Number of Portfolios

[Tracymay]

How many portfolios do educators have over the course of the week? I work three days a week and have 26 portfolios, is this average?

[Lorina]

Wow! That's alot! So you have to manage 26 portfolios by yourself? Do you have to add to them each day you work? That works out to be 9 portfolios you have to complete each day you work! Do you have other educators to help?

,
Lorina

[linsaa fdc]

Hi Tracymay,
And I thought I had a lot with 13 to do. You must have to be super organised to keep up with all that. So I don't have to do FDC work on the weekend I madly type all through lunchtime while the children are asleep to keep up. Well you are definitely in the right place. Lorina makes doing a lot of work a pleasure with her beautiful templates.
Linsaa fdc

[Tracymay]

Wow! That's alot! So you have to manage 26 portfolios by yourself? Do you have to add to them each day you work? That works out to be 9 portfolios you have to complete each day you work! Do you have other educators to help?

,
Lorina

Thanks for your reply, no the other girls all have roughly the same number. It's only the ETC and diploma trained staff who are allowed to do the Portfolios, the Certificate 3 girls are not allowed any. They don't do observations or any written work. That's why we have so many I think. It's quite hard to manage, so much is done at home as we only have 15 mins a day to work on them.

[Lorina]

What is going on? So no cert 3 are allowed to do written work? That's a waste! During their qualification they learn how to do OBS and documentation and a cert 3's role is to support the room leader. I think that's a wasted opportunity not only for you to get some work off your back but for the cert 3 educators to learn and progress. How unfair! You should not be taking any work home unless you are paid for it! I seriously think you should take this issue up with the Director. I'm sorry but that's completely unfair to you and to the cert 3 educators.

How much pressure are you being put under and how much work can they expect one person to do... Makes me so mad! That's why this industry is so stressful...

,
Lorina

[fchaudari76]

I used to have a lot of portfolios (sometimes 30) but usually you are not putting in something every single day for every single child. If you are that is A LOT of work and there is probably a lot of unnecessary work going in them.

People need to understand what the portfolios are, more and more I see ones that end up looking less and less like the child's learning journey and more and more like the educators scrapbook !
What goes in it should be meaningful and show clear learning, everything and anything shouldn't get put in these portfolios, it is just a waste of time you can use doing other things.

I aimed that over a month each child would have at least 1-2 learning stories in their portfolios. Over the month simple jottings, as well as any work they chose to do in their portfolios went in it. Over the month there were maybe between 3-5 group learning experiences that went in too.

If it is broken down 26 portfolios is very managable, however sounds like the whole point of what they are and what should be put in them is being missed here.

Also do not agree with Cert III (assistants) not being permitted to help with the portfolios, everyone in a room should be contributing with observations and writing them up and putting them in journals/portfolios