New child observations

[BethSimpson]

Hi

 

I wondered if any childminders out there can help at all please. I'm looking for some examples/advice on what people use/do to observe any new starters to get an idea of what they already know/can do.

 

Thanks

 

Beth

 

[Cait]

I imagine that this isn't just specific to childminders. All of us in early years will come up with this scenario.

 

For us, this meant sitting back and just watching the child for a few sessions, chatting with parents as much as possible before getting the development statements in front of us. Then we would start with the age band below and mentally tick off what was obviously already achieved. Then we would do a couple of written observations, one of the child just playing with or alongside other children, or solitary, if that's where they 'were'. The second obs would be during a group, possibly adult led activity, to see how much involvement was going on. Then, using Laevers, we would make notes of their position on the scale with these activities, and any CoEL that was evident.

 

All this takes a few weeks, during which time we were getting to know the child well, and able to securely make a baseline starting point for future observations/assessments

[BethSimpson]

Hi Cait

 

Thank you for your response. I added this post on behalf on a Childminder in our County so I will pass this information on to her.

 

Thanks again

 

Beth