Observations

Record an observation

How-to guideFor EYFS practitioners and class teachersObservations module

Record an observation in Sonar Tracker when you see something worth noting about a pupil’s learning. You can start with a photo, a note or the pupils involved, then save a draft to finish later or publish straight away.

Before you start

You need:

the Observations module (if Observations has a crown icon in the left menu, your school does not have it)
permission to create observations, which usually comes with the Account Owner, Account Admin or Full Edit role
a tablet or phone with a camera, if you want to take photos as you teach

Before you publish, find out whether your school shares observations with parents: see About observations.

Open the Observations page

Go to Observations.
If Sonar asks which pupils you want, choose one or more year groups or classes.
Select Open Observations.

If you’ve set a preferred year group or class on the Home page, Sonar opens that group. To change group, select Filters and choose another.

The page has three parts. You start a new observation in Create Observations. The Observations Feed lists observations, and the Observations Summary counts them.

Start an observation

In Create Observations, choose how to start:

To start with	Select	What opens
A photo	Add Photos	The Observation tab, ready to take or upload a photo
A note	What have you observed?	The Observation tab, ready for your note
The pupils	Tag Pupils	The Tag Pupils tab

Whichever you choose, you can add the rest before you save. An observation has four tabs: Observation, Tag Pupils, Add Subjects and Tag Objectives. Each tab shows how many items you’ve added to it.

Write what you saw

Select the Observation tab.
Type your note in What have you observed?.

If the observation might go home, write it for a parent. Leave out shorthand and initials, and do not name other children.

Add photos

Select the Observation tab.
Select Open Camera to take a photo with a tablet or phone, or Upload Files to choose one you’ve saved.
Repeat to add more photos.

On a computer, you can also drag images onto the upload area. Your photos appear at the bottom of the Observation tab. You can add up to 5, or more if your school has the increased photo limit.

To remove a photo, select the cross on it. Sonar removes it at once, without asking you to confirm. You can only remove photos before you publish.

Tag pupils

Select the Tag Pupils tab.
Select each pupil the observation is about.

Tagged pupils are highlighted in green, and the count on the tab goes up. Select a pupil again to untag them. To find a pupil, type their name in the search box.

The list shows pupils from the year groups or classes you opened. To tag a pupil from elsewhere in the school, tick Search all pupils.

Tag subjects

Select the Add Subjects tab.
Choose Primary Subjects or EYFS Subjects.
Select each subject the observation relates to.

A green tick shows each subject you’ve tagged. Select a subject again to remove it. One observation can carry both primary and EYFS subjects, and tagged subjects let you filter and count observations later.

Tag objectives

Select the Tag Objectives tab.
Search for an objective, or scroll through the list.
Select each objective the observation shows.

A green tick shows each objective you’ve tagged. Tagging an objective does not assess it. To record a judgement against an objective, use formative assessment.

Save a draft

Select Save Draft. Sonar adds the draft to My Drafts in the Observations Feed, where only you can see it. You can keep up to 25 drafts.

Finish a draft

In the Observations Feed, select My Drafts.
Select the three dots on the draft, then select Edit.
Make your changes, then select Save Draft or Publish.

To see your drafts for every class, select Open Observations without choosing a year group or class, then select My Drafts.

Publish an observation

Select Publish.
Under Select the audience for the observation, choose School only (observation is suitable for all staff) or Home (observation is suitable for parents/guardians).
Select Publish.

The observation moves to Published in the Observations Feed. Staff at your school who use Sonar can see it.

A Home observation also goes to Comms Hub, Juniper Education’s communications product. Once someone approves it there, the tagged pupils’ parents and carers can see it, if it has a note and at least one photo. Share observations with parents explains approval.

Delete an observation

In the Observations Feed, find the observation under Published or My Drafts.
Select the three dots on the observation, then select Delete.
Confirm the deletion.

Sonar removes the observation from the feed. If parents can already see it, delete it in Comms Hub instead, so that it also leaves the Juniper Education app. See Remove an observation parents can see.

If something goes wrong

Observations has a crown icon. Your school does not have the Observations module. See The Observations module.

You cannot start an observation. Your role may not include permission to create observations. Ask your Account Owner.

A pupil is not in the Tag Pupils list. Tick Search all pupils. A pupil who joins your school appears in Sonar the day after they’re added to your management information system (MIS).

You published with the wrong audience or pupils. Published observations cannot be changed. Delete the observation and record it again.

Messages when you save or publish

Message	What to do
Please add a description or image.	Add a note or a photo.
Please tag at least one pupil.	Tag a pupil.
Please add a description or image and tag at least one pupil.	Add a note or a photo, and tag a pupil.
There is a maximum of 25 draft observations, publish or delete some observations to create more.	Publish or delete some drafts.
Number of selected images exceeds max allowed	Remove some photos, or use two observations.