In the third of our National Strategies features on the EYFS, Vicky Hutchin, Early Years Senior Regional Adviser and Pauline Hoare, Early Years Senior Adviser, reflect on the role of observation and assessment in planning for every child's learning and development
Observation, assessment and planning processes lie at the heart of getting provision right for children. The EYFS Statutory Framework (p37) requires that 'providers must undertake sensitive observational assessment in order to plan to meet young children's individual needs.'
EYFS Enabling Environments card 3.1 asks practitioners to 'observe children to find out about their needs, what they are interested in and what they can do; note children's responses in different situations; analyse your observations and highlight children's achievements or their need for further support; involve parents as part of the ongoing observation and assessment process'.
Observation, assessment and planning are also integral to all the other themes, commitments and guidance. For example, the commitment on Play and Exploration (EYFS card 4.1) asks practitioners to 'provide flexible resources that can be used in many different ways to facilitate children's play and exploration'. Ensuring that each unique child is well supported and fully included also means involving parents in frequent conversations about their child's development, taking note of what they say and building a close two-way partnership.
How does observation affect planning?
The Look, Listen and Note columns in the EYFS areas of the Learning and Development maps offer guidance on what to look for when observing. Planning in the EYFS is not about looking at the statements in Development Matters and devising some activities from these. Development Matters and Planning and Resourcing provide a guide to long-term planning. They help practitioners and providers check that children are being given a breadth of stimulating, engaging experiences and learning opportunities to address their all-round development over time, but what is planned on a day-to-day basis must be tailored to children's individual needs and interests if it is to result in learning.
Observing is about tuning into children and being flexible, then letting what you know about the children lead the planning. This will result in deep-level learning.
The diagram from the CD-ROM for the EYFS, reprinted below right, illustrates how observation needs to feed into planning.
Being flexible and responsive: using what you see
Letting observation lead the planning may sound difficult, especially when you have a large group of children to plan for. But, once started, most practitioners feel strongly that this is the most rewarding part of the job! Usually a learning opportunity for one child will be useful for many others too, so long as practitioners remain flexible to the particular interests and needs of each child.
Managing observation
Some practitioners are concerned that if they spend their time observing and assessing, they will not be getting on with the most important element of their work - supporting children to learn and develop. Yet the two processes go hand in hand. The approach promoted by the EYFS 'demands practitioners who take the time to tune into children's thinking and trust the richness of children's ideas' (Confident, capable and creative: supporting boys' achievements, DCSF, 2007, p4).
The most important observations are of what children do independently (maybe with other children) or what they initiate with the practitioner; in adult-led activities there is more likely to be a narrower expectation of the outcome.
These are also the kinds of observations needed for the EYFS Profile in reception classes, precisely because they demonstrate so much about what the children are able to do, what they understand and how they apply their knowledge and understanding.
Often, observations will be short notes jotted down quickly as practitioners work with the children. These are often called incidental observations, 'catch as you cans' or 'wow moments' - maybe something noticed in passing in which you were not directly involved.
Then there are the occasional longer observations where the practitioner stands back, as far as possible uninterrupted, to watch a child at play for three or four minutes, noting down the significant things seen. These are important observations and usually provide useful information about the child. There are some good examples in the 'Learning Journeys' on the EYFS CD-ROM. These can be found by clicking on 'in-depth' in the section on Effective Practice: Observation, Assessment and Planning.
Involving parents
Parents should be involved as equal partners from when their baby or child starts at nursery by providing information about their child for their child's record of progress. At the Golden Lane Children's Centre in Islington, London, the children's records are called Profile Books that are open to staff, parents and children at all times. Parents are encouraged to take their child's Profile Book home regularly and to contribute to it.
As one mother explained, 'George's Profile Book is my window to see what he does when he is at nursery... The Profile Book shows George at his most natural and means that I don't have to miss his progression or special things that he has said or done while he is there. We put photos in his Profile Book of what he was doing at home, such as making cakes or going out to the park and the very first time he rode his two-wheeler bike. This gave the nursery an opportunity to follow up what he was doing at home, and what his key worker put in it gave us the opportunity to follow up what he did at nursery.' (Hutchin 2007)
Openly accessible learning diaries
At Golden Lane, as in many other settings, even the youngest children are involved in the production of their own learning diaries, beginning to participate in self-reflection at a very young age. An example from a school is provided as a case study in Confident, capable and creative: supporting boys' achievements, DCSF, 2007, p12).
From babies across the age range right through to the EYFS profile assessments made in June of the year in which a child turns five, the processes remain the same. This means:
- Gathering information about the child from parents
- Practitioners' observations collected in a range of ways
- Conversations with the child both verbal and non-verbal - a look, a gesture or a smile says a great deal
- Using these processes to assess the child's interests, ways of learning and what she/he has learned, understood or discovered
- Using all these assessments to inform planning.
NATIONAL STRATEGIES RESOURCES
Useful video clips and case studies are on the EYFS area of the National Strategies website and on the CD- ROM (3.1), 'Observation, Assessment and Planning'
The following are available for download or to order from:
- www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications
- www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies
- Phone DCSF Publications on 0845 602 2260 or e-mail dcsf@prolog.uk.com. Quote the reference number.
The Early Years Foundation Stage: setting the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five. DCSF, May 2008 (ref: 00261-2008PCK-EN).
Parents as Partners in Early Learning Case Studies. DCSF, 2008 (ref: 00196-2008PCK-EN)
Confident, capable and creative: supporting boys' achievements. DCSF 2007 (ref: 00682-2007BKT-EN)
Supporting Children Learning English as an Additional Language. DCSF 2007 (ref: 00683-2007 BKT-EN)
'Playing and learning together' - a DVD with examples of how parents and carers can get involved in their children's early learning. DCSF, 2007 (ref: 00671-2007 DVD-EN). Available with subtitles and audio in:
- Arabic, Bengali, Farsi, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu (ref: 00111-2008 DVD-EN)
- Albanian, Bulgarian, Czech, Romanian, Turkish (ref: 00109-2008 DVD-EN)
- Chinese, French, Polish, Portuguese, Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese (ef: 00108-2008 DVD-EN)
For information on the EYFS Profile visit:
- http://www.naa.org.uk/naa_19384.aspx
An exploration of snails with a group of two- to four-year-olds
Several children became absorbed in watching, touching or picking up snails. Each child took a different approach to the experience. Laura was keen to handle the snails. Ben was fascinated by the snails crawling on top of each other - 'they're all cuddling,' he said. Jack was fascinated by the difference in size and the number of sails in the container, and afterwards decided to draw what he had seen: 'I've drawn big and little snails...12 snails.' (Hutchin 2003)
Analysing the observations to make assessments and plan the next steps for Laura would mean asking what she discovered about snails and her responses to them - could she express this to others in words or actions? For Ben, who appeared interested in the way they clung together and moved, could he discover more about their movements? For Jack, more detailed observation of size gradations could be encouraged, helping him to choose words to describe the differences, looking at shape and patterns as well as his interest in numbers more than 10.
The assessments and possible future plans cover many areas and aspects of learning and development for each of the children. Learning could be continued by examining snails, but also in other experiences inside and outside.
REFERENCES
Hutchin, V (2003) Observing and Assessing for the Foundation Stage Profile. Hodder Education
Hutchin, V (2007) Supporting Every Child's Learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Hodder Education.
