How do I observe and assess children's capabilities?

This case study examines how to reflect on children’s capabilities through observing children and compiling purposeful assessments for children’s profiles, the EYFS, the foundation stage profile (FSP), for documenting learning journeys or for understanding children’s levels of involvement. These three perspectives from three different professionals reflecting on assessing young children’s capabilities demonstrate that they are keen to do a good job, but they have different demands on their role and time and sometimes also a different understanding of what it is best to do, and how, to meet the children’s needs and the statutory expectations. Coping with change can be difficult and it is not just lack of knowledge that is the problem, but often time to assimilate and accommodate new thinking and practice. Jade – Level 3 practitioner

I find the new EYFS assessments difficult to do; they don’t seem to be as easy as before, they seem to be harder. I wish they hadn’t changed. We used to know them by heart. What are the new ten points to remember? It’s difficult to work to the changed statements and time to learn them is hard to find. It’s more difficult to transfer observations now. We have to clean each room every night; washing has to be washed and dried and folded away; we have to wash up after breakfast and snacks. Every time a child has a drink we have to wash the cups. All these activities mean that at least one member of staff is not actively working and playing with the children, so actually making time to think through and record observations is difficult. I will ask Shazia when she comes into the setting, what a specific aspect of a child’s behaviour or learning means in terms of the EYFS statements.

Claudia – owner manager of an ECCE setting

Some of my staff are finding the new EYFS assessments difficult to do as the wording has changed within the progression statements. There are some new standards, but mostly they have made the original statements broader and less specific. It’s not a problem with the number and reasoning and some of the literacy ones, but those such as the new standard of thinking creatively are less tangible. The children have now got to be assessed in the three areas of emerging, expected and exceeded and the staff need to understand what these mean. None of our children will be on exceeding as they leave us before they are near five. It isn’t really difficult; they just need to change their thinking a little. The children now have to be assessed on capabilities at 12 to 24 months, 24 to 36, 36 to 48 and 48 to 60, which is no bad thing. For instance it is better for many children such as summer-born boys, as it now shows what they are achieving at a specific age rather than failing to achieve at the end of an academic year. I get the staff to organise assessment activities so they can observe children’s acquisition of numbers and sounds.

Shazia – early years teacher attached to a setting

I am finding the new EYFS assessments easy to do now I have the technology. I use an iPad so I can do observations spontaneously, quickly and directly into the system. Of course it is more difficult for practitioners in many private settings. Young children need constant supervision that caters for their care needs which have priority over educational achievements. However, it is valuable for these practitioners to have good practice modelled and see how valuable observations are that come from young children’s independent learning and play activities. Of course I have years of experience to draw on and understand about the value of observing. It is really good when a qualified early years teacher is attached to a setting.