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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
30 November 2012
Audience Local Health Boards (LHBs) and NHS Trusts; Public Health and Health Visiting services; health visitors; Flying Start coordinators/managers; national childcare provider umbrella organisations; children’s voluntary organisations; local authorities; primary and secondary headteachers of mainstream and special schools, other school managers, assessment coordinators and teachers; governing bodies of maintained schools and national bodies with an interest in education; regional education consortia; Foundation Phase and Early Years advisors, Early Years practitioners and clinicians; Care Council for Wales (CCWales); Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CCSIW); Estyn.
Overview This publication contains the findings of scoping research to identify the assessment tools currently being used for the Early Years (0 to 7 years) across health, educational and childcare settings in Wales, including which tools were being used, by whom, with whom and for what purposes.
Action None. This publication is for information only. The findings will berequired used by the Welsh Government to help inform the development of
an Early Years Development and Assessment Framework and suite of developmental assessment tools.
Further Enquiries about this document should be directed to:information Curriculum Division Department for Education and Skills Welsh Government Cathays Park Cardiff CF10 3NQ Tel: 029 2082 5751 e-mail: assessment@wales.gsi.gov.uk
Additional This document can be accessed from the Welsh Government’s copies website at www.wales.gov.uk/educationandskills
Related None. documents
Digital ISBN 978 0 7504 8747 4 © Crown copyright 2013 WG17612
Contents 1. The review and its objectives 4
2. Developing the fieldwork methodology 5
3. Qualitative fieldwork 8 4. The use of Early Years assessment tools – key findings 11 5. Information sharing of Early Years assessment data 31 6. Summary of key findings 44 Appendices
1. Fieldwork materials – topic guide for one-to-one interviews with strategic stakeholders 48
2. Fieldwork materials – online questionnaire for health visitors 57 3. Online questionnaire for childcare practitioners 61 4. Online questionnaire for education practitioners 67 5. Sample for one-to-one telephone interviews 72
6. Sample for childcare online questionnaire 75 7. Sample for education online questionnaire 76 8. Overview of the main Early Years assessment tools identified
as being used currently in Wales 78
9. Overview of locally developed Early Years assessment tools identified as being used currently in Wales 101
10. Overview of the other commercial Early Years assessment tools (and related-programmes) identified as being used currently in Wales 110
11. Glossary 125 12. Acknowledgements
The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
1. The review and its objectives The key purpose of this scoping research was to undertake a review of the
assessment tools currently being used for the Early Years (0 to 7 years)
across health, educational and childcare settings in Wales. The specific
objectives were to:
• identify the full range of Early Years assessment tools currently being
used in Wales to assess children from birth to the end of the
Foundation Phase (0 to 7 years) as used in statutory/non-statutory
settings
• identify how these tools are being used; who is using them, with whom
and for what purpose
• collate, assess, critique and summarise the information and feedback
collected on the main assessment tools
• identify the range of assessment information currently being gathered
on children in the Early Years, to include who this is being gathered by,
for what purposes, how it is being gathered, using what methods, how
it is being held (including using what software), and with whom this
information is being shared.
The report begins by outlining the methodology that was deployed in
collecting the research data. It then moves on to report on the project
objectives. The report concludes with a section that highlights key findings to
have emerged from the review.
At the project inception meeting with Welsh Government policy officials, it was
agreed that the research would be qualitative in nature as it would be
impractical to achieve a fully representative response within the very limited
timescale.
While qualitative research was the most appropriate methodological approach
for this review, it is important to bear in mind that it utilises smaller samples
that are chosen purposively, to ensure representation of a range of views.
Qualitative research is designed to be illustrative and as such the data
2
The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
included in this report are not statistically significant; this needs to be taken
into account when interpreting the research findings.
A project delivery plan for the review was finalised following discussion with
the Welsh Government contract manager and had three phases:
• developing the fieldwork materials, sample sets and fieldwork schedule
• qualitative fieldwork
• analysis and reporting.
3
The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
2. Developing the fieldwork methodology This phase included development of the following methodologies.
• Topic guides and question banks for one-to-one structured interviews
with strategic leaders and operational managers. Guidance instructions
for facilitating the one-to-one structured interviews were also developed
to ensure a consistent approach across the research team.
• Online practitioner questionnaires for each of the targeted sectors,
namely health visitors, education and childcare.
