Observations?

[Belleangel4]

Hello, 

We have been thinking about observations in Reception and just wondered if they are still being done and if so how regularly?

We appreciate that we no longer need to do them but they can be useful in getting a holistic view of the child.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[BenTapestrySupport]

Observations for the sake of evidence aren't needed, but they are still a vital part of good practice in the early years. They should be used to capture the development of the child, and be useful to you for planning for the child's next steps. If you have 12 key children for example, would you be able to confidently plan for each of their next steps in all areas with nothing to refer back to? 

For this reason, some children who you know are accessing what you're planning, may not need many observations as what you have planned is being met and you can develop the next steps from that planning. Other children though may need more support in accessing the provision you have planned, in which case, they would may have more observations to remind you of where they needed that support, or where their strengths were. 

A while back I wrote this for Nursery World which you might find interesting: Falling in love with observations all over again