About this Manual

This Manual has four parts:

• About this Manual (this section)
• Educator’s User Guide (tasks that educators can do in EarlyWorks)
• Administrator’s User Guide (tasks that administrators can do in EarlyWorks; Note: administrators can also do educator tasks, but educators cannot do administrator tasks)
• Glossary and References (list of terms used and documents referred to in this Manual).

Screen Navigation, Naming Conventions, and Terminology

This section describes some of the common elements of the EarlyWorks application, and the terms used to describe them in this Manual. We recommend that you familiarise yourself with this section before starting.

We use the term ‘click’ for any action you have to do to select an item on the screen:

• If you are using a mouse, hover over the item, then click your primary mouse button.
• If you are using a stylus or your finger, tap the item.

We use the term ‘enter’ to refer to text that you type, using whatever methods suit your device, including speech-to-text.

Hints & Tips

Many textboxes in EarlyWorks can accept speech-to-text. Talking into your device to make an observation etc. can save you a lot of time and means you don’t have to focus on a keyboard while dealing with the other tasks you need to attend to. Check your device to see if it accepts speech and converts it to text—most phones and tablets do, though it may be something you need to turn on in the device’s settings. And then learn how to use this function—it may save you a lot of time.

Screen Navigation

Menu

You use the menu to navigate through the various EarlyWorks screens. In this Manual, we refer to menu items as Menu Option > Sub-item (e.g. Admin > Dashboard).

On large-screen devices, the menu is shown across the top of the browser window. 

On small-screen devices, such as tablets or smartphones, you access the top-level menu items by clicking on the 3-bar icon at the far right of the window.

Some menu options contain sub-items—these are indicated by a small triangle to the right of the text. Clicking menu options with a triangle displays the list of related sub-items.

The last menu option is Log off. We recommend that you log out of EarlyWorks if you plan to leave your device unattended for any length of time, especially if your device is shared with other users or is located in a shared space.

Breadcrumbs

You will visit various screens as you use EarlyWorks. A ‘breadcrumb trail’ of the screens that you accessed before the current screen is shown below the menu. You can click any blue link to return to that screen.

Tabs

Some screens contain multiple sections, grouped by related information (tabs). Only one tab is visible at a time. To access the various sections, click the blue text on relevant tab at the top of the screen.

Screen Help

Most screens in EarlyWorks display help text for the current screen, below the breadcrumb trail.

You can hide this text temporarily by clicking the small cross (×) in the top right of the help text box. Once you are familiar with the screen, you may not need this information—click Don’t display this message again to hide the help. Note: You can always redisplay this help by clicking Hello, {your initials} > Redisplay All Help.

Terminology

This Manual uses these words:

• ‘Program’; however, your service may have changed this to ‘Curriculum’ in the Settings screen. If so, substitute ‘Curriculum’ wherever ‘Program’ is used.
• ‘Experience’; however, your service may have changed this to ‘Curriculum Plan’ in the Settings screen. If so, substitute ‘Curriculum Plan’ wherever ‘Experience’ is used.
• See also Change the Label for Program and/or Experience.

The Glossary at the end of this Manual defines many of the terms used in this document.

Common Tasks

Log in to Your EarlyWorks Account

Note: You must be connected to the internet to use EarlyWorks.

1. Go to login.earlyworks.net.au.
2. Enter your email address and password.

3. Click Log In.

About Passwords

Passwords:

• Must not be the same as any previous password you have used for EarlyWorks
• Must contain at least seven characters, comprising at least ONE character from three or more of these character groups:
  • Uppercase characters (e.g. ABCD)
  • Lowercase characters (e.g. abcd)
  • Numerals (e.g. 1234)
  • Special characters (e.g. @#$%)

For example, AbR4caDa$R4 (11 characters, using characters from each character group) is a valid password, whereas AbracaDabra (11 characters, but only using characters from two character groups) is not valid.

A password for each EarlyWorks user (including families) is automatically generated and emailed to them when their user details are added to EarlyWorks. At their first-ever login, they are asked to change their password. If they later forget their password, they can click ‘forgot password’ on the login screen to be automatically issued with a new password. Alternatively, administrators can email them a new, auto-generated password, or generate new passwords for multiple users (see Send a New Password and Issue Bulk Passwords). After a new password is generated and sent, the user is asked to change it on their next login.

About Push Notifications

EarlyWorks App users can receive push notifications for new observations, journal entries, comments, daily communications, quick notifications and documents.  The EarlyWorks App is available from the Apple AppStore and Google Play.

Manage Records

Find

There are several ways you can find a record:

• Many list screens have a Find textbox at the top of the list. Enter the word you’re looking for, then click Find.
• Scroll the list to locate the record.
• Sort the list by clicking certain column headings. See Sort.
• Filter the list by choosing a room, status etc. from the dropdown list at the top of the screen. Turn off this filter to redisplay the full list (often this means selecting the All option in the list).

Sort

In some screens, you can sort the listed records by clicking the text in a column heading. The first click sorts the records in ascending order; click again to sort in descending order. Each subsequent click reverses the previous order. An arrow to the right of the column heading shows the direction of the current sort order (pointing up for ascending, down for descending).

Edit

To edit a record on a list screen, click anywhere in its row (but not a button, checkbox, trash can [rubbish bin] icon, or link).

Note: You can only edit records if you have permission to do so. Permission is determined by your login credentials.

Delete

To delete a record from a list screen, click the trash can icon for that row.

Note: You can only delete records if you have permission to do so. Permission is determined by your login credentials. You cannot delete records that have other records attached to them; instead, change the status of these records to ‘inactive’.

Print to a File

Note: You must have Microsoft Word (or a program that can read doc and docx file types) and Microsoft Excel (or a program that can read csv files) installed to save and print a document.

In various parts of the EarlyWorks system, you get the option to print a document. You may be asked to select what aspect of the system you want to print, and what report format to print to (paper size and orientation; e.g. A4 Landscape, A3 Landscape). Only choose a paper size that your printer can handle.

Import Data

1. Click Maintain > File Data Import to display the Import Data From File screen. All file templates are in CSV (comma-separated value) format and can be opened with Microsoft Excel.

2. To add educator or family login details in bulk, see Import Staff.
3. To add child details in bulk, see Import Children.

File Types and Sizes

You can upload files (images, documents etc.) in certain areas of EarlyWorks. The file types that EarlyWorks can accept are:

• Image files: jpg, jpeg, gif, png (Note: ONLY jpg and jpeg can be used for a child’s profile picture)
• Compressed files: zip, rar
• Document files: doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, pdf
• Audio files: mp3 (recommended), ogg, wav, m4a
• Video files: mp4 (recommended), avi, m4v, mov, mpg, wmv

Educator’s User Guide

Educator Dashboard

About the Dashboard

The Educator Dashboard gives you an overview of current activity.

Elements displayed on the dashboard:

• ‘Welcome to version’ at the top of the dashboard has a link to software features recently added to EarlyWorks.
• Numbers indicate the number of new items added to that section since you last logged in.
• Recent details are summarised in boxes below the version bar:
  • Child Alerts
  • Experiences Awaiting Evaluation
  • Tasks
  • Child Comments
  • Reflections of Pedagogy.

 

Child Alerts

Each child’s learning and development should be documented regularly and frequently while they are with the service. On the Child Alerts screen, you can see how many learning journey entries, individual and group observations, experiences, and journal entries each child was included in, and the date the last entry was made. Dates in amber (orange) text indicate that you have reached your set warning alert; those in red text tell you that you have exceeded your maximum time since the last entry.

You can see a summary of Child Alerts on your dashboard. For more detail, use the Child Alerts screen.

1. Click Admin > Child Alerts to display the Child Alerts screen.

2. You can view the list by All Rooms (the default), or select a room from the dropdown list at the top of the screen.
3. You can also filter Child Alerts based on a given date range. For example, you may only want to display information created since the beginning of the year, beginning of the term or some other event.
4. Understanding this screen:
   • All dates are the date of the last entry.
   • Numbers in green circles show how many records of this type were entered for the child.
   • Last Learning Journey Entry refers to the individual comments made on a child’s record about their abilities and progress in relation to the service’s learning outcomes.
   • Last Individual Observation / Last Group Observation refers to the last time this child was included in either a group or individual observation.
   • Last Experience refers to the planned experiences that have involved the child.
   • Last Journal Entry refers to the last time the child was part of a journal.
5. Click a child’s name to display their Child Summary screen. Then click Return to Child Alerts to go back to the Child Alerts screen.

Experiences Awaiting Evaluation

The written evaluation of experiences is one way educators can show how they:

• critically reflect on and evaluate the program, how this is documented, and how their evaluations are used to make informed curriculum decisions to improve outcomes for children (NQS 1.3, Elements 1.3.1 and 1.3.2)
• provide evidence that written programming and evaluation is ongoing, appropriate, and inclusive of each child (NQS 1.3, Element 1.3.1)
• are engaged in ongoing planning and evaluation that centres on children’s learning and development (NQS 1.3, Element 1.3.2)

To make sure that evaluations occur regularly, educators are notified on their dashboard of any experiences for their rooms that are awaiting evaluation. Administrators can view on their dashboard a list of all experiences throughout the service that have not yet been evaluated.

You can see a summary of Experiences Awaiting Evaluation on your dashboard (to see more details of the experiences awaiting evaluation, click View all…). This list is sorted by the most recent entry.

Click View Experience to display the Edit Experience screen. See Manually Add an Experience to the Program for details on how to complete this screen.

6. If the Experience does NOT require an evaluation, click Dismiss to add ‘Not Required’ to the Evaluation textbox on the Edit Experience screen. Note: This is a permanent change—you are not asked to confirm this deletion, and the item is immediately removed from the Experiences Awaiting Evaluation screen. If you later need to add an evaluation, go to the Edit Experience screen for the experience and change the text in the Evaluation textbox.

Child Comments

You can see a summary of Latest Child Comments (the five most recent) on your dashboard. This list is sorted by the most recent entry.

View Child Comments

1. On the dashboard, click View all… next to the Latest Child Comments to display the View Child Comments screen where you can view comments in more detail, and see all comments, not just the most recent five.

2. All comments are displayed. You can filter this list by selecting the comments to view from the dropdown list at the top of the screen. You can view All Comments (the default), Educator Comments, Family Comments, or Child’s Learning Journey comments. Note: ‘All Comments’ is for all time, not just this week or year.
3. Comments for all your rooms are displayed. If you only want to see comments from a specific room, select that room from the dropdown list at the top of the screen.
4. Each comment row shows the date the comment was written, the child it relates to, who wrote it (Author column), and who has viewed it (in blue text below the comment). Comments that have not been viewed have a “New Comment” label.
5. Click Summary to display the Child Summary screen where the child’s comment history can be viewed in full. This action will mark the comment as ‘read’.

Tasks

Tasks and reminders alert you to complete all compliance tasks (regular or one-off) on time.

You access your tasks from your dashboard or the Admin menu. Education Assistants can only see their tasks; Room Leaders can see theirs and other educators’ tasks; Administrators can see all tasks.

On the Tasks screen:

• Black text means the task is due within the next 28 days.
• Red text means an overdue task (i.e. not marked as completed).
• Grey crossed-out text means the task was completed within the previous 28 days; after 28 days, these completed tasks automatically move to the Completed Tasks tab.

View Tasks

1. Click Admin > View Tasks to display the Current Tasks tab on the Tasks screen. Your tasks are shown by default; click the dropdown list at the top of the screen to see tasks allocated to others.

2. Once a task is finished, click Complete.
3. To reinstate a task that was marked as ‘Complete’ in error, click Reinstate. You have 28 days to do this.
4. To review all completed tasks (for all time), click the Completed Tasks tab.

Add Scheduled Tasks

The Task Schedule List lists all scheduled tasks and reminders for room leaders and administrators. When you assign a task to a person, that task gets listed on their dashboard.

1. Click Maintain > Task Schedules List to display the Task Schedule List screen. (To edit an existing scheduled task, click in its row.)

2. Click Add New Task Schedule.

3. On the General Information tab:
   • Task Name: Either select a task name from the Choose dropdown list (this automatically completes the Task Name, Description, and Frequency fields) or enter the task name. Add the name of the person to the task—this makes it easier to see who each task applies to on the Task Schedule List screen (e.g. Shannon Watson: First Aid).
   • Description: Describe the task (optional if you selected a task from the Task Name dropdown list).
   • Start Date: Select the first date that this task must be completed by (e.g. if a staff member’s Working With Children check expires on 1-Jan-2017, select that date).
   • End Date: Select the date to stop reminders displaying on the ‘tasks due’ list.
   • Frequency: Enter a number and select a time period for how often this task must be done (optional if you selected a task from the Task Name dropdown list). Note: ‘Years’ is not an option for the time period, so convert the number of years into months (12 months = 1 year; 24 months = 2 years, 36 months = 3 years, etc.).
4. Click the Assigned to tab.
5. Select the checkboxes of the people this task relates to. For a certification reminder, assign it to both the individual whose certification expires and their administrator.
6. Click Add Record to save the information and return to the Task Schedule List.

Hints & Tips

To add a one-off event, add an Event (refer below) or set the task Start Date and End Date to the same date.

Maintain Events

To add or edit an event, select Maintain > Events. To add a new event, click on Add New Event. To edit an existing event, click on the row of the event you wish to edit.

The General Information tab is where you enter a short name for the event, a brief description, the date of the event and the event type. Click on the Assigned to tab to select whose calendars the event will appear in. You will notice that Team Leaders, Educator Assistants and Families are grouped by rooms. You can either select All or restrict your selection by clicking on individual names within each room.

Event Types

• Standard – Event will be created and will be assigned to staff and families selected on the Assigned To tab.  A notification will be sent to all assigned staff and families.
• Global – Event will be created for all active staff and families in the service.  No individual assignment is necessary.  A notification will NOT be sent to all assigned staff and families.
• Excursion Form – Event will be created and will be assigned to staff and families selected on the Assigned To tab.  An Excursion Permission Form will also be created for all assigned staff and families and related notifications sent.  Refer Excursion Permission Forms.

Reflections of Pedagogy

You can see a summary of Reflections of Pedagogy on your dashboard. For more detail, use the Reflections of Pedagogy screen.

1. On the dashboard, click View all next to the Reflections of Pedagogy heading to display the Reflections of Pedagogy screen. Educators will only see their own Reflections of Pedagogy; Administrators will be able to see all Reflections of Pedagogy.

2. Reflections that have not yet had any administrator feedback display Feedback Required (for Administrator logins only). Only administrators can add feedback.
3. On the reflections of Pedagogy screen, you can:
   • Filter the list by the Staff member (Administrators only).
   • Click Add New Reflection to display the Add New Reflection of Pedagogy screen.
   • Click a record to display its Edit Reflection of Pedagogy screen.
4. Once you are on one of these screens:
   • Select the checkboxes related to the reflection.
   • Enter your reflection.
   • Click Extend if you want to convert your Personal Reflection comment into an observation (see Add a Quick Observation).
   • Note: Manager’s Feedback can only be written by administrators.
   • The Educator’s Response allows educators to respond to the manager’s feedback.
5. Click Add Record (for a new reflection) or Update Record (for an edited reflection) to save your changes and return to the Reflections of Pedagogy screen.

Hints & Tips

Regular and ongoing reflection helps services critically reflect on current practice and embed a culture of ongoing commitment to continuous improvement. The Reflections of Pedagogy within EarlyWorks provides educators with a place to reflect on their own pedagogical practices within the context of the service. Educators’ Reflections of Pedagogy are visible only to themselves and the administrators. The Queensland Government publication ‘Early years curriculum materials – Reflecting on my teaching practices’ states: ‘Research has shown how deliberate and critical reflection on teaching practices contributes to excellence in teaching, and improved educational outcomes for all children. Critically reflective teaching practices encourage teachers to: Regularly evaluate their approaches to teaching and learning Understand more about the positive impacts of high-quality effective pedagogies on children’s learning Become more aware of the importance of high-quality interactions, including strategic intervention and substantive conversations to maximise children’s learning Use action research approaches — e.g. drawing on alternative teaching strategies to help children to learn when familiar methods fail Co-construct learning with children and other partners so it is responsive to the child’s family and community.’

 

Programs

To get started on your programming and documentation, you must create at least one new program. We recommend that you always have at least two programs available so that you can move experiences to the next program if required.

Add new programs for each new program cycle (weekly, monthly, etc. depending on your service’s requirements).

Note: You cannot delete a program that is attached to an active room, or that has related observations, experiences, and journal entries associated with it. If you need to remove a program from view, change its status to ‘Inactive’.

Add a Program

1. Click Programs to display the My Programs screen.

2. Click Add New Program.
3. Enter the name of the new program. This name usually reflects a program period (e.g. April; May; Week 1; Week 2; or a date range, such as 13 Jan 17 – 18 Jan 17), a project area title (e.g. Sustainability Project), or a child’s name (e.g. Jackson Smith).

4. Select the room this program relates to from the Room dropdown list. For Family Day Care (FDC), select your service name.
5. The learning framework defaults to Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). If you use another framework, select it from the dropdown list.
6. Leave the status as Active. If you later want to archive this program (i.e. when you no longer need access to the experiences under that program), you can make this an inactive record.
7. Click Add Record to save and return to the My Programs screen, where your new program is listed and is ready to be completed.

