ABSTRACT
When children are deeply engaged, their brain is developing and new synapses are forming – that is they are making progress. Ferre Laevers developed descriptors for various levels of involvement and these can be used as a simple, objective way of measuring the engagement of an individual, group or class. In a superb setting, if a child is not becoming engaged, then the descriptors can be used to monitor a child at regular intervals throughout a day or a week in order to uncover patterns or preferences. A prioritisation of well-being above all else, recognising that high well-being is critical in order for a child to feel secure, which in turn will allow them to become involved. If the children have genuine choice, if it is genuinely child-initiated play, then we do not know what the children will choose to do and we cannot, therefore, pre-plan the activities or the learning outcomes.
