Early Years Tracking Tool User Guide · Early Years Tracking Tool User Guide (updated September...

Early Years Tracking Tool

User Guide

(updated September 2014)

This guide is designed to assist Early Year Practitioners in using the Early Years Tracking Tool.

It will provide an overview of all the elements of the tool including how to analyse the data.

The Early Years Tracking Tool has been set up to enable Early Years Practitioners to record the

Children’s progress in the Seven Areas of Learning and Development from when they joined the

setting up to School Age.

of 29 Copyright © 2013 Oxfordshire County Council The Early Years Tracking Tool is for use within Oxfordshire only. If you are interested in using the resource more widely please contact [email protected]

Overview

The intention with the Early Years Tracking Tool is to provide Settings with a consistent format

of recording children data. This data can then be used to understand how the children are

progressing and developing during their time in the setting. It provides the ability to filter each

column of the contextual data to view specific areas and see how they progress as a group.

The tool has several different tabs which provide information in a variety of ways. There is one

main tab where the data is entered. You then have the ability to view the progress in a

numerical format over the terms. There is also a tab which provides a general overview of the

children in the setting indicating the number that are ‘Inline’ or ‘below’ etc, during each term.

Finally you have the ability to view the individual child’s progress through terms based on

whether they are ‘inline’ or ‘below etc and where they are based on their age related group.

Contents:

Saving the Early Years Tracking Tool ...................................................................................................................... 3

Inputting the Data ............................................................................................................................................................ 4

Completing the Areas of Learning ............................................................................................................................. 6

End of the Academic Year ............................................................................................................................................. 9

Filtering the Data ........................................................................................................................................................... 10

Reviewing the Results ................................................................................................................................................. 12

Using the Summary Graph ......................................................................................................................................... 13

Progress Tab .................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Using the Individual Graph ........................................................................................................................................ 16

Using the Individual Graph by Age ......................................................................................................................... 21

Use of the Analysis Sheet ............................................................................................................................................ 24

Printing .............................................................................................................................................................................. 25

Start of a new Academic Year ................................................................................................................................... 28


Saving the Early Years Tracking Tool

To download the Oxfordshire Early Years Tracking Tool please go to

www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/trackingtool and follow the instructions on screen.

Once the file has been downloaded open the file.

You will be asked to enter a password to use the tool, this would have been sent to you via email

during the download process. To ensure data security please only share the password with

relevant members of staff in the setting.

Enter the password and then click on OK.

To save the spreadsheet click on File followed by Save As. Provide a suitable name for the file

for example, Early Years Tracking Tool Academic Year 2014 to 2015. This will effectively save a

copy of the downloaded file so that the original is always available for future academic years or

other groups of children.

http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/trackingtool


Inputting the Data

This is the second tab on the tool. Click on the ‘Data Entry’ tab (coloured in light green)

This sheet provides you the opportunity to input contextual and assessment data.

The Data can be entered at entry and then 3 further assessment points. At the beginning of the

Entry point and the 3 assessment points you can enter the date relevant for each child. This will

allow flexibility for when children start at different points within the year. In the top left

hand corner each Term has been colour coded and this has then reflected throughout

the spreadsheet for ease of reference.


The area highlighted in Green is the area for the contextual data to be entered. There are

several fields of information to update.

The Surname Forname and Date of Birth columns are free text cells

The On Roll, Gender and English as an Additional Language (EAL) boxes are a drop

down option.

Admission Date is the date they joined the Early Year’s Setting, free text cell.

Special Education Needs (SEN) – drop down option

Funding – drop down option

Vulnerable – free text cell

Ethnicity – drop down option

2 year check – automatically calulates the child’s age in months. Once they are 30

months it changes the box to a purple colour highlighting that a 2 year check needs to be

completed. Next to the purple box there is then a drop down option confirming this has

been completed.

