A guide to EYFS Observation, Assessment & Planning€¦ · A guide to EYFS Observation, Assessment & Planning Who is this guide for? Maybe you are a new Childminder, or perhaps an

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An explanation of the EYFS Assessment Requirements - Plus a walk-though guide to how you could complete

observation, assessment & planning in your Childminding business

A guide to EYFS Observation, Assessment &

Planning

© The Childminding Café, a registered trademark of The Resource Reserve ltd



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Contents

A GUIDE TO EYFS OBSERVATION, ASSESSMENT & PLANNING ....................................................... 3

WHO IS THIS GUIDE FOR? ................................................................................................................................... 3 WHAT IS IN THIS GUIDE? .................................................................................................................................... 3 HOW DOES THIS GUIDE WORK? ......................................................................................................................... 3

THE EYFS ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS ................................................................................................. 4

AGE‐SPECIFIC ASSESSMENTS .................................................................................................................... 5

PROGRESS CHECK AT AGE TWO .......................................................................................................................... 5 ASSESSMENT AT THE END OF THE EYFS – THE EYFS PROFILE ....................................................................... 5 OUR PROGRESS CHECK AT AGE TWO – WRITTEN SUMMARY TEMPLATE ...................................................................... 6

ON‐GOING ASSESSMENTS WITH OBSERVATIONS AND PLANNING ............................................... 9

A NOTE ON WHAT THE REGULATIONS SAY ABOUT EYFS ASSESSMENT PAPERWORK AND PARTNERSHIP: ............ 9

A SUGGESTED PLAN FOR UNDERTAKING OBSERVATION, ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING IN YOUR SETTING – EYFS CIRCLE ................................................................................................................ 10

THE EYFS CIRCLE ............................................................................................................................................ 11 EYFS OBSERVATION, ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING PROCEDURE ................................................................. 13 EYFS LEARNING JOURNEY TEMPLATE ............................................................................................................ 15 EYFS OBSERVATION, ASSESSMENT & PLANNING RECORD ............................................................................ 24 EYFS CHILD’S PERSONAL PLAN ...................................................................................................................... 34 WEEKLY ACTIVITY PLAN .................................................................................................................................. 36 EYFS WEEKLY ACTIVITY PLAN ....................................................................................................................... 37 COMPLETING THE EYFS CIRCLE ...................................................................................................................... 38

EXTRA INFO, COMPLETED EXAMPLES AND SOURCES‐ ................................................................... 39

COMPLETED PROGRESS CHECK AT AGE TWO – WRITTEN SUMMARY ............................................................. 40 COMPLETED OBSERVATION, ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING RECORD ............................................................. 43 COMPLETED EYFS CHILD’S PERSONAL PLAN ................................................................................................. 52 COMPLETED EYFS WEEKLY ACTIVITY PLAN ................................................................................................. 54 SOURCES ............................................................................................................................................................ 55



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A guide to EYFS Observation, Assessment & Planning

Who is this guide for? Maybe you are a new Childminder, or perhaps an established one, and would like to gain an insight into how you could effectively carry out EYFS assessments in your setting. This guide is for all registered childminders in England who are wondering how to practically implement the EYFS Assessment requirements into the day‐to‐day running of their childminding business. It is not intended as a substitute for all the information provided in either The Statutory Framework of the Early Years Foundation Stage, or the Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage documents produced by the Department for Education DfE), but rather a tool to help you understand the information and how best to implement the practices into your setting.

What is in this guide? This guide first summarises the EYFS regulations regarding assessment. It looks at both on‐going (formative) and age‐specific (summative) assessments. Next an overview of how you could complete the ‘Progress Check at age two’ required assessment is given and the ‘Assessment at the end of the EYFS (the EYFS Profile)’ is

briefly discussed. The guide then moves to look at on‐going assessment with a suggested framework in which to carry out observation, assessment and planning for each child in your care. This framework includes four key documents, these are each detailed before completed examples are given.

How does this guide work? This guide uses plain English but where necessary uses the words from regulatory documents to ensure the exact requirement is specified. Don’t worry, as you work through the guide everything should become clear. You will get the most out of it if you consider a child in your care and carry out each of the steps as suggested.



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The EYFS Assessment regulations The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory requirements are a set of regulation that all Early Years childcare providers are required to adhere to. These regulations include assessments that you may need to undertake for each EYFS‐aged child in your care. There are two sets of assessments: age‐specific assessments and on‐going assessments. Assessments are connected of the wider topic of learning and development. Assessments should be made through your observations of a child across 7 areas of learning & development1 and lead into your future planning.

The assessment requirements cover three pages (10‐12) of the EYFS document. Here we highlight what we think are the most important sections concerning assessment, however it is worth reading the entire EYFS document when you have a spare thirty minutes. The document can be found within our Ofsted & DfE Resources page.

The Department for Education has also published a supporting, non‐statutory document called ‘Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage’. This document provides more specific information on observation, assessment and planning, such as ensuring you include all three characteristics of effective learning in your planning. It also contains a comprehensive table highlighting what you may observe and how you could plan activities for EYFS‐age children across a variety of age‐bands. The Development Matters document should help with your assessments and is used by many childminders.

