Jules

Narrative observations In Part 1 of this series, we looked at definitions and descriptions of narrative observations and how they can be used to describe the learning and development of children. There is often confusion around the nature of observations; how many to do, what they need to contain, how they can be shared with parents and carers and how they can be used to plan effectively for each child. Over the last few years in Early Years, the practice of recording a limited number of quality observations has taken a bit of a backseat. Teachers and practitioners have been moving towards regular, quick observations (many of which are repetitive and don’t say anything new about the child) alongside the practice of ticking statements of expected learning outcomes. It is quite common for teachers and practitioners to ask on social media platforms ‘How many observations and assessments do you do for each child, each week?’ As if the number of observations and assessments has anything to do with the quality of the experience children have in their early years setting, or their learning outcomes. Reams of spreadsheet data has not helped to ensure all children do well in their early years. In fact, quite the opposite. Dr Julian Grenier, author of the new Development Matters, has stated in a vodcast with the Foundation Stage Forum that enormous amounts of data is meaningless to staff and parents and creates ‘an awful lot of work for not a lot of outcomes for the children’. The new Development Matters, he says, offers staff the opportunity to ‘rethink the balance of what we’re doing and make sure we’re putting our efforts where they really need to be.’ With the new EYFS and associated Development Matters guidance, along with clear messages from Ofsted and Dr Grenier, we now have the opportunity to review our methods of observation and assessment, and make them work for us, our colleagues, our children and our families. So we must make sure that any observations and assessments we make of our children are manageable, useful and do not take excessive amounts of our time away from the children. As Dr Grenier says, ‘Let’s put our efforts where they’re going to make a difference, which is in the direct work with the children. It’s the playing, it’s the conversations, it’s helping children to learn something new, it’s the respectful partnership with parents’. If you’re working with colleagues to try a new narrative approach to observations, it might be helpful at first to look at each area of learning individually. In this article, we’ll be looking at the three Prime Areas. Although children learn simultaneously across the seven areas, it’s helpful to look at the areas individually to work out what we’re looking for in a quality observation. Whether you are working with the existing 2017 version of the EYFS programmes, or are early adopters of the 2021 version, you can still use the following suggestions because they are based on open-ended questions to guide you in thinking about the child’s learning and development. The questions are not based on any predetermined learning intentions or targets. Using open-ended questions to help you observe your children will encourage a narrative approach, resulting in an observation unique to each child. No longer will you or your colleagues be writing ‘Sam happily joins in with nursery rhymes and songs’ and ticking the associated statement. Your observations will be detailed, exact and informative, for both you and the child’s parents and carers. And importantly, the information will give you something to plan with, to build on the child’s learning. When you’re observing a child, think about one or two of these questions below - maybe even print them off and have them close by as a prompt. For each section, the earlier questions are generally more suited to babies and very young children, and the later questions for older children within the EYFS. But don’t let this stop you from using them freely. There are no right or wrong questions to answer; these are just prompts to help you and your colleagues think about what you’re looking for when you’re observing children. There are no age-bands to worry about - if you see a question that interests you, with a particular child in mind, then that’s the one to go for. Communication and Language The EYFS 2017 version states: Communication and language development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations. The new 2020/21 version states: The development of children’s spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning and development. Children’s back-and-forth interactions from an early age form the foundations for language and cognitive development. The number and quality of the conversations they have with adults and peers throughout the day in a language-rich environment is crucial. By commenting on what children are interested in or doing, and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added, practitioners will build children's language effectively. Reading frequently to children, and engaging them actively in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and then providing them with extensive opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts, will give children the opportunity to thrive. Through conversation, story-telling and role play, where children share their ideas with support and modelling from their teacher, and sensitive questioning that invites them to elaborate, children become comfortable using a rich range of vocabulary and language structures. Listening, attention and understanding How do they respond to different sounds, e.g. speech or music? How do they react when they hear their own name or to familiar phrases such as, "Where's Mummy?" In what ways do they like to explore? When do they gaze at faces or copy facial expressions or movements? In what circumstances do they pay attention and concentrate? In what ways do they respond to others' body language? When do they recognize or are calmed by a familiar voice? How do they demonstrate their enjoyment of sounds, stories, rhymes and songs? How do they show you they are listening attentively? How do you know they are understanding a story read or told to them? What is their understanding of single words, two-word utterances, or more complex sentences? When and how do they follow directions? How is their understanding of simple concepts developing, e.g. big/little? How do they respond to instructions, or to 'How', 'What' and 'Why' questions? How do they engage in dialogue with others? What strengths do they have in understanding more complex ideas and concepts? Speaking How do they gain attention and communicate their needs? Can you give examples of their speech or gestures? Which familiar words or expressions are they using? What is their understanding of people or things that are not present? When do they use changes in pitch, intonation or volume? How do they use language to express their feelings and thoughts? How do they use talk to organise themselves and their play? In which situations do they initiate a conversation? In what ways are they using newly learned vocabulary? Which stories and rhymes are favourites? In what ways can they use talk to connect ideas or explain their own? How do they use talk to disagree with an adult or a friend? How do they anticipate the future and recall the past? How do they use language in imaginary and role play? How do they use questions or comments to clarify their thinking and develop understanding? In