Sessions per week – free text

Attendance – free text

Key Person Group – free text

There are three options of the tool which provide availability for either 63, 125 and 185

children to be added onto this data

It is best to enter the contextual data for all the children first before you then enter any

information in the areas of Learning and Development.

Surname Forename

Date of Birth

On Roll

Gender

EAL

Admission Date

SEN Status

Funding

Vulnerable

Ethnicity

2 Year Check

No of Sessions per

week

Attendance

Key Person Group


Completing the Areas of Learning

Each of the four data entry points have the Seven Areas of Learning and Development. Under

each heading the area of learning has been broken down into the individual aspects e.g. PSED is

broken down into making relationships, self confidence and managing feelings. Alongside the

individual areas an overall assessment column has been provided. With this flexibility each

setting has the choice whether data is recorded for each individual area or just for the overall

seven areas of learning.

The assessments that can be recorded are the age bandings used in the Development Matters

document. The age bandings have been further broken down to allow settings to montior

progress within each age banding, for example:

30-50C (beginning to work within 30-50)

30-50B (secure within 30-50)

30-50A (high within 30-50)

In line with National and Local Authority guidance, practictioners should use a best fit approach

when making decisions regarding assessments.


These age bandings are set up as a drop down option as shown below. You are then able to

select the relevant banding and press enter to record it on the sheet.

This format then continues for each of the Seven Areas of Learning and Development.

In three of the Areas of Learning and Development; Literacy, Understanding the World and

Expressive Arts and Design some of the aspects are not relevant for the younger age child. In

these situations there is an option to put in ‘not req’.

The Overall column also has the drop

down option to select. Once you have

done this, based on the age of the child

within the relevant assessment point, it

will then change the ‘Working Inline’

column to reflect whether the child is

working Above, Inline, Below and +1

Below.


At the end of each term there is the option to add a comment to explain the reasons why the

child has certain grading’s in specific or overall areas.


End of the Academic Year

At the end of Assessment 3 there is a overview table which shows the overal position in each of

the Seven Areas of Learning and Development for the end of the year, this will automatically

populate from the data entered into Assessment 3.


Filtering the Data

In the green area where the contextual data has been entered, all of these columns can be

filtered to provide details on specific areas that you choose. Ie: if you wanted to view the results

from all the girls within the setting you can filter the gender column to F. This can be done by

clicking on the filter button on the top of the column.

Once you have clicked on the filter button you then have the option to choose what you want to

filter. If you want to see just the girls you need to remove the ticks in the M box and the (blanks)

box. To enable you to remove the ticks you just click in the box.

Then click on Ok and it will display just the girls.

This filter can be applied to any of the columns – ie all the children that receive funding, all the

children are in the ‘Green’ key person group.


You can apply several filters at once. For example: if you have filtered by ‘Girls’you can then

filter by the number of sessions per week – see below

To clear the filter from that area you need to click on the filter button at the top of the relevant

column and then click on ‘clear filter from …….box’ as highlighted in orange below. This will

then return the column to the full data entered.


Reviewing the Results

At the top of each of the Seven areas of learning and development there are four different

summaries of the results.

1. One shows the number of results (ie the number of children where data has been

entered in that column).

2. The second one shows the Mean Grade of all the age bandings selected in that column.

3. The third one shows the overall % of children that are ‘Inline’ or ‘Above’.

4. The fourth one shows the average age of the children being viewed at that time.

All of these results then change based on what filter you have selected in the contextual data.

1 2 3 4


Using the Summary Graph

On the third tab there are charts highlighting the overall position for all the children in the

setting and the percentage that are Above, Inline, Below, +1 Below for Entry, Assessment 1,

Assessment 2 and Assessment 3 respectively.

Click on the ‘Summary Graph’ tab (shown in Blue). This will then display the charts.

Each of the colours on Above, Inline, Below +1 Below remain consistent to the colour that is

shown in the ‘Data Entry’ sheet.