1 Just the three prime areas for children under two years old.

2 If the child attends more than one setting, the Progress check at age two should be



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Age‐specific assessments

Progress check at age two If you have a child in your care between the age of two and three it is likely that you will need to review their progress, and provide parents and/or carers with a short written summary of their child’s development in the prime areas of learning & development2.

The EYFS states that: “This progress check must identify the child’s strengths, and any areas where the child’s progress is less than expected” Clause 2.3

There is no prescribed format for completing the written summary of the progress check, but the actual progress check needs to include the following for at least the three prime areas of learning & development:

• areas in which the child is progressing well; • areas in which some additional support might

be needed; • any areas where there is a concern that a child

may have a developmental delay; and • the activities and strategies you intend to

adopt to address any issues or concerns.

This formal assessment can be a daunting prospect. To help we have created a Progress check at age two written summary template, shown on the following three pages. This template can be downloaded from our EYFS 2012 Resources page. You can amend it to your liking before using your existing observation, assessment and plan records (discussed later in this eBook) to complete the written summary for each of the three prime areas of learning & development.

Assessment at the end of the EYFS – the EYFS Profile In addition to a summative assessment between the ages of 2 – 3 years, practitioners must undertake a further assessment when the child reaches the end of the EYFS. In almost every case, the child will be at school by this time and so this assessment should be carried out by the child’s school. If you do find that this assessment is relevant to you, please read clauses 2.6 – 2.10 of the EYFS framework document.

2 If the child attends more than one setting, the Progress check at age two should be undertaken by the setting where the child has spend most time.



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Our Progress check at age two – written summary template

Progress check at age two – written summary Childs name: Date of birth of child:

Date: Age of child in months:

Completed by:

It is a statutory requirement for me to complete a ‘Progress check at age two’ and to provide parents with a written summary of this progress check for each child in my care aged between 24 – 36 months (unless completed by another childcare provider with whom the child spends more time). The progress check needs to consider the child’s development against the three prime areas of learning and development and in particular highlight any specific areas of concern. It is also a requirement that the written summary must include activities and strategies that I plan to put into action to help promote the child’s development in each of the three areas.

Here is a written summary of the ‘Progress check at age two’ that I have completed for your child. Please share it as you see fit with your health visitor. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss anything in this written summary with you. Thanks.



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Prime Area of Learning & Development: Personal, social and

emotional development

Aspect Progress observed Activities and strategies to promote development

Making relationships

Development stage (month range)

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

Self‐confidence and self‐awareness

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

Managing feelings and behaviour

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

Prime Area of Learning & Development: Physical Development


Moving and handling

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

Health and Self‐care

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+



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Prime Area of Learning & Development: Communication & Language


Listening and attention

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

Understanding

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

Speaking

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

Summary comments and next steps

Parent’s comments

A completed example of our Progress check at age two – written summary is provided in the Extra info, completed examples and sources‐ section.



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On‐going assessments with observations and planning On‐going assessment is at the heart of effective early learning practice. An assessment of what a child can and can’t do will help a childminder to plan relevant activities that will support a child’s learning and development. An effective assessment is impossible however unless that childminder has both taken the time to observe the child and understands what can be generally expected within broad age‐bands.

We therefore suggest that you incorporate observation, assessment and planning into your practice. We have created a plan for this, which we call the ‘EYFS Circle’ as well as four key documents. We will go through each step in the EFYS circle and each document in the next section.

A note on what the regulations say about EYFS assessment paperwork and partnership:

“Assessment should not entail prolonged breaks from interaction with children, nor require excessive paperwork. Paperwork should be limited to that which is absolutely necessary to promote children’s successful learning and development. Parents and/or carers should be kept up‐to‐date with their child’s progress and development. Practitioners should address any learning and development needs in partnership with parents and/or carers, and any relevant professionals ” EYFS Clause 2.2

The intention of inserting this new clause into the EYFS 2012 regulations may be to limit the amount of paperwork childminders have to do. However in reality it can create uncertainty over what could be considered too little paperwork and what may be seen as too much in an inspection. Our EYFS Circle is a tried and tested method and we have received great feedback about its appropriateness for EYFS 2012.



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A suggested plan for undertaking Observation, Assessment and Planning in your setting – EYFS Circle

Our EYFS Circle is a method that we have created and comprises of four key documents. Our EYFS Cirlce may go over and above the basic requirements however it has been effective in helping children develop and has contributed to childminders achieving ‘outstanding’ Ofsted inspection grades.

• First we look at the EYFS circle so that you can visualise how each element fits together.

• Next we look at our written Observation, Assessment and Planning procedure.

• Having understood the framework, we will then work through each of the observation, assessment and planning documents. To do this please consider one of the children in your setting, or if you are yet to care for a child, maybe a young child of your own. This process is for one child, if you are caring for more you will need to do this for each child in your care (but for now just focus on one).

The Observation, Assessment & Planning documents which we will go through

The EYFS Learning Journey

A type of individual diary for each child – includes observation sheets. Use at any time.

The EYFS Observation, Assessment & Planning (OA&P) record

A record for each child ‐ includes formal observations, assessments and plans to help the child develop in each area. Completed approximately every 3 months depending on age.

The EYFS Child’s Personal Plan

A summary for each child of the main development areas. Completed after each OA&P record.

The EYFS Weekly Planner

A weekly plan for the setting outlining the week’s activities and how these cover the 6 areas of learning & development.



