This document discusses key aspects of learning, development, and assessment in early childhood education. It addresses how learners develop best when they understand what they are trying to learn and what is expected of them. It also discusses the importance of observation, assessment, and the planning cycle (OAP) in early childhood education. Assessment is described as being for multiple purposes, including the child, family, practitioner, and government accountability. The document outlines various forms of assessment and emphasizes the importance of formative assessment in moving learning forward.

1. EV681 Pedagogy, Principles and Practice in early
Childhood
Session 8: Learning and
Development

2. Learners develop best when ...
. . . they understand
clearly what they are
trying to learn, and what
is expected of them

3. What we need is an OAP

4. OAP or Planning cycle
Decide

5. Observation/Describing

6. Assessment/Deciding

7. Assessment is for the
• Child - to ensure they are making
progress
• Family – for Home/School liaison, HLE
• Practitioner – to reflect on intervention
• Setting/learning environment - planning,
resources, etc.
• Government/LA – accountability
‘..provide an accurate national data set..’
(p7 EYFSP)

8. Assessment is . . .
• Assessment foci built into
plans/units/schemes of
work
• Praise / well done/rewards
/celebrations
• Verbal feedback to children
• Written feedback to children
/ ‘Marking’/comments on
work
• Tests
• Questions
• Talk for learning e.g. TPS,
lolly sticks
• On the hoof records
• Formalised records e.g.
guided reading
• Thumbs up and traffic lights
• Criteria for self and peer
assessment
• Plenaries
• Reports
• Parent conferences
• APP (Assessing Pupil
Progress frameworks) and
moderating
• Checklists

9. Robin Alexander says . . .
“Assessment for
learning.... is intrinsic to
pedagogy rather
than detached from it”
(p325)

10. Mary-Jane Drummond says. . .
Assessment has four characteristics:
1. It is embedded in everyday practice
2. It is observation based
3. It requires an interpretation
4. It indicates the way to better
learning and teaching
Adapted from 1993, p13

11. The EYFS guidance says . . .
“ Assessments are the decisions you make using what
you have observed about a child’s development
and/or learning” (Principles in to Practice 3.1, 2007)
“On-going formative assessment is at the heart of
effective early years practice.” (p3 DM 2012)
“On-going assessment . . . is an integral part of the
learning and development process.”(p10 Stat Framework 2012)
“effective assessment presents a holistic view of a
child”(p8 EYFSP Handbook, 2013)
“Accurate assessments take account of contributions
from a range of perspectives including the
child, their parents and other relevant adults.” (p8
EYFSP Handbook, 2013)

12. The four basic elements of AfL:
•
•
•
•
Sharing learning goals
Effective questioning
Self and peer evaluation
Effective feedback

13. Ted Wragg
Questioning
http://www.teachersmedia.co.uk/videos/hotresearch-questions

14. Professor Wiliam 2012
A "really crucial aspect" of AfL:
"designing your teaching on the assumption that
pupils aren't going to get it all the time"
"AfL is all about better teaching.”
1.
2.
3.
4.
Clarifying, sharing and understanding learning intentions.
Eliciting evidence of pupil learning
Providing feedback that moves learning forward.
Using pupils as learning resources for one another, through
methods such as peer assessment and peer tutoring.
5. Encouraging pupils to be owners of their own
learning, through self-assessment and other methods.
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6261847

15. Sustained, shared thinking (SST)
Siraj-Blatchford et al (2002) REPEY
• Tuning in
• Genuineness
• Respecting the child’s
decision
• Reminding
• Encouragement to
further thinking
• Offering an alternative
point of view
• Speculating
• Reciprocating
• Modelling thinking
(meta-cognition)
• Re-capping
• Sharing own
experience
• Clarifying

16. Teachers’ Standard 6
• Know and understand how to assess the
relevant subject and curriculum areas
• Make use of formative assessment
• Use relevant data to monitor progress, set
targets and plan subsequent lessons
• Give pupils regular feedback, both orally and
through accurate making and encourage
pupils to respond to feedback

17. Data via summative assessment
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
EYFSP
National curriculum levels (including P levels)
Teacher assessment and SATS
YR 1 phonics ‘check’
Raise online
NFER optional tests
https://www.rai
seonline.org/Ab
CATS YR 7
out.aspx
FFT
GCSE etc..
http://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/getting-to-grips-withassessment-primary/

18. Assessment in the National
Curriculum 2014
• No level descriptors
• Expectation of some “grading of pupil attainment in
the ‘core subjects’”
• Replacing the current writing test with teacher
assessment of writing composition (from 2013)
• Introducing the SPAG test from 2013:
spelling, grammar, punctuation and vocabulary.
http://www.hleducationservices.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/english-grammar-spelling-andpunctuation-test-sample-materials.pdf
• Publishing more data in the performance table e.g.
a strong focus on the progress of every pupil. New
progress measures will be introduced to focus on
the performance of low, middle and high attainers.