• Question banks suitable for focus groups from the targeted sectors.
Following discussion with policy officials, minor amendments were made to
the research materials to ensure the necessary information was captured.
(See Appendices 1, 2, 3 and 4 for details.)
Of key importance was the selection of a fully representative sample of
strategic leaders and managers for the one-to-one structured interviews. A
sample set was developed and agreed with the contract manager which
included:
• regional consortia/local authority Foundation Phase/Early Years
advisors
• senior health visitor managers from each of the seven Local Health
Boards in Wales
• Flying Start coordinators/managers
• representatives of the national childcare provider umbrella
organisations
• other stakeholders such as the Care Council for Wales and Children in
Wales, plus regulatory and inspection organisations such as the Care
and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) and Estyn
• local authority officers with Early Years responsibilities
• Flying Start advisory teachers
• Foundation Phase training and support officers.
(See Appendix 5 for details.)
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
A limited, geographically and linguistically balanced sample of education
settings and childcare providers was also agreed with the contract manager
for follow-up contact, if necessary, to complete the online practitioner
questionnaire. The sample was inclusive of:
• Flying Start childcare settings
• non-Flying Start registered childcare settings
• Foundation Phase settings; care was taken to not include settings that
were scheduled for inspection. (See Appendices 6 and 7 for details.)
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
3. Qualitative fieldwork Research took place across Wales between 24 September and 24 October
2012. The fieldwork methodology for the review involved two stages: service
provider and stakeholder interviews; and fieldwork with practitioners. Initially,
the organisations, groups and individuals selected for one-to-one interviews
were contacted by email and invited to participate in the review. The response
was very positive. In total 34 individual interviews took place either by
telephone or where practicable, face to face which generated detailed
qualitative information.
Qualitative evidence from practitioners was also collected by means of
bilingual online questionnaires for:
• health visitors, both Flying Start and generic
• workers in registered childcare settings
• teachers and others from maintained education settings namely
nursery, infants and primary schools. Information about the online practitioner questionnaires was disseminated in a
variety of ways. For example, maintained schools were informed using the
Welsh Government Pre-11 Dysg e-newsletter. The research team also
worked closely with the All Wales Foundation Phase Advisors Network to
ensure that information about opportunities to participate in the review was
disseminated by local authority officers directly to schools in their areas. Similarly, the national childcare organisations disseminated information about
the online childcare practitioner questionnaire to their members. The research
team also liaised with the Chair of AWARE, and the Chair of the All Wales
Family Information Services Network who kindly agreed to disseminate
information to childcare providers within each local authority area.
Information about the online health visitor practitioner questionnaire was
disseminated with the cooperation of the nominated leads in each Local
Health Board who also nominated two health visitors, one generic and one
Flying Start, for follow-up contact by telephone should it be needed.
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
Given the limited time period for the fieldwork, response rates for the online
questionnaires were positive.
Education online questionnaire
Type of school setting No. of responses %
Maintained nursery 9 8.5% Infants 12 11.3% Primary with nursery 70 66.0% Primary without nursery 11 10.4% Special school 2 1.9% Other 2 1.9% Total 106 100.0% This represents approximately 6.3% of the 3–11 schools in Wales
The online questionnaires were completed mainly by headteachers and other
senior leaders (74 per cent) and by classroom practitioners (24 per cent).
Childcare online questionnaire
Type of childcare setting No. of responses %
Private day nursery 19 16.4% Cylch Meithrin 11 9.5% Pre-school playgroup 30 25.8% Childminder 14 12.1% Flying Start Playgroup 24 20.7% Integrated Children’s Centre 5 4.3% Other 13 11.2% Total 116 100
The online questionnaires were completed mainly by childcare leaders (36 per
cent) and setting managers (35 per cent). A wide range of childcare settings
were represented including full and sessional day care, Foundation Phase
nursery provision for the local authority (e.g. part-time education for children
aged three and four), part-time Flying Start provision and wrap around care.
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
Health visitor online questionnaire
Type of health visitor No. of responses %
Flying Start 50 72.5% Generic 15 21.7% Flying Start HV Manager 3 4.4% Other; lead health visitor 1 1.4% Total 69 100.0%
The research team also gave awareness-raising presentations, when invited,
at relevant All Wales meetings, for example:
• the Childcare and Play Sector Network, Friday 5 October
• the All Wales Flying Start Coordinators Network, Tuesday 2 October.