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The EYFS Circle

The EYFS circle shows how each of the observation, assessment & planning documents detailed in the guide fit together. In addition it highlights how each of these documents need to be used together with policies, procedures, records etc to fulfil the other welfare and learning & development requirements.

The EYFS circle shows how you should run your childcare setting on a daily basis with regulations in mind. This means that the wellbeing of children is at the centre of your setting through your actions, the policies and procedures that you adhere to, and the paperwork that supports your setting (such as accident and injury records and risk assessments).

In addition to the daily running of your setting the EYFS Circle highlights four documents that should be completed. First, each child should have their own Learning Journey which is completed on an ad hoc basis, maybe by picking an activity each week and by noting observations as they appear. The observations and results of the activities should then feed into the child’s Observation, Assessment & Planning record. This is then translated into key development plans for the child for the medium term in the Child’s Personal Plan. Finally a



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Weekly Activity Plan is developed for your setting which incorporates activities that support aspects of the highlighted development plans of each child.

Remember that this is a circle and not a one‐off activity, so the activities in the Weekly Plan will link into the Learning Journey and your observations, and so the process will continue.

The challenging part can be that each child has his/her own unique plan but it is likely that you will only have one Weekly Activity Plan in your setting. Therefore you may want to create activities that can be carried out by children at a variety of development levels. For example sowing plant

seeds into small pots. Older babies could play a stacking game with the pots, younger children could put soil in the pots and older children

could count out the seeds. It may be necessary though at times to develop an activity that is targeted at a specific developmental area for a child. Remember that the Weekly Activity Plan is a guide and to allow children to chose and lead activities frequently.

A note about timings:

Unless your local development officer or Ofsted tells you otherwise, there is no set rule for how often the circle needs to be completed. In practice the observation and activity sheets in the Learning Journeys will be added to quite often whilst the more formal Observation, Assessment and Planning records and Child’s Personal Plans will be completed less often, depending on the speed of development in each child but as a guide maybe every 3 months. As the name suggests, the ‘Weekly Activity Plan’ should be completed for each following week and is based on the priorities highlighted in each child’s personal plan.



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EYFS Observation, Assessment and Planning procedure Below is an example Observation, Assessment and Planning procedure which mirrors what is shown in the EYFS Circle. However, for completeness, the procedure also includes what to do if you are required to carry out a Final EYFS assessment. It is very unlikely that you will need to complete a Final EYFS assessment but if you do I would suggest you contact your local authority for guidance.

EYFS Observation, Assessment and Planning procedure

The EYFS is from birth to the end of the academic year following a child’s 5th birthday. Regular assessments are to be completed during a child’s time in the EYFS and an EYFS Profile assessment is to be completed as the child finishes their EYFS if not already at school.

Assessment during the EYFS

• Ongoing assessment is an integral part of the learning and development process. I will ensure that I am observing children and responding appropriately to help them make progress towards the early learning goals.

• I will carry out an assessment soon after my childminding relationship starts with a child. This way I will have a record of their developmental starting points.

• Assessments will be based on my observations of children’s achievements, interests and learning styles in their day‐to‐day activities, gathered from a wide range of learning and teaching contexts. I will use my Observations record sheets within the child’s Learning Journey folder to note down observations as I come across them.

• I will record my formal observations and assessments in an Observation, Assessment and Planning record. The recording of the observations and the basis of the assessment will be based on the Learning & Development table within the “Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage” document from the Department for Education and Skills.

• Observations will be sought from parents and noted in the observation sheets with the child’s Learning Journey folder or within the Observation, Assessment and Planning record if more appropriate.

• I will use the information gathered from the Observation, Assessment and Planning record to form the child’s personal plan.

• The child’s personal plan will set out the learning priorities and proposed methods of play to achieve these priorities.

• The child’s personal plan will be used to compile the weekly planner for all children, to ensure that group activities help towards the child achieving their learning priorities.

• Examples of these activities will be included in the child’s Learning Journey folder.

Continued on next page…



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Please remember ‐ This procedure works with the EYFS circle but might need amending or adding to for your own setting.

EYFS Observation, Assessment and Planning procedure continued

• I will develop a child’s Learning Journey folder for each EYFS age child in my care, regardless of whether or not they also attend another childcare setting (excluding school).

• The information on the Observation, Assessment and Planning record as well as the child’s personal plan will be available for parents to see on request.

Assessment at the end of the EYFS

Childcare providers must make arrangements for each child within the final year of the EYFS to be assessed throughout the year. All childcare providers must use the 13 scales and have regard to the scale points as set out in EYFS Profile and assessment scales.

However if a child experiences a range of settings during the final year of the EYFS the EYFS profile must be completed by the provider where the child spends the majority of the time between 8 am and 6 pm.

Therefore it is highly unlikely that I will be required to complete an EYFS Profile as cared for children in this age bracket will be attending school and therefore the school will complete the EYFS Profile for the child.

I will be available to provide input to the school to assist with an EYFS Profile as required



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EYFS Learning Journey template Our EYFS learning journey template can be used for the first stage of the EYFS Circle. It feeds into our child’s Observation, assessment & planning record used in stage two. The Learning Journey contains two sections:

All about me section This contains four pages, ‘All about me’, ‘My family’, ‘What I like to eat and drink’ and ‘Things I like to do’.