19. The Early Years Foundation
Stage Profile
What do you know about this?
• In each group think about something you know
about the EYFSP . . .
• . . . and something you would like to know more
about the EYFSP
http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/2/2013_eyfs_handbook.pdf
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/assessment/eyfs/b00217
443/eyfs-exemplification

20. The legal bit
• The EYFS Statutory Framework (DfE, 2012)
sets the standards for learning, development
and care for children birth to the end of YR
• The Childcare Act (2006): all EY providers must
ensure their provision meets these standards
• These standards are assessed by a statutory
assessment, the EYFSP

21. What has the EYFSP shown us
to date?
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SF
R/s001098/index.shtml
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/e
arly-years-foundation-stage-profile-results2012-to-2013

22. Percentage of children working securely in each area of learning in 2009, 2010 and 2011

23. Percentage of children working securely within each assessment scale by gender, 2011

24. “. . . however convenient it might be to simplify
the reality of children’s learning, the treating of
everyone the same in order to produce a neat
tidy set of data . . . will inevitably result in that
most useless of exercises, the collection of data
that is unusable and meaningless.”
Dubiel, J in Featherstone & Featherstone (2008) p94

25. Building the Profile
20 items of info
Commentary on the 17 ELGs in
• Three Prime Areas: Communication and language; Physical
development; Personal, social and emotional development, and
• The Four Specific Areas: Literacy; Mathematics; Understanding of
the world; Expressive arts and design, and
• The Characteristics of Effective Learning: Playing and exploring;
Active learning; Creating and thinking critically

26. What’s it for?
“. . . to provide a reliable, valid and accurate assessment of
individual children at the end of the EYFS.” (p7)
• Inform families of their child’s progress
• Support transition to KS1 (NC)
• Assist Yr1 teachers’ planning

27. What it’s not for
“The EYFSP is not intended to be
used for on-going assessment for
Early Years settings or Reception
classes.” (p5)

28. Completing the Profile
• Observations – every day interactions
• Contributions from family, other
colleagues, other settings/provision – and the
child!
• Summative but based on formative
assessment throughout year

29. “Practitioners . . . should be aware that the
definition of evidence is any material, knowledge
of the child, anecdotal incident or result of
observation or information from additional
sources that supports the overall picture of a
child’s development.
There is no requirement that it should be formally
recorded or documented; the extent to which the
practitioner chooses to record information will
depend on individual preference. Paperwork should
be kept to the minimum that practitioners require
to illustrate, support and recall their knowledge of
the child’s attainment.” (p12)

30. Characteristics of Effective Learning
What will you be looking for?
• Playing and Exploring - engagement
– Finding out and exploring
– Using what they know in their play
– Being willing to have a go
• Active Learning – motivation
– Being involved and concentrating
– Keeping on trying
– Enjoying achieving what they set out to do
• Creating and thinking critically – thinking
– Having their own ideas
– Making links
– Choosing ways to do things

31. Early Learning Goals
•
•
•
•
•
17 of them
Best fit judgement of the whole goal
Expected; Exceeding; Emerging
Learning journeys
Exemplification materials

32. Assessment for learning: a whole
school approach
AfL: A whole school approach
http://www.teachersmedia.co.uk/videos/primar
y-assessment-for-learning-a-whole-schoolapproach

33. Planning

34. OAP or Planning cycle
Decide

35. Why plan?
• Part of a wider framework
(medium-term and long-term planning)
• To identify what, how and when you want the
children to learn
• To select appropriate teaching and learning
strategies – for ALL children
• To pin down what you intend to
see/hear
• To envision the future; where next

36. Good lesson plans
• Start from the child; recognition of what has been
learned or experienced
• Express what you intend the children to learn
• Identify the criteria for success in the learning
outcomes
• Detail the teacher’s role indicating the strategies and
opportunities for assessment
• Conclude with an overview of what needs to be
taught next, based on the assessment information
gained.

37. Learning Objectives
What is it you want the children to know,
understand, or be able to do by the end of this
lesson/session?
Can describe…, can perform…, can explain…, can
recall…, can compare…, can contrast…, can
label…, can list…, can match…, can draw…,
can collect…, can measure…, can choose…, can
justify…, can select…, etc. etc.

38. Transitions

39. Transition into Reception or
Nursery Class
• What will this involve?
• Why is it important to get this right?
• Home visiting
– What are the benefits and logistics?
– What will a home visit look like?

40. Why home visit?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Building relationship with family
Family and child at ease
Family as first and most enduring educator
Emotional security
Shared understanding
Initiate communication

41. Transition out
• Reporting, sharing info
• Children’s perspective
– meta-cognition
– self assessment and target setting

42. What do children think?
• What do you like doing best?
• What do you think you can do now that you
couldn’t do when you were younger?
• What do you think you learn at nursery?
• What do you learn at home?
• What do you think you’re really good at?
• What do you find tricky or don’t like doing at
nursery?
Hutchin, V. (2008) Supporting Every Child’s Learning London:Hodder
and Stoughton (p78)

43. Suggested follow up
• Whizz through ‘Inside the Primary Black Box’
Harrison & Howard
• See Ch3 ‘Preparing children for the move to KS1’
(Aspire)
• Look at this journal article:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0
9575146.2010.512557
• Find out more about the Profile
• Download ‘Technology’ from the exemplification
materials
• SBT1 – find out more about transition