Title: Early Years Foundation Stage: Observation, Assessment and Planning
1Early Years Foundation Stage Observation,
Assessment and Planning
2Timetable
- Observation- 50 minutes
- Record keeping- 30 minutes
- Break 15 minutes
- Demonstrating progress- 20 minutes
- Planning- 45 minutes
- Summary issues to take forward -10 minutes
3An overview of observational assessment in the
context of the EYFS
- A Unique Child
- Babies and young children are individuals first,
with unique profiles of abilities. Schedules and
routines flow with the childs needs. All
planning starts with observing children in order
to understand and consider their current
interests, development and learning. - Positive Relationships
- Adults bring their own perspectives to an
observation. Family circumstances and cultural
contexts need to be considered in making
assessments, particularly in Personal, Social and
Emotional Development.
4An overview of observational assessment in the
context of the EYFS
- Enabling Environments
- When you are planning, remember that children
learn from even things not planned for such as
a fall of snow. - Learning and Development
- This covers all themes of EYFS If children do
not communicate freely with adults you may need
to think outside the box rather than make
assumptions.
5A description of the eight principles for early
childhood observational assessment
- Assessment must have a purpose.
- Ongoing observation of children participating in
everyday activities is the most reliable way of
building up an accurate picture of what children
know, understand, feel, are interested in and can
do. - Practitioners should both plan observations and
be ready to capture the spontaneous but important
moments. - Judgements of childrens development and learning
must be based on skills, knowledge, understanding
and behaviour that are demonstrated consistently
and independently.
6A description of the eight principles for early
childhood observational assessment
- Effective assessment takes equal account of all
aspects of the childs development and learning. - Accurate assessments are reliant upon taking
account of contributions from a range of
perspectives. - Assessments must actively engage parents in
developing an accurate picture of the childs
development. - Children must be fully involved in their own
assessment.
7Assessment must have a purpose
- to intervene, support and extend learning
- to inform planning for next steps
- to evaluate the effect of provision
8- Ongoing observation of children participating in
everyday activities is the most reliable way of
building up an accurate picture of what children
know, understand, feel, are interested in and can
do.
9What it looks like
- Systematic observations
- Reflective interactions,which help us to
understand each child achievement, interests and
learning styles - A broad picture of childrens development and
learning rather than narrow aspects - Observations made in a variety of contexts
10Good observations are made when practitioners
have
- A sound knowledge of child development and how of
children learn - A sound knowledge of the curriculum and what the
next steps in learning might be for individual
children.
11Practitioners should both plan observations and
be ready to capture the spontaneous but important
moments.
- Observations are made when children are involved
in - Child initiated
- Adult initiated
- Adult led activities
12 Observations
- Incidental /anecdotal
- When the practitioner notices something
significant he or she is not involved in. - Participant
- When the practitioner is involved in play with
children and in adult led activities. - Focused/narrative
- When the practitioner stands back to observe
children in independent, child initiated, play
based activities. -
13Observation opportunities are more likely to
occur when
- Practitioners organise resources and their time
so they can capture the planned and spontaneous - Staff especially the key person are deployed to
carry out good quality observations - Staff realise every interaction with children is
an opportunity to learn more about them
14(No Transcript)
15(No Transcript)
16(No Transcript)
17Assumptions and Inferences
18Objective anecdotes/incidental observations
- Focus on what the child did and said
- Be factual
- Be specific
- Be brief
19Format for anecdotal/incidental
- Date each anecdote
- Identify when, where and who
- Describe what he child did and said, use quotes
to document the childs language - When applicable state the outcome
20Guidelines for Narrative/Focused Observations
21Before the observation begins
- Decide what you want to find out
- Identify the child/ area
- Identify the focus
22During the observation
- Find a spot close enough to the child so that you
can hear, but far enough away so that you are not
intruding on the childs actions - Write down an objective description of what the
child actually does and say
23During the observation
- Include the context
- Include time markers
- Develop your own shorthand
24After the observation
- Link what you saw and heard to the focus
- If you can, share the observation with your team
- Identify the significant learning taking place
and cross reference to other areas - Decide on support strategies and next steps
-
25Judgements of childrens development and learning
must be based on skills, knowledge ,
understanding and behaviour that are demonstrated
consistently and independently
26- Consider a range of evidence displayed in
different contexts and across areas of learning - Observe children in adult directed and child
initiated activities - The assessment made is the best description of
the childs achievement
27Effective assessment takes equal account of all
aspects of the childs development and learning
- Tuning in to different skills children are
developing e.g linguistic, physical creative etc. - Reflecting on all the dimensions revealed by the
normal activities in the setting.
28Accurate assessments are reliant upon taking
account of contributions from a range of
perspectives.
- All adults who interact with the child,in the
setting will contribute to the process
29Assessments must actively engage parents in
developing an accurate picture of the childs
development
- Engage in a two way flow of information between
family and setting, in order to meet the childs
needs and plan next steps together.
30Parents Involvement
- Support parents in describing their childs
attainment - Talk with parents and involve them in reviews of
their children's achievements, including those
demonstrated at home.
31Children must be fully involved in their own
assessment
- Children are able to take ownership of their
learning, when - they are encouraged to ask questions, make
comments and share their own judgements about
their development. - This is demonstrated when.
32Adults and children are involved in
conversations about learning, when they are
involved in an activity. . .
33...and when they review outcomes together
34- Children ask their own questions, talk about
their thoughts and how they want to tackle a
problem. - Adults ask probing, yet open- ended questions
that encourage children to consider quality and
processes of work and what to do next.