what ways do they suggest or explain ideas or concepts? How do they use talk to help work out problems? How do they use talk to explain how things might work or why they might happen? How do they talk about and retell stories? Personal, social and emotional development The existing framework says: Personal, social and emotional development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities. The new 2020/21 framework says: Children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives, and is fundamental to their cognitive development. Underpinning their personal development are the important attachments that shape their social world. Strong, warm and supportive relationships with adults enable children to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others. Children should be supported to manage emotions, develop a positive sense of self, set themselves simple goals, have confidence in their own abilities, to persist and wait for what they want and direct attention as necessary. Through adult modelling and guidance, they will learn how to look after their bodies, including healthy eating, and manage personal needs independently. Through supported interaction with other children they learn how to make good friendships, co-operate and resolve conflicts peaceably. These attributes will provide a secure platform from which children can achieve at school and in later life. Managing feelings and behaviour, self-regulation When and how do they demonstrate a range of emotions, e.g. pleasure, fear and excitement? How are they calmed, or are able to calm themselves? In what ways do they show an understanding of their own feelings? Which objects, actions, or activities soothe them when they are feeling tired, stressed or frustrated? How do they find solutions to conflicts? How do they control their immediate impulses? In which situations do they take turns or wait for what they want? How do they demonstrate an awareness of others' feelings or needs? In what ways do they display their growing sense of will and determination, and how do they respond to appropriate boundaries? How do they use questions to clarify their thinking and develop understanding? How do they demonstrate their understanding of possession? How do they show care and concern for others? In what ways do they demonstrate their understanding of right and wrong? How would you describe their behaviour? How do they demonstrate an increasing capacity for self-regulation with /without adult support? Self Confidence & Self Awareness, Managing self How do they respond to your voice, actions, body language and eye-contact? How do they demonstrate that their own voice and actions have an effect on others? How would you describe their levels of confidence and assertiveness? How do they express their needs, views and feelings? How do they express their preferences? How do they demonstrate their growing independence and positive self-image? In what ways do they set themselves tasks or goals and work towards them? How confident are they to try new activities? To what extent and in which situations do they follow instructions? How do they show perseverance if some activities pose difficulty? How do they cope with transitions? How do they express discomfort, hunger or thirst, or anticipate food routines? In what ways do they demonstrate their developing ability to engage in eating and drinking, or assist during nappy changing or toileting? How do they cope with new social situations or experiences? In what ways do they see themselves as a valued individual? Can you describe their level of independence in dressing, undressing, and personal hygiene? In what ways have they demonstrated resilience? What is their understanding of the effects of activity on their body, or of good practices in exercise, eating, sleeping and hygiene? Building Relationships How do they respond to affectionate attention from a familiar adult? How do they gain attention and communicate? How do they show interest in people and activities, and explore new situations? How are they learning to make relationships? In what ways do they notice or talk about differences between people? Can you describe ways in which they play cooperatively with other adults and/or children? How do they show concern for others? How are they learning to share toys, take turns, and negotiate with others? In what ways do they demonstrate a sense of community? Physical development The existing EYFS framework states: Physical development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity6, and to make healthy choices in relation to food. The new 2020/21 framework says: Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, co-ordination and positional awareness through tummy time, crawling and play movement with both objects and adults. By creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, adults can support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being. Fine motor control and precision helps with hand-eye co-ordination which is later linked to early literacy. Repeated and varied opportunities to explore and play with small world activities, puzzles, arts and crafts and the practise of using small tools, with feedback and support from adults, allow children to develop proficiency, control and confidence. Gross motor skills How do they respond to sounds, sights, and objects? In what ways are they gaining control of their body? What evidence can you see of their increased strength? Which toys or resources do they take pleasure from? What can you say about their positional awareness? How do they demonstrate an interest in sensory experiences? How do they demonstrate their increasing confidence in experimenting with different ways of moving? In what ways are they demonstrating increasing skill in coordination? When do they demonstrate increasing skills of balance? How can you describe the various ways they move energetically? In what ways are they showing increasing independence in personal care and hygiene? In what ways do they show an increasing control over objects? Do they demonstrate different physical skills indoors and outdoors? In what ways do they negotiate space and obstacles? How do they demonstrate agility? Can you describe their level of skill with throwing and catching a ball? How do they demonstrate core muscle strength? How do they demonstrate repeated patterns or sequences in movement? In what ways do they demonstrate increasing understanding of the need for safety and managing risks? Can you describe how they use a range of large and small apparatus? How do they demonstrate an understanding of the factors that support good health? Fine motor skills Which materials or objects do they like to explore? How do they manipulate objects or materials? How do they make choices in tools and techniques? In what ways are their skills developing in mark-making? How do they use a range of small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery? Can you describe their fine motor skills? How skilled are they in holding a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing? In which circumstances do they show a preference for left or right hand? Remember the guidance available to you, among others, is the revised EYFS which becomes statutory in September (2021), the new Development Matters, and Birth to 5 Matters. In the next article of this series, we’ll be looking at prompts for writing narrative observations in the Specific Areas of Learning in the EYFS. And you can find Part 1 of the series here.