Finally, the research team undertook focus group sessions when opportunities
where presented, for example, with the south east Wales Flying Start Advisory
Teachers group, Friday 29 September.
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
4. The use of Early Years assessment tools – key findings
This section of the report identifies the range of Early Years assessment tools
currently being used in Wales to assess children from birth to the end of the
Foundation Phase (0 to 7 years) as used in statutory/non-statutory settings.
Young children in Wales are being cared for and learn in many different
settings. Each type of setting operates with different aims, funding, resources,
staffing and quality control procedures. Such diversity of provision not
unexpectedly results in a wide range of practice, in particular in approaches
to, and standards of, child development assessment. Although the focus of
this review was primarily on those assessment tools which are being used on
a universal basis with all children, it quickly became apparent that
practitioners are using a wide range of tools, for different purposes with
different ages of children.
(Further details of assessment tools identified during the course of the review are provided in Appendices 8, 9 and 10.)
The research findings are presented from the perspective of the child by age.
Birth to 12 months
For very young children, universal developmental assessments are
undertaken by health professionals, mostly general practitioners and generic
health visitors, as part of the Child Health Surveillance Programme whereby
children are offered routine reviews at various stages of their life. Health
visitors use their professional judgement based on their knowledge and skills
in child development to carry out ongoing surveillance and to undertake
Health and Developmental reviews.
To support this approach, some Local Health Boards (LHBs) in Wales have
devised their own assessment tool/checklist based on the principles set out by
Mary Sheridan and the National Child Assessment Framework, a systematic
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
approach for gathering and analysing information about children and their
families. For example, a locally developed tool is used by health visitors to
carry out developmental assessments across the Betsi Cadwaladr University
Health Board (BCUHB) area at ages seven to eight months. Community
paediatricians worked with health visitors to agree universal standards of child
development as the tool was developed. They have also provided child
development training for health visitors to ensure a consistent approach to
assessment was adopted across the BCUHB area. Similar tools have also
been developed and are being used in Cardiff and Vale University Health
Board and CwmTaf LHB. Such locally developed tools align with the
requirements of the Healthy Child Programme and provide guidelines on
aspects of child development and the milestones each child should be
achieving within a specific age range. The locally developed tools are used by
generic health visitors to assess the developmental progress of children
against expected norms; typically all aspects of child development are
assessed.
Although no validated commercial tool is used on a universal basis with
children in this age range across LHBs, generic health visitors reported using
a limited range of commercial tools. The Neonatal Behavioural Assessment
Scale is the most referenced tool for newly born infants, whereas the most
commonly used commercial tool for use at 7 to 9 months is the Schedule of
Growing Skills II (SoGS) assessment. For example, SoGS II is used
universally with children aged 7 to 9 months by health visitors from the
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board. In contrast, health visitors
within the Aneurin Bevan and Powys LHBs, use SoGS II selectively,
dependant upon developmental delays being identified at the 7 to 9 month
review. The outcomes of the SoGS assessment contribute to the evidence
required for onward referral to a paediatrician, speech and language therapy
and for case conference purposes.
Some health visitor respondents expressed concern that a SoGS assessment
does not identify vulnerabilities within families where developmental delay in
children can be due to factors such as under stimulation in the home or
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
parental pre-occupation with other issues such as debt. As such it was felt
that a SoGS assessment needs to be used in conjunction with a family needs
assessment. In the Hywel Dda LHB area, children in Flying Start areas and
their family, be it at birth or if they move into the area, have a Health Needs
Assessment by health visitors using a ‘family assessment tool’ based on the
National Child assessment Framework. This assessment identifies whether
the child has a low, medium or high need. If identified as having a high need,
the child is reviewed at least monthly; if a medium need is identified, the child
is reviewed on a three monthly basis; however, if a low need is identified, the
child is reviewed as per the universal child health programme. Powys LHB is
currently developing a similar approach.
Although practice varies within and across LHBs, the pattern of infant
observation and assessment most typically described by respondents
corresponds with the expectations of the Healthy Child Programme and is set
out below:
Age Activity/By Commonly used tools
Birth Visit and family
assessment; health visitor
Local Health Board in-house tool Neonatal Behavioural Assessment
Scale
Personal Child Health Record
NICE guidelines on assessment of
post natal depression.
