Teach-Early-Years-14.1

DR HELEN EDWARDS IS CO-FOUNDER OF TAPESTRY AND A FORMER NURSERY OWNER Recording children’s development is an essential part of any early years setting’s role, but the approach to doing so continues to change, as Dr Helen Edwards explains… “Observations are evolving” A fifth of educators reported that the number of individual observations they undertook had decreased in the past year I t seems that group observations are on the up. A quarter of early years educators reported that they had increased the number they were carrying out at their setting – just one of a number of trends highlighted in the Tapestry survey. This is good news. Group observations are a great way of demonstrating curriculum coverage and a reminder of the activities with which children engage. They provide a record of what has worked well, inform future planning, and provide inspiration. They offer different insights to individual observations, demonstrating the breadth and depth of the learning experiences that you provide for children as well as how your provision is working. However, group observations, whether they’re in a floor book or a digital learning journal, don’t demonstrate the learning of individual children very well. At parents’ evenings, flicking through a floor book containing observations of multiple children isn’t an efficient method of sharing a particular child’s learning and development. For this, we still need individual observations, sensitively created in the minimum amount of time. INDIVIDUAL OBSERVATIONS A fifth of educators reported that the number of individual observations they undertook had decreased in the past year, and a quarter reported that the number of written observations had also decreased. The revised EYFS (2021) may well have led to this drop. We don’t want to return to the stressful practices of multiple observations per child and lots of time away from children, but observations Froebel Trust (tinyurl.com/TEYtpobsv ) looked at the power of parent and carer observations in the early years. They found that many parents underestimated the importance of sharing their knowledge about their child with educators. The research also identified that parents and carers enjoyed the insights their children’s learning journals gave in terms of their child’s development, and that they often “bridged the gap” between home and setting. Families are an essential part of an early years educator’s role. You cannot do your job effectively without them! So how can we find the right balance? I think it’s about being realistic about what we can retain in our heads, as Dr Julian Grenier explains: “When we are noticing what children can and cannot do, and they are changing rapidly, we have to jot down notes. It will not be possible to remember all this information at the end of a busy day.” Whether we make a quick written note or capture a short video, individual observations provide the means to remember this important information. PARENT AND CARER OBSERVATIONS Another trend we’ve noticed is the growing emphasis educators are placing on sharing observations with families. Our survey found that 91% of educators use observations in this way. Educators also reported that a similar proportion of parents and carers shared their own observations of their child through the online platform. This involvement is an encouraging trend. Recent research from Kate Cowan and Rosie Flewitt for the 24 Teachearlyyears.com