I’ve been working in early years for around 13 and a half years now. The journey thus far has been nothing short of a roller coaster. From working as a nursery nurse, to becoming an early year’s practitioner and even a nursery manager, to care worker, support worker, youth worker, play worker, mentor, to now - owning my own award-winning childcare service. None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for the various teams and managers I worked alongside over the years. Journey thus far I walked into a nursey at the age of 19 with barely any knowledge of child development or nursery life and no relevant qualifications. Just an interest, big heart and support from my mum who helped me find the job and the amazing manager who gave me the role. This all makes so much sense now - I am a big believer in the old African proverb: It takes a village to raise a child. The village I came from, aka home, prepared me to go out into the big wide world and find my feet, and that particular manager had faith in me, to let me enter her village and learn life whilst caring and teaching life to little souls. In my universe, life always comes back full circle. That opportunity changed my life. This is something I’ve always known, but as I’m typing this it’s really hitting home that I have now reached here … ‘humbled’ is an understatement. But what I learnt in those early days at that nursery turned out to be the foundations of an extensive and heartfelt career in Early Years, one that I’m nowhere near finished with. Heartfelt Practice This is where I learnt good practice, were I learnt about partnerships with parents and how to build healthy and secure child-adult bonds. I didn’t realise then how much it would mould me into the man I am today. It was at that first setting as a nursery nurse 13 years ago that I realised childcare was one of my many vocations. And it’s the children I have cared for over the years who have taught me the most about myself and about my work. Hence, 13 years later, I can confidently say that children are the best teachers. I’ve worked in various nursery settings and even managed to get a Level 3 in Childcare and Development along the way. And as the years passed, I have worked in every possible role you could think of in a nursery setting and with all age groups. Over Time I worked in various settings in and around London, building up a strong repertoire with families across London, especially North London. That’s how Jossy Care came about - babysitting for families from these settings until I got so inundated with requests it gave me the premise to become a Manny. Which I did 3 years ago. But going back a bit further in time, as well as working in nurseries, I ventured into care homes and youth work and that’s where my skill set widened, my heart got bigger and my knowledge grew. Jossy Care So, 3 years ago I became self-employed with a business idea I’d devised over 10 years ago when I created a business card for babysitting. This has now become my own registered childcare service, that I have managed to take around the world, win an award for, break stereotypes and change the narrative for us men in childcare. I devised the term childcare specialist due to my practice and approach being different to most Mannie’s and Nannies. It’s a mix of all my experiences in different care-based settings and roles imbedded in one. As we all know, you can’t approach every child the same way because they are all individuals, regardless of age, gender or race. Well, I hope you know. Heartfelt approach My practice and approach with children is extremely heartfelt and curated to the child’s individual needs, personality and abilities. When I say heartfelt, I mean, soft, patient, child led and full of love. Which allows me to build healthy bonds with them, allowing them to feel secure and at the same time create a safe space. This is something I think all humans need – animals need it too. I have been privileged enough to be in a position where children can let me into their worlds and spaces and build safe spaces with them, whether it be new-borns, toddlers or teens. I just may have the best job in the world. Being a Manny has enabled me to do this more wholesomely and given me time to reflect on my practice. Reflection allows me to hold space for myself, grow, pour back into myself, and still be able to help these little souls have full cups of joy. Love got me here So yes, my experiences thus far have been nothing less than beautiful, life changing and real. Being a man in this field has also added to my journey. Not everyone has accepted it, but over time that has taught me to accept people and respect their views even if they aren’t aligned with mine. Parents have been totally supportive of me being a male nanny. I have always felt this comes from the passion I share for their children. Love see’s love, and who better to see it than a parent watching their child have secure attachments whilst in a safe space with someone who cares about them as much as they do. I’ve been able to do this while staying professional and building healthy relationships with these families. As for love... If I did not have the right amount of love in me, I wouldn’t be able to put love into what I do. It’s the honest, raw emotion children show that has taught me so much. Being able to embrace my own emotions has helped me to support children to learn theirs over time. That’s me being present and showing up for them. I believe if I can’t do that for myself, I can’t do it for anyone. Children do not need fake love or bad energies around them. Men in childcare Children need to see men be vulnerable and emotionally available. They need to see that men can be soft and that men can deal with emotions, so they grow up having varied experiences that represent the world they are in. It is the same for race. We need to make sure that children are exposed to all cultures regardless of their environment, because representation matters, and children need to see positive representations of all races, especially ones that represent them. Race and gender This makes my position in life and work a unique one: a black male childcare specialist. Let’s normalise this because I know there’s more men out there like me in the industry and world who children could learn from and relate to. This has made my role more important, breaking stereotypes, cultivating change and raising awareness, be it gender equality or race equality…. I say this due to me being the minority in classrooms and the nanny world for both my gender and race. We need the childcare industry to reflect every culture and gender on an equal level. I think this is possible if we all keep trying to change the narrative and stand up for what is right. Our children need to see us doing so - it is paramount for the next generation that we break the silence on both issues and keep up the good fight. We can learn how to do this from children, they don’t judge, they embrace and love one another regardless of gender, race or inequalities, especially at nursery age. I let children lead in play and development because I know we have so much to learn from them. My experience has shown me I need to be in-tune with children, letting them show me what they need and don’t need. As adults, we complicate nearly everything. Let’s take a leaf out of the children’s book and learn to love without condition or premise. This is what Jossy Care is about - fighting gender and race equality via the work I do every day. This journey has been a long one, but the journey continues. Where to find Joss: www.Instagram.com/jossycare www.facebook.com/jossycare2 www.twitter.com/jossycare www.Youtube.com/josssimmonsthebrand www.jossycare.co.uk

