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Using the Foundation Phase

Child Development Assessment Profile

Training for Assessment

1. Introduction to the Guidance Materials and Record Form

2. Considerations when planning and managing assessment

3. Making judgements and recording evidence

4. Checking understanding of assessment arrangements

The Training Agenda: Four Sessions

Glossary

• Developmental Areas: The assessment is holistic, divided into six Developmental Areas.

• Steps: Each Developmental Area describes seven Steps in children’s progress.

• Descriptions of Behaviour: These are the fine grain descriptions of assessment demands. Usually three (occasionally two) Descriptions of Behaviour are linked with each Step.

Introduction to the Guidance Materials and Record Form

• The six Developmental Areas

• Assessment stories

• ‘Descriptions of Behaviour’ and ‘Steps’

(Refer to the Record Wheel and Guidance to illustrate these terms. Examples from ‘Personal, Social and Emotional development’ will be used in this session.)

Session 1

Summary of Areas of Learning and Developmental Areas

Guidance Materials: Assessment story

Guidance Material for one Description of Behaviour

How the guidance materials define & illustrate each Description of Behaviour

Look at the Descriptions of Behaviour within Personal, Social and Emotional.

Think about and discuss likely behaviours you may observe which would count as meeting the various Descriptions of Behaviour.

Can you think of behaviours that would be ‘near misses’?

Activity One

Guidance Materials: Assessment story

Purposes of the Assessment stories

• To provide an overview of the seven Steps in each Developmental Area.

• To serve as ‘range finders’ to decide starting points in assessment.

Typically, practitioners will need to explore at least three adjacent Steps to complete a child’s assessment in any one Developmental Area.

Using Assessment stories

Think of one child you know well.

• At what point in the Assessment Story can that child’s point in development be located?

• What seems to be the appropriate range of Descriptions of Behaviour to be looking at in this child’s performance?

• With which Description of Behaviour might you begin the assessment?

Activity Two

Session Two

Staff availability to carry out the assessments

The number of children to be assessed

The timetable of staff and children’s attendance

The number of sessions attended by each child

Availability of provision for specific observations

Times of day when particular behaviours are observable

The Developmental Areas selected to be assessed

Some form of timetable or scheduling is likely to help!

Considerations when planning and managing assessment

Organising the assessment

Three contexts in which children might show relevant behaviours:

Behaviours that happen regularly so assessable at any time.

Behaviours that happen in particular situations, e.g. dressing.

Behaviours that require adults to set up situations, e.g. classifying objects; physical activities as a group.

Which contexts might be relevant when assessing each Description of Behaviour in Personal, Social and Emotional?

Activity One

Planning and managing assessment

Observation Planning Sheet 1: (Focus on timetable of attendance for children and staff)

Planning and managing assessment

Observation Planning Sheet 2: (Focus on areas of continuous provision)

Planning and managing assessment

Observation Planning Sheet 3: (Focus on areas of continuous provision and Description of Behaviour)

Session Three

Possibilities for allocating responsibilities within the setting

Individual staff responsibility for named children across all Areas

Individual staff member responsibility for one Area at a time for all children to be assessed

All staff together assess children, one Area at a time, Area by Area

Making judgements and recording evidence

Making and recording temporary judgements

Consider using temporary recording methods (such as sticky labels, etc.) while gathering evidence. Ensure observations are relevant to the intended Description of Behaviour. Ensure the recording describes actual evidence. Look for positive behaviour which meets each Description of Behaviour. Extend assessment until no further independent success is likely. A temporary record can be changed.

Confirming and permanently recording judgements

Transfer temporary information on those Descriptions of Behaviour judged confidently to be within child’s capability to the Record Form. Initial and date.

The person transferring the record must be an identified member of staff.

Where a Description of Behaviour has not been met, do not transfer the temporary record onto the Record Form.

Information on the Record Form should not be changed after dating and signing.

Making Best-fit judgements

The process requires:

A review of the evidence of the child’s capabilities as recorded on the Record Form.

A decision as to which row is most characteristic of child’s performance on that theme.

The best fit decision to be recorded by shading and dating the relevant circle in the margin of the Record Form.

Best-fit decisions require a review of all evidence relevant to the Developmental Area. The best-fit decision must reflect which one Step best

matches a child’s behaviour, even if performance is patchy.

Making a best-fit judgement

Look at the sample record of the child’s behaviour.

Make a best-fit judgement that takes account of the recorded evidence.

Shade in a circle indicating your view of the best fit.

Write down your reasoning in making your best fit decision.

Row criteria met

Row criteria met

Both row criteria not met

Making ‘best-fit’ judgements

Making ‘best-fit’ judgements

Summarising progress on the Record Form

The Record Wheel offers a summary of a child’s progress across the six Developmental Areas.

Each of the seven Steps in each Area is identified.

Each Description of Behaviour is marked with a number and a letter. These are to be shaded when assessment judgements are recorded permanently.

The smaller emboldened circles at each Step are to be used to record best fit judgements, by shading.

Session Four

Review of session.

Review use of Guidance Materials.

Review use of Record forms.

Review recording evidence of meeting Descriptions of Behaviours.

Review of making and recording a best fit Judgement.

Review the process of summarising progress on the Record Wheel.

Checking understanding of Assessment Arrangements

Timetable

September 2011- ImplementSeptember (19th-23rd) 2011 Networking Sessions

October- Moderating

Thank You!

For more information or further support.

gjenkins@carmarthenshire.gov.uk(01267) 246702