My Programs Screen

1. Click Programs to display the My Programs screen.

2. Administrators can view the list of programs for all rooms (educators can view the list of programs for the rooms they are assigned to) or select a specific room from the dropdown list..  Similarly, you can view either active or inactive programs. You can also search for programs using the Find function.
   • Each row lists the room and represents one program period.
   • Numbers indicate how many Observations, Programmed Experiences, or Journal entries have occurred during the program period.
   • Highlighted numbers indicate that an Observation in this program does NOT have any children or observed outcomes allocated to it.
3. To view a program, click View Program on the far right of its row. The View Program dropdown list has extra options, such as print the program, view program-related comments, and view program-related reflections. These extra options all generate a Microsoft Word document that you can save and print.
4. To record a comment or communication related to this program period, click the program name to display the Edit Program screen. Note: These comments are only available to Administrators and the educators allocated to the room and are NOT visible to families.
5. Click the Comments tab:
   • Click Add New Comment to record program ideas, suggestions, support, critical reflections, educator direction, etc. Click Save Comment to save your comments and return to the Edit Program screen.
   • Click Edit to change an existing comment. Click Save Comment to save your changes and return to the Edit Program screen.
   • Click Extend to convert this comment into an observation. Click Save Observation to save it and return to the Edit Program screen.
   • Click “Reply” to reply to a comment. Click Save Comment to save your reply and return to the Edit Program screen. (See also: Reply to Comments in a Child Summary.)
   • Click the trash can icon to delete the comment. You are asked to confirm this deletion.
   • Click Update Record to save and return to the My Programs screen.

6. To view or print details about more than one program, select the checkboxes for each, then click the View Selected Programs dropdown list.

Add an Observation

An observation or journal entry is the written documentation of something that has occurred. Click Programs to display the My Programs screen.

7. Click Observations to display the list of observations for that program. (To edit an existing observation, click anywhere in its row. To delete an observation, click the trash can icon—you are asked to confirm this deletion.)

8. Click Add New Observation to display the Add New Observation screen. This screen has several tabs, and opens to the General Information tab (details below).
9. When you have finished with this screen, either:
   • Click Update Record to save the observation. 
     • If you have entered a Next Experience you will be taken to the Edit Experience screen where you can add your planned next experience to the program.
     • If the Next Experience value is blank you will return to the Observation List screen.

, or

• Click Save & Stay to save your work and remain on the Edit Observation screen, or
• Click Cancel to return to the My Programs screen—any work you haven’t saved will be lost.

General Information Tab

1. The selected program name is shown. You can select a different one from the Program dropdown list.

2. Enter a meaningful title for your observation. You will create links from and to this title in the future—if you have five observations all called ‘Sensory Exploration’ you won’t know which one to link to.
3. Today’s date is automatically entered. You can choose another date.
4. Select your Observation Style from the dropdown list:

• Time Sample helps you track behaviour and evaluate strategies for behaviour support plans.
• The other observation style names help you decide how you will write the narrative/content of the observation.

5. The framework defaults to the one you selected when adding the new program. You can select a different one from the Framework dropdown list.
6. Record your observation in the Narrative textbox:
   • Detail the children’s interests, learning, skills, language, etc. you observe so you can plan the next experience appropriately.
   • Use the formatting toolbar in each textbox to select the font, font style, text alignment, etc. to personalise your printed observation.
7. Record your Reflection of Learning, analysing the learning that has taken place (e.g. what did the children learn? How did they learn it?):
   • Hint: Use this textbox to provide evidence for the second step of the planning cycle (Reflect on the learning that has taken place). See The Program Planning Cycle for more information.
8. Entering a Next Experience in the Next Experience textbox of the Observation is optional. You can enter the experience that you will provide in the current or next program as an extension/follow-up to this observation:
   • EarlyWorks places this information into Narrative textbox of the Edit Experience screen for the program you selected. If you don’t enter anything into this textbox, you can create an experience and link it to the observation manually. See Add an Experience to the Program from an Observation and Manually Add an Experience to the Program.
   • Hint: Use this textbox to provide evidence for the third step of the planning cycle (Planning). See The Program Planning Cycle for more information.
9. If you want the family to see this observation on their child’s Child Summary screen, select the Families can view this Observation radio button.   You can change this at any time.
10. If this is an observation of a group of children and you are including individual outcomes and outcome comments for each child you may select the Flag as an individual Observation checkbox to flag it as an individual observation in the Child Alerts list for each of the children observed.

Hints & Tips

If your observation is incomplete or requires administrator or peer review, you can set the status of the observation to Draft.

Experiences Observed Tab

Note: You can skip this step if it’s a spontaneous observation.

On this tab, you can select one or more experiences from the program that are being observed:

• Click the ‘+’ icon next to a program to display its attached experiences, then select one or more checkboxes for the experiences observed.
• When you select an experience observed, EarlyWorks automatically adds a link to the observation under Evaluation of Learning for that experience . This shows that the children’s learning for the experience has been evaluated in this observation.

Children Observed Tab

Note: Children are listed on this screen alphabetically by first name.

1. Select the children who were being observed. To include children from other rooms in this observation, select their names from the Invite child to this room dropdown list, then click Invite.

2. Once you have selected the children, a ‘Voice of the child’ textbox is displayed for each selected child. Enter the ‘voice of the child’ (which could be verbal or non-verbal communication). Families will only see their own child’s information.

Observed Outcomes Tab

When you select outcomes and record comments on this tab, EarlyWorks automatically adds this information to the child’s learning profile and adds it to the child’s overall learning journey comments. This helps you provide evidence of the child’s ongoing learning and development.

1. Select the checkboxes of the outcomes and developmental milestones observed. Click the ‘+’ icons as many times as required to expand each list, then select one or more checkboxes. You can select observed outcomes and/or developmental milestones for a specific child (the names displayed in this tab reflect those selected on the Children Observed tab).

2. Click Add Comments next to a child’s name to add a comment relevant to that outcome or developmental milestone for that child. These comments contribute to a child’s individual learning journey document. They are only visible to educators and administrators unless you make them visible to the child’s family by unchecking the Educator only comment checkbox. Click Save Comment to save your comment and return to the Observed Outcomes tab.

QIP Evidence Tab

1. If you believe that the observation supports the Strength areas of the Quality Improvement Plan (QIP), then click the QIP Evidence tab.

2. Select the relevant Quality Area (QA), Standard, or Element. These selections will be included in the service’s QIP evidence to support the service’s NQS Strengths.

Images/Child Documents Tab

Use this tab to upload files—photos, documents, etc.—related to the observation.

1. Click Add files (at the bottom of the Select files section).

2. Either select one or more files from your computer, device, or camera, or drag and drop one or more files from your device onto the Select file ‘window’.
3. Click Start upload.
4. Once the files are uploaded, the Images/Documents tab shows a thumbnail of each, under which is:
   • a textbox for the caption (the default caption for image files is today’s date, if your administrator has set this [see Use Upload Date as the Default Image Name]; for other documents, it is the document’s file name)
   • a list of children you can associate with this file (e.g. the names of the children featured in a photo).

5. Select the checkboxes of each child related to each file. You can select Attending, All or None, and you can select the checkbox at the top of the tab to hide those children who were not marked as attending that day.

6. You can change the order of the files by clicking the Move Down and Move Up links above each file’s thumbnail image.
7. Click the red cross to delete a file. You must confirm this deletion.
8. Click Save & Stay to add more files, or change any of the children associated with the added files.
9. Click Update Record to return to the Observations screen for the program.

 

Add a Quick Observation

If you don’t have time to complete a full observation while you are working, add a quick observation with basic details that you can complete later.

1. Click Quick Observation to open the pop-up Add Observation window.
2. Select the program from the dropdown list.
3. Enter the title of the observation.
4. The date defaults to today. You can select another date.
5. Enter brief notes about this observation in the Narrative textbox. You can add to this later.
6. Click Save Observation.

Add an Experience to the Program from an Observation

When you initially create a new observation and enter text into the Next Experience textbox on the General Information tab of the Edit Observation screen then click Update Record, the Edit Experience screen displays with that text automatically added into its Narrative textbox. You can now enter the name and intended outcomes for this next experience.

1. On the Edit Experience screen, the selected program name is shown. You can select a different program from the Program dropdown list. This experience will be added to the selected program.

2. Enter the Experience Name. This displays as ‘Title’ on the printed program.
3. The Narrative textbox is pre-filled with the planned next experience that you added in the Next Experience field on the General Information tab of the observation. See General Information Tab.
4. Note: You don’t need to do anything on the Preceding Observations and Children Planned For tabs as this information is already completed.
5. Click the Intended Outcomes tab. Click the ‘+’ icons as many times as required to expand each list, then select one or more checkboxes for the outcomes you intend to support through this experience.
6. If you believe that the experience will support any of the NQSs, click the QIP Evidence tab and select the checkboxes of the relevant QAs, Standards, and/or Elements.
7. Images and documents describing resources to be used can be uploaded by clicking on the Resources tab.
8. Click Update Record to save this experience and add it to the selected program. You are returned to the list of experiences for the selected program.

Add an Experience to the Program

1. Click Programs to display the My Programs screen.

2. Click Experiences in the program line that you want to add to.
3. Click Add New Experience.

4. On the Add New Experience screen, the selected program name is shown. You can select a different program from the Program dropdown list. This experience will be added to the selected program.
5. Enter the Experience Name and Experience Date (If the date is a starting date for the experience, then check the “The date above represents a starting date” box.
6. Enter the details of the experience in the Narrative textbox.
7. Click the Preceding Observations tab.

8. Click the ‘+’ icon next to Non Program Related to expand its options. Select one or more checkboxes that reflect where the experience has come from.  By default the observations from the current Program will appear. To select preceding observations from other programs, click on the ‘+’ icon next to that program.  Where an experience is being added as a result of multiple observations or non program related reasons, multiple checkboxes can be selected.
9. Click the Children Planned For tab, then select the checkboxes of the names of the children this experience applies to. You can either select children one at a time, or select Attending, All, or None to uncheck all the checked boxes.
10. Click the Intended Outcomes tab, then expand the outcome groups and select the checkboxes for each outcome you intend to support through this experience. You MUST add at least one intended outcome.
11. If you believe that the experience will support any of the NQSs, click the QIP Evidence tab and select the checkboxes of the relevant QAs, Standards, and/or Elements.
12. Click Update Record to save this experience and add it to the selected program. You are returned to the list of experiences for the selected program.

Hide Experience from Families

Setting the status of an Experience to Draft or Not visible to families will hide the experience from families.

Educators and administrators can also choose to hide specific experiences from the Program visible to Families not linked to the Children Planned For.  This function may be used when children have individual education or behaviour plans in place and it may not be appropriate for all families to view the experiences planned for these children.

Share Planned Experiences between Rooms

Administrators and Educators can copy experiences from one room to another room.  To copy experiences, click on Experiences in the Program you wish to copy from.  Click on the Copy to Another Room button. Select the experiences you wish to copy, then select the room and program you wish to copy the experiences to. Then click the copy experiences button.

The experiences copied will now appear in the list of experiences for the room and program selected.  The Preceding Observations and Children Planned for will not be copied across.

This function will enable services to keep a bank of Programs and Experiences that are likely to be re-used such as School Readiness Programs, Singing and Dancing Games, Multi-Sensory Activities, rhyming activities, water play activities, or children’s sport programs.

Multiple Rooms can Create a Single Program (assists with primary caregiving)

You can create a viewable/printable program that combines multiple rooms/groups. This helps services implement Primary Caregiving for children, where services combine rooms for programming purposes or where services choose to program for individual children or learning areas.

Each group within a room creates their observations, programs, and journals as normal.

1. Click Program to display the My Programs screen.

2. Select the checkboxes of the programs you want to combine. You must have access to these rooms before you can print a combined program.

3. To view or print details about the combined program, click the required option from the
   View Selected Programs dropdown list. If you choose to print, click Produce Report and save the generated Microsoft Word document to your computer or device—you can then open and print it from Microsoft Word.

4. The new combined program details (in italics) which programs and room each experience originated from.

All Programs Search

Use the All Programs Search button from the Program List screen to access the all programs search screen.

Educators and administrators can search within all Programs for Observations, Experiences and Journals using the search criteria below.

Daily Communications

The Daily Communications list allows administrators and educators to view a summary of all Daily Communications. More detailed information such as individual child portion sizes, bottle information, nappy/toileting information, sleep and rest times, as well as any personalised messages can be viewed by clicking on the row of the date that you wish to view.

1. Click Admin > Daily Communications to display the Daily Communications screen.

2. To view detailed information related to a date, click anywhere in that row to display its detailed Daily Communication screen.

3. Menu details and group notes (top part of the screen) are visible to all families in the room; specific child information (bottom part of the screen) is only visible to that child’s family.

Hints & Tips

Daily Communications are sometimes known as the ‘Daily Communication Book’ or ‘Digital Daily Sheets’. The Viewed By list in the Daily Communications Group Notes textbox lets you know who has seen these communications (‘Viewed by’ information is in blue text).

Add Daily Communications

1. Click Admin > Daily Communications to display the Daily Communications screen.

2. Click Add New Communication to start a new record.
3. In the top part of the screen (visible to all families in the room), enter:
   • menu information
   • any group notes.
4. In the bottom part of the screen (visible only to each child’s family):
   • Select the portion sizes of meals for each child, using the dropdown lists.  (decl. can be used where a child has been offered a meal but declines, abs. can be used when a child is absent during a given mealtime).
   • Enter any bottle information.
   • Enter any nappy or toileting information (this can be automatically entered using the one click option – see One touch option for entering Information).
   • Enter sleep/rest times.
   • Enter sun protection information.
   • Enter any child-specific notes.
   • To include children from other rooms in this daily communication, select their names from the Invite child to this room dropdown list, then click Invite.
5. Click Notify Families to send notifications to families that new daily communication information is available.
6. Click Update Details to save the entered information, then click Cancel to return to the Daily Communications list.

Hints & Tips

Educators and administrators can also send notifications to individual families once daily communications have been added.

7. Educators and administrators can send notifications to individual families when daily communications have been added.
8. Click Send to Family to send a notification to an individual family that a new daily communication has been added.

One touch insert of time into communication notes

The current time can be automatically entered in Daily Communications.

To automatically insert the current date time into the Bottles, Sleep, Nappies or Sunscreen field, click on the clock icon above the relevant text box.

The time will automatically be entered in the textbox.

This can be repeated as many times as necessary throughout the day. It is also possible to continue to manually enter text into the textbox after automatically adding the time.

One touch insert of nappy information into communication notes

To save time during nappy changes, EarlyWorks includes a one touch option for entering nappy and toileting information.

Use the icons above the Nappies textbox to automatically enter information.

• Clicking the wet icon will enter “Wet” into the textbox.
• Clicking the soiled icon will enter “Soiled” into the textbox.
• Clicking on the dry icon will enter “Dry” into the textbox.
• Clicking on the toilet icon will enter “Toilet” into the textbox.
• Clicking on the nappy cream icon will enter “Nappy Cream” into the textbox.

 

This can be repeated as many times as necessary throughout the day and can be used in conjunction with the one-click time feature. It is also possible to continue to manually enter text into the textbox after automatically adding nappy information.

Menu Upload option for Daily Communications.

Administrators can upload their service’s food menu in advance to prefill the daily communications food menu information.

To upload the service’s food menu from the Daily Communications screen:

1. Click on Import Menu.

2. Click [Download Menu Import File Template]
3. This will download an Excel spreadsheet template to be completed as below.
4. Once complete, save the file to your desktop and return to the menu import screen.
5. Click on Select File, choose the file you wish to upload, and click Import File to proceed with the upload.
6. Once you have returned to the Daily Communications screen, all future dated items will be available by selecting Future Communications from the drop-down menu.

 

Hints & Tips

When importing a meal menu into EarlyWorks, educators and administrators can enter an asterisk (*) into the Room Name column if the Menu Item applies to all rooms.

 

 

The Program Planning Cycle

EarlyWorks has been designed to support educators in following the EYLF planning cycle. The step-by-step processes for adding observations, programmed experiences, etc. are explained in detail in Programs. In this section, we explain how to monitor this information and how to check that the planning cycle is visible and evidenced through documentation. It is an ACECQA requirement that services have a visible planning cycle for rooms and for individual children.

Room Planning Cycle

Observations

1. Click Programs to display the My Programs screen.

2. Click Observations in the program line to display the Observations screen, which lists the observations recorded in this program period. Most of the planning cycle can be seen on this screen.

• Observe = The Narrative column shows the content of the recorded observation.
• Analyse Learning = (Reflected on) indicates that the reflection of learning was completed within the observation.
• Plan = The Next Experience column shows the planning that has occurred.
• Implement and Reflect/Evaluate = The Evaluation box indicates that the experience was implemented and there is a written evaluation. This evaluation could be a reference to an observation or journal entry; or it could be the written evaluation of the experience.

3. The Experience Observed column indicates whether an observation was spontaneous or of a planned experience.  Where the experience was planned, a link will be provided to that experience.