In this current social climate, the subject of race cannot and indeed should not be avoided. There has been an outpouring of cries from Black and allied communities across the world to protest the need to recognise that Black lives matter as much as non-Black lives. The systemic and direct treatment of Black people both here in the UK, and across the pond in the USA, has sent ripples of devastation and there is a distinct sense of mourning and collective trauma as we all look at the state of the world. Localising this collective trauma to the UK means that as a society we cannot afford to ignore the statistics that show that Black and Brown communities have been disproportionately impacted by COVID as well as the MBRRACE-UK Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care report which highlighted that “Black women are five times more likely to die as a result of pregnancy than white women”. These statistics show a deeper fracture with regards to racial inequality than British society would like to admit. With rebuttals such as “All lives matter” and that issues of racism are not as bad as in the U.S, it seems that Black and Brown communities are constantly being gaslighted into believing that everything is in their imagination and that the delineations of what racism actually is have been set by white people who would never have been on the receiving end of this particular type of discrimination. Anti-racism work has had a resurgence and it would seem that since the findings of Sir William Macpherson’s report in 1999 which showed evidence of systemic racism being present in all institutions, namely the Metropolitan police, nothing much has changed. We are still seeing statistics which show a higher proportion of Black men being targeted for stop and search and a higher number of Black people dying in police custody. But how does all of this feed into education, I hear you ask, and more specifically Early Years education? Well what is key to remember here is that the children that we care for are a part of these communities and families. They are impacted by the wider traumas of the societies that they are a part of, and the intersections of where their identities sit mean that the Early Years workforce must be equipped to not only be familiar with these wider issues, but also not shy away from how these things become an integral part of an anti-racist practice that must become embedded within Early Years practice if we are really going to commit to being part of the solution, and not the problem. I am somewhat spirited by what I am seeing by way of dialogue being opened up with regards to anti-racism within the Early Years sector, but I am not under any illusion. There is still an enormous amount of work to be done and many have been doing this work in the sector long before me. As a former nursery manager who worked for sixteen years managing one of three settings owned by my mother who has had her businesses since the late 1980’s, I have first-hand experience witnessing the systemic racism of the local authorities and the regulatory bodies. I recognise that other Black owned nursery settings who came before my mother such as Marcus Garvey Day Nursery which was run by the Harambee Housing Association in Birmingham also had similar experiences. The work of activists, Early Years trainers and scholars such as Dr Stella Louis, Jane Lane, Laura Henry, Professor Iram Siraj OBE, Haki Kapasi and Babette Brown to name a few have done and continue to do “the work”. It is not lost on me that anti-racist work in the Early Years is legacy work which we will not see in our lifetime. I know that the foundations of work done today will pave progress for tomorrow. Over the past 4 months I have developed an online platform utilising the medium of social media, predominantly Instagram. My handle, The Black Nursery Manager has become an extension of my anti-racist training and consultancy business which focuses specifically on the Early Years sector. I have noticed that in that relative short time I have curated nearly 5k followers, predominantly white and predominantly women who are either parents or people who work within the sector. They have been eagerly consuming the content that I provide which ranges from infographics that give guidance about how to make role play spaces more inclusive to reflective quotes which probe for deeper discussions in the comments. The most noticeable measure that I have used to gauge the impact of my work, has been that many of those people are booking on to the webinars I have been creating and delivering over the past 4 months, and the demand and feedback has been incredible. I am able to clearly see that there is a shift happening in the consciousness of white practitioners to want to, in the words of writer Emma Dabiri “ move their allyship into coalition” and implement practical changes in their educational environments to ensure that the antiracist thread is running all the way through the fabric of their practice. One of the most common questions I am asked on my platform is how to open up conversations about race with children under 5, and of course this is very expansive and hinges on a range of factors including what is the race of the child?, what is the race of the adult?, what is the relationship between the two? But for the purposes of the readership of this publication I am going to provide some guidance in the form of 4 tips aimed at white practitioners for pre-school aged children 3 to 4 years old: 1. Children are inquisitive You work with children, so it is no surprise to you that they are inquisitive by nature and they always want to know why? As tiresome as the repetition of this simple question may be, we must equip ourselves with some response and that may be one of two things. A directive for them to go and investigate to find out, for example: Child: “Chloe, is that water warm or cold” Practitioner: “Put your hand in and find out” or it might be: Child: “Chloe, why is your skin pink and my skin’s brown?” At this point what is your response? As a range of things go through your mind it may totally shock you and you become flustered but it is precisely at this point that you must answer this with the ease you would as if it was the question about the temperature of the water and your response must be calm, casual and positive. For example: Practitioner: “Well, in the world there are lots of different skin colours they are all really lovely! Some people are brown, some people are pink, some people are darker brown” And in line with being in the moment I would use this as an opportunity to go to your resources and start an extension activity for expressive arts and design. A simple self portraits activity. We will explore this more in tip 4. 2. Exercise your anti-racist muscles If you, as a white practitioner, are not personally equipped to talk about race then you are not going to be able to bring anything by way of preparation to the setting. Your anti-racist muscle needs to be exercised and this is where your own CPD comes in. Read, read, read and read. There is a range of material that has been produced for you to access as well as courses to attend (my own for a start on the 26th October) but you must be engaged with this material to strengthen your practice. Some of my top recommendations would be How to Be an Antiracist- Ibram X.Kendi The Good Immigrant – Edited by Nikesh Shukla This Book is Anti-Racist – Tiffany Jewell White fragility – Robin Di’Angelo 3. Move away from perfectionism In her book, Me and White Supremacy, Layla F. Saad talks about perfectionism and the desire to always get things right when it comes to talking about race. Do not let your fear of getting things wrong silence you into not having conversations about race, because it is the most dangerous thing to do, especially when it comes to addressing racist incidents. Whether that be with co-workers or between the children, you cannot afford to turn a blind eye because you’re scared of getting it wrong. Here’s a secret…we all get things wrong because we’re human but getting things wrong and being corrected is an integral part of learning. After all this is what we encourage children to do, make mistakes and learn from them. That is the same stance that you must take when it comes to anti-racism, and if a Black or non-Black person of colour corrects you on terminology do not move into a state of fragility, accept it, correct it and move on. 4. Use your resources Inclusive and diverse resources that reflect the society and world that we live in are an integral part of any Early Years environment. Of course, your anti-racist work does not start and end with having a few Black dolls but think carefully about how those Black dolls are played with by the children and observe how often they are selected, think about how you as a practitioner model playing with those dolls. Dr Stella Louis talks about how we must move past noticing and into observing, as noticing is passive and means that we miss the small things that are a big part of how children are making sense of the world. When we observe we pay close attention to the many small things that children do and are able to assist them and extend their learning opportunities based on what we know they are showing us. This is the start of something as a seismic shift is happening within our society. Time has been halted for us to a degree as the lockdown season has forced us to stop and take note. Let us not waste this opportunity in the Early years to be better and do better by those children who need our understanding, advocacy and a real and deep consideration of anti-racist practice. You can sign up to Liz's course, mentioned in the article, following the link here.