You can either ask the child’s parents/carers to complete this section, or you can fill it in with the child when you first start caring for them. As some of the information is likely to change over a period of time, if a child is old enough, a good activity could be to update these pages with the child taking the lead.

Learning stories section

The second section contains ‘Learning Story’ sheets; these are sheets for recording information about specific activities that you undertake with the children. You can add a photo of the activity, the outcome of the activity, ideas for follow‐on activities and how the story links with the EYFS seven Areas of learning & development and three Characteristics of effective learning. There is also space for the child and parents/carers to comment on the story. Filling out a story sheet for each activity would create too much paperwork, just focus on activities that are relevant.

Observations section

Here there is space for you to write observations as and when you see them or are told about them happening away from your setting. Make the observation more relevant by highlighting which of the seven areas of learning and development it relates to.

These observations are used to feed into the observation boxes in the child’s Observation, assessment & planning record.

Fun stuff section

Finally there is a section for you to add any fun stuff the child has been doing.

The Learning journey template is follows on the next pages, we have added comments to help your understanding.



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My EYFS Learning Journey My EYFS Learning Journey

Here is a picture of me:

In your setting you should put a picture here.



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My EYFS Learning Journey

All about me! My name is

My date of birth is

My home language is

Other childminders / playgroups / nurseries or schools I attend

What I like to do with my family

My special friends are

Special times I celebrate

Answered by:

With a little help from:

You can complete this with the child, or ask their parents to complete it.



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My family This is a picture of my family

Stick a picture of my family

here please

Here is a bit of information about my family (and my pets if I have any):

Answered by:


In your setting you should put a picture here.



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My EYFS Learning Journey What I like to eat and drink

There are lots of things that I like to eat and drink and a few things I am not so keen on…

Answered by:


Food and drink I really enjoy

Food and drink I am not so keen on or that my body doesn’t like



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My EYFS Learning Journey What I like to do

There are lots of activities that I like to do and things that make me happy but there are also a few things I

am not so keen on…

Answered by:


Interests and activities that I enjoy (and things that make me happy if I am sad)

Interests and activities that I am not so keen on



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Learning Story Overview of activity:

Age: Date:

What was noticed

Ideas for next story

Parent’s /Carer’s voice

Child’s voice

Areas of Learning & Development covered (circled):

Characteristics of effective learning covered (circled)

Playing & exploring | Active learning | Creating & thinking critically

There are lots of these sheets in the Learning Journey. Complete for activities that are relevant to the child’s learning & development. Not too many as it will take too much time, perhaps one a week (or fortnight if you have lots of children).



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Observations Here are some observations that my childminder, other children, my family or I have made. My childminder can reflect on these in her observation, assessment and planning.

Black ink = my childminders observations Blue ink = my observations

Red ink = my parents observations Green = other children’s observations

Observation: Date:

EYFS areas of L&D this covers:

Literacy P.S&E dev.

Mathematics Com & Language

U. the world Physical dev.

E. Arts & Design

Characteristics of effective learning covered:

Playing & exploring | Active learning |

Creating & thinking critically

Observation: Date:

EYFS areas of L&D this covers:

Literacy P.S&E dev.

Mathematics Com & Language

U. the world Physical dev.

E. Arts & Design

Characteristics of effective learning covered:

Playing & exploring | Active learning |

Creating & thinking critically

There are lots of these sheets in the Learning Journey. Complete an observation box when you see something that you think is relevant to their learning & development.



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Fun stuff Here are some pictures, paintings, stories that I have written, and

other fun things that I have done with my childminder

There are lots of these sheets

in the Learning Journey. Complete with photos, or paste in drawings that



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EYFS Observation, Assessment & Planning record This Observation, Assessment & Planning record assists the second stage of the EYFS Circle and draws from learning stories and observations from stage one – the child’s learning journey. The planning outcomes from this record feeds into stage three of the EYFS circle ‐ the child’s personal plan.

Use the tables in the Development Matters document from page 8. These tables go through each of the 7 areas of learning and development, and each of the aspects (each leads to a learning goal) for each of those 7 areas. In the document each aspect has bullet points describing what you might observe (A unique child) in a child’s development, what you could do (Positive relationships) as well as what you could provide (Enabling environments) to aid that development for overlapping age brackets. Using your observations as a guide write, for each aspect, what you have observed. Now gently assess whether, broadly, the child’s development is in line with the development statements (remembering that babies and young children develop at their own rates and their own ways). Circle the age‐band the child’s development best fits. Finally note planning ideas that will help the child to develop in that aspect. This column will feed into the Child’s personal plan document.

For younger children, focus on the three prime areas of learning & development



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EYFS Observation, Assessment & Planning record

EYFS 2012

Observation, Assessment & Planning Record Child’s name: Date of birth of child:




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Aspect Observation Assessment Planning

Making relationships Early learning goal: Children play co-operatively, taking turns with others. They take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity. They show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings, and form positive relationships with adults and other children.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

Early learning goals detail the level of progress children should be expected to have attained by the end of the EYFS (EYFS Statutory Framework)

Self‐confidence and self‐awareness ELG: Children are confident to

try new activities, and say why

they like some activities more

than others. They are confident

to speak in a familiar group,

will talk about their ideas, and

will choose the resources they

need for their chosen activities.

