The Importance Of Assessment And Planning With Children

1. Setting the standards for the learning, development and care, ensuring that every child makes progress and that no child gets left behind. Parents, providers should deliver individualised learning, development and care that enhances the development of the children in their care and gives those children the best possible start in life. Every child should be supported individually to make progress at their own pace and children who need extra support to fulfil their potential should receive special consideration. All providers have an equally important role to play in children’s early years experiences and they have to ensure that the provision they deliver is both appropriate to children’ needs and complementary to the education and care provided in child’s other settings.

Effective practice can support children’s well-being and development when looking at a child’s health and physical development. Effective practice means ‘About ensuring that all children get optimum benefit from their experiences in the EYFS. This apparently simple outcome can only be achieved when adults work together to get to know the children s that they can support their play, development and learning.’ (Early years’ matters,2017.) Children’s well-being means the quality of the child and how their life is, and to ensure that they child is happy, comfortable and stable throughout their everyday life. Children all develop at different stages, whether this is through additional needs or family issues or they might have a gap in there learning.

The role and responsibilities of an early year’s practitioner follow a number of codes. When working with children there are many care needs of children, such as special needs, safeguarding children, children’s learning, behaviour, and working with parents. Early years practitioners have set responsibilities when working with children, like meeting the learning needs of a child, providing an environment which is welcoming and also they have to work together as part of a team to provide good service for both children and parents.

Every Child Matters Framework which is currently in the process to be changed is part of the Children Act 2004; it is a piece of legislation which has and influences planning and provisions of learning opportunities. The Every Child Matters ensures that settings provide quality of children’s and young people’s play and learning.This supports children from birth to 19 years. When practitioners plan, they should relate their work to the five outcomes for children; be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve though learning, make a positive contribution to society and achieve economic

Understand how to monitor children and young people’s development and interventions that should take place if this is not following the expected pattern.

Children also need to communicate and socialise with their peers, children from other age groups and other adults. They need to feel safe and secure in their environment so that they feel able to speak to adults about any concerns they may have, or to ask questions and seek help without fear of embarrassment. They need good role models who can help them extend their decision making skills and develop independence appropriate to their age and development level. Practitioners have a further responsibility to provide additional support to children who may have special educational needs. This may be through individual sessions within the school, liaison with external services such as educational psychologists or through the CAF (Common Assessment Framework) process. The CAF process was developed to gather and assess information in relation to a child’s needs in development, parenting and the family environment. It is a service that should be offered to children (and their families) whose additional needs are not being met through universal services within the school. Practitioners also need to protect any children who may be at risk of significant harm because of their home life

By studying a child and early year practitioner can spot any issues that may be present and make sure that the child is given the best support should this require.

When looking at children and young people’s development it is important to recognise and respond to concerns to ensure that the child or young person receives the help and assistance needed.

For children and young people involvement in decisions, they must first be given the sense of control and choice as appropriate. This is allowing them to own the process of planning from the commencement to implementation. However, the professionals must offer support but with little interference. Their needs must be listened to and ideas should inform planning as this may give them control. Professional support can be through discussing targets for work or behaviour. Children and young people may need the support to sail through with their own live. The supports need to emanate from a range of people especially the parents. Also, professionals including parents and carers must ensure to give constructive feedback. Negative comments can demoralize

‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ 2010, (WTtSC 2010) instructs organisations and individuals working with children on how actions such as assessments should be done in accordance with the CA1989 and ensures that professionals understand what their responsibilities and duties are. This specific documentation assisted my understanding of the format in which assessments should be conducted as well as my understanding of multi-professional work surrounding A and his needs. Following guidelines from the Assessment Framework (WTtSC p.44), I was able to establish what A’s specific developmental needs were so they can be addressed during my mentoring sessions. Areas such as his education, family and social relationships and stimulation as well a look at the wider family unit and his environment. This multi-professional meeting was in fact my initial assessment.

Theories of development and frameworks to support development are incredibly important to us working with children and young people. They help us to understand children, how they react to things/situations, their behaviour and the ways they learn. Different theories and ways of working with children have come together to provide frameworks for children’s care, such as Early year’s foundation stage (EYFS) which is used within all child care settings. This encourages us to work together, help and check the development of babies, children and young people, to keep them healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to

Discuss the role of the early years practitioner in planning provision to meet the needs of the child.

The Scale was designed to go beyond available assessments by revealing the infant 's strengths and range of individuality, while still providing a health screen.

With a group of children of various age groups and needs, this is not always a simple task. The centre must develop a viable

Assessments for young children can be inappropriate because young children change and grow quickly. Their emotional, social, and physical development can change in just a matter of months. "Misuses of assessments for young children have been documented (Meisels, 1987, 1989, 1993; Shepard, 1991, 1994). Excessive use of standardized tests is especially inappropriate (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1987). Standardized achievement tests alone cannot fulfill the major purpose of assessment in programs for young children. Those purposes are: instructional planning and communicating with parents, identification of children with special needs, and program evaluation and accountability". (Hills, 1992). Other children who's