Read your child's EYFS learning journal

Written for: Parents and carers.

If your child is in nursery or Reception, their school may share a learning journal with you. It shows moments the staff have noticed at school, such as something your child made, said or tried for the first time. You can add your own notes about what your child enjoys and does at home. EYFS stands for the Early Years Foundation Stage, the stage of learning from birth to the end of Reception.

Open the journal

The school gives you a link to your child’s journal. Open it on your phone, tablet or computer. You don’t need to sign in.

At the top you’ll see your child’s name and “Moments from school, and a place to share what you notice at home.”

Look at moments from school

Under Moments from school, each moment shows:

• the area of learning it relates to, such as Communication and language, Physical development or Mathematics
• the date
• a photo, if the school added one
• the member of staff’s note about what your child did

Share something from home

1. Under Share something from home, you can type your name in the first box. This is optional.
2. In the larger box, write what your child has been enjoying, saying or doing at home.
3. Click Share.

You’ll see “Thank you — the school will review your note.” Notes are checked by the school before they appear in the journal. Until then, your note is marked as awaiting review. Once it’s approved, it shows as from you, or as From home if you didn’t add your name.

Write about everyday things, like a new word, a game they love or something they’ve learned to do. If you’re worried about your child, talk to their teacher or the school office rather than writing it in the journal.

When the link stops working

Journal links work for 90 days. After that, or if the school switches the link off, the page says the link is no longer active. Ask the school for a new link.

Keep the link to yourself and other adults who care for your child. Anyone with the link can see the journal while it’s active.

If something doesn’t work

What you see	What to do
“Please ask the school for a new link.”	The link has expired or been switched off. Ask the school for a new one.
“Could not save your note”	Your note wasn’t sent. Check your internet connection and try again.
Share is greyed out	Write something in the note box first.