They say when they do or don’t

need help.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

Managing feelings and behaviour ELG: Children talk about how

they and others show feelings,

talk about their own and others’

behaviour, and its consequences,

and know that some behaviour is

unacceptable. They work as part

of a group or class, and

understand and follow the rules.

They adjust their behaviour to

different situations, and take

changes of routine in their stride

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)



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Prime Area of Learning & Development: Communication &

Language


Listening and attention ELG: Children listen

attentively in a range of

situations. They listen to

stories, accurately

anticipating key events and

respond to what they hear with

relevant comments, questions

or actions. They give their

attention to what others say

and respond appropriately,

while engaged in another

activity.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)


Understanding ELG: Children follow

instructions involving several

ideas or actions. They answer

‘how’ and ‘why’ questions

about their experiences and in

response to stories or events.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

Speaking ELG: Children express

themselves effectively,

showing awareness of

listeners’ needs. They use past,

present and future forms

accurately when talking about

events that have happened or

are to happen in the future.

They develop their own

narratives and explanations

by connecting ideas or events

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)



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Prime Area of Learning & Development: Physical

Development


Moving and handling

ELG: Children show good

control and co-ordination

in large and small

movements. They move

confidently in a range of

ways, safely negotiating

space. They handle

equipment and tools

effectively, including

pencils for writing.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)



ELG: Children know the

importance for good health

of physical exercise, and a

healthy diet, and talk

about ways to keep healthy

and safe. They manage

their own basic hygiene

and personal needs

successfully, including

dressing and going to the

toilet independently.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)



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Specific Area of Learning & Development: Literacy


Reading

ELG: Children read and

understand simple

sentences. They use

phonic knowledge to

decode regular words

and read them aloud

accurately. They also

read some common

irregular words. They

demonstrate

understanding when

talking with others

about what they have

read.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)


Writing

ELG: children use their

phonic knowledge to

write words in ways

which match their

spoken sounds. They

also write some

irregular common

words. They write

simple sentences which

can be read by

themselves and others.

Some words are spelt

correctly and others are

phonetically plausible.

((0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)



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Specific Area of Learning & Development: Mathematics


Numbers

ELG: Children count

reliably with numbers

from 1 to 20, place them in

order and say which

number is one more or one

less than a given number.

Using quantities and

objects, they add and

subtract two single-digit

numbers and count on or

back to find the answer.

They solve problems,

including doubling,

halving and sharing.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)


Shape, space and measure

ELG: Children use

everyday language to talk

about size, weight,

capacity, position,

distance, time and money

to compare quantities and

objects and to solve

problems. They recognise,

create and describe

patterns. They explore

characteristics of everyday

objects and shapes and use

mathematical language to

describe them.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)



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Specific Area of Learning & Development: Understanding the

world


People and communities ELG: Children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They know that other children don’t always enjoy the same things, and are sensitive to this. They know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)


The world ELG: Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

Technology ELG: children recognise that a

range of technology is used

in places such as homes and

schools. They select and use

technology for particular

purposes.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)



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Specific Area of Learning & Development: Expressive arts and

design


Exploring and using media and materials

ELG: Children sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)


Being imaginative

ELG: Children use what

they have learnt about

media and materials in

original ways, thinking

about uses and purposes.

They represent their own

ideas, thoughts and

feelings through design

and technology, art,

music, dance, role-play

and stories.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)


Child’s voice:



33

Parent’s / Carers voice:

End of EYFS Observation, Assessment & Planning record



34

EYFS Child’s Personal Plan

This Child’s personal plan makes up the third stage of the EYFS Circle and draws from the child’s Observation, assessment & planning record developed in stage two. The detailed planning outcomes from this record feed into stage four of the EYFS circle – your Weekly activity plan. Complete this record by reviewing the plans that you have written in the child’s Observation, assessment & planning record. Pick out the learning priorities that you want to give priority to over the next few months and add them to the ‘Learning Priorities’ column.

Next spend a bit of time coming up with ideas of what you could do, or what you could provide, that would help the child to develop in the priority areas. You can gain ideas from the ‘Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)’ document’. Look at the ‘Positive Relationships’ and ‘Enabling Environment’ columns within each area of learning & development (page 8 onwards) for the rows appropriate for the age of the child.

Try to develop activities that promote effective learning through both adult and child‐led activities (page 5 of Development Matters):

1. Playing and exploring – engagement

2. Active learning – motivation 3. Creating and thinking critically –

thinking

For younger children, focus on the three prime areas of learning & development.



35

Child’s Personal Plan for:


Areas of L&D Learning priorities Ideas of effective learning activities to develop child in this area:

Personal, social and emotional development ‐ Prime

Communication and language ‐ Prime

Physical development ‐ Prime

Literacy – Specific

Mathematics –Specific

Understanding the world – Specific

Expressive arts and design – Specific

For younger children, the focus should be on the 3 prime areas of learning & development. Childs voice:

Parents / carers voice:



36

Weekly activity plan This is the fourth stage of the EYFS Circle and draws from the information in each Child's Personal Plan. Drawing from the individual Child's Personal Plans, you can add activities for the week. The coloured coins are added to each cell to show which of the 7 areas of learning & development the activity promotes. The challenging part can be that each child has his/her own unique plan but it is likely that you will only want one Weekly Activity Plan in your setting. Therefore you may want to create activities that can be carried out by children at a variety of development levels. For example sowing plant seeds into small pots. Older babies could play a stacking game with the pots, younger children could put soil in the pots and older children could count out the seeds. It may be necessary though at times to develop an activity that is targeted at a specific developmental area for a child. Remember that the Weekly Activity Plan is a guide and to allow children to chose and lead activities frequently. The outcomes of these activities feed into each child's learning journey, thereby continuing the EYFS circle.