‘By patient listening to the talk of even little children and watching what they do…we can wish their wishes, see their pictures and think their thoughts’ (Isaacs, 1971). Susan Isaacs believed that detailed knowledge about a child came from observation. She produced record cards for teachers to use in their classrooms, designed to build up a picture of the whole child; encouraging teachers to enter the magical world of childhood, without interfering in it. Observation is about watching and listening to children’s expressions, actions and behaviours. It requires a sensitive and respectful approach to each child’s activity. More importantly, it requires an attitude of openness, with little expectation of what you might observe about the child. In short, this means disposing of those lists of outcomes, learning intentions or targets that only offer a flavour of what each child is capable of. Children do, say, and know so much more and we owe it to them to capture this learning and development in a meaningful way so that we can best plan for their future learning experiences. You may often be surprised at a child’s capabilities if you remain open, and not focused on looking for evidence to tick off a particular learning outcome. The aim of observation is to know each child sufficiently well so that you can provide a developmentally appropriate curriculum, rich in resources and interactions with their peers and with interested adults. We need to know: · What interests them and which activities they favour over others · How they respond to an activity of their own choosing, or one that has been adult-led · How they interact and build relationships with other children and with adults · Their approach to investigating new learning · How their views of the world are expanding · How their physical skills are developing · How their knowledge is building Justine Howard, in the 4th edition of Mary Sheridan’s seminal work, explains clearly her reasons for creating high quality observations. This new edition builds on Sheridan’s work, focusing on the value of detailed observation for understanding key elements of children’s development: ‘Sheridan’s observations of children’s spontaneous play were invaluable in providing practitioners with an insight into the development of ‘real children in real situations’, allowing the reader to enrich their theoretical knowledge and validate their own experiences.’ Having a sound understanding of child development is the backbone of any early years teacher’s work. Without such knowledge, we cannot effectively provide the resources, experiences and interactions which each unique child needs to continue his or her learning. Howard’s book is essential reading. Similarly, Pikler’s observational approach, as described by Manning-Morton and Marlen (2020), emphasises the importance of quality observations of children. Dr Emmi Pikler (1902-1984), a Viennese-born paediatrician, worked after WW11 at the Loczy Institute in Budapest. The authors explain Pikler’s primary motivation was to use observation as a tool to better understand each detail of the infant’s growth, action and expression. Her ethos was always to look for the child’s ‘competence’ which contrasts with our current model of observation and assessment: largely deficit models arising from a ticklist approach, comparing children’s attainment to pre-determined learning outcomes. ‘Observation of the nature of a child’s movement is seen to give insight into their personal and emotional state and how they relate to others. The purpose of observation is also to build the relationship through developing and retaining the practitioner’s interest in the child and to reflect on and refine their approach’. (Manning-Morton & Marlen, 2020) At Loczy, observation is seen as worthless if it is not discussed. At regular meetings with a senior pedagogue, staff discuss their observations of children’s skills, behaviours and actions. Staff are trained to develop focused observation skills and to reflect upon each child’s unique learning journey. ‘Documentation is not about finding answers, but generating questions.’ (Filippini in Turner & Wilson, 2010) Documenting children’s learning is a process: collecting, interpreting and reflecting upon a child’s learning and development. In addition to informing parents and carers about their child’s learning journey, documentation can help to plan appropriate next steps and learning opportunities for each child. It can also serve as an effective assessment tool without the need for ticklists of expected learning outcomes which often reduce the curriculum and diminish teachers’ freedom to provide an exciting, stimulating age-appropriate learning environment. Documentation developed in the 1970s and 80s in Reggio Emilia. Turner and Wilson (2010) identify one of the important aspects of documenting children’s learning: ‘Pedagogical documentation invites us to be curious and to wonder with others about the meaning of events to children. We become co-learners together; focusing on children’s expanding understanding of the world as we interpret that understanding with others.’ Pedagogical documentation inserts a new phase of thinking and wondering together between the act of observation and the act of planning a response. ‘Rather than looking for what is known through assessment, pedagogical documentation invites the creativity, surprise and delight of educators who discover the worlds of children.’ Sharing our observations of children’s learning with our colleagues helps us all to listen to other viewpoints: other teachers may have an alternative view or aspect of a child’s learning that we may not have considered. By reflecting on our different experiences with a child, and our varying knowledge about the child’s dispositions, interests and skills, we strengthen our professional partnerships and open ourselves up to new understandings. * Observation is not simply a retelling of what a child did or said, although this is the start of the process. High quality documentation offers a deeper understanding and insight into what and how the child is thinking, feeling, interested in, and how their world view is expanding. Once we have this information, and we have shared our knowledge about the child with others, we are in a much better position to respond to that information and to provide exactly what the child needs to sustain his/her enjoyment in learning and to make progress. Turner and Wilson explain: ‘It is when we have made children’s thoughts, feelings, and values visible that we can study the meaning of events to children, offering our thoughts collaboratively so that our own understanding widens, deepens, and takes in multiple