Learning Journey helps a Forest School record the shared story of a session and, where useful, add an individual observation for a child. It is separate from the working register: attendance provides context, but the journey is designed around moments, development and continuity over time.
For a public overview of the feature, see Forest School Learning Journey software.
The connected workflow is: booking -> register -> attendance -> session reflection -> child observation -> family sharing -> PDF export.
In the provider dashboard, open Learning Journey from the main menu.
You can also open a Learning Journey entry from a session register or from a session day listed as ready for a note. The workflow always begins with a specific session occurrence.
Take the register first. Only children marked Present can receive an individual observation or be tagged in a session photo for that occurrence.
The General session note is the shared reflection for the day. Use it to describe what the group explored, made, noticed or discussed.
This note belongs to the session rather than one child. When published, it can appear in the Moments view for each family whose child attended that session.
Under Children present, open a child to add a structured observation. The available fields are:
Individual observations are optional. A practitioner does not need to write a separate entry for every child after every session.
When a practitioner opens an individual child, Oakline shows recent published observations for that child. This history helps the practitioner connect the new note to previous moments and next steps instead of treating each session in isolation.
This is a narrative record, not an automated assessment or formal attainment score. Providers remain responsible for their own educational approach and professional judgement.
Use Save draft while an entry is still being prepared. Draft entries remain inside the provider area and are not shown to families.
Use Publish when the session reflection and any individual observations are ready to share. Parents see only published content associated with their own children.
Session photos can be uploaded and tagged to children who were present. A family sees a photo only when its child was tagged and the child's recorded photo permission allows sharing.
See Session Photos and Photo Consent for limits, supported formats and safeguarding guidance.
For concise answers about observations, parent access, photos, attendance and PDF export, see Learning Journeys and Child Observations FAQ.
Parents open Learning Journey from their family portal, select a child and choose a date range. The parent view separates the information into:
This separation keeps attendance available without making it the main learning story. For a parent-focused explanation, see Parent Guide to Learning Journey.
Parents can export a PDF for the selected child and date range. The journey can include published notes and photos, and attendance can be added to the PDF when required.