37

EYFS Weekly Activity Plan

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Morning

Lunch

Afternoon

Tea



38

Completing the EYFS Circle Completing the circle is easy: Once you have completed the activities that you developed in the EYFS Weekly Plan, make notes of any observations and detail the results of the activity in the Learning Diary. Don’t make notes of every activity (this would take up too much time!) just ones that you think are particularly relevant to the child’s development. The circle then rolls on as you move from the Learning Diary to the EYFS Observation, Assessment & Planning document.

Remember to include parents in all elements of the circle. Ask them to let you know of any developmental changes or any activity ideas (after all they know the child the best). Make sure they can see and comment on the EYFS Circle documents at any time. Perhaps even give them a copy of the Weekly Activity Plan at the start of each week.



39

Extra info, completed examples and sources‐

• Completed Progress check at age two – written summary • Completed Observation, Assessment and Planning record • Completed Child’s Personal Plan • Completed EYFS Weekly Activity Plan • Sources



40

Completed Progress check at age two – written summary

Progress check at age two – written summary Childs name: Olivia Date of birth of child: *****

Date: ***** Age of child in months: 25 months

Completed by: ******* (Childminder)

It is a statutory requirement for me to complete a ‘Progress check at age two’ and to provide parents with a written summary of this progress check for each child in my care aged between 24 – 36 months (unless completed by another childcare provider with whom the child spends more time). The progress check needs to consider the child’s development against the three prime areas of learning and development and in particular highlight any specific areas of concern. It is also a requirement that the written summary must include activities and strategies that I plan to put into action to help promote the child’s development in each of the three areas.

Here is a written summary of the ‘Progress check at age two’ that I have completed for your child. Please share it as you see fit with your health visitor. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss anything in this written summary with you. Thanks.



41




Making relationships

Development stage (month range)

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

• Olivia is usually happy to

play alongside other

children and is starting to

be interested in others’

play, however she rarely

joins in unless I am with

her.

• Olivia demonstrates sense

of self as an individual

and has her own

preferences and interests.

She hasn’t yet got the

confidence to carry out her

preferences without me

close-by.

• Olivia is beginning to

understand sharing,

although her growing

sense of will and

determination can result

in feelings of frustration.

The next steps are to develop

strategies to build Olivia’s

confidence, to compliment her

natural curiosity, These may

include:

• Ask other children in my care to

gently encourage Olivia to

participate in their game.

• Praise Olivia when she plays

nicely with others.

• Choose books and stories in

which characters help and

support each other.

• Talk about how I am sharing a

toy with her, then ask her to

share the toy with another child.

Self‐confidence and self‐awareness

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

Managing feelings and behaviour

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

Prime Area of Learning & Development: Physical Development


Moving and handling

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

• Olivia is a great little

mover. She can walk up

stairs (two feet at a time)

run and jump. She also

has great handling and

can easily turn pages of a

book and make marks

using a pencil and

paintbrush.

• Olivia can almost dress

and undress herself and

can feed herself with a

Physical development is

clearly an area that Olivia is

very strong and I will carry

on supporting her with her

development through:

• Giving her opportunities to play

outdoors.

• Play games and attend activity

groups which help her to explore

new ways of moving.


0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+



42

spoon.

• She knows when she needs

to make a bowel movement

and takes interest in others

using the potty.

When the parents feel it

appropriate, I will work with

them on toilet training.

Prime Area of Learning & Development: Communication & Language


Listening and attention

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

• Olivia listens to and

enjoys rhythmic

patterns in rhymes and

stories. She also looks

towards the door when

hearing the doorbell.

• Olivia is starting to

understand more

complex sentences and

simple concepts (e.g.

big/little).

• Olivia can say very

simple sentences of up

to 3 words. She is also

starting to get the idea

of asking questions.

Olivia has a solid grasp of

communication and language

and is developing well. I will help

this to continue by:

• Using puppets in active learning

and encourage her to talk for a

puppet.

• Follow Olivia’s lead to talk about

what she is interested in.

• Give Olivia ‘thinking time’ to

think about what she wants to say

and make sure neither I nor other

children jump in with the words.

Understanding

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

Speaking

0‐11 8‐20 16‐26 22‐36 30‐50 40‐60+

Summary comments and next steps

Olivia is developing across all three of the prime areas of learning and development and is

particularly strong in physical development. Olivia is naturally shy and can lack confidence

in social situations. My priority will be to help her to feel more confident so that she is happy to

play with other children.

Parent’s comments

Thank you for this progress check. Olivia can be shy however she is more adventurous now at

home and we hope this will be the case at your setting soon.



43

Completed Observation, Assessment and Planning record



44




Making relationships Early learning goal: Children play co-operatively, taking turns with others. They take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity. They show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings, and form positive relationships with adults and other children.

Josh now plays with other children, rather than along side them. He can initiate conversations and asks lots of questions. Josh understands when someone is upset and makes attempts at making him or her feel better.