10 to 14
days
New baby review; health
visitor
LHB in-house tool Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale
6 to 8
weeks
Check-up and
immunization; general
practitioner (GP) or other
health professional
11
The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
7 to 9
months
Formal health review/
assessment/medical;
health visitor or GP
Schedule of Growing Skills II assessments (SoGS II) (19) LHB in-house tool (11) Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST-II) (2)
The setting for developmental assessments with children in this age range
varies. Typically the assessment is administered within the home or in a
health setting, e.g. a health clinic or GP surgery, depending on the needs of
the parents/carers and the caseload of the health professional administering
the assessment.
As evidenced by the results of the online questionnaire, the majority of
childcare providers who provide care for children in the 0 to 12 months age
range do not use any tool for child development assessment. Those that do
undertake assessments reported using:
• materials developed in the setting (18 per cent of respondents);
examples given included child day diaries, observation checklists and
learning journals
• Birth to three matters (10 per cent of respondents)
• Baby Effective Early Learning (BEEL)
• NMCA Cymru journals and materials.
Such key worker administered assessments are carried out in the childcare
setting.
12 months to 24 months
For this age range, development assessment practice varies considerably
across LHBs. The use of locally developed tools is prevalent. For example,
within Cwm Taf LHB, a locally developed assessment tool based on the
principles set out by Mary Sheridan and advice from speech therapists and
community paediatricians, known as the Child Health Review at 2 years is
used by generic health visitors. This in-house tool generates evidence that
may indicate a developmental delay especially with regards to autism.
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
Community paediatricians subsequently use the Modified-Checklist for Autism
(M-CHAT) tool to screen individual children for autistic spectrum disorder and
autism.
As with the previous age range, no commercial tool is used on a universal
basis across LHBs. The Schedule of Growing Skills II (SoGS) is the
assessment tool predominantly used with children in this age range and is
considered by practitioners to be a robust and reliable tool for identifying
developmental delay. The SoGS assessment is either used universally with all
children, as is the case, for example, in Abertawe Bro Morgannwg UHB, or
SoGS II is used selectively with individual children as a need is identified. The
expectation appears to be that if health visitors make a referral to
physiotherapy, speech and language therapy or community paediatric
services, then they must show clear evidence of developmental delay by use
of a validated assessment tool, normally SoGS II or an equivalent such as the
Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST-II).
Practice varies within and across LHBs and local authority areas. A summary
of assessment activity is described below (the list of ‘tools used’ is not
exhaustive).
Age Activity/By Tools used
18 months Observation/assessment/
monitoring; health visitor.
Schedule of Growing Skills II assessments (SoGS II) (31) LHB in-house tool (11)
Denver Developmental
Screening Test II (DDST-II)
(4)
Hall 4 (2)
18 to 22
months
A speech and language tool is
being trialed by speech and
language therapists in Torfaen
CBC.
Well Comm toolkit
13
The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
22 to 24
months
Health and development
review; health visitor or GP.
Schedule of Growing Skills
II assessments (SoGS II)
(26)
LHB in-house tool (9)
Autism screening (Abertawe
Bro Morgannwg University
Health Board); community
paediatrician.
Modified checklist for autism
in toddlers
(M-CHAT).
Flying Start on-entry baseline
assessment; Flying Start health
visitor.
Schedule of Growing Skills
II assessments (SoGS II).
Well-being and involvement
assessment; three times per
year; Flying Start advisory
teachers in Cardiff Flying Start
settings.
A locally developed
assessment tool based on
the work of Ferre Laevers.
(Leuven Well-being and
Involvement Scales).
24 months
On-entry baseline assessment
in Swansea, Ceredigion and
NPT Flying Start areas;
administered by childcare
workers overseen by the Flying
Start advisory teacher who
trains the childcare workers in
its use.
Locally developed
Development Tracker which
shows development
milestones from 18 to 48
months. The assessment is
repeated a further three
times during the child’s year
in the childcare setting.
The setting used for developmental assessment for children in this age range
varies. Health visitor administered assessments are typically carried out within
the home or in a health setting, e.g. a health clinic or GP surgery.
