Observing babies is one of the most rewarding parts of early years practice, allowing practitioners to understand each child’s unique development, interests, and learning style. Here, Ann Clare explores why baby observation matters, practical ways to carry it out without it feeling burdensome, and how to use observations to assess learning, plan effectively and support children’s next steps.
It seems to me that one of the most natural things in the world is to observe babies and young children. Their growth and development is amazing, and if we do not observe then we miss out on countless opportunities to see the miraculous changes that take place.
But if observing is a natural thing to do, why is it that so many practitioners look on this part of their job as burdensome and paper-laden?
The frequent argument against observing is that it takes the practitioner away from the babies and children in their care.
Indeed, I’ve witnessed settings whose administrative demands sometimes feel heavier than what Ofsted or local authorities actually expect for high-quality care and learning.
But if practitioners plan to observe and use systems that are not burdensome, then observing becomes the natural thing that it should be.
So, why do we need to do baby observation? And how can we observe in such a way that it becomes an enjoyable part of the process of caring for your children?
Firstly, we need to observe in settings because we are responsible for the babies in our care, especially those we regard as vulnerable.
This might be children who you have already identified in the very earliest stages of their life of being in need of additional support to enable them to learn and develop at an age-appropriate rate.
The reports of both Field (2010) and Allen (2011) have raised the awareness of both government and practitioners about the need to identify as early as possible any children who are not following the normal stages of development.
As a result, the government has made it a statutory requirement for early years providers to carry out a progress check for children between the ages of two and three, assessing their learning and development in the EYFS’s three prime areas.
The government has also identified the need for practitioners working with babies to have qualifications and training that equip them to make the correct assessments of children at age two and be better able to support the learning and development of babies.
But in order to assess, practitioners need to observe and they need to realise that there are many ways you can do this.
The starting point for gathering any information to inform the planning for babies is to have long and detailed discussions with parents when their children first attend a setting.
Ensure that this dialogue continues with updated information on a regular basis. After all, who knows their baby the best?
Once you’ve gathered the information from parents, you can begin to plan for that baby based on what you know they like to do and are interested in. Consider the following example:
Oscar’s mother tells us that he enjoys putting things behind and under the furniture. The practitioner needs to stop and think; could this be the sign of an enveloping schema?
‘If so, then I need to give Oscar resources such as small bags, boxes, tins with lids, paper or boxes which he can cover in paint and fabrics so that he can envelop himself.’
Once you’ve added these resources to the environment, you can stand back and watch what he does with them.
Simply put, from an observation by a mother, you have made an assessment and then planned activities for Oscar.
As part of this process, you have also planned to observe so that you can see what you need to do next to challenge his thinking and move his learning forward.
This all seems so simple, so where is the problem? Well, in any busy nursery setting, and especially in the baby room, the care needs of children often impact on the time that you have to spend observing babies and children.
It is important, therefore, that practitioners get the right balance between the routine care needs that they have to cater for and the time that they spend interacting with and observing.
Photographs and short video clips can be a helpful way of capturing observations, particularly when combined with practitioners’ professional knowledge of the children in their care.
What matters most is being able to explain what is happening, why it matters, and how it links to non-statutory guidance such as Development Matters. This relies on practitioners knowing the children well and having a secure understanding of how children learn and develop.
Once you’ve made your observations, you need to assess or interpret them if you are going to effectively plan for the babies and children in their care.
There are excellent tools to assist in this assessment, but you need to use them carefully. Non-statutory curriculum guidance such as Development Matters can be invaluable if you use it thoughtfully to inform professional judgement.
These descriptions of what children may demonstrate in their learning are just that, descriptors. They do not show all of the learning that an experienced practitioner will observe.
What they are is an overview of the learning and development that takes place at certain stages (not specific ages) in a child’s journey.
These charts were never meant to be tick lists. I worry whenever I visit a setting and see that they have instructed practitioners to put dates next to them to indicate when a baby or child has ‘achieved’ them.
These charts should instead give practitioners an idea of how a child is moving forward. They can then use them to assess in a ‘best fit’ manner.
Another resource which I have always found invaluable when looking at the language development of babies and children is the Every Child a Talker audit tool.
This document, developed by speech and language therapists, gives indicators of where a child is in their speech development.
Nowadays, we need to track children to show that they are making progress over time. This entails doing an ‘on-entry assessment’ when a baby first starts so that you can identify their starting points.
I would strongly advocate that you do this assessment after a period of about six weeks, once you’ve done close observations and the baby is feeling settled, safe and secure.
We all know that it takes a few weeks for babies and young children to settle in their new environments, and to feel safe and secure enough to demonstrate their individual identities.
‘On entry’ should also include relevant information gathered from parents. After this time, do assessments at regular intervals (I usually recommend twice a year). Make a note of whether a child is working towards, working within or secure in a particular stage of Development Matters.
Once all the observations and assessments are secure, you can identify next steps for learning, and use this to inform your planning.
When it comes to planning for babies I always promote individual planning which identifies ways in which the practitioner can work with that particular baby within the continuous provision of the environment.
When babies are young it is difficult to plan for group activities because their stages of development at the same chronological age can be so different, especially with regards to mobility and physical development.
For this age I would suggest planning for group experiences which the babies can access during the day with support from their key person.
Once children are older, planning for individuals within groups can become a lot easier. However you plan, though, it must always be about children and their learning and never what the adult ‘fancies’ doing that day.
Getting the right system for planning, observation and assessment can take time but it is always important to remember why you are doing it.
It should never be to tick the box of the local authority or Ofsted. It should be about you as a professional knowing the children in your care and giving them all the opportunity to progress.
Most importantly of all, for both practitioner, baby and parent, it’s about having fun and forming a real partnership.
Ann Clare is an early years consultant and the author of Creating a Learning Environment for Babies and Toddlers.