35(No Transcript)
36Record Keeping
37Record Keeping It involves noting the most
important elements of practitioners, childrens
and parents growing knowledge of what children
know, understand, are interested in, feel and can
do. This is a continuous process, the record
keeping documentation needs to be regularly
updated. Developmental progress tracking sheet,
nursery profile and eProfile
38- Record-keeping must be meaningful and have a
purpose. - The task of keeping records must be manageable
and sustainable. - Records must capture the range of childrens
attainment, achievement and progress.
39Using ICT
My Journey through the Early Years Foundation
Stage
Name AR
40- Records will reflect the individuality of every
child and the diversity of their backgrounds. - All significant participants in childrens
development and learning should contribute to the
information-gathering. - Records should be shared with the child.
41Children and practitioners recording
together Link outcomes with the areas of learning
42All information from observations process will
feed into the record keeping documentation.
Learning Journey using ICT
43Parents contributing to the record keeping
process Sharing their childs experiences from
home.
Sheets available to parents. Examples of
completed sheets could be displayed.
What I would like to share.
You may consider developing a record of
milestones that the children have achieved while
they are in the setting to give to parents.
44Demonstrating Progress
45Four principles for demonstrating progress
- Effective practitioners will be able to identify
how individuals and groups of children in their
setting have developed and progressed in their
learning. - Effective approaches to assessment will generate
information or data that can be used for a range
of purposes.
46Four principles for demonstrating progress
- Childrens progress must be identified and
analysed through a range of appropriate evidence,
the majority of this will be drawn from
observation of child-initiated activity. - The complexity of young childrens development
requires practitioners and managers to be able to
understand a range of information in order to
draw conclusions about childrens progress and
the effectiveness of their provision.
47- This is demonstrated when practitioners adopt
these strategies - Identify and record a childs starting points in
the areas of Learning and Development, provided
by observations and information shared by parents
and other settings at times of transfer, or
settings that also currently support the child. - Continue to build up individual pictures of each
childs learning and development primarily
through observational assessment.
48- Review records regularly with the interested
parties, including parents, to examine whether
each child and group of children has made
desirable progress. - Summarise records at times of transfer to
describe attainment and to support appropriate
planning for a childs needs in the next setting. - Use the developmental progress tracking
sheet,nursery profile summative sheet and
eProfile to identify progress made during the
year and to compare the rates of progress made in
each area of learning and development.
49- Assessment, record-keeping and demonstrating
progress in EYFS are not about assessing,
recording and creating data sets designed to
depress or enhance outcomes for ends such as
improving added value. Creating the Picture
pg.25
50- Information and data can be used to
- Reflect on assessments in order to support
individual learning journeys. - Analyse their assessments to identify the needs
of specific groups of learners.
51- Nursery profile, E profile data- use to track
entry and exit. - Need to collate a range of evidence from
observations and numerical data to demonstrate
progress. - Reflect on their assessment data to evaluate the
effectiveness of their setting.
KUW
52Review and record changes in childrens
attainment from starting points that capture the
breadth of childrens involvement.
53Developmental progress tracking sheet Highlight
developmental matters when achieved using
observations, photographs as evidence.
54- How do we ensure that individual children make
desirable progress? - Practitioners need a knowledge of child
development and the areas of learning in the
EYFS. - Practitioners need to be able to use resources,
environment and themselves to appropriately
support the child. - Practitioners need to be able to identify why
some children are not making desirable progress.
55Remember.
- Avoid tick lists and one-off tests as reliable
demonstrations of progress.These do not create a
well rounded picture of a child's attainment. - Judgements should be based on observation led
evidence.
56Four principles for planning
- Planning puts the principles of EYFS into
practice and ensures that children are given a
full range of experiences across all six areas of
learning and development. - Planning provides an opportunity to clarify
thinking for all practitioners within the team
and to come to common understandings about a
philosophy and approach to childrens learning
and development.
57Four principles for planning
- Planning should be firmly based on observation of
what has gone before and maps out how each
childs learning and development will or might
progress - Planning should be sufficiently flexible to keep
a focus on childrens individual needs and
interests- children also learn from things which
have not been planned for.
58Planning pro formas and guidance
- Suggestions only- but they cover all requirements
for good practice - Different pro formas for 0-36 and 36 to reflect
different needs of children - Each plan has accompanying guidance
- Plans will be sent by email to all schools and
settings after they have attended training.
590-36 months
- Short term continuous curriculum (resources/
environment) - Weekly Key person plan
- Weekly Outdoor learning plan
- Daily routine- no pro forma but guidance
6036-60 months
- Long term ( annual overview)
- Medium term (termly) one for each area of
learning and development - Short term plans
- weekly adult directed plan (for each area)
- continuous curriculum (adult initiated and
child initiated) - outdoor weekly
- narrative observation weekly
- Daily routine- no pro forma but guidance
61- Completed planning are NOT EXAMPLERS
- Not to be used in practice
- Planning pro formas are suggested formats
- Planning formats
- Must identify outdoor learning
- Must plan for CI AI activities
- Must plan for focussed observation
- Must track childrens progress
- Planning can be annotated and may be changed to
respond to childrens interests.
62Please take time to look at the planning pro
formas and examples. Questions and queries on
post its
63- We will e mail
- Copy of the presentation
- Planning pro formas
- Developmental Record sheets
64- Future training
- October 3rd - 1-4 pm
- Everything you need to know about the FSP
- October 17th 9-12 am
- Monitoring and Evaluating EYFS
- October 31st 9-3.30 pm
- Developing CLL Area of Learning and Development
- November 1st 1-4 pm
- Creating an Outdoor Classroom
- November 7th 9-3.30 pm
- Developing PSE Area of learning and
Development