Alternatively, the key worker/Flying Start advisory teacher administered
assessments are carried out in the childcare setting. In Powys, Flying Start
health visitors invite a practitioner from the childcare setting to the child’s
home to observe the 24 month SoGS assessment.
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
As evidenced by the results of the online questionnaire, the majority of
childcare providers who provide care for children in the 12 to 24 months age
range do not use any tool for child development assessment. Those that do
undertake assessments reported using:
• materials developed in the setting (13 per cent of respondents)
• Birth to three matters (8.6 per cent of respondents)
• Baby Effective Early Learning (BEEL)
• NMCA Cymru journals and materials
• Early support developmental journal; for parents/carers of children with
additional learning needs
• commercial tools such as the ’First STEp’ assessment tool are used in
non-Flying Start Mudiad Meithrin cylchoedd meithrin to look specifically
at aspects of personal and social development and welfare, language
and communication skills, physical, numerical and creative skills.
24+ months to 36 months
For this age range, practice varies according to the type of setting and the
background of the practitioner undertaking the assessment. Types of
assessment tool which prevail include:
• LHB in-house tools
• a tool required by a national programme (Flying Start), e.g. SoGS II
• other commercial tools
• locally developed child development assessment tools and trackers.
SoGS II is the assessment tool used in all Flying Start areas/settings across
Wales to identify whether child development at 24 months is within normal
limits, that any deficit is identified and future planning is informed. In Newport
CBC, as a condition of the Service Level Agreement with providers, children
are not admitted to Flying Start settings until a SoGS II assessment has been
completed. This approach has resulted in an almost 100 per cent completion
of 24 month SoGS assessments. SoGS II assessments are also repeated with
children at 36 months of age in Flying Start settings to provide a standardised
measure of child development.
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
In addition to SoGS II, practitioners in Flying Start childcare settings are also
using a range of additional assessment and tracking tools. For example, six
Flying Start and four registered settings in Merthyr Tydfil CBC have been
using the Early Years Child Development Profile Assessment Tool (CDP)
developed from the Foundation Phase Child Development Profile Guidance
(Welsh Government, March 2009) for on-entry assessment with two-year-olds
for the past two years. The Early Years/Flying Start advisory teacher has
worked closely with development officers from the Wales Preschool Providers
Association (WPPA) and Mudiad Meithrin (MM) to support settings. The
childcare key worker observes and assesses each child, identifying for each
development criterion if a child has achieved (A) or is developing (D) the
specified behaviour. The assessment is ‘checked’ by the setting leader and
consistency of practice is monitored by the Flying Start advisory teacher. The
outcomes of the initial assessment are reported to and discussed with
parents/carers. The information is used for a variety of purposes including
development planning, short-term target setting, identification of possible
developmental needs and as a baseline for value added measures.
Similarly, an on-entry baseline assessment is also undertaken with two-year-
olds in registered childcare settings in Swansea, Ceredigion and Neath Port
Talbot Flying Start areas. A locally developed Development Tracker which
shows development milestones from 18 to 48 months is administered by
childcare workers, overseen by Flying Start advisory teachers who train the
childcare workers in its use. The tracker is used to repeat assessments a
further three times during the child’s year in the setting. The final assessment
is used as the child’s transition document on exit from the setting.
The reasons given for these locally developed approaches to child
development assessment are complex, varied and include the following.
• To be compatible with the requirements of the National Minimum
Standards (NMS) for Regulated Child Care; NMS Standard 3:
Assessment Outcome: All children have their needs and preferences
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
identified and their parents know how these needs will be met; and
NMS Standard 4; Meeting individual needs.
• To meet Estyn Common Inspection Framework requirements for
non-maintained settings.
• In Flying Start settings it would appear to be a result of the lack of
sharing on a consistent basis of 24 month SoGS II assessment
outcomes by Flying Start health visitors with childcare practitioners.
• To meet the requirement of the national childcare organisations.
The National Day Nursery Association (NDNA) recommends the use of the
Baby Effective Early Learning (BEEL) quality assurance tool. This quality
mark, which is not compulsory, looks at the education, environment and the
quality of care settings provide for all children under three years old. Settings
are awarded the NDNA quality assurance mark following submission of
self-evaluation reports, supporting evidence, parental interviews and a half
day inspection. Also the NDNA’s online quality assurance tool for nurseries,
e-Quality Counts, includes a module entitled ‘Observation and Reflection to
Inform Practice’ which sets out standards to support the development of an
in-house assessment tool.