4. When educators link an experience observed to an observation, a link is automatically created in the Evaluation of Learning in the experience as evidence of the evaluation occurring. This contributes to the visible planning cycle.

5. If a reflection of learning was conducted as part of the observation, then (Reflected on) is displayed in the Narrative column of the observation list. If you cannot see this, then a reflection of learning was not created. 
6. If ‘Visible to family’ is in the Narrative column, then this observation can be viewed by the families of the children tagged in this observation. Families cannot view observations that don’t have this text.
7. To edit an observation, click anywhere in that row to display the Edit Observation screen. You can change any information in the fields and tabs on this screen.
8. Click Update Record to save your changes and return to the Observations screen.
9. To view the observation on screen, click View Observation.
10. To save the observation to a Microsoft Word document for printing, click the dropdown arrow next to View Observation, then click Print Observation.

Experiences

1. Click Programs to display the My Programs screen.

2. Click Experiences in the program line to display the Experiences screen, which lists all experiences for this program period.
   • In the list of experiences, the Preceded By column includes links to any observations or journals linked to this experience either by being added as a ‘next experience’ in an observation or journal, or by being checked as a preceding observation when the experience was created.
   • If an experience was added manually, then educators can select from ‘non program related’ preceding observations such as: Educator Initiated – Intentional Teaching, Family Input, Spontaneous – Child initiated, Spontaneous – Educator initiated, or Community (see Manually Add an Experience to the Program).
3. To edit an experience, click anywhere in the row to display the Edit Experience screen. You can change any information in the fields and tabs on this screen.
4. Click Update Record to save your changes and return to the Experiences screen.

Journal Entries

1. Click Programs to display the My Programs screen.

2. Click Journals to display the Journal Entries screen, which lists all journal entries recorded for this program period.
3. Each journal entry can have more than one ‘Experience Observed’. When educators use the journal to provide families with an overview of the day or week it is likely there will be multiple entries in the ‘Experience Observed’ column.

4. If a reflection of learning was conducted within the journal, then (Reflected on) is displayed in the Narrative column. If you cannot see this, then a reflection of learning was not created.
5. If ‘Visible to family’ is in the Narrative column, then this journal entry can be viewed by the families of the children tagged in this journal entry. Families cannot view journal entries that don’t have this text.
6. To edit a journal entry, click anywhere in the row to display the Edit Journal screen. You can change any information in the fields and tabs on this screen.
7. Click Update Record to save your changes and return to the Journal Entries screen.

 

Hints & Tips

Technically, creating journals is similar to creating observations.  Notable exceptions are the additional options available on the Images/Documents tab. Hide names of children not marked for attendance When you add documents (including images) and need to select the children who were part of an observation- or journal-related document, EarlyWorks lists the names of those marked for attendance that day in bold at the top of the selection list to simplify the selection process. You can still select children who were not marked for attendance that day—they are listed after those in bold—unless you change this setting. Allow child selection across multiple journal images This option will allow child selection across multiple images/documents within a journal.  The alternative child selection method (shown below) will only appear once two or more images have been added to the journal.  For each child, just click on whether you want them tagged for ‘all’ or ‘none’ of the photos added.  Note that the selection only applies to images already uploaded.

 

Show Only Children by Attendance when Selecting Children for Related Images and Documents

When you add documents (including images) and need to select the children who were part of an observation- or journal-related document, EarlyWorks lists the names of those marked for attendance that day in bold at the top of the selection list to simplify the selection process. You can still select children who were not marked for attendance that day—they are listed after those in bold—unless you change this setting.

 

Individual Child Planning Cycle

To see the planning cycle for an individual child:

1. Click Children to display the Child List screen.

2. Locate the name of the child whose details you want to view. Either use the Find function to search for the child’s name, or scroll down the list to locate the child. To help you find by name, you can sort the first or last name columns, or you can filter by room and/or active/inactive records.
3. Click Child Summary in the row for the child’s name to display the summary screen for that child.
4. Click More in the Recent Observations box to display the observations for this child. You can follow the individual planning cycle of Observation, Planning, and Evaluation on the screen:
   • Narrative = Observation
   • Next Experience = Planning
   • Evaluation = Evaluation.

5. Click “Return to Child Summary” to go back to the child’s information, then “Return to Child List” to return to the Child List screen.

 

Planning for the Individual Child

Learning Journey Comments

Learning journey comments record a child’s current knowledge and abilities in relation to the learning outcomes set by the service. To prompt educators to regularly add to these comments, they are displayed on the Child Alerts list (see Child Alerts).

When you add comments to the child’s learning journey, EarlyWorks adds them to the child’s Learning Journey document. This document groups comments by outcome and date, thus showing a child’s learning journey over time.

1. To produce a Learning Journey document, click Children to display the Child List screen.

2. Locate the name of the child whose learning journey you want to view. Either use the Find function to search for the child’s name, or scroll down the list to locate the child. To help you find by name, you can sort the first or last name columns, or you can filter by room and/or active/inactive records.
3. Click Learning Journey in the row for the child’s name.
4. Select the date range and click Generate to produce the report.
5. Save the generated Microsoft Word document to your computer or device—you can then open and print it from Microsoft Word.

Add Learning Journey Comments

Comments should be a professional analysis of the child’s current abilities/knowledge and goals in relation to the selected learning outcome. When educators view the observation, they can see the learning journey comments for each child. Families will only see the comments for their child, and only if they were granted permission to see the comment.

1. Click Children to display the Child List screen.

2. Locate the name of the child whose details you want to view. Either use the Find function to search for the child’s name, or scroll down the list to locate the child. To help you find by name, you can sort the first or last name columns, or you can filter by room and/or active/inactive records.
3. Click Child Summary in the row for the child’s name to display the summary screen for that child.
4. Click View all in either the Recent Observations box or the Recent Journal Entries box to display the entries for this child.
5. Click anywhere in a row to display the Edit Observation (or Edit Journal) screen.
6. Click the Observed Outcomes tab.
7. Click Add Comment for the child and learning outcome you want to record a comment for. If a comment already exists, click Update Comment to amend it.
8. Enter your comment on the Add Outcome Comment pop-up window.
9. By default, comments are only visible to educators and administrators, but you can make them available to families by unchecking the Educator Only Comment checkbox.
10. Click Save Comment to save your comment and close the pop-up window.
11. Repeat steps 7 to 10 for any other children you want to add comments for.

Use Learning Journey Comments to Inform the Program

You can use learning journey comments to inform program planning. These comments help show how the child’s current knowledge and abilities are incorporated in the design and planning of the program, and how each child’s learning and development needs drive curriculum decisions. You can also add comments to a child’s record that relate to the child’s current knowledge, ideas, culture, abilities, and interests. These comments can be converted into observations. (NQS Element 1.1.2)

1. Click Children to display the Child List screen.

2. Locate the name of the child whose details you want to view. Either use the Find function to search for the child’s name, or scroll down the list to locate the child. To help you find by name, you can sort the first or last name columns, or you can filter by room /or active/inactive records
3. Click the child’s name to display the Edit Child screen.
4. Click the Comments tab.
5. Select Child’s Learning Journey from the dropdown list to filter the comments.
6. Click Extend next to the comment you wish to use in the program to display the Add Observation pop-up window. Extending a comment converts it into a Quick Observation:
   • Select a program from the dropdown list.
   • You can change any information on this screen. When you have finished, click Save Observation to save your changes.
7. Click View/Edit to continue to the Edit Observation screen where you can enter the planned next experience for the program.
8. Click Update Record to save your changes and return to the Observations screen, where you can see that a comment about this outcome was used to inform the program.

Individual Child Analysis Chart

You can view and compare a child’s planned and actual observed learning outcomes. This helps you monitor your planning in relation to the learning outcomes for an individual child.

Outcome numbers are listed on the y-axis; numbers of observations are listed on the x-axis; planned outcomes are shown in orange; and actual outcomes are shown in blue.

1. Click Children to display the Child List screen.

2. Locate the name of the child whose details you want to view. Either use the Find function to search for the child’s name, or scroll down the list to locate the child. To help you find by name, you can sort the first or last name columns, or you can filter by room and/or active/inactive records.
3. In the child’s row, open the View Profile dropdown list, then click Analysis Chart.
4. By default, a chart for the year-to-date is displayed, but you can specify a different date range. If you change the date range, click Display to refresh the chart.
5. Click “Return to Child List”.

Child Profiles – Planned and Observed Outcomes

A child’s profile is an automatically generated document that details exactly how and when each learning outcome was observed for a specific child. This information is divided by calendar-year quarters, with totals for the number of times each learning outcome was observed for the child. Use this information to reflect on your planning and provide evidence that you are supporting each child’s strengths as well as those areas needing further development.

A child’s profile also includes evidence of planning for each learning outcome. Learning outcomes are tallied in the same way as observed outcomes. These contribute to your planning and assessment of learning for the child.

Using the child’s profile, you can see the planned outcomes, as well as the program this planning was included in. This helps you show how curriculum decision-making contributes to each child’s learning and development opportunities (NQS Element 1.1.1). Make sure your planning emphasises how this decision-making maximises each child’s learning and development to assist in reflecting exceeding practices.

1. Click Children to display the Child list screen.
2. Locate the name of the child whose details you want to view. Either use the Find function to search for the child’s name, or scroll down the list to locate the child. To help you find by name, you can sort the first or last name columns, or you can filter by room and/or active/inactive records.
3. In the child’s row, click View Profile to display the Individual Child Profile screen for the selected child. (To save and print the profile, click Print Profile from the View Profile dropdown list, select the year ending date, select a paper size and orientation [A4 or A3, landscape] from the Report Format dropdown list, click Produce Report, then save the generated Microsoft Word document to your computer or device—you can then open and print it from Microsoft Word.) The icons in the calendar columns are:
   • Magnifying glass – this outcome was observed
   • Green number – number of times this outcome was observed
   • Clipboard – this outcome was planned for
   • Blue number – number of times this outcome was planned for.

Hints & Tips

To help services provide evidence that documentation about each child’s program and progress is available in an accessible format and that opportunities are provided for discussion with families (NQS Element 1.3.3), services can produce and provide the child’s profile and learning journey to families. This is done by selecting the print option for either document. Make sure you review this document thoroughly before making it available to families—ALL comments are included in the child’s profile.

Generate the Planning Cycle Report

This report is generated dynamically, giving the educator the ability to trace any given path within a cycle, no matter how complex.  This provides a great diagnostic tool for room leaders wanting to ensure their educators are creating visible planning cycles within their documentation.  The feature can also be used during the rating and assessment process to provide planning cycle evidence and assist educators to confidently talk through any number of planning cycles for any number of Children in any Room.

The feature is available via the Admin > Generate Planning Cycle Report menu option.

To generate the report, administrators and educators enter selection criteria based on either a Child or Room cycle.

Once a Starting Observation has been selected the planning cycle will start to display. Use the Next Experience and Observation dropdown lists within the steps generated to continue generation of the report based on a selected path within the cycle.

You can print the generated cycle as a Word document at any time using the Print the steps displayed above button.

Automatically generated planning cycle reports for every child

Educators and Administrators can check that every child has at least one complete individual planning cycle from the click of a button in the Child List. When the Recent Planning Cycle button is clicked, EarlyWorks will generate an individual planning cycle report for the child.  The report will show the most recent two cycles when available. Where there are more than two observations of an experience, EarlyWorks will choose the most recent one. Where there are journals and observations of an experience, the most recent observation will be selected. Where there are only journals, the most recent journal will be selected.

 

 

This feature will serve so many purposes in a busy service:

• Education Leaders will be able to easily check that every child in every room is having their learning documented as part of an ongoing cycle.
• Educators will be able to check that they are linking their observations and experiences and creating learning cycles for all of the children in their rooms.
• Educators and Education Leaders will be able to use these automatically generated planning cycle reports during ratings and assessments to talk through the planning cycle for randomly selected children in their rooms.
• When sharing learning journeys with families, educators will be able to more easily explain the cycle of learning.

 

 

Tools

Creating an Announcement

Administrators and Team Leaders can create announcements from the Announcements Screen.  This screen can be accessed via the Admin > Announcements menu option. To add a new announcement, click on the Create Announcement button.

The Create New Announcement screen will be displayed. Enter a title for the announcement and click on the Continue button.

You will then be taken to the Edit Announcement screen. Select the room the announcement is for. If a notification group has been created, you have the option of sending the announcement to a notification group by selecting the appropriate notification group using the dropdown list.

To send the announcement to individuals, select the ‘Send to individuals’ option and then click on the ‘Send To’ tab to choose the individuals the announcement will be sent to. Announcements can be sent to individual administrators, team leaders, educator assistants and families.

 

Enter the announcement in the Narrative text box. If you are ready to send the announcement, click on the Send button. If you would like to save the announcement as a draft, click on the Save As Draft button. If you would like to include an attachment with the announcement, click on the Save and Attach button.

To file an announcement, click on the green File button. To access filed announcements, click on the arrow next to the Current (Not Filed) button, and select ‘Filed’.

To unfile an announcement, click on the filed announcement and click on the Unfile button. The unfiled announcement will then be saved as a draft.

To delete an Announcement, click on the trash can. To access deleted Announcements, click on the arrow next to the Current (Not Filed) button, and select Delete. All deleted announcements will then appear in the Announcement List screen.

To undelete an announcement, click on the announcement, and then click on the Undelete button. The undeleted announcement will be returned to draft status.

From the Announcement List screen, you can add an attachment to the announcement by clicking on the Attachments button. To create a duplicate of the announcement, click on the Duplicate button. To view the announcement, click on the View button.

Administrators and Educators are able to see who has viewed the announcement from the Announcement List. To resend an announcement click on the announcement from the Announcement List screen, and then click on the Send Reminder button. An email will only be sent to families and educators who have not already read the announcement.

Announcement Feedback and Feedback Response

EarlyWorks allows recipients of Announcements to provide feedback on Announcements. Team Leaders and Administrators can then provide a response to that feedback.  This feature is particularly helpful for inviting feedback on policies and allowing families to have input into service decisions.  A wonderful way to create collaborative partnerships with families and communities (Quality Area 6).   

 

Recipients of Announcements are able to provide feedback on Announcements received by filling in the Feedback text box at the bottom of the View Announcement screen and clicking on the Done button.

 

 

The List Announcements screen indicates that feedback has been received.  The creator of the Announcement will also be notified of the feedback via email and/or push notification.

 

 

Administrators and Team Leaders are then able to enter a response to the feedback by selecting the Feedback tab on the Edit Announcement screen and clicking on the Add Response button.

 

 

Clicking on the Save Response button will save the response.

 

 

The creator of the Feedback will also be notified of the response via email and/or push notification and can view the response from the View Announcement screen. 

Notification Feed

Users can view a list of notifications generated from EarlyWorks.

 

For Administrators and Educators this function is available from the Admin > Notification Feed menu option. Families will be able to access this feed from the View > Notification Feed menu option.

 

To mark all notifications as read click Mark all as read.

Event Calendar

Users can view an Event Calendar from the Admin > Event Calendar menu option. The Event Calendar displays children’s birthdays, upcoming events, pending tasks and completed tasks. All login types (Administrators, Team Leaders, Educator Assistants and Families) have their own Event Calendar.

Only Administrators and Team Leaders can add tasks or events to the Event Calendar.

Children’s birthdays are included automatically. While Families will only see their own child’s birthday, Team Leaders and Educator Assistants will see the birthdays of all children from their rooms.

Add Planned Experiences to the Event Calendar

Administrators can choose to display Experiences in the Event Calendar.  Experiences can be hidden, visible to educators only or visible to both educators and families.  This option is available to administrators via the Maintain > Settings menu option.

Where an experience is repeated on several days, educators can add these additional dates to the calendar using the Calendar tab on the Experience Edit screen.

Note: The Calendar tab will only be displayed on the Edit Experience screen if Experiences are set as visible in the Event Calendar.

 

Educators and Administrators can choose which Room’s Experiences they want visible in their Event Calendar. They can also choose not to display any Experiences.

 

Booked Attendance List

You can print a list of children showing their booked attendance days for the week, without having to access your service’s childcare management system. Note: This list reflects the days checked on the child’s profile, NOT actual attendance; it does not account for expected half-day or ad hoc attendances. Grey cells mean the child does not attend on that day.

1. Click Admin > Attendance List to display the Attendance List screen.

2. Select the room you wish to view from the Room dropdown list.
3. Select a paper size and orientation (A4 or A3, landscape) from the Report Format dropdown list.
4. Click Produce Report to generate an Attendance List in Microsoft Word format.
5. Save the generated Microsoft Word or pdf document to your computer or device.

Rooms

You can view the learning outcomes for a room, or add information that’s common to a room—such as group photos, supervision plans, documents related to the room, etc. Only administrators can add a room.

In EarlyWorks, a ‘room’ can be a physical room, or it can be a group you’ve created to which you can apply the same programs etc.

