Assess

Concerns about a child's development may have been identified before starting a setting for example, from birth or from health checks or they could be identified through observation and assessment within the setting. 

First steps...

If there is concern about a child's progress through the early learning goals the key worker needs to gather as much information through observation in order to be able to ascertain exactly where within the age bands their development is.  Key workers can then use the outstanding individual statements as guides to what to focus on.  This can be incorporated into the daily activities within the setting.  Please refer to the Identifying Initial Concerns section of this tollkit for more details.

Other things to consider ...

A child's development can be influenced by other factors so these need to be considered when assessing a child's level of development, for example:

• can the child see?
• can the child hear?
• can they understand what is being asked of them?
• can they focus/concentrate?
• is English an additional language?
• were they premature?

These can be discussed with parents/carers when settings share concerns with parents.

Using the Early Years Learning Goals:

A more detailed assessment of the child's development is needed using the assessments that take place in the setting to ascertain where within the different age bands the child's needs lie. 

Other Checklists

There are many checklists available that can help give more information about the child's stage of development.  Examples of these are given below:

• Stoke Speaks Out has a brief summary of 'What to expect' at different ages for pre-school children.
• Cumbria County Council have produced a webpage that encompasses typical development and support for two year olds: Supporting and enhancing early education for two year olds. 
• NASEN have also produced a Case Study Supporting a child with communication and interaction needs (NASEN requires membership - which is free - to access these materials).

Checklists can be really useful in assessing and arranging support for children but if settings are using checklists, it is important to consider how they are completed as this will effect the conclusions that are made from the information, for example:

• make sure your judgements are accurate by ensuring results are based on a number of observations, do not tick off statements based on seeing it happen once.  It is important to ensure that achievements are seen over time.
• ensure that children are observed completing the activity independently without adult support and this is explicit on the checklist.
• be cautious of electronic checklists and the conclusions they make about children.

Specialist Services such as the Educational Psychology Service or Entrust may use other more detailed checklist.  Examples of these checklists include:

• Portage checklist
• PIP Charts
• Barry Carpenter- Early Years Engagement Profile
• Let's Play - A Guide to Interactive Assessment with Young Children