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

The next step are:

1. Give Josh more opportunities to interact with more children of his own age and from a variety of backgrounds.

2. Create activities that require collaboration and teamwork.

3. Generally ensure that Josh is provided with experiences and activities that are challenging but achievable.

4. Read stories about characters that follow or break rules, and the effects of their behaviour on others. Discuss these stories with Josh to build a better awareness of acceptable behaviour and

Self‐confidence and self‐awareness ELG: Children are confident

to try new activities, and

say why they like some

activities more than others.

They are confident to speak

in a familiar group, will

talk about their ideas, and

will choose the resources

they need for their chosen

activities. They say when

they do or don’t need help.

Josh is a very confident child. He is happy to ask adults and children questions and talk about what interests him. Josh is usually happy in a new situation and with new activities as long as he knows there is an adult in the background to look after him.

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

Managing feelings and behaviour ELG: Children talk about

how they and others show

feelings, talk about their

Josh can express his own feelings and understands that his actions can affect other people. He

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m)



45

own and others’ behaviour,

and its consequences, and

know that some behaviour

is unacceptable. They work

as part of a group or class,

and understand and

follow the rules. They

adjust their behaviour to

different situations, and

take changes of routine in

their stride

points out when another child is not behaving. He mostly understands and adapts his behaviour to the situation.

(30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+) the effects of bad behaviour.

Prime Area of Learning & Development: Communication &

Language


Listening and attention ELG: Children listen

attentively in a range of

situations. They listen to

stories, accurately

anticipating key events

and respond to what they

hear with relevant

comments, questions or

actions. They give their

attention to what others say

and respond appropriately,

while engaged in another

activity.

Josh can listen to others one to one or in small groups when the conversation interests him for short periods of time. He can recall stories and conversations well. In the same way as many children his age, Josh can sometimes be distracted and find it difficult to give attention to others whilst engaged in his own activity.

Developing quite well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

The next step are:

1. Give Josh opportunities to develop his concentration through games such as ‘Simon Says’. Ask Josh to suggest things that ‘Simon’ says.

2. Before activities ask Josh to describe what he thinks might happen. For example, if we are going to play in the garden, ask him whether it is hot or cold,

Understanding ELG: Children follow

instructions involving

several ideas or actions.

They answer ‘how’ and

‘why’ questions about their

experiences and in response

Josh has a good understanding of what objects are for and can follow multiple instructions (if not distracted). He asks ‘why’ and can explain why he needs to do

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)



46

to stories or events. something. Josh has a great sense of humour and makes up jokes.

whether we need a coat and what might happen if it rains.

3. Give Josh time to initiate discussions from shared experiences and have conversations with each other.

4. Encourage Josh to bring and talk about something that interests him, either something from home or within my setting/out and about with me.

Speaking ELG: Children express

themselves effectively,

showing awareness of

listeners’ needs. They use

past, present and future

forms accurately when

talking about events that

have happened or are to

happen in the future. They

develop their own narratives

and explanations by

connecting ideas or events

Josh has a good vocabulary and is able to use complex sentences. He sometimes struggles with his diction and also keeping focus to complete his sentence in one attempt.


(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

Prime Area of Learning & Development: Physical

Development


Moving and handling

ELG: Children show good

control and co-ordination

in large and small

movements. They move

confidently in a range of

ways, safely negotiating

space. They handle

equipment and tools

Josh is confident with whole body movements such as jumping and running and can skilfully negotiate space successfully. Josh struggles at times with small movements and still holds pens with a whole‐hand grip. Even so he can still write out his name and draw simple

Josh’s development ranges between the 22 ‐36 month band and the 30 ‐ 50 month band.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

The next step are:

1. To support Josh in holding a pen and drawing simple pictures through pen and pencil based activities.

2. Help Josh to begin



47

effectively, including

pencils for writing.

shapes. to dress himself.


ELG: Children know the

importance for good health

of physical exercise, and a

healthy diet, and talk

about ways to keep healthy

and safe. They manage

their own basic hygiene

and personal needs

successfully, including

dressing and going to the

toilet independently.

Josh understands that his body needs a variety of healthy food and drink and can differentiate between healthy and unhealthy treats. He understands that some activities might be unsafe and comments on other children at the park who might be doing something dangerous.

Josh can put on his jacket and pull up/down trousers shoes but not tops. He uses the toilet well.

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

Specific Area of Learning & Development: Literacy


Reading

ELG: Children read and

understand simple

sentences. They use

phonic knowledge to

decode regular words

and read them aloud

accurately. They also

read some common

irregular words. They

demonstrate

understanding when

talking with others

about what they have

Josh loves looking at books and trying to guess what the last rhyming word is on each page. Josh knows all the letters in the alphabet and likes to spell letters out. He often asks what words say on signposts. He is starting to use phonic knowledge to decode regular words.

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

The next step are:

1. To continue to support Josh in his obvious interest in letters and words.

2. Encourage Josh to write out letters.



48

read.

Writing

ELG: children use their

phonic knowledge to

write words in ways

which match their

spoken sounds. They

also write some

irregular common

words. They write

simple sentences which

can be read by

themselves and others.

Some words are spelt

correctly and others are

phonetically plausible.