View Overall Room Information

1. Click Maintain > Rooms to display the Room List screen. This screen lists each room and the number of active children allocated to it (or allocated to the educator, in the case of FDC).
2. From this screen, you can:
   • Click Export to download the list of rooms to a CSV file that can be opened with Microsoft Excel. (Typically, only Administrators would use this function.)
   • Click View Outcomes to display the learning outcomes for the room, for the quarter.
   • Click the View Outcomes dropdown list, then click Print Outcomes. Select the year-end month from the dropdown list, select a paper size and orientation (A4 or A3, landscape), then click Produce Report to generate the Room’s Outcomes list in Microsoft Word format. Save the generated Microsoft Word document to your computer or device—you can then open and print it from Microsoft Word.
   • Click the View Outcomes dropdown list, then click Analysis Chart. This chart shows the room’s planned and actual observed learning outcomes, which helps you monitor your planning in relation to the learning outcomes for the room. Outcome numbers are listed on the y-axis; number of children each outcome applies to are listed on the x-axis.

3. To change a room’s name or status, click the row for that room to display the Edit Room screen. Make the changes, then click Update Record to save your changes and return to the Room List screen.

Add and Manage Images/Documents for a Room

You can add group photos, documents, etc. to a room. Each document can have one or more children associated (‘tagged’) with it—or none. Documents may include notices to families, special event images, before and after photos of environment changes, etc.

CAUTION: If you link (tag) a child to an image, you make that image available to that child’s family via their image gallery. Permission may be required from the parents/guardians of other children in these images.

1. Click Maintain > Rooms to display the Room List screen.
2. Click the row for the room you want to add documents to; this displays the Edit Room screen.
3. Click the Images/Documents tab. Existing documents associated with the room, and the children these documents relate to, are shown at the top of the screen.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Add files (at the bottom of the Select Files section).
5. Either select one or more files from your computer, device, or camera, or drag and drop one or more files from your device onto the Select files ‘window’.
6. Click Start Upload.
7. Once the files are uploaded, the Images/Documents tab shows a thumbnail of each, under which is a textbox for the caption (the default caption for image files is today’s date, if your administrator has set this [see Use Upload Date as the Default Image Name]; for other documents, it is the document’s file name—you can change the caption of each file), and a list of children in the selected room you can associate with this file (e.g. the names of the children featured in a photo).
8. Select the checkboxes of each child related to each file, or select Attending to tag children attending on the day, select All to tag all children in the room, or None to uncheck all checkboxes. See Show Only Children by Attendance when Selecting Children for Images in the Administrator’s Guide for more information and instructions.
9. On this screen, you can also:
   • Change the order of the files by clicking the Move Down and Move Up links above each file’s thumbnail image.
   • Click the red cross to delete a file. You must confirm this deletion.
10. Click Update Record to save your changes and return to the Room List screen.
11. A notification can be sent to related families alerting them to the new image or document using the Notify Family button option.
12. A notification can be sent to related staff alerting them to the new image or document using the Notify Staff button dropdown option.

 

Child Information

1. Click Children to display the Child List screen, which lists all children who attend your service.

2. Use the Room and Status dropdown lists to filter the records. You can sort the information by clicking on the column headings. You can also use the Find function to search for a child’s name, or scroll down the list to locate the child.
3. Click Learning Journey in a child’s row to download the child’s learning journey as a Microsoft Word document. (See Learning Journey Comments for more detail.)
4. Click Child Summary in a child’s row to view their individual portfolio—observations, journal entries, daily communications, educator and family comments, and the child’s image gallery. Families see the same view, but can only view the observations, journals, and comments that educators have made visible to them.
5. Click View Profile in a child’s row to display the Individual Child Profile, which is based on the information held in EarlyWorks. (See Child Profiles – Planned and Observed Outcomes for more detail.)

Hints & Tips

Icons on the Child List screen provide information about photo permission Permission has been granted to upload and share images with other families. Permission has been granted to upload images, but no permission has been granted to share these images. No permission is granted to upload images. All images of this child MUST be deleted from EarlyWorks.   Where a child has medical notes recorded under Child Details, an ambulance will appear next to the child’s name.

Add a Child

1. Click Children to display the Child List screen.
2. Click Add New Child to display the Add New Child screen.

3. Enter the child’s details (Note: All fields, except Secure Notes, are visible to families on their child’s summary page):
   • You must enter information into the mandatory fields.
   • Use Attendance Notes for information about unusual attendances (e.g. casual booking, fortnightly attendance).
   • The default Status is ‘Active’. Select ‘Inactive’ if the child hasn’t started with the service yet, or is away for a period of time.
   • Use Child Notes for information about a child’s likes, interests, current goals, etc. This information is usually taken from the enrolment form and updated every 6 to 12 months; we recommend that you add a date to new entries.
   • Secure Notes are for educators and administrators only. They contain information that supports educator practice (e.g. specific behavioural guidance, unusual sleep and rest requirements [dummy, blanket, patting]). Note: Secure Notes are NOT visible to the family.
   • Medical notes can be included for a child. These notes will also be available on the printed Attendance List (available from the Admin menu), the Child Summary screen and the Child Profile.
   • Add the name and email address of the child’s primary family contact. EarlyWorks will email them their login details as soon as the child’s record is saved.
   • Click Change to upload a photograph of the child, if you have one. Photos must be in JPG, JPEG or PNG format. The photo does not display until you save the record.
4. Click Add Record to display other tabs for information related to the child—Family Logins (this list shows all family logins for the room—select the checkboxes of the family members related to this child), Images/Documents, and Comments. (See Logins [in the Administrator’s Guide], Documents, and Child Comments for more detail.)
5. When you have finished adding information about the child on these tabs, click Update Record to save the information and return to the Child List screen.

Edit a Child

1. Click Children to display the Child List screen.
2. Click in the row for the child’s name to display the Edit Child screen, where you can change the child’s details, add images/documents (photos, forms, birth certificate, etc.), or link family logins to the child.
3. Click Update Record to save the changes and return to the Child List screen.

Add Images and Child Documents to a Child

These documents could include photos, scanned copies of the child’s work, or other documents related to the child. Families do not see these files.

1. Click Children to display the Child List screen.

2. Click in the row for the child’s name to display the Edit Child screen
3. Click the Images/Documents tab.
4. Click Add files (at the bottom of the Select files section).
5. Either select one or more files from your computer, device, or camera, or drag and drop one or more files from your device onto the Select file ‘window’.
6. Click Start upload.
7. Once the files are uploaded, you can:
   • Change the caption for each (below the thumbnail of each file)—the default caption for image files is today’s date, if your administrator has set this [see Use Upload Date as the Default Image Name]; for other documents, it is the document’s file name.
   • Change the order of the files by clicking the Move Down and Move Up links above each file.
   • Click the red cross to delete a file. You must confirm this deletion.
8. Click Update Record to save the changes and return to the Child List screen.

Delete a Child

1. Click Children to display the Child List screen.
2. If you have added a child in error, click the trash can icon in the child’s row to remove the record. You are asked to confirm this deletion.

Hints & Tips

You cannot delete a child with associated experiences or observations recorded for them. Instead, change their status to ‘inactive’.

Child Comments

Educators can add comments for children in rooms to which they have access. Administrators can add comments for all children in the service. Family members can only add comments for their child/children.

1. Click Children to display the Child List screen.
2. Click in the row for the child’s name to display the Edit Child screen.
3. Click the Comments tab to view comments about the child. On this tab:
   • Coloured circles on the left are comments from staff (educators and administrators).
   • Coloured circles on the right are comments from family.
   • Each person’s initials are shown in their circle.
   • Each person has a different coloured circle for their comments (colours are applied randomly, but are always the same for the same person within the one comment thread).

4. Click Add New Comment and enter the new comment. By default, comments added to a child’s record are not visible to families. You can make a specific comment visible to families by unchecking the Educator only comment (Not visible to family) checkbox. Click Save Comment to return to the Edit Child screen.
5. You can attach photos and/or documents to a comment. Click Save & Attach then select the image or document you’d like to add to the comment. Attachments can also be added after a comment has been saved —see Attach Images to a Comment after is has been saved for more detail.
6. You can ‘extend’ a comment—this will convert it to a Quick Observation. See Use Learning Journey Comments to Inform the Program for more detail.
7. Click Update Record to save your changes and return to the Child List screen.

Reply to Comments in a Child Summary

Families and educators can reply directly to an individual comment. You can view child comments from the dashboard (where the five most recent comments are displayed), the Child Summary screen (from step 4 below), or using the Child menu option (steps below).

1. Click Children to display the Child List screen.
2. Click in the row for the child’s name to display the Edit Child screen.
3. Click the Comments tab to view comments about the child. By default, all comments are shown, but you can filter the comments at the top of the screen to show just those by Educator, Family, or that come from the child’s learning journey.
4. Click Reply in the comment you are responding to.

5. In the pop-up window, write your reply.

6. If this reply is for the child’s family, uncheck the Educator only comment checkbox.
7. Click Save Comment. Your reply is appended to the comment and you are returned to the screen you accessed the comment from.

 

Attach Images to a Comment after it has been saved

Files—such as documents, forms, and photos—can be attached to a comment. Photos allow you to share a child’s special moments with their family. If you choose to ‘extend’ a comment that has attached files, these files will automatically be included in the observation.

1. Click Attachments in the comment you want to attach one or more files to.

2. On the Comment Attachments screen, click Add files (at the bottom of the Select Files section).
3. Either select one or more files from your computer, device, or camera, or drag and drop one or more files from your device onto the Select files ‘window’.
4. Click Start Upload.
5. Once the files are uploaded, you can change the caption for each (below thumbnail of each file)—the default caption for image files is today’s date, if your administrator has set this [see Use Upload Date as the Default Image Name]; for other documents, it is the document’s file name.
6. Click Save & Return to return to the screen you came from (either the Comments tab on the Edit Child screen or the Child Summary screen).

Observation/Journal view as family option

Administrators and Educators can view an individual child’s journal and observation records in the same way that a family member will see it.

1. From the child summary dashboard screen, select family view from the drop-down list of the record you wish to view.

2. From the observation/journal list screen, select family view from the drop-down list of the record you wish to view.

 

Incident Forms

Educators can create and save Incident, Injury, Illness and Trauma report forms (Incident Reports) using EarlyWorks. These online forms allow educators to record the details of the incident and then send the form to a specific parent or guardian for signing.

Creating a new form

Following an incident, injury or illness, the educator can create a new online form from the Child Edit screen.  To access the Child Edit screen, click on the Children tab in the menu bar, and then click on the child’s name.

 

To access the forms, click on the Online Forms tab. A list of online forms that have previously been created for the child will then be displayed. To start a new form, click Create Incident Report.

A Family Login will also need to be selected. A child must have an associated family login in order to create an Incident Report.

 

Then click Save Form.

The form will then be generated and the user can enter all relevant information. An Administrator, Room Leader or Educator Assistant login will be able to complete:

• Details of person completing this record,
• Child details (noting that EarlyWorks will automatically add the child’s name, date of birth and age),
• Incident details,
• Nature of injury/trauma/illness,
• Action taken,
• Notification, and
• Additional Notes.

The Details of the person completing this record and Incident details sections require the educator to provide a signature.

On a phone, tablet or other touch-screen device, the user can enter their signature with a finger or stylus. On a computer the signature can be added using a mouse.

To change the signature, click the Reset Signature button.

Similarly, the Nature of injury/illness/trauma section gives educators the option to indicate on a diagram, the body parts of the child that have been affected.

The diagram can be marked using a finger, stylus or a mouse. If an error is made press the Reset Markings button to re-enter the marking.

An administrator, room leader or educator assistant will not be able to edit or add to the Parent/guardian acknowledgement or the Parent/guardian notes.

Once all relevant fields have been completed, the user can save the form as a draft by clicking the Save as Draft button at the bottom of the screen. Click the Save and Stay button to save the document and continue working on it.

 

Selecting either of these options will save the form in the child’s record; however, it will not be visible to the chosen family login.

To send the form to the chosen family login, press the Send button. Once the form has been sent the family member will receive a push notification and/or email notifying them that an Incident report has been created for their child. They will be prompted to complete and sign the parent/guardian sections.

Families can also access the form via View > Online Forms.

By clicking the Cancel button the form will remain in the child’s form list with the status: New. However, any information entered into the form will not be saved.

Editing an existing form

Once the form has been created it can be accessed via the Child Edit screen or via Admin > Online Forms.

Forms will be saved as either:

• New – a form has been created but no information has been entered into the form,
• Draft – a form has been created and information has been entered, however, it has not been sent to the family,
• Sent – the form has been completed by the educator and has been sent to the family,
• Opened – the parent/guardian has opened the form,
• Saved – the parent/guardian has made changes to the form and saved them but has not marked the form as complete,
• Completed – the parent/guardian has completed and returned the form,
• Filed – the educator has reviewed the completed form and has filed it, or
• Deleted – the form has been deleted by an Administrator, Room Leader or Educator Assistant.

To edit an existing form, it must have new or draft status.

A form with sent, opened, or saved status can be reverted to draft via Children >Edit Child screen and selecting the Online Forms tab. Select the form and press the Save as Draft button at the bottom of the screen to revert to draft.

The educator will then be able to make changes to the form.

The family login can also be changed using the dropdown field in the right –hand corner of the screen.

To send the updated form to the chosen family login, press the Send button. Once the form has been sent the family member will receive a push notification and/or email notifying them that an Incident report has been created for their child. They will be prompted to complete and sign the parent/guardian sections.

Sending the form to families

Once the form has been finished by the educator/administrator, ensure that the correct family member login has been selected from the dropdown field at the top of the page. Then scroll to the end of the form and click Send.

The parent/guardian will receive a push notification and/or an email alerting them that an Incident form has been created for their child.

The parent/guardian can access the form by clicking on the link in the email or selecting the push notification. Here they can review the information from the educator and add their own comments.

The parent/guardian will be required to sign and date the form before it is able to be completed and returned to the service.

Once the parent/guardian has marked the form as completed, the user that sent the form will receive a notification in the Notification Feed.

The status of the form can be monitored from Admin > Online Forms.

Requiring Manager authorisation to send form to families

Services can opt to require Administrator approval before a form is sent to families.

To change this setting, an Administrator will go to Maintain > Settings.

Within the General Settings tab scroll down and check the tick box ‘Incident Forms need to be signed by an authoriser prior to sending to families’

Team Leaders and Educator Assistants will still be able to create Incident Forms, however, only Administrators and Team Leaders with Administrator access will be able to edit the ‘Manager/Administrator Authorisation’ section.

When Team Leaders without Administrator access and Educator Assistants click the Submit button, a notification will be sent to all Administrators, notifying them that an Incident Report has been created and is currently Awaiting Authorisation.

 

Once a Team Leader or Educator Assistant has submitted the form, they will no longer be able to edit it.

Administrators will be able to make changes to the form and complete the ‘Manager/Administrator Authorisation’ section. If further input is required from the Educator, the Administrator can click the Save as Draft button to revert the form to draft status. This will allow a Team Leader or Educator Assistant to make further changes.  They will need to Submit the form again for Authorisation for the form to be sent to families.

Click the Save and Stay button to save the document and continue working on it.

To send the form to families, an Administrator will click on the form from the Child Edit screen or via Admin > Online Forms. The Administrator will be able to edit the ‘Manager/Administrator Authorisation’ section then click the Send button to send the form to the chosen family login.

Extended Team Leader Access

EarlyWorks provides services with the option of allowing team leaders to create incident report forms for any child from any room (even if the team leader is not assigned to that room).

This will be helpful for the beginning and the end of the day when there may be minimal staff in the service.  This feature is available via the ‘Team Leader Online Forms Permission’ dropdown in the Service Settings section of the Maintain > Settings screen.

 

Sending Reminders

The Incident Form incorporates a Send Reminder button to prompt parents/families to complete/sign a form requiring their attention.

 

 

Details of these reminders are visible the Online Forms list screen or Edit Child tab.

 

Completing and filing the form

Once the parent/guardian has completed the form, the educator is able to review the form but is unable to make any changes.

A form can be marked as complete by an Administrator without the parent/guardian completing it. This may be used in situations where parents have completed a printed copy or the child has left the service.

To file the form, press the File button.

Deleting forms

An administrator or the educator who created the form can delete the form at any time. To do this, access the forms list via Admin > Online Forms and selecting the trash can icon.  A prompt will appear confirming that you would like to delete the form.

 

Deleted forms are not removed from the system and can be accessed via Admin > Online Forms then using the drop-down menu at the top of the screen, select Deleted.

 

This will show a log of all deleted forms.

 

A deleted form can be reverted to draft status by selecting the form, a clicking the Save as Draft button at the bottom of the form screen.

Attaching documents and images

Educators and administrators can attach documents and images to incident forms from the Online Form List or Child Edit screen.

These attachments will then be visible to families.

Download an Incident Summary Report

Administrators can download summary Incident Report information for a given date range.  The download is generated in Comma Separated Value (CSV) format and is ideal for analysis of data to identify hazards and other trends.

 

Medication Forms

Families can create medication forms using EarlyWorks. These online forms allow families to enter the details of a child’s medication requirements and educators can record each time the medication is administered.

Families can view relevant information regarding Medication Forms at https://getearlyworks.com.au/creating-a-medication-form.

Creating a Medication Form

Note that Medication forms can only be created by the family, not an Administrator or Educator.

If a child has been prescribed a medication that is to be administered by educators, families can create a new medication form by clicking Forms in the View dropdown menu.

