ILD Learning Journal Features
Since 2012, we have been major innovators in childcare and education tracking software which has been developed in direct partnership with our early years and primary educators. People who actually know about childcare and education and because of this, we have led the way in both development tracking and nursery management software. In fact, many of the features that you have seen in other online learning journals may have originally been developed in our Interactive Learning Diary.

Here are just some of the unique learning journal features included in the ILD system!
Pupil Timeline
Effortlessly access a detailed, chronological timeline showcasing each child’s activity. This learning journals feature includes all observations, assessments, checkpoints, next steps in learning, reflections, and reviews. It also integrates parent and practitioner / teacher comments along with specific focus requirements, ensuring a holistic view of each child’s educational journey. The Pupil Timeline allows educators to see a child’s progression over time, identify patterns, and make informed decisions about their educational needs. It is designed to be intuitive, with easy navigation and filtering options, making it simple to find specific entries or overview periods at a glance.
Flag for Focus
Your ILD learning journals software includes our unique Flag for Focus feature, making it simple to track and support children who may require additional assistance. Easily flag children from the Pupil Timeline, Next Steps, Reflections, or Observation functions to ensure they receive the extra attention they need. The Flag for Focus system provides real-time notifications to educators, alerting them to children who need immediate or ongoing support. This feature helps maintain a proactive approach to child development, ensuring no child’s needs go unnoticed and that every child receives the tailored support necessary for their success.
Next Steps
Our Next Steps feature, which can be used with or without recorded observations, helps ensure significant progress in children’s learning and development by identifying and planning future targets and needs. This function allows educators to set specific, measurable goals for each child, aligned with their individual learning journey. It includes reminders and follow-up actions to ensure goals are revisited and adjusted as needed. By linking Next Steps with observations and assessments, educators can create a seamless and dynamic plan for each child’s growth, promoting continuous improvement and adaptation in teaching strategies.
Parent Partnership
Cultivate an enjoyable, productive partnership with parents using our online learning journals. The Interactive 360 app makes it effortless for busy parents to stay engaged and involved in their child’s education, promoting a collaborative approach to learning. Parents can access their child’s learning journal, view updates, leave comments, and participate in the educational process from anywhere, at any time. This strengthens the home-school connection, enabling parents to support their child’s learning journey more effectively. Regular notifications and updates keep parents informed and involved, fostering a supportive community around each child’s development.
Interactive 360 App
Developed to be used by educators, parents and children. Instantly capture planned and spontaneous photo, audio, or video observation evidence. Keep parents informed and engaged with the Interactive 360 App. They can receive notifications and Pupil Timeline updates on their preferred device and send activities from home for inclusion in their child’s learning journal, enhancing the home, nursery / school relationship.
The app allows for real-time communication between parents and educators, supporting a continuous dialogue about the child’s development. Parents can view and contribute to their child’s learning journey, creating a more cohesive and supportive educational experience. By allowing children to document their own learning experiences, the Interactive 360 supports a more interactive and child-centred approach to education.
Weekly Planning
Efficiently create comprehensive weekly plans, incorporating your team’s ideas and related questions. This feature allows you to instantly collect, record, and analyse all lesson activities, transforming experiences into deeper understanding and facilitating better lesson planning. Weekly Planning includes templates and customisable options to fit your specific curriculum and teaching style. It supports collaborative planning, allowing multiple educators to contribute and refine plans. By providing a structured yet flexible approach to lesson planning, this feature ensures that teaching is intentional, reflective, and responsive to the needs of the children.
So Why Choose the Interactive Learning Diary
We have always adopted a ‘when you talk, we listen’ approach to everything we do. After all, it’s you and your nursery or school team who work hard to provide the best education possible. Because of this, every unique feature you see in the Interactive Learning Diary learning journal has been suggested, requested, or actually designed by a nursery or school team member.
Resource Library
Our ILD learning journal really does simplify resource management. Upload, update, and share teaching resources and ideas in various formats, such as Microsoft Word, PDF, PowerPoint, images, video files, and web links. Link resources to specific areas of learning and keywords for easy reference, enhancing your teaching toolkit. The Resource Library is searchable and organised, making it easy to find and utilise materials when needed. It supports the continuous professional development of educators by providing access to a wealth of resources and encouraging the sharing of best practices within your nursery or school.