This sheet is a visual display to show in each of the Seven Areas of Learning and Development

areas that may require more focus. For example – looking at Literacy in Entry chart on the

above example – 5% of children are +1 Below. In Assessment 1 in Literacy 10% of children are

+1 Below. Therefore some additional focus can be looked at in this area to see what can be done

to try and improve the learning.

These charts are intially showing the overall picture for all of the children, however these can be

filtered to just look at specific groups. If you click on the Data Entry Tab and filter the relevant

column as described earlier, this will then filter the information on the Summary Graph as well.


Progress Tab

The fourth tab on the sheet is the Progress tab. To select this click on the ‘Progress Tab’ (shown

in orange)

This shows how the children have progressed between Entry and Assessment 1, Entry and

Assessment 2 and finally between Entry Assessment 3. The progress is shown on the Seven

areas of Learning and Development and each aspect within it.

The contextual data from the previous sheet will automatically feed into the Progress sheet.

The progress is reflected in numerical format, indiciating whether the child has increased,

decreased or stayed the same throughout the assessment points. For example: if a child has

moved up 2 levels this is then reflected by the number 2, however if they have fallen down 1

level this is then reflected by -1.

The Yellow column shows the comparison between Entry and Assessment 1. The pink column

shows the comparison between Entry and Assessment 2. The orange column shows the

comparision between Entry and Assessment 3. If a child joins in Assessment 2 then you can

enter the initial Entry data and then the data in Assessment 2, you will then get information in

the pink column and nothing in the yellow column.

This sheet can also be sorted into filters like the previous page for the Data Entry.


Again similar to the ‘Data Entry’ sheet at the top of the columns it shows the mean of these

results.


Using the Individual Graph

The other way of being able to anaylse the children data is by using the individual graph tabs.

The first of these tabs collects the data from the ‘Data Entry’ sheet, the second tab will show the

results on a graph.

The intention of these graphs is to be able to display an individual child’s banding results

through the different assessment points and show whether in each of the Seven Areas of

Learning and Development they were Above, Inline, Below, +1 Below. However, there is also

the ability to look at a small group of children at just one assessment point – ie boys/girls/key

person groups.

To display one child:

Click on ‘Individual Graph Data’ or ‘Individual Graph Data 2’ (yellow or green tab). Depending

on the number of children that are in the setting will depend on which tab you need to click on.

The first 78 children are on the first tab, the remaining ones are on the second tab, or third

depending on the size of the tool that you have.


Click on the filter on the top of the name column

To select just one name firstly take the ‘tick’ out of the select all box (this will remove any

selections of any names).


Then find the individual child’s name that you want to display and ‘tick’ the box next to that and

then click on OK.

This will then display the child you have selected.

If the child is:

+1 Below – a numerical equivalent of 1 will be displayed in the table

Below – a numerical equivalent of 2 will be displayed in the table

Inline – a numerical equivalent of 3 will be displayed in the table

Above – a numerical equivalent of 4 will be displayed in the table


To see this shown on the graph click on the tab next to the one you have been working on (it will

be the same colour)

This will now show a line for each assessment indicating where they are for each of the seven

areas of learning and development.

This shows that this child has progressed within the assessments. On Entry, shown on the blue

line, it indicates that in most of the seven areas they were either Below or +1 Below. In

Assessment 1, shown on the red line, it indicates that in most of the seven areas they were

Below with just one area inline . In Assessment 2, shown on the green line, it indicates that in

most of the seven areas they were either Inline, although dipped to below in one area. Finally in

Assessment 3, shown on the purple line it indicates that in all of the seven areas they are Above.

If you want to view several children on the graph that then follow the above steps and select all

of the names of the children that you want to display.


Then filter to look at the relevant assessment point you want to review.

This shows the results of three different children within the same assessment point. This could

be useful if you are wanting to review a specific key person group, or just the girls or boys.