A list of online forms that have previously been created for the child, including Incident Report forms, will then be displayed. To start a new medication form, click Create Medication Form.

Select ‘Medication Form’ from the Template dropdown.

A child will also need to be selected from the ‘Child’ dropdown.

Then click Save Form.

The form will then be generated, and the user can enter all relevant information. The parent/guardian will then be able to complete the General Section, which includes:

• Name of Medication
• Expiry Date of Medication
• Start Date of Medication
• End Date of Medication
• Purpose of Medication
• Time Medication was last given
• Special Instructions
• Storage Instructions
• Name of prescribing doctor
• Contact number for doctor

The user will also be able to complete the Parent/Guardian Section, which includes:

• Dosage to be given
• When required
• How it is to be given

Depending on the type of medication that has been prescribed, not every field will be relevant. The parent/guardian is only required to fill out the relevant information in the General and Parent/Guardian Sections.

At the bottom of the form, the user is required to complete the Authorisation section before the form can be saved or sent. Here the parent/guardian must also provide a signature.

On a phone, tablet or other touch-screen device, the user can enter their signature with a finger or stylus. On a computer the signature can be added using a mouse.

To change the signature, click the Reset Signature button.

Once all relevant fields have been completed, the user can save the form as a draft and make changes later by clicking the Save as Draft button at the bottom of the screen. Click the Save and Stay button to save the document and continue working on it.

To send the form to the service, click Send.

By clicking the Cancel button, the form will remain in the child’s form list with the status: New. However, any information entered in the form will not be saved.

Viewing a Medication Form

Once the form has been sent, the Room Leader and any Administrators will receive a push notification and/or email notifying them that a new Medication form has been created. They will be prompted to view the form.

Families can continue to access the form via View > Online Forms.

Educators can access the form via the Child Edit screen or via Admin > Online Forms.

Editing an Existing Form – Families

Medication forms will be saved as:

• New – a form has been created but no information has been entered in the form,
• Draft – a form has been created and information has been entered, however, it has not been sent to the service,
• Sent – the form has been completed by the family and has been sent to the service,
• Opened – an Educator has opened the form,
• Saved – the parent/guardian has made changes to the form and saved them but has not sent the form to the service,
• Filed – the educator has determined that the form is no longer relevant and has filed the form,
• Deleted – the form has been deleted.

A family login can edit the General and Parent/Guardian sections of the Medication Form if it has new, draft or saved status.

Once the form has been sent, the family is no longer able to make changes unless it is returned to the family by an Educator if information is missing or further clarification is required.

Administering Medication

Each time the medication is administered the Educator can log all relevant details in the Staff Section of the Medication Form.

The form can be accessed via the Child List screen then click on the Online Forms tab or Admin > Online Forms. Then select the relevant medication form.

Beneath the General and Parent/Guardian Section is the Staff Section.

In the Staff Section the Educator will be able to record the date and time given, the dosage and the name of the staff member who administered the medication.

The time and date can be entered by manually typing into the blank field. Alternatively, click on the clock symbol to auto-enter the current time and date.

The staff member is also required to add a signature.

On a phone, tablet or other touch-screen device, the user can enter their signature with a finger or stylus. On a computer the signature can be added using a mouse.

To change the signature, click the Reset Signature button.

The Staff Section also provides a space for witness name and signature.

To save the record, scroll to the top or bottom of the form and click Save or Save & Stay.

Notifying Parents/Guardians

Services have the option of notifying families when medication has been administered.

Once a new record has been completed click Notify to send a notification to the family.

This will save any changes and alert the parent/guardian that the Medication Form has been updated.

 

Returning an Incomplete Form to Families

If a Medication form has been sent to the service that is incomplete or requires additional information, a staff member with administrator access can return the form to the parent or guardian.

To return the form, enter the reason you are returning the form into the Staff Notes Section and click Return Incomplete.

The parent/guardian will receive a notification to indicate that the form has been returned. The form will also be set to draft status, allowing the family to make changes.

A form can be returned to the family at any point once it has been saved, including after staff members have added records to it.

The parent/guardian will need to complete and send the form again before staff members are able to make changes.

Editing an Existing Form – Educators

Educators may be required to make changes to a previously entered field value. Educators will only be able to change values that they have entered.

To make changes to the field value, access the form via the Child List or Admin>Online Forms and select the relevant form.

Update the values as required.

Filing an obsolete Medication Form

If a child’s medication requirements have changed, the previous medication form can be filed.

When a form is filed it no longer appears in the Educator or Family’s list of current forms and further changes cannot be made.

Only staff with administrator access logins can File a form.

Access the form via the Child List or Admin>Online Forms.  Select the relevant form.

Scroll to the end of the form and click File.

To find a filed form, go to the forms list via Admin > Online Forms.

Filter for filed forms by selecting ‘Medication Forms’ in the Template dropdown and ‘Filed’ in the Status dropdown. Then click Find.

Similarly, deleted forms will not be shown in the forms list, however, a deleted form can be found by selecting ‘Deleted’ from the status dropdown menu then clicking Find.

Permission levels for Team Leaders

Different login types have different levels of access to Medication forms.

A family login can:

• create a medication form
• complete the General Section
• complete the Parent/Guardian Section
• sign and authorise a form
• view form with status of New, Draft, Saved, Opened and Filed
• delete a form with a status of New

An Administrator (or Team Leader with administer access – refer settings) login can:

• view all medication forms within the service
• edit the Staff Section and Staff Notes of any medication form
• return an incomplete medication form a parent or guardian
• delete or file any medication form

A Team Leader (with standard educator access – refer settings) can:

• view all medication forms in their room
• edit the Staff Section and Staff Notes of any medication form in their room

An Educator Assistant can:

• view all medication forms in their room
• edit the Staff Section and Staff Notes of any medication form in their room

It may be necessary for Team Leaders to access the Medication Forms of children in other rooms. Team Leaders can be granted Administrator access to forms by an Administrator.

To provide Team Leaders with Administrator access, an Administrator must update the Team Leader Online Forms Permission setting on the Settings screen via Maintain > Settings.

Scroll to Service Settings and find the ‘Team Leader Online Forms Permission’ setting.

Select ‘Has administrator access to Online Forms’ from the dropdown menu.

Scroll to the end of the page. Click Update Settings.

Identifying Children with Medication Forms

Children with active Medication Forms are easily identifiable within EarlyWorks.

On the Child List and Daily Communications screens any child with a Medication Form will have a red medication icon displayed next to their name.

Updating the Last Given Date/time after the form has been sent to the service

In circumstances where a family gives a child medication after sending a Medication Authority Form to the service, EarlyWorks allows families to update the date/time the medication was last given once the form has been sent. 

To update the time the medication was last given, the family:

1. Selects the View > Forms menu option,

2. On the relevant Medication Form row, clicks on the Update Time Last Given button,
3. Updates the date/time value to the new date/time the medication was last given, and
4. Clicks the Save button.

Administrators and relevant educators at the service will be sent a notification advising them of the updated date/time.

A log record will be displayed on the Online Forms List screen informing family and staff of the change.

Note that after the medication form has been filed by the service, families are not able to update the date/time last given. They would be required to submit a new Medication Authority Form.

Attaching documents and images

Educators and administrators can attach documents and images to medication forms from the Online Form List or Child Edit screen.

These attachments will then be visible to families.

Generate Medication Expiry Report

Administrators can generate a Medication Expiry Report from the Online Forms List screen.

Medication Form Created by “On Behalf of” display

When Administrators create Medication Authority Forms on Behalf of Families the “Created By” value will explicitly display the name of the Administrator as well as the associated family member’s name. 

Note that Administrators can create Medication Authority Forms on behalf of a Family member using the Login As button on the Login List screen.  This may be necessary when a family member is unable to access a device to create the Medication Form themselves and the service has received verbal authority to administer to medication (e.g. Panadol).

­­­­Excursion Permission Forms

Administrators and Team Leaders can create and send Excursion Permission Forms using EarlyWorks. These online forms allow Administrators and Team Leaders to record the details of the excursion and then send the forms to relevant parents and guardians for signing.

Entering Excursion Details

Excursion details are entered using the Event Edit screen.  To access the Event Edit screen, use the Maintain > Events menu option.

If you wish to create and send excursion permission forms for a given event, check the Excursion Permission Forms to be sent to families checkbox.

This will allow you to enter additional details specifically for excursion permission forms.

Once you have entered information into these fields, you have the option of creating and sending online excursion forms to all parents and/or guardians selected on the Assigned To tab of the Event Edit screen by clicking the Send Excursion Forms button. 

Important Note: Clicking Add Record will create the event but excursion forms will not be created.

The parent/guardian will receive a push notification and/or an email alerting them that an Excursion form has been created for their child.

If a child has multiple family accounts linked to them and all accounts are selected in the Assigned To tab, a separate excursion form will be created for each parent/guardian.

The parent/guardian can access the form by clicking on the link in the email or selecting the push notification.

The parent/guardian will be required to sign and date the form before it is able to be completed and returned to the service.

Once the parent/guardian has marked the form as completed, the user that sent the form will receive a notification in the Notification Feed.

The status of the form can be monitored from Admin > Online Forms.

Editing an existing form

Once the forms have been sent, they can be individually accessed via the Child Edit screen or via Admin > Online Forms.

Forms will be saved as either:

• Draft – an administrator has set the status of an existing form to draft in order to edit the individual form,
• Sent – the form has been completed by the educator and has been sent to the family,
• Opened – the parent/guardian has opened the form,
• Saved – the parent/guardian has made changes to the form and saved them but has not marked the form as complete,
• Completed – the parent/guardian has completed and returned the form,
• Filed – an Administrator or Team Leader has reviewed the completed form and has filed it, or
• Deleted – the form has been deleted by an Administrator or Room Leader.

To edit an existing individual form, it must have draft status.

A form with sent, opened, or saved status can be reverted to draft via Children >Edit Child screen and selecting the Online Forms tab. Select the form and press the Save as Draft button at the bottom of the screen to revert to draft.

The educator will then be able to make changes to the form.

The family login can also be changed using the dropdown field in the right –hand corner of the screen.

To send the updated form to the chosen family login, press the Send button.

Important note:  This button will also update ALL existing non-completed excursion forms already sent to assigned families.

Once the form has been sent the family member will receive a push notification and/or email notifying them that an Excursion Permission Form has been created for their child. They will be prompted to complete and sign the parent/guardian sections.

Extended Team Leader Access

EarlyWorks provides services with the option of allowing team leaders to view/update online permission forms for any child from any room (even if the team leader is not assigned to that room).

This feature is available via the ‘Team Leader Online Forms Permission’ dropdown in the Service Settings section of the Maintain > Settings screen using the “Has administrator access to Online Forms” option.

 

Sending Reminders

The Excursion Permission Form incorporates a Send Reminder button to prompt parents/families to complete/sign a form requiring their attention.

 

 

Details of these reminders are visible the Online Forms list screen or Edit Child tab.

 

Completing and filing the form

Once the parent/guardian has completed the form, the educator is able to review the form but is unable to make any changes.

A form can be marked as complete by an Administrator without the parent/guardian completing it. This may be used in situations where parents have completed a printed copy or the child has left the service.

To file the form, scroll to the end of the form screen and press the File button.

Deleting forms

An administrator or the educator who created the form can delete the form at any time. To do this, access the forms list via Admin > Online Forms and selecting the trash can icon.  A prompt will appear confirming that you would like to delete the form.

 

Deleted forms are not removed from the system and can be accessed via Admin > Online Forms then using the drop-down menu at the top of the screen, select Deleted.

 

This will show a log of all deleted forms.  A deleted form can be reverted to draft status by selecting the form and clicking the Save as Draft button at the bottom of the form screen.

Attaching documents and images

Attachments can be added to Excursion Permission forms in two ways:

1. To the Excursion Event so that it applies to all recipients.  Attachments are added using the Event Edit screen.
   
   
2. To the Excursion Permission Form for individual recipients.  Attachments are added using the Online Form List or Child Edit screen in the same way as Incident and Medication forms.

Activity Consent Forms

Administrators and Team Leaders can create and send Activity Consent Forms using EarlyWorks. These online forms allow Administrators and Team Leaders to record the details of the activity requiring consent and then send the forms to relevant parents and guardians for signing.

Entering Activity Consent Details

Activity Consent details are entered using the Event Edit screen.  To access the Event Edit screen, use the Maintain > Events menu option.

If you wish to create and send consent forms for a given event, check the Activity Consent Forms to be sent to families checkbox.

This will allow you to enter additional details specifically for consent forms.

Once you have entered information into these fields, you have the option of creating and sending online consent forms to all parents and/or guardians selected on the Assigned To tab of the Event Edit screen by clicking the Send Consent Forms button. 

Important Note: Clicking Add Record will create the event but Consent forms will not be created.

The parent/guardian will receive a push notification and/or an email alerting them that a Consent form has been created for their child.

If a child has multiple family accounts linked to them and all accounts are selected in the Assigned To tab, a separate consent form will be created for each parent/guardian.

The parent/guardian can access the form by clicking on the link in the email or selecting the push notification.

The parent/guardian will be required to sign and date the form before it is able to be completed and returned to the service.

Once the parent/guardian has marked the form as completed, the user that sent the form will receive a notification in the Notification Feed.

The status of the form can be monitored from Admin > Online Forms.

Editing an existing form

Once the forms have been sent, they can be individually accessed via the Child Edit screen or via Admin > Online Forms.

Forms will be saved as either:

• Draft – an administrator has set the status of an existing form to draft in order to edit the individual form,
• Sent – the form has been completed by the educator and has been sent to the family,
• Opened – the parent/guardian has opened the form,
• Saved – the parent/guardian has made changes to the form and saved them but has not marked the form as complete,
• Completed – the parent/guardian has completed and returned the form,
• Filed – an Administrator or Team Leader has reviewed the completed form and has filed it, or
• Deleted – the form has been deleted by an Administrator or Room Leader.

To edit an existing individual form, it must have draft status.

A form with sent, opened, or saved status can be reverted to draft via Children >Edit Child screen and selecting the Online Forms tab. Select the form and press the Save as Draft button at the bottom of the screen to revert to draft.

The educator will then be able to make changes to the form.

The family login can also be changed using the dropdown field in the right –hand corner of the screen.

To send the updated form to the chosen family login, press the Send button.

Important note:  This button will also update ALL existing non-completed consent forms already sent to assigned families.

Once the form has been sent the family member will receive a push notification and/or email notifying them that a Consent Permission Form has been created for their child. They will be prompted to complete and sign the parent/guardian sections.

Extended Team Leader Access

EarlyWorks provides services with the option of allowing team leaders to view/update online forms for any child from any room (even if the team leader is not assigned to that room).

This feature is available via the ‘Team Leader Online Forms Permission’ dropdown in the Service Settings section of the Maintain > Settings screen using the “Has administrator access to Online Forms” option.

 

Sending Reminders

The Consent Permission Form incorporates a Send Reminder button to prompt parents/families to complete/sign a form requiring their attention.

 

 

Details of these reminders are visible the Online Forms list screen or Edit Child tab.

 

Completing and filing the form

Once the parent/guardian has completed the form, the educator is able to review the form but is unable to make any changes.

A form can be marked as complete by an Administrator without the parent/guardian completing it. This may be used in situations where parents have completed a printed copy or the child has left the service.

To file the form, scroll to the end of the form screen and press the File button.

Deleting forms

An administrator or the educator who created the form can delete the form at any time. To do this, access the forms list via Admin > Online Forms and selecting the trash can icon.  A prompt will appear confirming that you would like to delete the form.

 

Deleted forms are not removed from the system and can be accessed via Admin > Online Forms then using the drop-down menu at the top of the screen, select Deleted.

 

This will show a log of all deleted forms.  A deleted form can be reverted to draft status by selecting the form and clicking the Save as Draft button at the bottom of the form screen.

Attaching documents and images

Attachments can be added to Consent Permission forms in two ways:

1. To the Event requiring consent so that it applies to all recipients.  Attachments are added using the Event Edit screen.
   
   
2. To the Consent Form for individual recipients.  Attachments are added using the Online Form List or Child Edit screen in the same way as Incident and Medication forms.

Print Annual Portfolios

Administrators and Educators can generate an annual portfolio in editable MS-Word format for any child at their service.  This function is available as a dropdown list option from the Child List screen.

Upload Service Documents

Administrators and educators can upload important documents such as parent handbooks, policies, notices (such as newsletters or event flyers) etc.

See File Types and Sizes for information on which file types EarlyWorks accepts.

Insert release notes for ‘Service Document Enhancements’. DO NOT include the first sentence which begins “To make the Service Documents more user friendly…”

 

See also:

• Add Documents and Images to a Child.
• Add and Manage Images/Documents for a Room.
• Images/Documents Tab (for documents related to observations).

 

Administrators can change the list of Document Types using the new Service Document Types option from the Maintain > Settings menu option.

Hints & Tips

This area is great for adding service-wide documents such as policies, permission forms and newsletters. Documents and photos related to programming will usually be added directly to the room, an observation or a journal. See uploading photos.