Checkpoints
Track a child’s development progress accurately with our detailed checkpoints feature. View progress by child, age, and curriculum, recognising that children develop at different rates and in unique ways. This feature ensures personalised and effective monitoring of each child’s growth. Checkpoints provide detailed reports and visual representations of progress, making it easy to identify strengths and areas which may require improvement. They can be customised to align with various educational curriculum frameworks and standards, ensuring relevance and applicability. Regular checkpoints help maintain a clear and consistent approach to tracking development, supporting timely interventions and support.
Reflections
Create comprehensive reflections and reviews for individual children, staff, or teaching environments like classrooms and outdoor areas. Combined with well-planned activities, reflections allow you to assess and improve your teaching practices, leading to a better learning environment. Reflections can be shared among staff for collaborative feedback and professional growth. This feature encourages continuous improvement and self-assessment, fostering a culture of reflective practice within your educational setting. By regularly reflecting on activities and outcomes, educators can adapt and refine their approaches, enhancing the overall quality of education provided.
Child Empowerment
Empower children with our unique framework, “Children’s Empowerment in Play: Participation, Voice, and Ownership,” developed by Dr. Natalie Canning of the Open University. This framework enhances children’s involvement in their learning journey. It provides tools and strategies for encouraging child-led activities and fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility in learning. By valuing and incorporating children’s voices and choices, educators can create a more inclusive and engaging learning environment. This approach supports the development of critical thinking, independence, and self-confidence in children.
Curriculum Builder
Design personalised or bespoke curriculums in seconds with our ILD learning journal Curriculum Builder function. Whether copying an existing curriculum or creating a hybrid, our intuitive framework design functions make it easy to tailor educational plans to your specific needs. The Curriculum Builder allows for flexibility and creativity in designing educational curriculums, ensuring they meet the unique needs of your children and setting. It supports alignment with various educational standards and frameworks, providing a robust and adaptable tool for curriculum development. This feature allows educators to create dynamic and responsive curriculums that evolve with their educational goals and children’s needs.
It's Your Personal System
With some systems, you can’t do anything to personalise it. They believe that one size fits all and you only discover how problematic this is after joining them. Requesting a new development or feature you require usually falls on deaf ears. Many of our new nurseries and schools joining us share their experiences and problems created by using learning journal software with very limited functionality.
We understand that every nursery or school likes to do things differently. For example, you may wish to use the standard UK curriculums like the Curriculum for Excellence, EYFS or National Curriculum. Alternatively, if you would like to modify these to meet your own specific requirements, our ILD learning journal allows you to do this.
You can even create your own bespoke inhouse curriculums with our Curriculum Builder!
From babies to teenage development tracking, our system adapts to your needs, ensuring a seamless experience for you, your team, parents, and children.
Media Manager
Streamline the process of accessing and using photos, audio, or video clips to create new observations. With the ILD Media Manager, you can quickly capture evidence and complete your observations later, eliminating the need to search through folders. The Media Manager supports various file formats and includes tagging and organisation features, making it easy to find and use media when needed. It integrates seamlessly with other features, ensuring a smooth workflow from media capture to observation creation. This feature saves time and enhances the quality of documentation, supporting more effective and efficient observation processes.
2 Year Progress Check
This essential 2-year progress check summarises a child’s Personal, Social, Emotional, Communication/Language, and Physical development. Involving parents fully in understanding their child’s needs, with practitioner support, it also helps to enhance their development at home. This progress check includes detailed reports and visual aids to clearly communicate a child’s development status and needs. It provides a structured approach to evaluating and supporting each child’s growth, ensuring that all aspects of their development are considered. By involving parents and educators in the process, this feature supports a collaborative approach to early childhood education and development.
SEND Resources
Leverage the ILD learning journal system’s valuable resources for special educational needs (SEND) schools and centres. Create specialised development frameworks or educational curriculums with input from experienced SEND teachers, ensuring tailored support for every child. The SEND Resources feature includes tools and materials designed to support diverse learning needs and promote inclusive education. It provides access to best practices, case studies, and collaborative opportunities for SEND educators. By offering specialised resources and support, this feature enhances the quality of education for children with special educational needs and fosters an inclusive learning environment.
