OBSERVATION AND ASSESSMENT POLICY
At Nelmes Pre-School we plan to meet the diverse needs of children and to support their development and learning. This policy outlines the principles upon which we base our observations and assessment of children, and the procedures used to put these principles into practice.
Aims of the Policy
• To know each child’s level of development to ensure that planning meets the diverse needs of all the children
• To fully support learning and development
• To celebrate progress in learning and development
• To value the contributions of and work in partnership with parents.
Principles
The principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage Guidance emphasise the
importance of observation and assessment:
‘In their interactions with children, practitioners should respond to their own dayto-day observations about children’s progress and observations that parents and carers share’
Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage
Objectives
• To develop good relationships between a child’s parents/carers and their Key Worker in the setting in order to ensure that information about the child is Shared effectively.
• To ensure that learning is a shared process – children learn most effectively when, with the support of a knowledgeable and trusted adult, they are actively involved and interested.
• To ensure that schedules and routines flow with the child’s needs.
• To ensure that all children feel included, secure and valued.
• To make sure that we build on what children already know and can do.
• To develop the expertise of practitioners so that they know how to respond effectively to the observations they make.
PROCEDURES
Children aged 0-5 years
1. Parental Liaison
Information is gathered from parents before their child starts at the Pre-School and in an ongoing way throughout a child’s time in the Centre. Observations made by practitioners are shared with the parents in both formal and informal ways.
The mechanisms used to facilitate this two-way sharing of information are listed below:
• Registration form
This collects information regarding the child’s health, family circumstances, cultural background, linguistic heritage and additional needs.
• Initial parental liaison
Information is gathered regarding the child’s interests, likes and dislikes. This supports Practitioners in ensuring a smooth transition into the Pre-School and helps the child to feel that s/he is known to those caring for her/him. Please refer to the Transition Policy for further details.
• Parental Review Meetings
Parents will be invited into the Centre to talk with their child’s Key Worker about the progress made by their child and to celebrate their achievements. At this meeting the parents will be invited to look at the child’s learning journey, discuss their progress, and make comments to add to the records.
• Parental Stay and Play Days
Parents will be given opportunity to come into the setting and share learning experiences with their children.
• Home link activities/Newsletters
Whenever activities are sent home parents will be invited to comment on how their child enjoyed the activity and how they feel that their learning is developing.
2. Ongoing Observations
This will be the most productive form of information gathering. All practitioners are responsible for recording, in an ongoing way, the significant steps forward taken by children in their learning and development.
These observations will be recorded as soon after they are made as possible and, where appropriate, linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage, so that they can be used effectively to inform planning. The child’s Key Worker will be responsible for maintaining records of the observations in their Key Worker File or the child’s learning journey.
3. Planned Observations
Key Workers will allocate time in their planning to carry out planned observations of individual children when necessary. This will give an opportunity for them to focus on what that child already knows and can do and plan the next steps in their learning.
These next steps will be built into the planning for the environment; planning for the key worker group of children; and/or specific planning for the child’s individual needs.
4. Learning Journeys
Each child within the Centre has a Learning Journey. This is their own Personal celebration of the developments that they have made and the experiences that they have enjoyed.
It is contributed to by Key Workers, other practitioners, parents and the Children themselves. Similarly it is regularly shared and enjoyed with the children and their parents.
5. Assessment
Each term, assessments are entered into a spreadsheet which enables us to track the progress of individuals and groups of children. The system also facilitates the evaluation of provision for each gender, ethnic or age group, by comparing the range of learning noted. The system looks at each area of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage, so that progress can be identified in any one area or areas can be compared. Data is fed into the system on an ongoing basis from observations; feedback from parents; and the Key Workers’ knowledge of their key children’s progress and achievements.
7. Meeting Diverse Needs
Children with additional needs or English as an additional language are supported within our observation and assessment system. Where necessary additional observations are carried out and more finely differentiated scales of monitoring are used.
These observations and assessments are then used to provide appropriately differentiated learning experiences or used in formal assessment of SEN to provide extra support for individual children, if necessary.
6. Links to Planning
All learning experiences provided for children are based on what we know about them and the way in which they learn.
Our comprehensive procedures described above demonstrate the commitment of staff within the Centre to ensuring that children’s needs are met and that at every level experiences are as developmentally appropriate and challenging as possible for our children. Please refer to the Planning Policy for further information on how we use our observations and assessments to inform planning.
7. Monitoring and Evaluation
The staff will:
• Monitor the range and quality of observations made.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of planning in light of observations made.
• Support practitioners in the implementation of this policy through regular training and staff development meetings.
• Prioritise time for observations of children in order to monitor, support and assess their learning.
• Ensure that all practitioners within their team are familiar with this policy and the procedures outlined in it.
• Management will support practitioners in making ongoing and planned observations.
• Take account of the needs, interests and knowledge of all children when planning.
• Ensure that parents/carers have opportunities to be actively involved in the observation and assessment process.
• Ensure adequate time/opportunity is allowed within planning for observation and assessment.
Dissemination
This policy is available for all parents, staff and prospective parents.
Review Procedure
This policy will be reviewed annually.