Add QIP Strengths, Improvements and Exceeding Themes

Your service’s written Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) is developed from administrator and educator QIP notes in EarlyWorks. Evidence to support your service’s QIP can be generated automatically through reflections of pedagogy, observations, program planning, and comments.

The QIP is a ‘living’ document so you don’t need to add all the information at once—you can add to and edit this information at any time by returning to the QIP Strengths or QIP Improvements screens.

Adding a QIP Strength

1. Click Maintain > QIP Strengths to display the QIP Strengths screen. To edit an existing strength, click in its row.

2. Click Add New Strength.
3. Select the Primary Quality Area from the dropdown list.
4. Add information about your service’s Strengths. If you add any Ongoing Notes, preface each with the date added—this provides evidence that you are continuing to revisit and reflect on the service’s plans for quality improvement.
5. Click the Elements tab.
6. Select the checkboxes of all National Quality Standards and Elements related to the QIP strength.
7. Click Add Record to save your information and return to the QIP Strengths screen.

Adding a QIP Improvement

1. Click Maintain > QIP Improvements to display the QIP Improvements screen. To edit an existing improvement, click in its row.

2. Click Add New Improvement.
3. Select the Primary Quality Area from the dropdown list.
4. Add information about your service’s Improvements Sought, etc. If you add any Ongoing Notes, preface each with the date added—this provides evidence that you are continuing to revisit and reflect on the service’s plans for quality improvement.
5. Click the Elements tab.
6. Select the checkboxes of all National Quality Standards and Elements related to the QIP improvement.
7. Click Add Record to save your information and return to the QIP Improvements screen.

Adding a QIP Exceeding Theme

1.      Click Maintain > QIP Exceeding Themes to display the QIP Exceeding Theme screen. To edit an existing exceeding theme, click in its row.

2. Click Add New Exceeding Theme.
3. Select the Primary Quality Area from the dropdown list.
4. Add information about your service’s Exceeding Theme including how the theme is practised.
5. Click the Elements tab.
6. Select the checkboxes of all National Quality Standards and Elements related to the QIP exceeding theme.
7. Click Add Record to save your information and return to the QIP Exceeding Themes screen.

 

Hints & Tips

Depending on the service’s polices, family input can be included in the QIP. Families cannot add this themselves—instead, you need to manually enter their feedback into the QIP notes. Hint: Add the family member’s name and date to the note.

Update Personal Settings

Child Alert Frequency

On the Update Settings screen (Maintain> Settings), you can set the number of days before a minor or major child alert displays.

Tick the Use Attendance Days for Child Alert Calculation to set the alerts according to the number of days a child has attended the service rather than the number of calendar days.

 

Note: this setting is set per Educator/Administrator and not for the entire service. 

Hints & Tips

According to Regulation 74 one of the considerations in preparing documentation of child assessments or evaluations for delivery of the educational program is “the period of time that the child is being educated and cared for by the service.”

 

Default Room setting

Educators can select a Room as their Default Room when using EarlyWorks.  This option is available via the Maintain > Settings menu option.

When this option is used, screens like the Program List screen and Child Alerts screen will display programs for that Room by default.

Programming Quality Indicators

Program Quality Indicators (Admin>Diagnostics) provide the leadership team with an indication of the extent to which educators are engaging with EarlyWorks’ programming tools.

 

Note: These indicators are not a measure of the quality of the actual documentation, just that the main elements of documentation have been completed.

Indicators include:

Learning Journey Indicators (Elements 1.1.1 & 1.1.2)

• Number of Children with at least 3 Outcome Comments
• Percentage of Observations with Outcome Comments
• Percentage of Journals with Outcome Comments

Experience Indicators (Element 1.2.1)

• Number of Experiences planned (linked to a preceding Observation or non-program related)
• Percentage of Experiences planned

Individual Planning Cycle Indicators (Element 1.3.1)

• Number of Children with at least ONE complete individual planning cycle
• Number of Children with at least TWO complete individual planning cycles

Critical Reflection and Professional Collaboration Indicators (Elements 1.3.2 & 4.2.1)

• Number of Reflections of Pedagogy
• Percentage of Reflections that include manager feedback
• Percentage of Reflections that include educator response
• Number of Program Comments
• Percentage of Experiences including an evaluation of the Experience

 

This feature is available to Administrators via the Admin > Diagnostics menu option.

Home Activity Experiences

Administrators, Team Leaders and Educator Assistants can now create experiences (home activities) for families to do with their children at home.  Families can add comments directly on to these home activities, sharing their observations of their child/ren engaged in the home activity. Families can also attach images to their comments.

Entering home activities

Home Activities are entered in the same way as experiences. To make the experience a home activity, click on the AT HOME ACTIVITY checkbox on the bottom left of the General Information tab.

Once the AT HOME ACTIVITY checkbox has been ticked, and the experience has been made visible to either families linked to children planned for, or all families, the Send Notification to Families button will appear at the bottom of the screen. Clicking on this button will result in notifications being sent to families linked to Children Planned for if that visibility option has been selected, or all families in the room if that visibility option has been selected.

Links to online resources (e.g. stories, YouTube clips) can now be added in the Narrative text box. 

 

Resources such as documents and images, can be added from the Resources tab.

Entering family observations, comments and feedback

Families can access the Home Activities by clicking on the Home Activities link in the Child Summary. This link will only appear if a home activity has been created for the child.

Families can share their observations, comments and feedback in the textbox at the bottom of the Home Activity screen and clicking on the Save button.

Families can also share photos of their child engaged in the activity by clicking on the
Save & Attach button.

 

Accessing and responding to family feedback on home activities

Families’ feedback on home activities are saved as Family Comments. These comments can be accessed via the Child Summary under ‘Comments’, or by selecting the Comments tab from the Edit Child screen.  These family comments will be labelled FAMILY FEEDBACK ON HOME ACTIVITY. The comment will also include a link to the relevant home activity.

As with all other comments, Educators and Administrators can reply to the comments, attach images to their reply, and extend on the comment by clicking the Extend button.

 

Forward Planning

EarlyWorks includes an optional Forward Planning feature. For many services where forward planning forms part of the weekly process, this will provide for additional planning prior to intentional teaching.  This feature, when enabled, is available to all administrators and educators.

To enable this feature, an EarlyWorks Administrator will need to access the Maintain > Settings menu option and check the Enable Forward Planning checkbox.

When this option is selected, a Forward Planning button will appear for each Program on the Program List screen.

 

Clicking on the Forward Planning button will display the Forward Planning List screen.

To add new Forward Planning information, click on the Add New Forward Planning button.  The following detail screen will be displayed.

This screen allows administrators and educators to record information such as Principles, Practices, Outcomes (on the Intended outcomes tab), Australian Curriculum Links, Specific Lesson Objectives, Assessment (what & how), Teaching & Learning Experiences (including learner diversity), Key Questions as well as any Resources Required.

By default, the Australian Curriculum links are based on the combination of seven General Capabilities and three Cross-curriculum priorities. 

Should you wish to change these selections, please contact EarlyWorks support at support@earlyworks.net.au detailing your specific selections.

The Update Record button will save the forward planning information and return you to the Forward Planning list screen.

From the list, you can edit existing forward planning information, by clicking on the relevant row or printing the information in Microsoft Word format using the Print Plan button.

Once formalised, a plan can be automatically introduced into the EarlyWorks Planning Cycle by clicking on the Create Experience button on the relevant row. This will generate a new Experience into the Planning Cycle. Narrative and Outcome information will be transferred to the new experience record.

You can now update the new experience record if required.  You can refer back to the originating forward planning information by clicking on the View Forward Planning button on the Experience Edit screen.

Once an experience has been created from a forward plan, you can view the generated experience from the View Experience button on the Forward Planning list screen or the from the Edit Forward Planning screen.

 

Administrator’s User Guide

Setup Checklist

When you first log in to your EarlyWorks account you are asked to enter aspects of your service information using the Setup Checklist.

Add Rooms (or Groups for FDC)

1. Click Create rooms on the Setup Checklist to display the Room List screen.

2. Click Add New Room to display the Add New Room screen.
3. Enter the room/group name.
4. Select a status from the dropdown list. The default is Active.
5. Click Add Record.
6. Repeat these steps for each room.
7. Click the Dashboard breadcrumb to return to the Setup Checklist.

Hints & Tips

In EarlyWorks, a ‘room’ can be a physical room, or it can be a group you’ve created to which you can apply the same programs etc. For long day care services, the number of rooms and their names depends on how the service is set up (e.g. Babies Room, Toddler Room, Kindy Room = 3 rooms). For Outside School Hours Care (OSHC), FDC services, or any single group service, the room name will usually be the name of the service (e.g. Little Bee’s Family Day Care, The Hang Out – OSHC = 1 room). Use Maintain > Rooms to get to this screen later. See Rooms in the Educator’s Guide for more detail. You can also make a room’s status ‘Inactive’; all observations etc. associated with that room also become inactive. The room’s children, however, remain active—either remove children from that room and place them in another room, OR make individual children inactive.

Add Individual Staff

Note: Use these steps to add staff one at a time. Follow the steps for Import Staff to add bulk staff records.

1. Click Add your staff on the Setup Checklist to display the Login List screen.

2. Click Add New Login.

3. Enter the person’s name and email address.
4. Select the person’s role (Administrator, Team Leader, or Educator Assistant) from the Login Type dropdown list.
5. If you choose the Login Type of Team Leader or Educator Assistant, the Room Assignments box displays on screen. Select the checkbox(es) of the room(s) where this person usually works. You can add and remove access to other rooms as required.
6. Select which email and push notifications the person receives.
7. Select a status; Active is the default. Use ‘Inactive’ for staff on leave or who haven’t yet started their employment with the service.
8. Administrators can restrict individual educator’s ability to make observations and journals visible to families. This allows services to more easily monitor the content made available to families, and to ensure observations and journals are edited before being released.
9. Click Add Record to save the details and return to the Login List screen.

Hints & Tips

Use Maintain > Logins to: add new staff later edit the details of an existing staff member.

Import Staff

Note: Use these steps for adding multiple staff records from a data file. Follow the steps for Add Individual Staff to add staff records one at a time.

1. Click Import staff on the Setup Checklist to display the Import Data From File screen.

2. In the Import Login Records section, click [Download Login Import File Template] to download the LoginTemplate.csv file (a spreadsheet template) to your computer or device. You use this template to enter login information in a format compatible with EarlyWorks.
3. Open LoginTemplate.csv with Microsoft Excel. All headings are listed and two examples are shown. Do NOT change the column headings.
4. Either manually enter the login information into this spreadsheet, or import data from your child care management system. All login information must match the columns in the template downloaded in the previous step.

• Login Type: For staff, this must be either Administrator, Team Leader, or Educator Assistant. For family logins, use Family. Make sure you ONLY use these types, and make sure they are spelled correctly.
• Status: Enter A for an active login, or I for an inactive login. ‘Inactive’ could be used for those on leave or who haven’t yet started with the service yet.
• Send Password on Insert: Enter Y to automatically email login and password information to the person, or N if you do not wish to send this information at this stage.

5. If the two sample rows are still listed in the spreadsheet, delete them. If you forget to do so, you can delete them later from the Login List screen.
6. Save the file.
7. In the Import Login Records section, click Select File… and choose your saved file.
8. Click Import File. When the import is finished, EarlyWorks will show the number of successful records imported or if any errors occurred. Errors can relate to incorrect formatting of email addresses (e.g. leaving out the ‘@’), or incorrect Login Type, Status, or Password words or codes (usually a result of mistyping).
9. Click the Dashboard breadcrumb to return to the Setup Checklist.

Hints & Tips

Use Maintain > File Data Import to import multiple staff at a later date.

Add Children

Note: Use these steps to add children one at a time. Follow the steps for Import Children to add multiple child records.

1. Click Add your children on the Setup Checklist to display the Child List screen.

2. Follow the Add a Child steps in the Educator’s Guide.

Import Children

Note: Use these steps for adding multiple child records from a data file. Follow the steps for Add a Child (in the Educator’s Guide) to add child records one at a time.

1. Click Import children on the Setup Checklist to display the Import Data From File screen.
2. In the Import Child Records section, click either the [Download Child Detail Import File Template] or the [Download Child Attendance Import File Template] to download a template file to your computer or device. You use this template to enter child information in a format compatible with EarlyWorks.
3. Open the file downloaded in the previous step (either ChildTemplate.csv  or AttendanceTemplate.csv) using Microsoft Excel. All headings are listed and two examples are shown. Do NOT change the column headings.
4. Either manually enter the login information into this spreadsheet, or import data into it from your child care management system. All login information must match the columns in the template downloaded in the previous step.
5. If the two sample rows are still listed in the spreadsheet, delete them. If you forget to do so, you can delete them later from the Child List screen—you may need to unlink these child records from their rooms (on the Edit Child screen) before you can delete them.
6. Save the file.
7. In the Import Child Records section, click Select File… and choose your saved file.
8. Click Import File. When the import is finished, EarlyWorks will show the number of successful records imported or if any errors occurred. Errors can relate to incorrect formatting of email addresses (e.g. leaving out the ‘@’) or birthdates, or other incorrect details (usually a result of mistyping; follow the formatting guidelines above).
9. Click the Dashboard breadcrumb to return to the Setup Checklist.

Hints & Tips

Use Maintain > File Data Import to import multiple children at a later date. Send Family Password on Insert: Enter Y to automatically email login and password information to the family contact email address, or N if you do not wish to send this information at this stage. See Send a New Password and Issue Bulk Passwords for information and instructions on sending a password later.

Add Scheduled Tasks

1. Click Schedule tasks on the Setup Checklist to display the Task Schedule List screen.
2. Follow the instructions under Add Scheduled Tasks in the Educator’s Guide section.

Hints & Tips

Use Maintain > Task Schedules to add or edit scheduled tasks at a later date.

Add QIP Notes

1. Click Enter information about your QIP on the Setup Checklist to display the QIP Notes screen.
2. Follow the instructions under Add QIP Notes in the Educator’s Guide section.
3. Select the Include these notes in the QIP checkbox, if required.

Hints & Tips

Use Maintain > QIP Notes to add or edit QIP notes at a later date.

Create a Program

1. Click Create your first Program on the Setup Checklist to display the My Programs screen.
2. Follow the instructions under Add a Program in the Educator’s Guide section.
3. For information on all aspects of a program, see Programs and The Program Planning Cycle in the Educator’s Guide.

Hints & Tips

Use Programs to add, edit, or delete programs at a later date.

 

Custom Settings

1. Click Maintain > Settings to display the Update Settings screen. Personal Settings relate specifically to you, whereas Service Settings relate to your service as a whole.
2. Add, change, or delete the relevant settings on the General Information tab. For further information on each setting, see:
   • Do not allow duplicate child records.
   • Set the Home Page for Families
   • Allow Families and Educators to update their own notification settings
   • Set the Frequency of Child Alerts
   • Set the Default Room
   • Print File Format
   • Prompt to save for Observations, Journals and Experiences
   • Allow All Families to View Photo Journal Images
   • Show Only Children by Attendance when Selecting Children for Related Images and Documents
   • Use Upload Date as the Default Image Name
   • Show Reflection of Learning, Next Experience, and Children’s Voices in Journal Output
   • Display visible Outcome Comments to families as soon as they are created
   • Allow Educators to Forward Plan
   • Display Experiences only to families with Children planned for
   • Display Experiences in the Events Calendar
   • Require Administrator Authorisation of Incident Forms
   • Extend Team Leader access to forms
   • Invite all children from another room or all children in the service into a room
   • Change the Name of the Learning Framework Options
   • Change the Default Framework for the Service
   • Change the Label for Program and/or Experience

3. Add, change, or delete details about the service on the QIP tab. These details will display on the QIP and may be used by regulatory authorities to contact you, so make sure all details are up-to-date.
4. Click Update Settings to save your changes.

Duplicate Child Validation

Validation to stop the creation of duplicate Child records with the same First Name, Middle Name, Last Name and Date of Birth.

Set the Home Page for Families

Administrators can select which screen they would like families to have as their home page.

 

Allow Families and Educators to update their own notification settings.

Administrators can allow families and staff to update their own notification settings. To enable this function, check the box below from the Maintain > Settings menu option.

Families and staff are able update their settings using the using the Notification Settings menu option which appears under their name on the main menu in EarlyWorks.

The list of notification options available using this option is slightly different to the options available to the Edit Login Screen in that:

• Staff do not have the “Never” option
• Families do not have the “Never” option or the “Only Quick Notifications” option.

If these options are required, then this will need to be updated by an administrator using the Edit Login screen.

When this feature is enabled, information detailing how to update this option will appear in the footer of all email notifications.

EarlyWorks uses colour-coded Set the Frequency of Child Alerts

EarlyWorks uses colour-coded child alerts (minor and major) to notify educators and administrators (through their respective dashboards) when a child is overdue to be:

• Learning journey entry added (outcome comment in an observation or journal)
• Included in an observation
• Planned for within the program
• Included in the daily/weekly journal.

These alerts help services meet their requirements for documentation, as outlined in QA 1 of the NQS, in regulations 73 to 76 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations, and in section 168 of the Education and Care Services National Law.

To set the alert frequency:

• In the relevant textbox, change the number of days after which the minor and/or major child alert warning is displayed.