Josh can write his own name but no other words or names. He does though give meanings to marks that he makes

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

Specific Area of Learning & Development: Mathematics


Numbers

ELG: Children count

reliably with numbers

from 1 to 20, place them

in order and say which

number is one more or one

less than a given

number. Using

quantities and objects,

they add and subtract

two single-digit numbers

and count on or back to

find the answer. They

solve problems, including

doubling, halving and

sharing.

Josh can count to 12 and then gets to 20 with a few errors. He knows which number is more or less than another. He can add “1 plus” up to 10. He recognises written numbers up to 9.

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

The next step are:

1. To continue to use mathematical language in everyday activities.

2. Introduce 3D shape names to Josh.

3. Talk about things happening at different times of day, for example “in the afternoon we go to pick children up from



49

Shape, space and measure

ELG: Children use

everyday language to

talk about size, weight,

capacity, position,

distance, time and

money to compare

quantities and objects

and to solve problems.

They recognise, create

and describe patterns.

They explore

characteristics of

everyday objects and

shapes and use

mathematical language

to describe them.

Josh can name a variety of 2D shapes and takes an interest in shapes in the environment. Josh can also sequence objects in size order.

Josh is starting to get an appreciation for time, talking about ‘yesterday’ for the past and ‘tomorrow’ for anything in the future.

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

school”.

Specific Area of Learning & Development: Understanding the

world


People and communities ELG: Children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They know that other children don’t always enjoy the same things, and are sensitive to this. They know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.

Josh shows interest in the background of people who are familiar to him, for example asking if another child has brothers or sisters. He also remembers significant things that have happened to him, such as moving house.

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

The next step are:

1. To introduce Josh to more people from different backgrounds and of different occupations.

2. Introduce different environments, either from pictures and stories or through outings.



50

The world ELG: Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.

Josh recognises areas and buildings near to places that we recently go, for example he says “we are near Pizza hut” when he sees a car garage he recognises.

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

3. Safely broaden Josh’s experience of technology. Include CD players, torches and kitchen technology.

Technology ELG: children recognise

that a range of technology

is used in places such as

homes and schools. They

select and use technology

for particular purposes.

Josh loves playing on the computer and can navigate to different websites using the favourite bar. He also knows how to play with mechanical toys and toys with knobs and screws.

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

Specific Area of Learning & Development: Expressive arts and

design


Exploring and using media and materials

ELG: Children sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and

Josh enjoys singing songs and doing actions. He enjoys sticking items together and making models. Josh is just starting to work out that colours can mix together to make new colours.

Developing well.

(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

The next step are:

1. To organise activities which introduce new media for Josh to experiment with.

2. Develop activities which encourage Josh to make up unique stories



51

function.

through the introduction of props and different media and materials.

Being imaginative

ELG: Children use what

they have learnt about

media and materials in

original ways, thinking

about uses and purposes.

They represent their own

ideas, thoughts and

feelings through design

and technology, art,

music, dance, role-play

and stories.

Josh likes pretend play and we are often Moshi monsters. Josh likes to take the lead in games. His role‐play usually copies stories he knows from elsewhere rather than introducing a new narrative.


(0m–11m) (8m‐20m) (16m–26m) (22m‐36m) (30m‐50m) (40m‐60m+)

Child’s voice:

I like it here. I like the computer and playing in the garden best.

Parent’s / Carers voice:



52

Completed EYFS Child’s Personal Plan

Example EYFS 2012

Child’s personal plans

Childs name: Josh

Date of birth of child: **********



53

Child’s Personal Plan for: Josh

Date: ************ Age of child in months: 42 months

Areas of L&D Learning priorities Ideas of effective learning activities to

develop child in this area: Personal, social and emotional development ‐ Prime

• Build collaboration & teamwork skills

• Build awareness of behaviour

• Teamwork games with other children in my care, For example building a castle with cardboard boxes.

• Discuss what ‘good behaviour’ would be before activities and outings.

Communication and language ‐ Prime

• Develop concentration when both listening and speaking

• Play games such as ‘Simon Says’. Ask Josh to suggest things that ‘Simon’ says.

• Go on a nature hunt and collect items for a nature box. Encourage Josh to describe items in the box and use them in play.

Physical development ‐ Prime

• To hold a pencil correctly

• Painting and drawing activities. • Encourage Josh to hold a pencil

correctly.

Literacy – Specific • To begin to know how to write letters

• Writing letters in the sand in the sand pit and get Josh to copy, then encourage him to write a letter for me to copy.

Mathematics –Specific

• To understand different times of the day, morning afternoon, evening etc

• Use drawings about things that we do in a day to make a sequence and talk to Josh about what happens when.

Understanding the world – Specific

• Learn about different people and communities

• Go to organised groups in the city centre.

Expressive arts and design – Specific

• To create new stories

• Use the items from the nature box to make stories.



54

Completed EYFS Weekly Activity Plan

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Morning Playgroup

Lets pretend ‐ Shops

Telling the time

How to read

Baby Gymnastics

Lunch Sandwiches Salad Tomato soup Ploughman’s Lunch out

Afternoon Garden activities

Playgroup & Park

Lets pretend – Puppets (round the world)

Make pizzas

Painting numbers

Tea Chilli Con Carne

Chicken Pasta Sausage casserole

Home‐made pizza

Fish fingers / curry



55

Sources

Information for this guide has been taken from the following sources:

Department for Education “Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage”. Crown copyright, 2012

Department for Education “Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage”. Crown copyright, 2012



56

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First published February 2013.

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