3.1. Explain how to monitor children and young people’s development using different methods

This guide will help you answer 3.1. Explain how to monitor children and young people’s development using different methods.

Monitoring a child or young person’s development is an integral part of working in the children and young people’s workforce. It helps track physical, intellectual, language, emotional, and social progress. Monitoring ensures support can be targeted where it’s needed while identifying any difficulties early. By employing a range of methods, practitioners can achieve a fuller understanding of a child’s growth and factors affecting their progress. In this guide, we will look at various ways to monitor development, highlighting their purpose, procedures, and benefits.

Observations

Observations involve watching the child or young person in everyday activities. This method is practical as it allows practitioners to see how they behave, interact, and develop naturally in familiar surroundings. Observations can be structured or unstructured:

• Structured observations focus on specific behaviours or activities. For example, a practitioner might observe how a child responds when sharing toys in a group setting.
• Unstructured observations are more informal and open-ended. These might involve watching a child during free play to assess their social skills or language use.

Observations may be recorded using formats such as checklists, narrative reports, or photographic evidence.

Benefits include:

• Evaluating development in real-time.
• Noticing strengths and areas for improvement.
• Identifying patterns of behaviour or learning styles.

A challenge with observation is ensuring objectivity. Practitioners should avoid making assumptions and stick to factual recording.

Standardised Assessments

Standardised assessments are tests or tasks given to children to compare their abilities or development to standard expectations for their age group. They might include literacy or numeracy tests or other developmental checklists like the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ).

Strengths of standardised assessments:

• Provide measurable results that can be compared to national averages.
• Highlight specific developmental delays or advanced skills.
• Help support the creation of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) or other interventions.

It’s important to use these assessments appropriately, ensuring they are a positive experience for the child. Some children may feel under pressure, so making them feel at ease is essential for accurate results.

Developmental Checklists

Developmental checklists are practical tools that outline typical milestones for a particular age range. Practitioners tick off skills or behaviours the child demonstrates. Examples include:

• Observing whether an infant can crawl or say their first words.
• Checking if a toddler can complete a simple puzzle.
• Ensuring a young person can follow multi-step instructions.

Benefits of these checklists:

• They are quick and simple to use.
• Milestones are clearly presented, making it easy to spot delays.
• They can be revisited periodically to track progress over time.

It’s important to remember that children develop at different rates, so checklists should be used as a guide and not set in stone.

Peer and Self-Assessment

Children and young people can be encouraged to evaluate their own development or the progress of their peers. Self-assessment might involve reflecting on their skills or behaviours and setting their own goals. Peer assessment could mean giving feedback on another child’s work or play.

The benefits of peer and self-assessment include:

• Building self-awareness and responsibility for their own growth.
• Developing social and communication skills by providing feedback.
• Encouraging collaborative learning.

This method works best with older children who understand fairness and how to give constructive feedback.

Learning Journals

Learning journals are ongoing records of children’s achievements and progress. They often combine different forms of evidence:

• Written observations.
• Photographs of activities.
• Examples of children’s work, such as drawings or worksheets.

Journals allow parents and carers to see their child’s development firsthand. Regularly updating and sharing the journal promotes communication between practitioners and families.

Advantages of learning journals include:

• A comprehensive record of achievements.
• Celebrating strengths and creativity.
• Highlighting areas where more focus might be needed.

Assessment Frameworks

Formal assessment frameworks are methods created by organisations or government agencies to monitor developmental progress. For example, in England, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework guides early education settings on monitoring young children’s development from birth to five years.

Strengths of using formal frameworks include:

• Consistent criteria for monitoring children.
• Clearly defined developmental areas (e.g., communication and language, physical development).
• A focus on early intervention when delays are identified.

Such frameworks involve structured observations, tracking individual progress, and preparing written reports to share with parents and other professionals.

Discussion with Parents or Carers

Parents or carers know their child best. Having open discussions with them about the child’s development provides rich information they might not show in a setting. For instance, a parent might share how their baby sleeps, eats, or interacts at home.

Benefits include:

• Gaining a fuller picture of the child’s development.
• Strengthening trust with families.
• Identifying cultural or personal influences on a child’s growth.

Practitioners should handle these discussions sensitively and avoid bias or judgement. This encourages trust and a positive working relationship.

Professionals’ Input

In some cases, advice from external specialists or other professionals may be required. This can include health visitors, speech and language therapists, or educational psychologists.

Why seek external input?

• Professionals bring specific expertise to assess or support, such as diagnosing speech difficulties.
• They offer additional strategies or interventions tailored to individual needs.

Bringing together input from a range of professionals may take the form of a multi-agency approach. Collaborating as a team ensures the child’s development is reviewed holistically from multiple perspectives.

Play-Based Monitoring

Play is central to children’s learning and development. Practitioners can use playful activities to monitor various skills, such as motor skills, problem-solving, or teamwork. For instance:

• Building with blocks can reveal spatial awareness, hand-eye coordination, and motor skills.
• Roleplay games show social interaction and creativity.

The advantage of this approach is that children are often more relaxed during play than in formal activities. Their natural abilities and behaviours can emerge without pressure.

Work Sampling

Work sampling involves reviewing a selection of the child’s work over time, such as art, writing, or other completed tasks. This method examines outputs across different developmental areas.

Benefits include:

• Demonstrating improvement over time.
• Giving evidence of intellectual and creative skills.
• Allowing comparison with peers (while noting individual abilities).

Balancing Workload and Ethics

Monitoring development is important, but practitioners should keep their actions reasonable and respectful. Heavy-handed or frequent attempts to monitor progress could create stress for both children and staff. Following standards and ethical guidelines keeps the child’s well-being central to all monitoring activities.

Practitioners must safeguard privacy. Personal information or developmental data must follow confidentiality rules, such as those in the Data Protection Act 2018.

Conclusion

By combining multiple methods, practitioners can gain a well-rounded insight into children and young people’s development. Whether through observation, assessment frameworks, or creative play, each technique supports understanding progress and identifying support needs. Every child is unique, and using varied approaches allows practitioners to adjust their support strategies thoughtfully.