Educators can check the Use Attendance Days for Child Alert Calculation box so that child alerts are calculated based on the number of days a child attends the service rather than the number of calendar days.

Set the Default Room

Educators can select a default room to be shown within EarlyWorks.

Print File Format

To ensure reports are viewable on devices where Microsoft Word is not available, user can view generated reports in both PDF and Word format.

The preferred format can be changed using the option below on the Maintain > Settings page.

Notes:

• The default setting will be PDF.
• The QIP will always be generated in Word format regardless of the format setting.
• Journals printed in PDF format will always print in Multipage Portrait Format.

Prompt to save for Observations, Journals and Experiences

Administrators and Educators can be prompted to save on a regular basis when entering Experiences, Observations and Journals.  To activate a prompt, select a frequency from the ‘Prompt to save interval (Experiences Observations and Journals)’ setting under Personal Settings using the Maintain > Settings menu option. 

Allow All Families to View Photo Journal Images

By default, EarlyWorks does not allow images of children to be shared outside the child’s family without written consent.

If your service has obtained written permission for every child for all images in the journal to be shared, this security can be removed from the journal ONLY:

• Select the Allow any image to be shared on journals regardless of family consent checkbox.

Hints & Tips

CAUTION: ALL parents/guardians for ALL children in the room must give their consent. If only one parent/guardian refuses, then NO images can be shared with all families. Collecting, verifying, and collating these permissions is not a function of EarlyWorks—services must ensure they have followed all privacy laws and obtained all necessary written permissions before they consider selecting this checkbox. If you are in any doubt, DO NOT select it.

Show Only Children by Attendance when Selecting Children for Related Images and Documents

When you add documents (including images) and need to select the children who were part of an observation- or journal-related document, EarlyWorks lists the names of those marked for attendance that day in bold at the top of the selection list to simplify the selection process. You can still select children who were not marked for attendance that day—they are listed after those in bold—unless you change this setting.

To hide the names children not marked for attendance:

• Select the Hide names of children not marked for attendance… checkbox.

Use Upload Date as the Default Image Name

When you upload an image or any other document, the default title in EarlyWorks is the existing file name (for images, this might be a meaningless system-generated code). You can change an image’s file name when you upload it by manually editing the caption in the textbox, or you can change the default caption name for all images to the date uploaded. Note: This setting only applies to image files, not other documents. (See also: File Types and Sizes.)

To change the default caption name of an image to the date uploaded:

• Select the Use today’s date as uploaded image name checkbox.

Show Reflection of Learning, Next Experience, and Children’s Voices in Journal Output

By default, Reflections of Learning, Next Experience, and Children’s Voices are NOT printed in the Journal.

To include these in the Journal output:

• Select the Show Reflection of Learning, Next Experience and Children’s Voices in Journal Output checkbox.

Display visible Outcome Comments to families as soon as they are created

By default, Outcome Comments will only be made visible to families when the Observation is made visible to families. Check the Display visible Outcome Comments to families as soon as they are created box to make Outcome Comments visible as soon as they are created.

Allow Educators to forward plan

EarlyWorks includes an optional Forward Planning feature. For many services where forward planning forms part of the weekly process, this will provide for additional planning prior to intentional teaching.  This feature, when enabled, is available to all administrators and educators.

See – Forward Planning for more information about using this setting.

Change the Name of the Learning Framework Options

EarlyWorks comes preloaded with the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) (the default for all programs) and the My Time, Our Place – Framework for School Age Care. Other learning frameworks can be added to EarlyWorks upon request (admin@earlyworks.net.au).

Alternatively, services can add their own framework:

• Change the name of an Alternative Framework to the new framework’s name.
  • Change the Default Framework for the Service

Display Experiences only to families with Children planned for

To ensure that families only see the experiences planned for their child, check the Hide Experiences from families not linked to Children Planned For by default box.

Display Experiences in the Events Calendar

Using the dropdown box, Administrators can choose to display Experiences in the Calendar for Educators, for Families and Educators, or not display Experiences in the Event Calendar.

Require Administrator Authorisation of Incident Forms

Check the Incident Forms need to be signed by an authoriser prior to sending to families checkbox to ensure that all forms are signed by an Administrator or Team Leader with Administrator access before they are sent to families.

Extend Team Leader Access to Forms

Depending on the structure of a service, it may make sense for Educators with Team Leader access to be granted Administrator access to Forms.

Team Leaders can be given full administrator access by selecting Has administrator access to Online Forms from the Team Leader Online Forms Permission dropdown list.

Team Leaders can also be granted permission to create Incident Forms for children in any room by selecting Can create incident Forms for any Room from the dropdown list.

Invite all children from another room or all children in the service into a room

Administrators have the option of allowing staff to invite all children from another room or all children in the service into a room as a single action from the Invite Child dropdown list.

 

To make these new selections available, administrators must check the “Allow educators and administrators to invite all children from another room or all children in the service into a room” checkbox on the Maintain > Settings screen.

Change the Default Framework for the Service

You can select which learning framework appears at the top of the selection list when choosing a Framework for a Program, Experience, Observation or Journal. 

For example, if you provide Outside of School Hours care you may want the “My Time, Our Place” learning framework to appear as the default framework for Programs, Experiences, Observations and Journal.  Likewise, if your service is a Kindergarten, you may want your state’s Kindy Curriculum framework to appear as default.

Change the Label for Program and/or Experience

EYLF uses the term ‘curriculum’ to cover ‘all the interactions, experiences, activities, routines and events, planned and unplanned, that occur in an environment designed to foster children’s learning and development’ (p. 9). The My Time, Our Place – Framework for School Age Care uses the same definition to describe ‘program’ (p. 6)

Similarly, some frameworks use ‘Experience’ while others use ‘Curriculum Plan’ to mean the same thing.

EarlyWorks uses the word ‘Program’ and ‘Experience’ by default; however, you can change these words to suit your service’s requirements. To change the words on the relevant labels in EarlyWorks:

• Change the text for the Label for Program/Curriculum and/or the Label for Experience/Curriculum Plan.

Maintain QIP Service Information

From the QIP tab of the Settings screen administrators can maintain QIP Services details for use when generating your QIP template from EarlyWorks.

Customise Tooltip Text

From the Tooltip Text tab of the Settings screen administrators can customise the default tooltip text used on various screens within EarlyWorks.

Vacation Care Mode setting for OSHC/OOSH

OSHC and OOSH services will often have a combination of both permanent and Vacation Care only children.  Generally, Vacation Care only children records need only be active during school holiday periods.

Rather than making each individual child record active at the beginning of the holiday period and then inactive at the end of the holiday period, services can now use the new “Vacation Care Mode” setting within EarlyWorks.

Administrators can turn the “Vacation Care Mode” on and off as required from the Settings screen.  For example, an administrator may set the mode ON a few days before a school holiday period starts for planning and then OFF a few days after the school holiday period ends.

For Vacation Care children, administrators and team leaders can then use the “Active only when Vacation Care Mode is ON” child status.

When the status is set to “Active only when Vacation Care Mode is on” the child status will be treated as “Active” when the Vacation Care Mode is On, otherwise it will be treated as “Inactive” (for experiences, daily communications, observations, journals and account billing)

 

 

 

Administrator Dashboard

The administrator dashboard summarises the service’s programming documentation and reflections requiring feedback for the current calendar month.

Elements displayed on the dashboard:

• ‘Welcome to version’ at the top of the dashboard has a link to software program features recently added to EarlyWorks.
• Immediately below the version bar are these summary totals:
  • The number of observations conducted by the service this calendar month, and how long since the last observation was recorded.
  • The number of experiences added by the service this calendar month, and how long since the last experience was recorded.
  • The number of journal entries conducted by the service this calendar month, and how long since the last journal entry was recorded.
  • The number of reflections of pedagogy awaiting manager feedback this month. Click the link in this box to display the Reflections of Pedagogy screen where you can view reflections; you can provide feedback by clicking in a row, then entering your feedback in the Manager’s Feedback textbox.
  • The number of educator responses to manager Feedback. Click on the link to view the Educator responses.
• The current number of active child records as well as the maximum number of child records in the service’s current invoice period.  EarlyWorks will charge your service for this maximum number of children for the current invoice period.

 

• Below the summary totals are these graphs:
  • A bar/line graph showing the trends of observations, experiences, and journal entries throughout the service each month for the previous 12 months.
• Pie charts showing each educator’s proportionate contribution to the service’s overall observations, experiences, and journals for this calendar month. Click on a pie chart to show the Staff Alerts screen (see Staff Alerts for more detail).
  • Bar graphs showing a summary of outcome comments and educator reflections for the month.

 

Admin Menu

Diagnostics

See Program Quality Indicators (insert link) in Tools section.

Staff Alerts

You can view a summary of all educators’ contributions (observations, experiences, journal entries and reflections of pedagogy) to the service’s documentation made within a date range, as well as details of individual educator contributions. This information can help you identify an individual educator’s training and development requirements, as well as contribute to performance appraisals for each educator.

1. Click Admin > Staff Alerts to display the Staff Alerts screen, which summarises the contributions for the current month.

2. Select the From and To dates for the time period that you wish to view.
3. Click Display to display the information for that time period.
4. To export this data as a CSV file that can be opened with Microsoft Excel, click Export.

View Individual Educator’s Observations, Experiences, Journal Entries, and Reflections of Pedagogy.

1. Click Admin > Staff Alerts to display the Staff Alerts screen.
2. Click the educator’s name to view their contributions to the service’s observations, experiences, journal entries, and Reflections of Pedagogy.

3. Filter by record type using the dropdown box at the top of the screen (All Activity is the default view). You can sort the list by date/time or type of activity by clicking on the corresponding column heading.
4. To view or edit an individual entry, click in that row to display the edit screen for that observation, experience, or journal entry.
5. If you make changes, click Update Record to save the changes and return to the relevant screen for the program activity; if you haven’t made changes, click Cancel to return to the relevant screen for the program activity.

Child Alerts

See Child Alerts in the Educator’s Guide section for more information and instructions.

Attendance List

See Booked Attendance List in the Educator’s Guide section for more information and instructions.

Daily Communications

See Daily Communications in the Educator’s Guide section for more information and instructions.

Experiences Awaiting Evaluation

1. Click Admin > Experiences Awaiting Evaluation to display the Experiences Awaiting Evaluation screen.

2. On this screen:
   • The list of all experiences awaiting evaluation is sorted by the most recent entry.
   • To view by room, select the room from the dropdown list at the top of the screen.
   • Click View Experience to display the Edit Experience screen, where you can add comments in the Evaluation textbox. Click Update Record to save these comments and return to the Experiences screen.
   • If the experience does NOT require an evaluation, click Dismiss to add ‘Not Required’ to the Evaluation textbox on the relevant Edit Experience screen. Note: This is a permanent change—you are not asked to confirm this, and the item is immediately removed from the Experiences Awaiting Evaluation screen. If you later need to add an evaluation to one that has been dismissed, go to the Edit Experience screen for the experience and change the text in the Evaluation textbox.

Child Comments

Administrators can view all recent comments added to any child’s record (Admin > View Child Comments). Comments act as a news feed so that you are informed of all notes relating to the children in your service.

See View Child Comments in the Educator’s Guide section for more information and instructions.

Tasks

Tasks and reminders help ensure that all compliance tasks (regular or one-off) are completed on time.

Using Admin > View Tasks, you can view:

• Your own tasks as well as those for other administrators, educators, and families at any time (select the name of the person from the dropdown list at the top of the Tasks screen).
• Overdue, due, and completed tasks from the Tasks screen.

See Tasks in the Educator’s Guide section for more information and instructions.

Events

Maintain Events appear in the Event Calendar using Admin > View Events menu option.

See Maintain Events in the Educator’s Guide section for more information and instructions.

Reflections of Pedagogy

Reflections of Pedagogy can be linked to the service’s QIP to help support any of the Quality Areas relevant to the content of the reflection. By providing feedback on these reflections, administrators can show they are contributing to the overall development of the service’s curriculum (NQS – QA 1), working collaboratively to affirm, challenge, support, and learn from and with their educators (NQS – QA 4, Standard 4.2), and promoting an embedded culture of ongoing continuous improvement (NQS – QA 7).

Administrators can view all reflections of pedagogy (Admin > Reflections of Pedagogy). See Reflections of Pedagogy in the Educator’s Guide section for more information and instructions.

On the Edit Reflection of Pedagogy screen, enter your feedback into the Manager’s Feedback textbox. You can also Include this reflection in the QIP Evidence List by selecting that checkbox. If you select this option, then the detail will be added to the QIP Evidence List as follows:

Generate QIP

See Generate the Quality Improvement Plan.

View QIP Evidence

See QIP Evidence List.

Quick Notifications

Administrators and Team Leaders can send a mass notification to families, educators and administrators. Helpful to notify everyone of unexpected events such as infectious disease or changed operating hours. Users will receive a push notification and an email for these messages. 

 

This function is available from the Admin > Notification menu option.

Maintain Menu

Logins

Educator and family logins are added the same way (see Add Individual Staff and Import Staff for adding educator logins). There is no limit to the number of family members who can log in to EarlyWorks, so grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other close family can be added at the request of a parent or guardian. External support agencies can also be added at the family’s request.

Add a Family Login

1. Click Maintain > Logins to display the Login List screen.

2. Click Add New Login.

3. Enter the family member’s name and email address in the relevant fields.
4. Select the Login Type as Family. This displays the Children box.
5. Select the checkboxes of the child or children related to this person. Names are listed alphabetically by first name. Use the Find box to search for a name.
6. Families can view comments, observations, and/or journals by logging into EarlyWorks and via email or push notifications:
   • If the family member does not want email notifications about comments, select the Do not receive notifications regarding new child comments checkbox on this screen.
   • For new observations or journal notifications, use the Send Notification to Families checkbox on the relevant Observation or Journal screen when you complete that record.
7. Select a status; Active is the default. ‘Inactive’ could be used for families whose children haven’t started with the service yet, or who are away for a period of time.
8. Click Add Record to save the information and return to the Login List screen.

Add Multiple Family Logins

You can add multiple family logins using the import function (Maintain > File Data Import). See Import Staff for steps.

Send a New Password

If a family member forgets their password, you can generate a new one for them. When they next log in, they use the new password, and then must immediately change it to a password of their own choosing. The password they choose cannot be the same as an earlier password they used in EarlyWorks. (See About Passwords for acceptable password formats.)

EarlyWorks does not keep any record of current passwords. Lost or forgotten passwords must be replaced using the method below or Issue Bulk Passwords.

1. Click Maintain > Logins to display the Login List screen.
2. Click in the person’s row to display their Edit Login screen.

3. Click Send New Password.
4. Click Cancel to return to the Login List screen.

Hints & Tips

Families and staff are also able to change their own password using the using the Notification Settings menu option which appears under their name on the main menu in EarlyWorks.

 

Issue Bulk Passwords

1. Click Maintain > Logins to display the Login List screen.
2. Select one or more checkboxes on the left of list of logins to email passwords to multiple logins at the same time. (You can click All or None to check or uncheck all checkboxes.)
3. Click Email Selected Login Details to send passwords to the selected people.

Deactivate Login Access

1. Click Maintain > Logins to display the Login List screen.
2. Click in the person’s row to display their Edit Login screen.

3. Change the person’s status from Active to Inactive.
4. Click Update Record to save the change and return to the Login List screen. The person’s name will only show on this list if you filter by Inactive Records.

 

Set New Password for Login

You can set the passwords for any of your staff or families.  From the Edit Login screen, click on the new “Change Password” tab to display the following.

Enter a New Password (and confirm) and click on the Change Password button to update the educator’s or family’s password.  The educator or family can now use this new password to access EarlyWorks.  Note that they will be prompted to change this password when next accessing EarlyWorks.

Logging in on behalf of a family member

Administrators can log into EarlyWorks as a family member to view and/or enter details on behalf of a parent or guardian using the Login As buttons on the Login List screen.

Create administrator logins with restricted reflections of pedagogy access

You can limit administrator access so that specified Administrators have all of the standard administrator functions, apart from the ability to view  other staff members’ Reflections of Pedagogy, and the ability to create or update other Administrator logins.

To limit administrator access, check the ‘Cannot view Reflections for staff other than themselves and cannot create/update other Administrator logins’ checkbox when creating or updating an Administrator Login.

How to provide continuing access to families of children leaving your service.

You may be wondering how best to handle the situation where children are leaving your service but families still wish to have access to their child’s information on EarlyWorks. 

 

There are three options available to you:

 

Option 1: This option will allow families to keep an active login so that they can view their inactive child’s information.  This would be used if the child is leaving the service, and you would like to allow the family continued access to the child’s information.

1. Ensure the family member’s Login Record is still active (using the Login Edit screen).

2. Make the Child Record inactive (using the Child Edit screen).
3. Ensure the family member’s Login Record is still linked to the Child Record made inactive in step 2 (using the Family Logins tab on the Edit Child screen).

  

Option 2:  This option only allows families to view information about their children with active records.  This would be used if the family has at least one child with an inactive record and one child with an active record, and you only want them to view the active child’s information.

