Assignment 4 (Completed)

4.1      Explain the procedures behind effective observations.Observation:“The Development Matters guidance (2012) refers to observation as ‘Looking, Listening and Taking Note” This is stated by CITATION Mic16 l 1033 (Machan, 2016)By observing the child, we understand better their interest and needs of the child which helps the practitioner to plan especially on adult -led planning. When we write an observation, we need to be accurate and unbiased to have a full picture of the child’s development.Observation is the start that help the practitioner to assess the child and decide what the child can do next and then planning.-Looking is important to see the environments that the child enjoys exploring.-listening to the child’s interactions with adults and their peers-recording by being unbiased writing exactly what the child is doing and saying.When we observe the children, we should respect their wishes and feelings such as stop when the child is not happy to play in a chosen activity or doesn’t want to play but rest in a quite area.It’s necessary that the practitioner and the parents work together for them to share information to understand the child’s interests, likes and dislikes, needs and what the child can do thinking of his age and stage. During the observation we may notice different needs of the child so, refers to outside agencies need to be put in place in this case parents and young person’s consent is needed.Observing of children that are second language learners will start with the home visit such as observing the environment and the level of spoken language with their parents help. Then the practitioner assesses the information by creating a familiar environment in the setting such as toys and cd from his/her home language, learn important words from their first language and make visible cards. Then understanding the child’s interests, needs and abilities in collaboration with parents/careers we plan for the child’s next step.“Second language learners will acquire much of their language incidentally through interacting with peers and adults in meaningful contexts.” This is stated by CITATION Cum19 l 1033 (Cumbria County Council, n.d.) The practitioners need to observe the child’s interactions with its peers and the language used. This will help the practitioners decide what aspects of language they will plan to teach. This way the social language of the children can progress. After observing we proceed with the assessment to review what we know about the child’s development.Assessment“Assessment is the process of analysing and reviewing what we know about children’s learning and development.” This is stated byCITATION Nat19 l 1033 (NDNA, n.d.)There are two types of assessment as stated by CITATION Nat19 l 1033 (NDNA, n.d.)“Formative assessment – these are ongoing assessments that you do on a daily basis”“Summative assessment – these are assessments carried out at set times of the year.”When we plan, we take into consideration what we gathered from the assessments which involves the decision about the child’s learning and developmentPlanningThere are three different types of planning as stated by CITATION Nat19 l 1033 (NDNA, n.d.)“Long term – are you meeting the overall guidance for children under the Early Years framework e.g. EYFS, Foundation Phase, Curriculum for Excellence”“Medium term – generally covers from two to six weeks at a time”“Short term – are you meeting the needs of children at this point?”Short time planning is based on children’s needs and interest giving the practitioner the flexibility to change following children needs and instant interest.4.2  Describe the techniques for observing children.There are different techniques for the practitioner to observe the children which are:Magic momentsThese are the briefest observations that you can make. These observations are captured in a moment. Gathering those special moments in the setting such as first steps.Pros the practitioner catches those special moments for the first time and the parents love it also its short and taken in the spur of moment. Consits focused in one significant moment or behaviour and it works only in one child.Narrative“The narrative observation, sometimes called a ‘long’ observation, is an extended written account of an activity. It may include a verbatim record of the language used by the child, level of involvement and other children that they play with and may also include a photo.” This is stated by CITATION Kat19 l 1033 (Brodie, n.d.)ProsNarrative observation provides details of what happened and focuses on all behaviours also helps us to understand in the context in which the behaviour occurred.ConsNarrative observations are time consuming and work well when observing one child. Difficulties occur when observing a group of childrenAlso, the practitioner doesn’t interact with the children when observing.Time sample“In a time, sample observation, an observation of a child is made every five minutes over a set period, usually an hour.” This is stated by CITATION Kat19 l 1033 (Brodie, n.d.). With this type of observations, the practitioner can understand the child’s interests and the level of involvement such as the child exploring the environment but always playing with cars.ProsThese observations are done in less time and can collect data on many children in one time also gives us information about the frequency of behaviourConsAlthough during time sample observation we collect important information about the frequency of behaviour we may miss some behaviours and “does not focus on consequences of the behaviour also it is limited to behaviours that arise frequently”. This is stated by CITATION Mic19 l 1033 (Michigan State University, n.d.)Tracking“To record a tracking observation, you must first have a floor plan of the setting, including the outdoors.” This is stated by CITATION Kat19 l 1033 (Brodie, n.d.). The tracking observations can be short or long depends on the information required.Pros This method is good for the children because they can play like they normally do without any pressure from the practitioner so, during this observation the child is leading. Cons During tracking observations, the practitioner can’t interact with the children and this means you want to observe their fine and gross motor skillsWe are not going to be specific and clear because the child is moving from one activity to the next.Learning storiesLearning stories are longer observations, made over a much longer period. These observations tell a story about what the child did and in the end the relevance of each step is explained and reflected on such as the child chose a bowl and a wooden spoon then added flour and water to mix it together and make playdough. The photographs are included. “The story is always