Children’s progress and future learning requirements are assessed through observations and discussion. Observations of children help the staff to assess the progress which children are making. They help to plan the next stage of learning and development for each child.
Observations are important because they help us to:
- Get to know children well and develop good relationships with children and their parents.
- Plan appropriate play and learning experiences based on the children’s interests and needs, and identify any concerns about a child’s development.
- Develop further understanding of individual children’s development. Assessment and observations should accept that the rate and pace of learning in young children is irregular and is interrelated.
Papakidz preschool has systems of recording the development of children throughout the nursery. We use an online Learning Journey programme called Littlelives, to record the children’s learning and development.
Staff are always happy to discuss these records with parents at any time. We welcome parents comments to help us build a really good picture of each child’s individual interests and needs.
We use lots of evidence to support our records including observations, photographs, products the children have made or drawn and information from parents, to build a portfolio of each child’s progress and development. This helps to guide everyday planning.
We review the evidence we have collected for each child and do a summary of their achievements. We share this with parents. The statements are a summary of the seven areas of learning. These are updated regularly and evidence is collected on a daily basis.