Observations

Review observations and print learning journeys

How-to guideFor EYFS practitioners, class teachers and senior leadersObservations module

The Observations page in Sonar Tracker lists observations for the pupils you choose, and counts them by pupil and subject. You can download a pupil’s observations as a PDF learning journey, to print or to share.

Before you start

You need the Observations module. If Observations has a crown icon in the left menu, your school does not have it. See About observations.

Open observations for your pupils

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

To change group later, select Filters and choose another.

Browse the feed

The Observations Feed lists observations for the pupils you opened. Published shows observations that any member of staff has published, for either audience. My Drafts shows your own drafts.

Sort the feed with Latest to Earliest or Earliest to Latest. To open an observation, select the three dots on it, then select View. If it has photos, you can select a photo instead.

The note appears at the top, with tabs for the observation’s photos, pupils, subjects and objectives.

Filter the feed

Use the pupil and subject filters to narrow the feed. When you filter by pupil, tick Search all pupils to include pupils outside the group you opened.

Advanced Filters adds filters for dates and audience.

Select Advanced Filters.
Choose the Date Filter or Audience Filter tab and set the filter.
Select Apply Filters.

Tab	What you can choose
Date Filter	Calculated Dates (such as this week or this term), Term Dates (your school’s assessment points) or Custom Range (From and To dates)
Audience Filter	All, School or Home

You can combine filters. A number on each tab shows how many filters it has applied. To remove them all, select Advanced Filters, then Clear Filters.

If nothing matches, the feed shows There are no observations for your current filter selection.

Check coverage in the summary

The Observations Summary counts observations for the pupils you opened. On the Pupils tab, the number at the top shows how many pupils have at least one observation. Each pupil’s name has their own count beside it.

The EYFS Subjects and Primary Subjects tabs show how many observations are tagged to each subject. Compare the pupil counts with your class list to find children with few or no observations.

Download a learning journey

A learning journey is a PDF of a pupil’s observations in date order.

In the Observations Summary, select the Pupils tab.
Tick each pupil you want. Sonar shows how many you’ve ticked, such as 3 Pupils Selected.
Select Download PDF.
Read the message, then select Close.
When the download is ready, open your Inbox from the envelope icon in the top bar.
Open the message and select its download link.

Sonar makes the PDF in the background, which can take a few minutes. One pupil gives you a PDF. Several pupils give you a ZIP file with one PDF per pupil. The Inbox message lists the pupils and any filters that were applied.

The download link works for 4 days. To print a learning journey, open the PDF and print from your PDF reader.

The PDF contains pupils’ names and photos. Store and share it as your school’s data protection policy says, and delete copies you no longer need.

Use learning journeys with parents and staff

A printed learning journey gives you examples to talk through at a parents’ meeting. In a pupil progress meeting, it can sit beside the pupil’s assessment data.

At transition, such as from reception to year 1, a learning journey shows the next teacher what a child can do. Pass it on with the child’s EYFS profile results or other assessment data, not in place of them. If it’s going to another school, follow your school’s policy for sharing pupil information.

If something goes wrong

The feed is empty. Check the year groups or classes you opened, then clear any filters.

The Inbox message has not arrived. Wait a few minutes, then reload the Inbox page.

The download link does not work. Links expire after 4 days. Download the learning journey again.