Child Identity Protection
Safeguard children’s identities with the Child Identity Protection (C.I.P.) feature. This feature allows you to pixelate a child’s facial image in group activity photos or when identity security measures are needed, ensuring privacy and compliance with safeguarding protocols. C.I.P. supports secure data handling practices and includes options for managing permissions and access to sensitive information. It ensures that all images and media comply with privacy regulations and safeguarding standards, protecting children’s identities while allowing educators to document and share learning experiences responsibly.
Progress and Tracking
Instantly identify knowledge gaps and focus on areas which may require additional support with our Progress & Tracking feature. View individual or group progress against chosen curriculums, providing a clear picture of performance relative to learning objectives. This feature includes detailed reports, visual charts, and analytics tools to help educators understand and address learning needs. It supports data-driven decision-making, enabling targeted interventions and personalised learning plans. By providing comprehensive insights into progress and development, this feature helps educators ensure that all children achieve their full potential.
Observation Manager
Manage and publish observations quickly and efficiently with the Observation Manager. Edit observations, assessments, next steps, reports, likes, and My Voice comments in one easy-to-use module, streamlining your workflow. The Observation Manager includes tools for tagging, categorising, and organising observations, making it easy to find and use them when needed. It integrates with other features, ensuring a seamless process from observation to reporting. This feature supports effective documentation and tracking of child development, enhancing the quality of educational records and facilitating better planning and support.
Experience the Future of Child Development Tracking
Join the growing community of nurseries and schools that have switched to the Interactive Learning Diary and are now enjoying new unique levels of service, support, efficiency, organisation, and enhanced education. The Interactive Learning Diary isn’t just a piece of software; it’s your strategic partner in learning and teaching excellence. Helping educators and parents to enjoy an excellent working partnership which is highly beneficial for every child in your nursery or school.
Take control of your future success today with the Interactive Learning Diary…
Assessments
Make child assessments quick and easy with the ILD learning journal. Its user-friendly functionality allows for assessments at the exact level you choose, freeing up valuable teaching time and ensuring accurate tracking of progress. The Assessments feature includes customisable templates, automated scoring, and detailed reports, providing a comprehensive tool for evaluating child development. It supports various assessment methods and standards, ensuring relevance and accuracy. By simplifying the assessment process, this feature allows educators to focus more on teaching and less on administrative tasks, improving the overall educational experience.
Learning Zone
Maintain exceptional education levels during adverse weather or emergencies with the Learning Zone function. Send and receive homework in virtually any file format, ensuring continuity of learning even when physical attendance is not possible. The Learning Zone feature includes tools for creating, distributing, and tracking homework assignments, supporting remote learning and communication. It integrates with other features, ensuring that all learning activities are documented and accessible. This feature supports flexible and resilient educational practices, ensuring that learning can continue regardless of external circumstances.
User Manager
Control staff access with the User Manager. Assign Super User or User status, activate or deactivate access instantly, and have full control over who can access your system and when, ensuring security and proper usage. The User Manager includes tools for managing permissions, monitoring activity, and ensuring compliance with security policies. It supports flexible and scalable user management, allowing you to adapt access levels as needed. By providing robust control over system access, this feature ensures that your educational data remains secure and that only authorised users can access sensitive information.
Free Live Support
Enjoy the numerous benefit of our easy-to-use ILD learning journal system designed by educators. While our step-by-step user guides and videos are comprehensive, we also offer free live support via online chat, email, or telephone, ensuring you always have the assistance you need. Our support team is knowledgeable and responsive, providing timely and effective solutions to any issues or questions. This feature ensures that you can always get the help you need, minimising downtime and ensuring that you can focus on what matters most – educating and supporting children. By offering multiple support channels, we ensure that you can choose the method that works best for you, providing a seamless and supportive user experience.
We can also arrange a free online setup/configuration session to fast track your Interactive Learning Diary experience and provide exceptional levels of free support through Live Chat, by email or telephone. We are always here to assist you!
For a detailed insight into our latest version of the ILD, just click the discover more button below.
