We are all aware that our policies & procedures should be reviewed regularly to ensure they are still ‘fit for purpose’ but what about our assessing and planning procedures?
To keep the child at the centre and ensure our focus will make a difference for them, we need to be asking ourselves; Is it time to review how we assess & plan for the children in our care?
We start this process by looking at the amount of information being collected by practitioners, observations, audio, photographs and video clips for each child or groups of children and asking, is all of it necessary?
All of these are still important in evidencing what children have achieved and will inform decisions made by practitioners when making assessments.
The goal is to only collect information which is useful and relevant.
Identify what is working well and also what could be improved, remembering that, only what makes a difference to the child and their outcomes should be the focus.
It’s important that all practitioners are clear about what is expected of them when assessing and planning for children and the processes they should be following.
Assessment continues to be an important part of the curriculum and allows us to monitor where children are in their development and share this with parents. It also gives us the opportunity to ensure we are meeting every child’s individual needs, keeping them at the centre of their own learning and development.