or comments.

Additional Help

We've created a new 'getting started' guide to help you get up and running quickly with the Tracker. It could also be used to help any new users you may have understand the basics quickly. Click the button to download!

Demonstration Reports

We've also added a pack of sample reports to help you understand the range of reporting and analysis you can get from the EYFS Tracker at the touch of a button...

New EYFS Tracker Design Launched!

We've refreshed the homepage and menu bar design for the EYFS Tracker but, don't worry, it's still the same Tracker underneath after you have logged in!

Please do get in touch if you have any questions or comments.

Analysis Menu Redesigned!

We have also implemented a new, more visually appealing way of helping you find the right report from within the Analysis menu.

Reports are grouped on to different tabs by type, with a handy thumbnail image to remind you what the output of each piece of analysis looks like. For example, our useful Child Progress Over Time report can be found on the 'Child Level Reports' tab and accessed by clicking on the image icon:

Childcare Expo 2013

We are pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at the Childcare Expo in Coventry on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th of September. We are offering all our licence holders free one-on-one training at the event; space is limited however, so please let us know if you are coming and would like to book a slot. Even if you don’t need the training session, please do come and say hi if you are going – we are Stall D5. You can register for free for the event at: www.livebuzzreg.co.uk/2013/child13/reg/

FSP Return (CTF) and Reporting Added!

We have now implemented the 'CTF' export option from your FSP Summary screen accessible via the button at the bottom of the Results page:

This takes the data you have entered for your Reception cohort in the Summer term and converts this into the format specified by the DfE.

At the same time we have introduced a number of useful reporting options to analyse this data within your setting, including summaries by aspect and by vulnerable groups (covering 'Good Level of Development' as defined by the DfE here).

Sort the Results section by child’s age

As well sorting by name or age stage, in the Results section you can now also sort by a child’s age in months by clicking on the blue field heading. Remember that clicking on the blue underlined column headings in the My Pupils and Results sections sorts the list by that column. Clicking the same column header again reverses the sort order.

A Reminder of the new Child Progress Report

An important new report has been added to the Tracker which allows you to demonstrate the progress children have made, using the Ofsted definition of expected progress (see paragraph 30 of the Ofsted Subsidiary guidance).

For two selected points in time, the report analyses whether children were below, at or above expectation at the start, and below, at or above expectation at the end. By comparing these two assessments, the report shows whether the child has made above expected progress, expected progress or below expected progress, depicted by colour-coded arrows.

Note that practitioners are encouraged to supplement the analysis with their own judgements of a child’s progress – the report provides space for you to do this.

The report is available now from the Analysis section, under Child Level Reports (called “P4. Child Progress Over Time”)

Please get in touch if you have any feedback about this new report or if you have any questions.

EYFS Pupil Tracker Live for the 2012 Framework!

We are pleased to announce that the EYFS Pupil Tracker is now ready for use with the new statutory framework. The look and feel of the system should be very familiar to existing users, except that you now assess a child’s stage of development using the aspects and development matters from the new framework. The 17 aspects of the new framework are arranged over 7 area of learning tabs on the Results page. All the other facilities of the EYFS Pupil Tracker remain the same, including running analysis by pupil groups, adding photos and other attachments, producing learning journey booklets, and much more.

What’s more, we have converted all your historical results data into the equivalent aspects in the new framework.

TIP - When starting tracking in the Autumn term, if you are tracking a cohort that was with you in the summer term, we recommend that you use the button to avoid having to start tracking from scratch. Obviously you will need to update results for the progress made from the summer, but this should still save you some time. For information on how the conversion has been done, please click here (PDF)

For more information on the new framework, please view the information on the DfE website here

We hope you enjoy evidencing your children’s progress using the new, simplified EYFS in the EYFS Pupil Tracker!