Cyp_Core_3.1_Understand_Child_and_Young_Person_Development

Understand how to monitor children and young people’s development and interventions that should take place if this is not following the expected pattern. 3.1 Explain how to monitor children and young people’s development using different methods. Methods: Assessment Frameworks. Early Years Foundation Stage gives a framework for assessing children using a variety of methods - in particular observation is primarily used. Assessing play is a useful exercise - this may involve interaction with a group or it may mean standing back. The observations are closely linked to planning because practitioners will be noticing development needs and interests. Common Assessment Framework. This is used in a Social Care context when families have additional needs - they are assessed in all areas so that intervention can meet those needs where possible. These are children and young people who, according to the judgement of practitioners, require extra support to help them achieve the 5 Every Child Matters Outcomes: Be Healthy. Staying Safe. Enjoying and Achieving. Making a Positive Contribution. Achieving Economic Well-Being. National Curriculum. Is also a framework for supporting learning. It establishes the subjects taught and the knowledge, skills and understanding required for each subject. It also sets standards for each subject, outlining targets that children should be encouraged to achieve. Additionally, the National Curriculum determines the assessment methods that are used to measure children’s progress. Early Years Foundation Stage. Early Years foundation Stage gives settings information about monitoring and assessing children. The EYFS means that wherever your child is being cared for or educated between 0-5years they will be following the same set of principles, they will be offered a ‘principled play based approach to learning and development’. Young children learn best through play and Early Years Practitioners will be able to provide your child with appropriate play and learning experiences for their stage of development and help them develop new skills. The activities that are provided for young children will underpin the skills they need to work towards the Early Learning Goals in the following areas at the end of their reception year at school. Gives guidance about the areas of learning for children (curriculum area) Personal, Social and Emotional. . Communication, language and literacy. Communicating, speaking, listening, being read to and developing skills for beginning to read and write. . Personal, social and emotional development. Developing a positive sense of self and of others, respect for others, social skills, positive disposition to learn and emotional well-being. . Problem solving and reasoning. Explore, practise and extend skills in numbers and counting, measures, shape and space through a range of real life contexts. . Creative development. Develop curiosity, exploration, play, discover thoughts, ideas, feelings and experience a variety of art, music, movement, dance, imagination and role play. . Physical development. Be active and interactive, develop coordination, control, manipulation and movement, use all their senses, recognise the importance of physical activity and make healthy choices. . Knowledge and understanding of the world. Develop knowledge, skills and understanding to make sense of the world through creatures, people, plants, objects and communities. The EYFS also has 16 principles which outline various elements of the guidance, including - A UNIQUE CHILD POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS ENABLING ENVIRONMENTS LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT 1.1 CHILD DEVELOPMENT Babies and children develop in individual ways& at varying rates. Every area of development-physical, linguistic, cognitive, spiritual, social & emotional-is equally important 2.1 RESPECTING EACH OTHER Every interaction is based on caring professional relationships & respectful acknowledgement of the feelings of children & their families 3.1 OBSERVATION, ASSESSMENT & PLANNING Babies & young children are individuals first, each with a unique profile of abilities. Schedules 7 routines should flow with the child’s needs. All planning starts with observing children in order to understand & consider their current interests, development & learning 4.1 PLAY & EXPLORATION Children’s play reflects their wide ranging & varied interests & preoccupations. In their play children learn at their highest level. Play with peers is important for children’s development. 1.2 INCLUSIVE PRACTICE The diversity of individuals & communities is valued & respected. No child is discriminated against 2.2 PARENTS AS PARTNERS Parents are children’s first & most enduring educators. When parents & practitioners work together in early years settings, the results have a positive impact on children’s development & learning 3.2 SUPPORTING EVERY CHILD The environment supports every child’s learning through planned experiences & activities that are challenging but achievable 4.2 ACTIVE LEARNING Children learn best through physical & mental challenges. Active learning involves other people, objects, ideas & events that engage & involve children for sustained periods. 