perspectives. This process of group study of educators’ attempts to make children’s thinking and feeling visible is what makes documentation pedagogical. Documentation becomes pedagogical because the group study of documentation teaches educators ways that children learn, and ways that adults read children’s learning’. Te Whariki The national curriculum of New Zealand, published in 1996, was a result of the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum Development project, co-directed by Margaret Carr. Her seminal work on Learning Stories has been the fundamental text for exploring how to create effective pedagogical documentation: how learning stories are created, what they are used for, and how they impact teaching and learning. ‘The crucial stages of noticing, recognising, and responding reflect the three components of a learning story as narrative observation, analysis of learning, and planning for future learning. As a teacher or practitioner, you notice many things when working with a child, you recognize and identify some of what you have observed as learning and develop your response to that learning. This means not just describing children’s confidence or participation, but what they have learned in terms of what has changed in their dispositions, behaviours, skills, knowledge, or language. Valuing children’s resourcefulness, creativity, problem-solving and curiosity’. (The Education Hub) Learning stories are not just one lengthy observation, but are multiple narratives created from observations, which create a cumulative picture about a child’s learning. They are observations that are reinterpreted as stories, then analysed and used for planning the most appropriate learning opportunities for each child. The Education Hub describes the process: ‘Developing stories over time and space (in other words, linking separate stories…) enables assessment documentation to show the development of dispositions in different situations, and enables better understanding of the learner in action….Assessment in early childhood needs to reflect the complexity of children’s learning and development, and this doesn’t come via a predetermined list of outcomes children are expected to achieve. Less standardized forms of assessment are often the most appropriate for assessing complex learning in context’. In addition to describing a child’s activity, learning stories also provide information about the environment and interpersonal interactions that the child encounters. As The Education Hub states, ‘Stories might say as much about teaching as they do about learning, and therefore they can provide a source of evaluation of teaching’, especially when used in the process of collective reflection with staff colleagues’. How to move away from ticking statements of expected learning and development Over the last few years, the pressure on staff to write numerous observations of each child, regularly and frequently, accompanied by ticking learning outcomes (for example, Development Matters statements) that were never designed for such a purpose, has really brought some early years staff to their knees. Now is the time to address the ticklist problem; we have a new inspection framework (September 2019), new educational programmes for 2020/2021 and new early learning goals (ELGs) for the end of Reception summative assessment. We can now simplify the observations process, whilst still curating useful information about each child’s learning needs and sharing those with parents and carers. A simple system is required that is effective in taking the children’s learning forwards, without being an onerous task. So, let’s once and for all make those ticklists a thing of the past! Nancy Stewart’s article has been cited time and again by many professionals in the sector attempting to drive the move against the relentless, misunderstood expectations that ticking Development Matters statements is the only way to know where the children are in their learning and development. Or what their next steps should be. In most cases these next steps have simply been identified as the next statement on the list, rather than one identified from an in-depth understanding of each child’s level of development and their current interests. Now we have a new Development Matters document (non-statutory guidance for September 2021), we can still eschew any version of it becoming yet another ticklist to demonstrate progress. Easier said than done, as we can all predict that someone, somewhere, will think that that is a requirement and start the process all over the again. We do have the choice whether or not to follow it, but the pressure can be immense, particularly if senior leadership teams demand numerical data as proof of progress. If we really think about what we need from an observation, we can avoid the ticklist approach to assessment. What teachers and practitioners need is a simple narrative describing what the children can do now. And the best way to create meaningful observations is twofold: · to learn what you’re looking for when you’re observing the children · to make observations something you do as a natural part of your work, not as an add-on Observations of children’s development and preferences should not take up so much staff time that the fundamental purpose of children attending your setting is compromised. Children need attentive, engaged teachers and practitioners who know each child very well and understand how to support their future learning - by spending the vast majority of their time talking and playing with the children. Dr. Julian Grenier, lead author on Development Matters (2020) has explained how early years staff can use the new guidance, without falling back into the ticklist assessment process. Watch his video presentation here. Remember the guidance available to you, among others, is the revised EYFS which becomes statutory in September (2021), the new Development Matters, and Birth to 5 Matters. In the next articles in this series, we’ll be examining what to look for when you are observing children, and how to create meaningful, effective observations. Without a ticklist in sight. You can read Part 2 here. And Part 3 here. * Using an online learning journal to record observations of children’s learning can create a simple and effective platform for reflecting on each child’s learning and sharing our own perspectives. Staff can offer their own perspectives on the children’s learning and the whole process becomes a unifying, group activity. Tapestry’s Reflections feature offers an effective tool to share the learning and development of their children with colleagues, to reflect on them, and to plan for their future experiences.

