Explain the observation, assessment and planning cycle.

The EYFS requires practitioners to plan activities and play opportunities that will support children’s learning while supporting the areas of learning within the EYFS. Practitioners must plan carefully so that individual children’s needs are met and that the activities and play opportunities help children progress towards their early learning goals. Planning, observation and assessment contribute to supporting the learning and development requirements of children. Observing individual children carefully can help to identify what their needs and interests are. To ensure that practitioners meet the needs of individual children it is important that the follow the observation, assessment and planning cycle. Observation is when practitioners observe/watch children to understand their interests, needs and learning styles. Observing children is a useful process as it provides information which the practitioners can use to support the children when planning and preparing activities for them. Observations should be made in a range of contexts, for example they should be done during independent play, during everyday routines and also when the child is engaged in play with others.

EYFS MAY 2008 “planning should be flexible enough to adapt to circumstances”. Observing children will also enable practitioners to understand what their current stage of development is. Without the process of observation practitioners will not be able to fully support the children as they will not have a clear idea on what the child’s needs and interests are. Practitioners must ensure that they gain parent’s permission before they carry out any observations on the children because some parents may not want their child to be observed. During observation practitioners need to look, listen and record what they see in the observation, they must not involve themselves in the observation as it may affect what the child is doing. An assessment is when practitioners analyse observations to see what they tell them about a child. Accurate assessments enable practitioners to make judgements which lead to action to support individual children. They help each child to develop and learn by ensuring that the practitioners provide children with appropriate experiences and opportunities. Practitioners gather the information in their observations to identify aspects of the child’s learning and development. By doing this it will enable them to assess what a child’s needs and requirements are and how well they can be supported. The final part of the cycle is planning, this is when practitioners then use t