1.3 KEEPING SAFE Young children are vulnerable. They develop resilience when their physical & psychological well-being is protected by adults 2.3 SUPPORTING LEARNING Warm, trusting relationships with knowledgeable adults support children’s learning more effectively than any amount of resources 3.3 THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT A rich & varied environment supports children’s learning & development. It gives then the confidence to explore & lean in secure & safe, yet challenging, indoor & outdoor spaces 4.3 CREATIVITY & CRITICAL THINKING When children have opportunities to play with ideas in different situations & with a variety of resources, they discover connections & come to new & better understandings & ways of doing things. Adult support in this process enhances their ability to think critically & ask questions 1.4 HEALTH & WELL-BEING Children’s health is an integral part of their emotional, mental, social, environmental & spiritual well-being & is supported by attention to these aspects 2.4 KEY PERSON A key person has special responsibilities for working with a small number of children’ giving them the reassurance to feel safe & cared for & building relationships with their parents 3.4 THE WIDER CONTEXT Working in partnership with other settings, other professionals & with individuals & groups in the community supports children’s development & progress towards the outcomes of Every Child Matters: being healthy, staying safe, enjoying & achieving, making a positive contribution & economic well-being. 4.4 AREAS OF LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is made up of 6 areas of learning & development. All areas of learning & development are connected to one another & are all equally important. All areas of learning & development are underpinned by the Principles of EYFS. Standardised Measures. This is used by health professionals/psychologists to measure children’s development against the norm. These may include auditory, sight, weight. SATS (Standard Assessment Tests) tests are given at the end of year 2, year 6 and year 9. They are used to show your child's progress compared with other children born in the same month. The mean (average) score for each age group on an assessment is set at 100 and the standard deviation at 15. For any age group a given numerical value has the same meaning in terms of standing relative to the group. For example, an eight year old and a nine year old, each of whom has a standard age score of 105, have performed equally well in relation to the average for their respective age groups. Observation. Children can change according to who they are with and whether they know that they are being watched. This means that you will need to observe children in a range of different situations, e.g. with other children, playing by themselves and when they are with an adult. It is also important to see what children can do when they do not know that an adult is watching them. This is sometimes known as naturalistic observation as in theory we are watching children being ‘natural’. Narrative methods including running records. Narrative methods ones where you write at the time what children are doing. Popular variations are running records, when you keep on writing over a period of time, and snapshot observations, when you just catch a little of what the child is doing. The observer either notices something that is interesting and starts to write it down, or has already decided what skill or area of development to look for. The observer simply writes down what he or she can see as it is happening. Diary. In some settings a daily record is kept of what children have done. This is often shared with parents and it is useful for children and young people who do not have speech for example a baby or a young person with learning difficulties. The adults or parents working with the children write down things that they think are Important. With babies for example, it might be the times of feeds while with toddlers it might be about what they have enjoyed doing. Photographs can also be added to diaries. Anecdotal. Anecdotal observations are the ones that you have not actually seen, but are points that others such as parents might tell you about. Parents for example have seen their baby walk for the first time or a staff member might at break time have noticed that a pupil is not joining in with the others. After something seems important or interesting, the person who saw or heard it tells the observer about it. The observer can then write it down in a diary, event recording or just add it into the child’s or young person’s records. Time Sampling. Time sampling allows you to look at what a child does over a period of times, such as morning or part of an afternoon. This means that you gain a more complete picture of the child. This type of observation needs some planning, as the observer needs to keep an eye on the children. A sheet is prepared with the times marked out. At the each of the times on the sheet, the observer watches what the child is doing. It is possible to record the activity of more than one child. Event Sample. This observation method is used to look at how often and in what circumstances a child shows a particular behaviour such as biting. It can also be used to find out about how often a child talks or plays with other children. A prepared sheet is drawn up in advance after considering carefully the type of information that needs to be collected. A column is put down for each piece of information. When the behaviour is seen, the person has seen it should fill in the sheet. Checklist. Checklists are popular, especially where people are working with large groups of children. Many checklists are commercially produced, but it is also possible to design your own. Checklists are easy to use because they focus the observer on particular aspects of child development. The observer either watches as the child is playing or asks the child to do something such as hop on one foot. The observer then notices whether or not the child is able to show the skill. Information from parent, carers, children and young people and colleagues. Its useful for a range of people to be involved in assessment, also parents are the people with most knowledge of their child, so they need to be involved. Seeing the child in a variety of different situations is important. Avoiding bias. When we observe children It is important that we stay as objective as possible. This means just for a moment forgetting that we already know about them and really focusing on what they are doing at the time that we are watching them. If we cannot do this, the danger is that we can miss things about children and only notice what we are expecting to see.