1. Ensure the family member’s Login Record is still active (using the Login Edit screen).

2. Make the Child Record inactive (using the Child Edit screen).
3. Remove the link between the family member’s Login Record and the Child Record being made inactive (using the Family Logins tab on the Edit Child screen).

Option 3:  This option will prevent families from having access to EarlyWorks.  This would be used if the family no longer has any active children at the service, and you do not wish them to have access to their inactive children’s records.

1. Make the family member’s Login Record inactive (using the Login Edit screen).

2. Make all of the family member’s Child records inactive (optional - using the Child Edit screen).
3. Remove all links between the family member’s Login Record and any existing Child Record (optional - using the Family Logins tab on the Edit Child screen).

Outcomes

EarlyWorks comes preloaded with learning outcomes for EYLF and My Time, Our Place – Framework for School Age Care. On request (admin@earlyworks.net.au), EarlyWorks can include other learning frameworks (e.g. Kindergarten Curriculum Guidelines, Montessori Curriculum, Te Whāriki). Services can also personalise the outcomes available to include additional items such as their service philosophy, theorists, and any other areas that are referenced through their program.

Add an Outcome Group

1. Click Maintain > Outcomes to display the Outcome Group List screen. (To edit an existing outcome group, click in its row.)

2. Click Add New Outcome Group.

3. Enter the name of the new outcome group into the Description textbox using this format: ‘Outcome Group (number): (New outcome group title)’. Make sure you follow this format to ensure outcome groups display correctly.
4. Select (or enter) the sequence number that reflects the position of the new outcome group relative to existing outcome groups, as shown on the Outcome Group List screen.
5. Select the framework to associate the new outcome group with.
6. Click Add Record to save your settings and return to the Outcome Group List screen.

Hints & Tips

Sequence numbers: We suggest you add sequence numbers such as 10, 20, 30, etc. instead of 1, 2, 3, etc. Why? If you later need to slot a new outcome group in between others, you’ll have a range of available numbers to choose from to maintain the sequence. Otherwise, you may have to renumber all the later outcome groups to reflect their new position in the sequence. For example, if you used 1, 2 ,3 ,4, and 5, then needed to add an outcome group between 1 and 2, you’d have to renumber 2, 3, 4, and 5, incrementing them by 1. But if you used 10, 20, 30, etc. then to add an outcome group between 10 and 20, would mean adding a number such as 13—it would slot into the sequence and you wouldn’t have to renumber all the other outcome groups.

Add Outcomes to an Outcome Group

1. Click Maintain > Outcomes to display the Outcome Group List screen.
2. Click Maintain Outcomes next to the group’s name to display the Outcome List screen. (To edit an existing outcome, click in its row.)

3. To add a new outcome, click Add New Outcome to display the Add New Outcome screen.

4. Enter the name of the new outcome into the Description textbox. We recommend you use a number (e.g. 1.5) as the first word of an outcome—this will become its ‘reference code’, and will ensure it displays correctly on the Outcome List and Outcome Groups screens.
5. Select (or enter) the sequence number that reflects the position of the new outcome relative to existing outcomes, as displayed on the Outcome List and Outcome Groups screens.
6. Click Add Record to save the information and return to the Outcome List screen.

Hints & Tips

Sequence numbers: See the Hints & Tips for Add an Outcome Group.

Task Schedules

Administrators and Room Leaders can set reminders for educators’ regular compliance requirements such as Working with Children checks, First Aid Certificate renewals or evacuation drills. Tasks can also be allocated to a family member for items such as providing copies of birth certificates and current immunisation records.

1. Click Maintain > Task Schedules to display the Task Schedules screen, which lists all current tasks, whether allocated or not. Tasks are listed in date order.
2. Follow the steps under Add Scheduled Tasks in the Educator’s Guide.

Task Items

Task Items can be added to tasks.  To create a list of items, use the Task Items tab from the Task Schedule screen.

 

Task Completion Notes

Educators, administrators and families can add notes to their completed tasks.  This may include information about the success of a task, any recommended improvements, etc.

Events

Administrators and Room Leaders can add one-off events to the Event Calendar using this function.  

1. Click Maintain > Events to display the Events List screen, which lists all events in event date order.

2. Follow the steps under Maintain Events in the Educator’s Guide.

 

Documents

See Upload Documents in the Educator’s Guide section for more information and instructions.

Rooms

Administrators can access information on all rooms within a service. This information includes:

• The number of active children in a room (useful for FDC services to assess the number of children per educator).
• Learning outcomes the room has/hasn’t observed.
• Images and/or documents uploaded to the room.

See Rooms in the Educator’s Guide for more information and instructions. See Add Rooms (or Groups for FDC) for information and instructions on how to add a room to the service.

 

Quality Improvement Planning

EarlyWorks simplifies the creation of the service’s Quality Improvement Plan (QIP), and helps you ensure this important document is always up-to-date. Educators can contribute their own QIP notes, which can be included in the final QIP at the discretion of the administrator.

Create a Quality Improvement Plan

1. Click Maintain > QIP Strengths to display the QIP Strengths screen or Maintain > QIP Improvements to display the QIP Improvements screen.
2. Follow the instructions under Add QIP Strengths and Improvements in the Educator’s Guide section.

3. Administrators can decide whether to include specific strengths or improvements in the QIP using the Include these notes in the QIP checkbox.  By default, QIP strengths and improvements are included in the QIP when entered by an administrator but not included when entered by an educator. 
4. Once a QIP strength or improvement is no longer relevant, administrators can uncheck the Include these notes in the QIP checkbox. This makes the note viewable on screen but does not include the plan in the Microsoft Word version of the QIP.

Generate the Quality Improvement Plan

Throughout EarlyWorks there are various ways to contribute to the service’s QIP. The combination of these contributions produces a QIP for downloading, printing, and submitting to your regulatory body. The produced QIP is based on the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) template, and is in Microsoft Word format.

1. Click Admin > Generate QIP to generate and download your service’s Quality Improvement Plan.

2. The format of the file name is ‘QIP_YYYYMMDD_<timestamp>.docx’.

QIP Evidence List

As part of their day-to-day processes, educators and administrators will add links to the NQS using the QIP Evidence tab in the Observations, Experiences, Journal entries, and Reflections of Pedagogy screens. This helps service providers gather evidence as part of the rating and assessment process.

To view the evidence:

1. Click Admin > View QIP Evidence to display the QIP Evidence List screen.

3. The year-to-date is shown. To change it, select a different date range at the top of the screen, then click Display.
4. Click the blue links to display the details of the observation, experience, journal entry, or reflection of pedagogy.

QIP Summary Report

The QIP Summary Report allows administrators and educators to produce a document detailing the QIP Improvements, Strengths and Exceeding Themes notes currently included in the service’s EarlyWorks QIP. 

The QIP Summary Report might be shared with families so that they can be involved with and contribute to service decisions (QA 6.1.1). It also allows educators and administrators to access all of the QIP notes in one document.

To produce this report, use the Maintain > QIP Summary Report menu option.

 

 

Customisable Checklist Forms

Creating a new checklist template

Administrators can create new checklist templates from the Checklist Template List Screen.  This screen can be accessed via the Maintain > Checklist Templates menu option.  To add a new Checklist Template, click on the Add New Checklist Template button.

 

You will then be taken to the Add New Checklist Template screen.  Enter a Name and Description for the Checklist Template.

Each template is divided into three parts: a Header, a Table and a Footer. Enter the number of columns you require in the table.

You can also select whether you want the Print Orientation to be either Portrait or Landscape.

Click on the Add Record button to save the details.

You can update these values later by clicking on the relevant row on the Checklist Template List screen.

 

Clicking on the Format Template button will take you to the Format Checklist Template screen.

Two header fields, two table rows and two footer fields are automatically populated. To add additional rows or fields, click the + icon. To remove rows or fields click the trash can icon.

 

 

For each Header, Table Column and Footer element you can select the field type:

• Text Input – allows staff to enter a small amount of text
• Long Text Input – allows staff to enter a large amount of text
• Date Input – staff will be prompted to enter a date from a dropdown calendar
• Checkbox Input – staff can check box to indicate task has been completed
• Text Output – enter text to appear on form (e.g. instructions), staff cannot enter data here
• Text Output (Bold) – Text Output in bold typeface

 

For Table Row elements, you can choose whether the row is a Standard Row or a Sub-Heading Row.

Use the ↑ and ↓ icons to reorder rows and elements.

To add or remove a row, or re-order rows, use the icons on the right-hand side of the screen.

To save the template click Save Format. Click Save & Stay to save the template and continue working on it.

You can create a copy of an existing Checklist Template by clicking on the Duplicate button.

To delete a template, click on the trash can.

Creating a new checklist     

Administrators and Team Leaders can create new checklists from the Checklist Forms List Screen.  This screen can be accessed via the Admin > Checklist Forms menu option.  To add a new Checklist Form, click on the Create Checklist Form button.                   

The Create New Checklist Form dialog box will then appear.

Select a Template, Date Due and Name for the New Checklist Form and click on the Save Form button.  You will then be taken to the Assign Staff screen. 

Select up to two “Responsibility for Completion” staff and add all required participants.  To save the staff assignments, click on the Save Record button.  You will be taken to the Checklist Forms List screen

From the Checklist Forms List screen:

• Add attachments to an existing Checklist Form by clicking on the Attachments button.
• You can create a copy of an existing Checklist Form by clicking on the Duplicate button.
• To assign staff to the checklist form, click on the Assign Staff button.
• To delete a checklist form, click on the trash can.
• To view or edit the form, click on the associated checklist row in the table.

View/Edit Checklist     

Administrators and Team Leaders can edit the Name and Date Due for any Live (not completed) form. 

All participants can update the Live form but only Staff that have been designated the Responsibility for Completion can set the status to Complete.  These designated staff can also set the status of a form from Complete back to a Live status.

 

 

Programs

See the Educator’s Guide section for more information and instructions:

• Add a Program
• My Programs Screen
• Add an Observation
• Add an Experience to the Program from an Observation
• Manually Add an Experience to the Program
• Link an Observation to a Next Experience
• Multiple Rooms can Create a Single Program (assists with primary caregiving)

 

The Program Planning Cycle

See the Educator’s Guide section for more information and instructions:

• The Program Planning Cycle
• Observations
• Experiences
• Journal Entries
• Individual Child Planning Cycle
• Planning for the Individual Child
  • Learning Journey Comments
  • Add Learning Journey Comments
  • Use Learning Journey Comments to Inform the Program
  • Individual Child Analysis Chart
• Child Profiles – Planned and Observed Outcomes
• Generate the Planning Cycle Report
• Automatically generated planning cycle reports for every child

 

Child Information

See Child Information in the Educator’s Guide section for more information and instructions:

• Add a Child
• Edit a Child
• Delete a Child
• Child Comments
  • Reply to Comments in a Child Summary
  • Attach Images to a Comment
• Incident Reports

Glossary and References

Glossary

Term	Definition
ACECQA	Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (http://www.acecqa.gov.au/)
Active	A record that can to be added to, modified, and linked to observations, experiences, and journal entries.
Administrator (as used in EarlyWorks)	A person in charge of an education and care service with the responsibilities of overseeing centre programming and documentation.
CSV	Comma-separated value (file format that can be created by and read by Microsoft Excel)
Curriculum	See Program
Curriculum Plan	See Programmed Experience
DD MMM YYYY	Date format; two-number day, three-letter month, four-number year (e.g. 14 Jun 2017, 09 Sep 2018)
Developmental Milestone	Skills observed in children. EarlyWorks has included the Developmental Milestones from the ‘Early Years Learning Framework Practice Based Resources – Developmental Milestones’ with EYLF outcomes.
Educator Assistant (as used in EarlyWorks)	An individual who provides education and care for children within an early childhood education and care service who does not hold an Early Childhood Education and Care Diploma.
Educator (as used in EarlyWorks)	An individual who provides education and care for children within an early childhood education and care service. In EarlyWorks, ‘educators’ can be Room Leaders or Educator Assistants.
Exceeding Practices	Practices defined as ‘Exceeding Indicators’ in the ACECQA National Quality Standard Assessment and Rating Instrument
Experience	Experiences may be child-led (from a previous observation), educator-initiated (intentional teaching), or come from family input. Experiences could include: scaffolding of learning that was previously documented through observations extensions of children’s interests, thoughts, and ideas specific activities you plan to do with the children everyday opportunities for intentional teaching areas of learning that you wish to focus on routine changes approaches to transitions provocations that you plan on creating room/space changes community events/celebrations anything you wish to include in your program. See also Programmed Experience This Manual uses the word ‘Experience’; your service may have changed this to ‘Curriculum Plan’ in the Settings screen. If so, substitute ‘Curriculum Plan’ wherever ‘Experience’ is used. See Change the Label for Program and/or Experience.
Extend (as used in EarlyWorks)	Converts the text in a comment box to an observation. This allows educators to create links to the learning frameworks and to plan a next experience from this comment.
EYLF	Early Years Learning Framework
FDC	Family Day Care
Framework	In EarlyWorks, specifically relates to an approved learning framework.
Inactive	A record that cannot be added to, modified, or linked to observations, experiences and journal entries. Inactive records can only be viewed, not edited. In some parts of EarlyWorks, you cannot delete a record that is linked to other records—if you no longer require that record, change its status to ‘inactive’.
Journal	Documentation that showcases the experiences and learning that occurred on a particular day.
Journal Entry	The written description of experiences and learning that occurred on a particular day/week.
Last Experience	The last time there was a planned extension of learning involving the child. A method to ensure that each child’s learning and development is assessed as part of an ongoing cycle of planning, documenting, and evaluating by ensuring that the written programming and evaluation is ongoing, appropriate, and inclusive of each child. (NQS 1.2)
Last Journal Entry	The last time the child was part of the daily journal.
Last Learning Journey Entry	The last time individual comments were made on a child’s record about their abilities and progress in relation to the learning outcomes used by the service.
Last Observation	The last time this child was observed in either a group or an individual observation
Learning Outcome	A skill, knowledge, or disposition that educators can actively promote in early childhood settings, in collaboration with children and families. (from: Belonging, Being and Becoming, p48)
NQS	National Quality Standard
Observation	A written description of something that was observed.
OSHC	Outside School Hours Care
Outcome	See Learning Outcome
Pedagogy	Early childhood educators’ professional practice, especially those aspects that involve building and nurturing relationships, curriculum decision-making, teaching, and learning. (from: Belonging, Being and Becoming, p48)
Planned Experience	See Programmed Experience
Planning Cycle	The National Quality Framework requires educators to show evidence of the planning cycle. The planning cycle comprises steps that are recommended to effectively observe, analyse, and evaluate children’s learning and development to make professional decisions in relation to planning. The steps that EarlyWorks refers to when using the term ‘planning cycle’ are: Observe Question Plan Act/Do Reflect.
Primary Caregiving	An early childhood education and care approach where specific educators are assigned as the ‘key teacher’ for specific children. In this approach, the focus is on building relationships of trust and security.
Program	All the interactions, experiences, activities, routines, and events—planned and unplanned—that occur in an environment designed to foster children’s learning and development (from: Early Years Learning Framework, p45; adapted from Te Whāriki) This Manual uses the word ‘Program’; your service may have changed this to ‘Curriculum’ in the Settings screen. If so, substitute ‘Curriculum’ wherever ‘Program’ is used. See Change the Label for Program and/or Experience.
Programmed Experience	The documented plan for individual interactions, experiences, activities, routines, and events. Also known as a ‘Planned Experience’, ‘experience’ or ‘Curriculum Plan’. This Manual uses the word ‘Experience’; your service may have changed this to ‘Curriculum Plan’ in the Settings screen. If so, substitute ‘Curriculum Plan’ wherever ‘Experience’ is used. See Change the Label for Program and/or Experience.
QA	Quality Area
QIP	Quality Improvement Plan
Reflections of Pedagogy	A written reflection of professional practices.
Room Leader	An individual who oversees a room/group within the service.
Service	A long day care, family day care, preschool (kindergarten), or outside school hours care service.
Spontaneous	Unplanned
Status	See Active; see Inactive
Team Leader	See Room Leader
Voice of the Child (as used in EarlyWorks)	What the child has said or done; captures information for the individual child when an observation or journal has been recorded for a group.
YYYYMMDD	Variation on ISO 8601 date format; four-number year, two-number month, two-number day (e.g. 20170614, 20180909)

References

Australian Children's Education & Care Quality Authority, 2017. Guide to the National Quality Standards. http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/National-Quality-Framework-Resources-Kit/NQF-Resource-03-Guide-to-NQS.pdf

Australian Children's Education & Care Quality Authority, (nd). National Quality Framework. http://www.acecqa.gov.au/national-quality-framework

Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2009. Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/National-Quality-Framework-Resources-Kit/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf

Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, (nd). Early Years Learning Framework Practice Based Resources – Developmental Milestones. http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/QualityInformationSheets/QualityArea1/DevelopmentalMilestonesEYLFandNQS.pdf

Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2011. My Time, Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia. http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/National-Quality-Framework-Resources-Kit/my_time_our_place_framework_for_school_age_care_in_australia.pdf

Queensland Studies Authority, Queensland Government, 2006. Early years curriculum materials – Reflecting on my teaching practices. http://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/p_10/ey_lt_reflect_teaching_prac.pdf