About the Role of a SENCo The role of a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) is always interesting and impossible to explain succinctly. Everyone has an idea about the role of a teacher but that’s only a small part of a SENCo’s job. The breadth of the role is specific to the school you are in and the needs of your children. Relationships are key to the role (as with teaching) but for a SENCo the reach is wider: you need to develop positive relationships with the children, staff, parents, outside agencies, governors, and leadership teams so that you can achieve and maintain support for children. In the early days I also learned that part of my role was to manage expectations for children, parents and professionals. At this point I have a big confession – I am a rescuer. If I can see a way of making things easier for someone, I will do it. This is how I became so interested in Special Needs. I was fascinated by how I could help this group of children to achieve, to discover their barriers and help to overcome them and to celebrate with them when they did well. However, as SENCo I soon realised people come from many directions. Some staff expected me to teach all the SEND children or to have interventions that removed them from class; some children expected me to be with them all the time and struggled to share that time with others; some parents expected their child to have every intervention possible and to get an EHCP. And I really don't like disappointing people. The biggest part of my job was to develop relationships with our whole school community, to be visible, and to chip away at misconceptions; to deliver workshops and CPD for all staff to explain our provision and my role within it; and all the while continuing to nurture those core relationships. As a rescuer, I find it challenging to maintain a strategic view, but this is a crucial part of the SENCo role. We need to have a clear vision for SEND children in our schools. This means having an overview of the interventions in place and their impact; monitoring progress of individuals; maintaining the SEND register so that we can target the interventions effectively; having oversight of the budget; planning professional development around SEND; providing progress data and analysis to the Local Authority and Governors (and OfSTED when they visit); keeping up to date with statutory paperwork and making all the necessary referrals; supporting teachers to implement programmes or recommendations from outside agencies; and developing consistent transition routines for our vulnerable children. It is a broad and varied role, which is why it is important to maintain that strategic view for your school. There are also the hands-on and practical elements: supporting colleagues with specific needs; ensuring the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ process is happening; working with parents and staff to make EHCP applications; responding within timescales to consultations; liaising with parents and providing support for parents; liaising with outside agencies; being in the playground to meet and greet children and provide soft starts to manage transitions; leading small interventions and assessments: maintaining the staff appraisals process for support staff; ensuring there are consistent visuals being used across the school; and providing SEMH support (THRIVE) for children and staff. Since 2014, SENCos are required to hold a professional MA level qualification, involving research and two academic papers, which I completed in March. That’s how my role looked before March 2020. What happened in Lockdown? In 48 hours, this was all turned on its head. Face to face relationships with outside agencies, each of them reeling from the changes, were now conducted at arm's-length through phone calls/ virtual meetings. These agencies took the opportunity to catch up on report writing and send them to me, and I learned how to ‘Zoom’ and ’Skype’ so that meetings with the Local Authority could still go ahead and new EHCPs could be issued. I phoned and emailed children and families, inviting them in as part of our vulnerable group and planning the additional support they would need. I completed risk assessments for children in school or at home and provided information to the Local Authority and DfE on which children were attending and what actions we were taking to encourage those who weren’t. I continued to write referrals and collated information on any Mental Health and Wellbeing support available to parents, posting it on our website and emailing it to families. I responded to emails from parents, many of whom were experiencing high anxiety and finding the situation very challenging, offering them daily support. I worked with SLT to coordinate the staff team effort to stay connected to our children using video and postcards. With some vulnerable and Key Worker children in school, we covered staff breaks, did the admin in the absence of office staff, staying open over the holidays so there was provision in place for the children who needed it. Parents, children, and staff were scared. My role was to reassure, to let them know ‘we are still here’ and offer consistent, calm support. As we welcomed more children back to school, I was involved in the planning of the additional safeguards, routines and signs for everyone to follow. We set up the school during the May half term to ensure everything was ready for the increasing number of children and staff on site. Our staff have been amazing, and my Head and Deputy have been strong and supportive in their relentless determination to do the best we can for our children. Our Deputy learned how to set up a blog for our school community and we all learned to ‘Loom’ to put the content on so children could see us and stay connected. The announcement of the wider opening brought its own challenges. It raised expectations of parents, who are living in challenging circumstances, with their SEND children at home. Despite everything we had done, some parents were frustrated when we couldn’t meet their expectations. Not all schools were able to open to Yr6, Yr1 and Reception and Nursery children and meet the social distancing guidelines. Some parents were anxious and didn’t want their children to attend, and some parents were simply exhausted and needed to vent. For many families, the pandemic has highlighted the lack of resources in SEND nationally and they needed someone to talk to. But there were some truly golden moments: children who flourished in the small group situation in school, parents who really appreciated how hard our staff were working; ‘Kindness photos’ sent in by families to cheer people up; sometimes just the cheery waves and smiles from everyone in school as they navigated the madness. September 2020 and beyond... Although it has been a steep learning curve, we were in a good position for September. We had to think creatively about our transition processes. We sent photos, inviting children (who weren’t attending) in after school to have a tour of the school and see all the changes and posting welcome videos from new teachers. More was done in the week before the children returned to nurture those relationships. Whole school opening brings its own risks because of the number of people on site. However, we have developed plans in line with guidance, including staggered starts, ends and breaks. Cleaning regimes were all in place for term 6 so this is becoming the norm for staff, and more children will become involved. It will be a team effort, and our whole school community will need to work together to keep each other safe. Communication will continue to be vital in managing the emotions of families, which range from thinking all the safeguards are ridiculous to wanting really strict safeguards in place. The most important part of welcoming our children back is making sure they feel safe. We know they won’t be able to learn without this. This is particularly important for our children with SEND who may communicate their fears in very different ways, and our team are alert to this and focused on wellbeing. Children need space to air their worries and experiences in their own way when they are ready. My team and I are in the playground in the mornings and provide soft starts for those who need it. I am also maintaining contact with children who are not able to return. We now have an established online system and we post weekly videos for those children based around THRIVE activities. Creativity and gratitude are so important to the recovery process for the whole school community. We have a real opportunity to continue to build on the relationships we had to nurture in different ways during lockdown. We know we can adapt and rise to the occasion. The Autumn term will be busy, but never dull!