Using the Individual Graph by Age

The other way the data is displayed is via another graph, this one shows how the child has

developed in the overall seven areas of learning and development based on the age grade they

have been allocated.

To view the data the same process is followed as in the previous graphs. You select

Click on ‘Individual Graph Data - Age’ or ‘Individual Graph Data 2 – Age ’ (pink or purple tab).

Depending on the number of children that are in the setting will depend on which tab you need

to click on. The first 78 children are on the first tab, the remaining ones are on the second tab,

or on a third depending on the size of tool you have.

If you select the filter on the name column, remove the ‘tick’ from the ‘select all’ box and then

‘tick’ the relevant name that you require. This will then be displayed in the table.


Then click on the ‘Individual Graph – Age’ or ‘Individual Graph 2 – Age’ tab and the results will

be displayed.

The numerical key for the Age Grades is shown on the right hand side.

This shows that during the assessment points the child has moved up the age grades in all of the

seven areas of learning and development.

On the right hand side you can also see the age of the child at that assessment point.


Again this can be reflected to show several children based on certain terms.

The below shows 3 boys at Assessment 2.

This illustrates that they are mainly working Inline or Above in most areas although there are

variations between the level of age bandings. Two of the boys have dipped to 16-26A in literacy

which based on their age at the time means they are below in that area.


Use of the Analysis Sheet

At the beginning of the tool the first tab is a blank Analysis Sheet. This has been set up as an

option to help assess the information and demonstrate what action you have taken and how this

has then impacted on the children’s progression.

On this sheet you can either enter the information on the system or print off and complete by

hand.

The first column is for you to enter in details of what the data is highlighting through to you. For

example: out of 10 children within the setting, 5 of them are working below their age banding in

Mathematics. This highlights that potentially further Mathematics activities could be set up.

In the second column this is for you to enter in the action that you took to help resolve the

information highlighted within the data.

In the third column this is for you to demonstrate how those actions have now helped the

children progress within that area. For example, following the introduction of further

Mathematical activities the number of children now working inline in Mathematics has

increased to 8 at the next Assessment point.


Printing

All of the sheets have been set up to print the full range, some of them over several pages due to

the size.

In respect of the ‘Data Entry’ sheet if you want to print just a single term of data, from the

toolbar you need to click on ‘View’

Then click on ‘custom views’

Once you have clicked on this a box will appear with a list of the sections on the spreadsheet

available for printing.


Highlight the one you want to print and click on show. The box will then close and the

contextual data and the chosen section of the spreadsheet will be highlighted.

Then click on File and Print

It will then print out the required information on the set pages.


For the ‘Overall Progress Tab’ – again you click on custom views and then select Overall

progress. This will then print out all four of the graphs.


Start of a new Academic Year

When you first downloaded the tracking tool you were advised to save a master copy (see the

first section of these intructions). Locate and open the blank saved document.

In the toolbar choose File and Save As

Provide a suitable name for the new year tracking tool e.g. Early Years Tracking Tool 2015 to

2016. This will ensure the master version is kept safe and that you are now ready to use the

new spreadsheet at the start of the next academic year.

On the tool that you have just finished, highlight the children that will be remaining for a further

year by clicking on the name filter.

Then in the contextual data section highlight the information and then click on copy.

Due to the protections on the sheet for the formulas’ you will only be able to copy up the

Ethnicity column.


Then open the new tool and on the data entry section click on the cell you want to paste the

information into and then click on paste.

Once you have pasted that information you can then repeat the process and higlight the

information after the 2 yr check purple box and paste that into the new tool.

Using the same method as described above, you can copy the information from Assessment 3

into the Entry for the following year.

If you are currently using the existing tool for all children that are remaining for a further year,

it is recommended that you copy the age banding information from Term 3 and paste that into

the Entry section. You can then enter in the date of the assesment from Term 3 as the entry date

for those children.

For further support please contact [email protected]

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