Nursery World - Observation

Observing individual children and using the information gained to support their learning are vital exercises, explains Dr Stella Louis, who looks at how the revised EYFS may impact practice

Observation enables practitioners to build a holistic picture of a child's needs, interests and development

It’s so important that we debate, discuss and tease out the role of observations in early years best practice in light of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Development Matters guidance. As well as some marked omissions within the documents, the terminology has also changed, so it is worth examining what impact that might have on our thinking about the practice of observation.

Neither the revised framework nor the guidance spells out how the traditional well-respected method of observation (observe, assess and plan – OAP) should underpin best practice in the early years.

The adopter version of the EYFS does still refer to practitioners’ ‘day-to-day observations about children’s progress’; however, the importance of observation is made less explicit.

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