Learning Journals
We use Learning Journals as a tool to record significant learning of our learners. For parents, this means you can log in to your child’s profile and see these events and comment and contribute.
You are able to access your child’s profile in two ways – using the web or through the Parent App which is free to download from the Apple Appstore or google Play Store (search Learning Journals for Parents). At the time of enrolment, you will be sent your login details. If you have lost them, please contact admin@canaanlane.edin.sch.uk and we can send them out again for you.
Why we use Learning Journals?
Keeping you informed – Often we hear that parents want to know more about their child’s learning. It can be hard to convey just how much learning happens – as it happens all the time! Our Learning Journals provide you with a little window into life at school and Early Learning Childcare. An observation containing photos or a video is the perfect way to show how learners interact with their friends and with activities we’ve planned.
Easy access – Whether you are at work, at home, on your phone or laptop, on the bus or a train, parents are able to access their child’s profile. You are not restricted by the type of device or operating system you use. Updates about new observations prompt you to take part by leaving a comment and you can securely upload your own photos directly from your phone or computer.
Secure and safe – Parents only have access to their own child’s profile. With the use of username, password and PIN combinations that only you can ever know, you can be confident that the content is only visible to staff. When your child leaves they can export all their data, photos and videos to keep forever.
What will be in my child’s Learning Journals?
Observations – These are records of significant learning linked to our curriculums and framework. These are what we use to evidence your child’s progress and development. You can click on the tab of each observation to see which experiences and outcomes have been experienced in the observation.
Stories – These are a really nice and easy way for us to share something with you. Not as comprehensive as an observation, they allow staff to quickly share a nice moment – it might be a fun day, a special event, sports day or some other even or activity that we think you’d love to hear about.
Likes and comments – There is nothing we want more than for you to contribute to the observations. It’s so easy for you to do; you can simply click on the like button to acknowledge that you’ve seen an update or, even better, leave a comment to let us know how this observation links in with your home learning. Or even just leave a note to say how seeing the observation made you feel. Leaving a comment really is the best way that you can interact with Learning Journals.
Parent contributions – If you see a blue box on your child’s profile it means there is an area for you to contribute even further to a child’s profile. You can use these areas for uploading your own ‘mini observations from home’. You might want to add in something about a new judo award, or perhaps you went hill climbing at the weekend.
Exporting and saving – When it comes time for your child to move on or leave the school, you can export everything that has ever been uploaded. This means all your child’s observations, stories, parent contributions as well as every photo or video. Just click on the “Convert Profile To PDF” button. You’ll then just select from some options, e.g. do you want everything, or just the last 2 years? The system will then create a PDF for you which will become available from your downloads tab.
Please note, this feature cannot be performed using the Parent App
Related links
Getting started on Learning Journals – support for parents when using Learning Journals for the first time
Canaan Lane Primary School 