The Integrated Review, taking place as it does between a child’s second and third birthdays, is an ideal time to consider if the child is progressing well and their development as a life-long learner is being supported effectively.
A key advantage of the Integrated Review is that it brings together information from the child’s parents, early years practitioners and health professionals. This enables all involved to consider a child’s progress from different perspectives and to share celebrations as well as any concerns about the child’s development.
Under the Progress Check at Two, early years practitioners provide parents with a summary of their child’s development in the three Prime areas. As there is no required format for this summary, many settings also now include details of the child’s development in relation to the Characteristics of Effective Learning, as this helps them to communicate more clearly their understanding of a child’s engagement in learning. However, when it comes to the Integrated Review, other professionals may not feel as confident with this terminology, so early years practitioners need to communicate clearly its meaning and importance in providing an overview of a child’s development.
WHAT AND HOW
Currently much discussion, certainly in the media, seems to focus on what children are learning but, as early years professionals, we also promote the importance of how children are learning. Each of us tends to interact with our environment in different ways – some rush in, others think and plan first, while others wait to follow another’s lead. Understanding how each child engages with their learning helps us to recognise specific strengths, but also ensures that we offer a variety of experiences that encourage children to engage in alternative ways.
As children learn through their play, they are also developing approaches to learning that they will continue to use and build on throughout their lives. Learning is not just something that we do in settings and schools but is integral to our lives through every phase of our development to old age. Some particular aspects of our engagement help us to be more successful learners, such as:
Developing a sense of agency, believing we can make things happen and have an impact on the world around us.
Thinking aboutthe possible longer-term benefits of an action, rather than always going for the ‘quick win’.
Recognising that we are also learning when something goes wrong or develops in an unexpected way.
Recognising that we can learn more if we don’t automatically go straight to the ‘right’ answer or ‘right’ way of doing something.
Developing confidence to try something new or different, without being anxious that we will get it ‘wrong’.
Imagining and thinking through a range of outcomes before we select which action to take next.
Experiencing curiosity and the pleasure of having new understanding about something that has puzzled us.
Sustaining our interest to support our evolving thinking rather than giving up as soon as it doesn’t work.
The way adults support a child’s learning gives powerful messages about these different characteristics. The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage(DfE 2014) and Development Matters (Early Education 2012) explain how these aspects of learning may be demonstrated by individual children. They also highlight how adults can promote each characteristic in their interactions with a child. There are suggestions too of what may be provided to create opportunities for each child to engage with their learning in various ways.
The Development Matters document summarises the Characteristics of Effective Learning as follows:
Playing and exploring – engagement
- Finding out and exploring
- Playing with what they know
- Being willing to have a go.
- Active learning – motivation
- Being involved and concentrating
- Keeping on trying
- Enjoying achieving what they set out to do.
Creating and thinking creatively – thinking
- Having their own ideas
- Making links
- Choosing ways to do things.
We can see, just from this summary, that the quality of both the setting environment and adult-child interactions will have an impact on the opportunities for each child to demonstrate and experience the Characteristics. Together they support a child to develop positive approaches to learning, whatever the situation.
DISPOSITIONS FOR LEARNING
Through our detailed observations and a parent’s knowledge of their child, the Characteristics of Effective Learning provide a way of describing the ‘essence’ of the child. Each child will develop typical patterns of interaction with their world that soon become characteristic of them as individuals. For example, a child may ‘rush into’ an activity, not realising what is involved, or watch from the sidelines before trying themselves. There is no value judgement about either response, but ideally each child will be encouraged to experience and feel comfortable with a variety of approaches. In this way, they become able to select the most appropriate for a particular situation and feel equally confident responding in different ways.
Parents may not initially use the terminology of the Characteristics and the EYFS, so our role is to explore what has been observed and build a shared understanding of the child’s approaches to their learning. Exploring the following questions may shed light on the parent’s perspective:
Q. What does Josh do when he is given a present?
A. Rips paper open and empties box, gets frustrated when it doesn’t work, leaves it and then comes back to explore again, taking time to find out how it works.
Points for reflection
Is this a typical pattern of Josh engaging with his world?
What does he enjoy ‘exploring’ and when can he be seen ‘taking time to find out how it works’? What might we say and do to encourage Josh to feel real satisfaction from this alternative approach?
Q. What does Elijah do when he is trying to build something and it doesn’t stay together?
A. Stop, look, think, then try a different way of joining the pieces.
Points for reflection
What demonstrates that Elijah gets pleasure and motivation from his ‘stop, look, think’ approach?
In what other situations will he reflect on the possibilities before making a choice?
Q. How does Peter respond when his little sister is trying but unable to do something?
A. Takes over and does it for her.
Points for reflection
In what situations does Peter show pride and satisfaction in how he has accomplished a task?
Which open-ended tasks engage Peter most?
Through our professional reflections with parents, we can together enable children to develop positive dispositions for learning and be encouraged to value the pride, satisfaction and joy associated with intrinsic motivation.
SHARING KNOWLEDGE
During the Integrated Review meeting, the child may be in a familiar place but perhaps in a different room, with some unfamiliar adults, and expected to take part in some unfamiliar activities. So arriving with an accurate understanding of a child’s typical responses will enable adults to help make the child feel at ease. Talking in detail about the Characteristics, with specific examples from both home and setting, will also help highlight current strengths and how to encourage emerging motivations, as well as ways of engaging and thinking.
From a secure knowledge of the child, adults can identify the most effective ways to support them and demonstrate they value the child’s learning and thinking processes – rather than just learning outcomes.
It is important to remember that at around two years old, children are tuned in to the adults around them. So where adults work together to demonstrate and communicate the importance of the Characteristics of Effective Learning, this can create an empowering context for individual learning.
CONCLUSION
The Integrated Review is based on building a holistic picture of a child’s current development. The three perspectives of parents, early years and health professionals contribute to everyone’s understanding of the ‘child in context’. The Characteristics of Effective Learning provide a means for sharing important insights into the child as a unique individual.
Being able to consider these Characteristics brings to the discussion the essence of the child – how they are engaging with their environment, rather than just what they are learning. This can highlight early patterns in learning, but also help key adults tune in to specific opportunities that will support each child to become an effective learner, not just at school but throughout their lives.
MORE INFORMATION
Department for Education (2014) Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage
Dweck C (2006)Mindset: The new psychology of success. Ballantine Books
Early Education (2012)Development Matters. Early Education and Department for Education
National Children’s Bureau (2012)A Know How Guide (available from http://ncb.org.uk)
Stewart N (2011)How Children Learn: The characteristics of effective early learning. British Association for Early Childhood Education
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