Labels are certainly useful. Baking a chocolate cake would be slightly hazardous if we did not know which tin contained the cocoa powder and which one the gravy browning. The results could be deadly if the local pharmacy received all their drugs in unlabelled boxes. Labels can be very powerful, especially when linked to clever marketing. It always fascinates me that some young children who show no interest in text or any signs of readiness for reading can often recognise words such as McDonalds or Tesco. Labels can be dangerous. As adults we often trust sources of information when they have particular labels on them and this can lead to trouble when these labels are used by fraudsters. Labels can be mysterious. How often do we long to see what is behind the fence of an area labelled keep out? How much do we long to know the content of a letter or document which is marked strictly confidential? Labels can be life-saving. None of us would readily open a container labelled as hazardous waste. It keeps us safe to have a swimming pool labelled at points with its depth. Labels can be comforting. Many of us stick for years to the same tried and tested brands and panic when they are no longer available. It can raise our confidence levels at an event to be wearing a particular brand of clothing that we think suits us. Labels are, of course, linked to our use of language and are very influential. From professionally created brand names to the everyday use of adjectives, labels can shape how we use and think about things. Think about a street where two families live next door to a household with three large dogs. On one side the adults describe them as ‘lovely dogs’ and are happy to let their children stroke them and throw toys for them to retrieve. The neighbours on the other side have little experience of dogs and they tell their young children to keep away from the ‘scary dogs’. The young children of that family are nervous about walking past the house and cower when the dogs start barking. Both families are describing the same dogs, but the children will grow up with different views not just of their neighbours’ dogs, but very possibly of all dogs well into their lifetime. Labels, however, are not only applied to objects but very often are applied to people – sometimes by themselves and sometimes by others. Sometimes these labels are applied intentionally and sometimes unintentionally but they will influence how others perceive us and how we feel about ourselves. Labels can improve our self-confidence or can weigh us down with depressing baggage. Those of us who work with young children need to bear this in mind on a daily basis. Young children are impressionable and some of the ways we think about ourselves as children are extremely difficult to reframe as we get older. It is very easy to inadvertently label children as we speak to colleagues and, while we may not apply this labelling directly with children, it will impact the way we work as a team, communicating with them and their families. Whilst it is important to be careful about the language we use with and in front of children, we are also in a position where we can encourage them to take on positive labels for themselves and discourage them from taking on board the negative. As children we would recite the old adage, ‘sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me’, but I think we all realised, deep down, that this was not true. It is misleading and we should never under-estimate the effect that words can have. One of the labels that I carried around for a very long time was ‘accident prone’. It still follows me today, just a few weeks ago on a family walk my mother was trying to make my son feel better about breaking something by telling him how many cups and glasses I broke as a child. As I developed through adulthood I gradually began to realise that this was something that did not really define me. The label had led to the idea becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy. I began to understand that small accidents and incidents that would have been forgotten if they happened to someone else began to become part of my story and narrative that backed up the ‘clumsy’ label. As an educationalist I came to understand that all children can have periods of clumsiness as they grow and develop through different phases. As an adult I wasn’t particularly prone to breaking things and could work, decorate, sew and play sports with adequate control and dexterity. I would like to point out that this label was never applied to me in a cruel way and was part of humorous family conversations. However, I do think that on reflection, there are things that I am slightly hesitant about carrying out and things I am nervous about handling because of the long term impact of being labelled ‘accident prone’. On the other hand, there have been times when I have used this part of my narrative to my advantage in training or social situations. When I have needed an amusing anecdote about myself, it has come in handy to quickly be able to recall when I fell in a coal hole, almost sunk a boat and accidently drilled a hole in the classroom table! I am concerned at some of the labels that are being used for children and young people in the current crisis. I am worried that being described as the “Covid generation’, the generation who need to ‘catch up’, or the group who ‘missed school’ will impact on how they perceive themselves as learners. I am not saying that the pandemic has not had a detrimental impact on the education of our young, but I am certain that, with the right support, the experience of these past few months does not need to define who they are and what they can achieve. We somehow need to help them to look at what potential they have and not focus solely on what they have missed. We need to find a rhetoric which motivates them to identify and seize the possibilities and opportunities in life. Using appropriate labels to describe groups of children and learners has always been problematic, precisely because we want to avoid a situation where it leads to them feeling like they have failed in some way or are not as successful as others in their peer group. Terms such as ‘remedial’ and ‘lower set’ have been replaced with phrases such as ‘catch up’, ‘closing the gap’ and ‘support groups’. Nonetheless, I think we need to ask ourselves constantly whether the language we are using is still suitable. In the early years many of us have used the term ‘emerging’ rather than ‘below expected’ because it feels kinder and indicates that progress is being made. However, after a while any phrase begins to carry with it connotations, and we need to re-evaluate the words we use on a regular basis. In my view, the standards agenda that has been prominent in our education system has led to an increase in negative labelling. Testing and measuring at the level that currently happens encourages competition and leaves us trying to find ways to describe those who are reaching goals and those who are not. As the EYFS undergoes reform, I very much welcome the move back to trusting professional judgement and the move away from reliance on data driven assessment. This will take time to embed, and practitioners will need opportunities for excellent professional development to build both their understanding of child development and confidence in their own judgements. It is my great hope that the early years sector will become awash with professionals who are experts in observational assessment and who are able to identify the amazing things that all children can do. On reflection, whilst the use of appropriate and positive language matters greatly, it is not going to make a difference on its own. With a real change of viewpoint and approach we can give all children the support needed to achieve, not by looking at what they can’t do, but by looking at each individual and recognising their differing strengths and starting points. We can then build on what children know and introduce them to new ideas, skills and knowledge in a timely manner which is appropriate to their own rate of growth and development. Surely, this could put us in a position where we are not spending as much effort struggling to find words or phrases to label those who do not meet the requirements of the standard norm and instead dedicate that time to truly enriching the lives and educational experience of this ‘covid capable-generation’. Leslie Patterson Educational Consultant Finding the Magic in the Early Years