EARLY YEARS SETTING

Early Years Setting



Early Years Setting

Introduction

The Early Years Foundation Stage requires all settings to carry out formative assessment from when a child first starts to attend a setting outside of the home, until the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Those responsible for curriculum leadership will need to focus their priorities towards developing sound assessment processes in order to assess and plan for each child. A clear vision is required on the part of the curriculum leader as to what will comprise the setting's approach. All practitioners need to be part of that vision and feel that they have the skills and experience to contribute as well as be willing to learn.

Discussion

Every practitioner, in their role as a child's key person, will need to be able to carry out assessment to the required standard; this may be daunting for those who are less qualified, so a team approach is supportive to all and makes the most of everyone's skills. In settings where there is a wide range of training and qualification levels, this is a challenging task and it is important to find ways of developing staff skills that keep everyone on board.

Seeing the early years setting as an informed community of practice (Anning and Edwards, 2003) will help to develop a whole-setting approach to assessment methodology that recognises the strengths, the knowledge and experience that each person contributes.

Practitioner teams, supported by the curriculum leader, will need time to discuss assessment processes in order to reflect on the children's learning in a systematic way, considering also what they, the practitioners, are learning. A good case should be made for funding for cover to release staff for this vital aspect of skills development.

Anning and Edwards (2003) make the direct link between children's learning and adult's learning:

'... children learn to love learning through being with adults who also love to learn, and are themselves in context that encourage their learning.'

The early childhood setting, when seen as a community of learners, is built on a shared understanding of practice, developed through reflection and enquiry. Getting to grips with the key themes and commitments of the EYFS, including that of assessment, would benefit from this kind of approach. Increasingly, the focus on quality improvement approaches is also based on reflective enquiry as a means to develop and improve, so it would seem advisable that training resources are focused in this direction.

Developing good practice in observing children

The EYFS places emphasis on the emotional and relational aspects of learning. From this starting point effective observation can begin that will lead to effective planning and support for children's individual developmental pathways. Those taking the lead for curriculum development need to ensure practitioners understand the key person role and form sensitive and attuned attachment relationships with children, especially babies. Practitioners need to be able to tune into babies and children on multi-sensory levels, just as babies and young children are tuning in to their carers on these levels too, developing relationships that have a strong ...