a positive one about children’s strengths, good ideas, and dispositions for learning.” This is stated by CITATION Nae15 l 1033 (Naeyc, 2015) ProsLearning stories tells us about the child’s development and how they learn. The stories are part of child’s portfolio which are going to be shared with the child and the parents / careers. These stories are going to be involved in the planning for the child’s next steps. They build a partnership between families and the practitioner.ConsWe need to keep in mind the children that are beginning to learn the language and how we provide recourses and support for them not to feel secluded. So, bilingual volunteers are involved in writing the children’s stories to support the children’s home languages and parents are invited to tell the story with their children.4.3 Evaluate two different observation methods.Magic momentsMagic moments are short observations capturing special moments in the child’s life. This one example Child B is a toddler whom uses single words but hasn’t yet used two-word sentences. She was playing alone and after a while her friend joins in. He takes away the toy which child B was playing with and she says to her friend “my toy “then she replies “no, thank you”.Learning story Title – my baby is hungry Photos- linked with the story Narrative Child B moved towards the home corner stating “I am cooking for my baby, she is hungry “. Then picks up the big bowl and places it in the middle of the table. Child B picks up some vegetables from the basket placing it one by one in the bowl naming the vegetables correctly such as carrot. She mixes the vegetables using a wooden spoon and when is done she says “the soup is done “. Child B places the dolly on the chair pretending to feed her using a plastic spoon stating “let’s eat, its lunch time “.Opportunities and possibilitiesWhat is observed will help the practitioner to plan by following the child’s interests and needs.Plan a cooking activity using real vegetables (interest)Share her experiences with others (needs)Families and child’s voiceFamilies can give their understanding towards the story and give information about the child’s interest at home.Learning stories are meant to be shared with the child to capture their response towards the storyChild B said that the baby was happy because she eats all her vegetables when watching her pictures.4.4      Reflect on own role when planning to meet the needs and interests of children.The children are unique, and we can observe their uniqueness every day. When observing the practitioner gathers information about the child’s interests and their needs which are included in planning. Then the practitioner assesses the child’s learning and development. During each assessment the parent is involved by giving information about the child’s interests at home. Based on observations and assessments we decide on what we will provide for the child in our planning. When planning for the child, the parent/careers are involved for the practitioner to fully understand the child’s needs and interests. Based on the assessments which help to identify the child’s needs, we as practitioners collaborate with the parents such as when English is the child’s second language, we learn important words from the child’s first language to support his development and self-esteem.4.5      Explain the importance of summative assessmentsSummative assessments are important because the practitioner can understand the child’s interests, needs, likes and dislikes at home with the involvement of the child and parents/careers. Also, in the setting from the information collected by the practitioners. Summative assessments take place at the end of the learning stage to measure and report the child’s learning and development also to compare their development from the previous assessment. The importance of summative assessments is greater because in some cases it identifies gaps in the child’s development which helps the practitioners to identify their needs and working with outside agencies is needed. This also helps the practitioners to identify the child’s needs in their development by implementing them into planning.Summative assessments are carried when the children are:- Six months to understand where the child is at so later, we have the possibility to compare it.- twelve months and eighteen months.- two years old is compulsory -two and half and three-three and half-four it is compulsory.4.6. Identify the role of the SENCO“The SENCO has a critical role to play in ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities within a school receive the support they need.” As stated by CITATION Mal l 1033 (Reeve, 2015)The type of responsibilities a SENCO has are as stated by CITATION Mal l 1033 (Reeve, 2015) “Supporting the identification of children with special educational needs.Co-ordinating provision for children with SEN.Liaising with parents of children with SEN.Liaising with other providers, outside agencies, educational psychologists and external agencies.Ensuring that the school keeps the records of all pupils with SEN up to date.” When observing and assessing the children the practitioner may notice different needs in the child’s development. The role of SENCO is to support the identification of the children, collaborate with their families and if necessary, to introduce them to outside agencies. It is important that children feel valued and included in activities so, SENCO and the key practitioner put in place a plan to support the children’s development. Bibliography BIBLIOGRAPHY Brodie, K., n.d. Teach Early Years. [Online] Available at: https://www.teachearlyyears.com/nursery-management/view/making-observations[Accessed 28 August 2019].C. C. C., n.d. Cumbria County Council. [Online] Available at: https://www.cumbria.gov.uk/eLibrary/Content/Internet//537/955/6075/6263/6314/42965143226.pdf[Accessed 29 August 2019].Machan, M., 2016. Early Years Foundation Stage Forum. [Online] Available at: https://eyfs.info/articles.html/teaching-and-learning/everything-you-need-to-know-about-observation-and-why-we-do-it-r213/[Accessed 28 August 2019].M. S. U., n.d. Michigan State University. [Online] Available at: https://msu.edu/~mandrews/mary/obs__methods.htm[Accessed 29 August 2019].Naeyc, 2015. Naeyc. [Online] Available at: https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/dec2015/learning-stories[Accessed 2019 August 2019].N., n.d. National Day Nurseries Association. [Online] Available at: http://www.ndna.org.uk/NDNA/Community/myNDNA/Mini_Guides/Observation_Assessment_Planning.aspx[Accessed 28 August 2019].Reeve, M., 2015. Special Needs Jungle. [Online] Available at: https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/the-role-of-the-senco-what-do-you-need-to-know/[Accessed 28 August 2019].Word Count: 1941