The National Child Minder Association Cymru (NCMA) does not require the
use of assessment tools by their membership as each child minder operates
on a self-employed basis and follows local authority guidelines for funded
places such as Flying Start. NCMA Cymru has a Quality Award which requires
the child minder to evidence how they meet the various strands. As a model of
good practice, NCMA Cymru recommends that assessment tools be used in
both their training materials and workshops, however, specific tools are not
identified.
In the absence of updated Welsh Government guidance for child assessment
in childcare settings, private/non-Flying Start childcare settings have in
general developed their own systems to assess and record each child’s
developmental progress. Some practitioners have drawn upon Birth to three
matters (Department for Education and Skills, 2002), a framework which
17
The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
provides information on child development, effective practice, examples of
activities which promote play and learning, guidance on planning and
resourcing, and ways to meet diverse needs.
Normally childcare workers have had some training in child observation and in
undertaking formative assessments, often provided by a Development Officer
from their national organisation. However, the criteria against which such
judgements are made often vary across settings and may lack precision so
are open to interpretation by practitioners. The need for moderation within
settings and cluster moderation across settings is essential but difficult in
practice to achieve. High rates of staff turnover also present a challenge and
there is a need to continually train and up-skill practitioners. Typically
childcare settings use paper-based child development records to collect
assessment information about each child and Learning Journal documents to
record the achievements and progress of individual children.
As indicated, practice varies within and across LHBs and local authority areas.
A summary of assessment activity is described below (the list of ‘tools used’ is
not exhaustive).
Age Activity/By Tool(s) used
24 to 27
months
Health and development
review; health visitor.
Schedule of Growing Skills II assessments (SoGS II) (27) LHB in-house tool (19)
Denver Developmental
Screening Test II (DDST-II)
(2)
Hall 4 (2)
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
Health review/development and
immunisation check; health
visitor (or possibly GP).
Schedule of Growing Skills II assessments (SoGS II) LHB in-house tool (8)
Flying Start on-exit
assessment; Flying Start health
visitor and/or childcare worker.
Schedule of Growing Skills
II assessments (SoGS II) 36 months
Foundation Phase on-entry
baseline assessment;
classroom practitioner/
childcare key worker.
Materials developed in the
setting
Locally developed tool
CDAP in its entirety or
partially
Commercial tool
Health visitors primarily use their preferred assessment tool, be it a LHB
developed tool or a commercial tool, in one to one sessions with the child and
parent(s). At 24 months, SoGS II assessments are almost always
administered by the Flying Start health visitor in the home or occasionally in a
health care setting. At 36 months, on exit from the Flying Start setting, the
SoGS II assessment is administered either in the home or health clinic by the
health visitor, or more commonly in the childcare setting, enabling childcare
practitioners to jointly work with the Flying Start health visitor. Foundation
Phase on-entry baseline assessments are usually carried out by the childcare
key worker or the classroom practitioner, supported by teaching
assistants/higher level teaching assistants, in the child’s funded setting.
As evidenced by the results of the online questionnaires, there is no clear
pattern of child development assessment by childcare providers who provide
care for children in the 24 to 36 months age range. When asked ‘Is the
Foundation Phase Child Development Assessment Profile (CDAP) (Welsh
Government, 2011) used for on-entry baseline assessment?’ childcare
providers gave the following responses.
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
Yes in its entirety 19% Yes – partially 20% No 61%
For those providers that are not using the CDAP for on-entry baseline
assessment, the alternative range of assessment tools reported as being used
includes:
• materials developed in the setting
• the local authority baseline tool used prior to the introduction of the
CDAP
• a locally developed tool, e.g. The Learning Journey, Wrexham CBC
• commercial tools, e.g. Teaching Talking
• in a minority of cases, materials downloaded from the internet including
the Early Year Foundation Stage Profile for use in settings in England.
In 70 per cent of cases, childcare providers use an assessment tool(s) which
assesses children’s achievements in each of the seven Foundation Phase
Areas of Learning. Childcare practitioners mostly use their preferred
assessment tool, be it a locally developed tool or a commercial tool, when
observing children during planned learning and play activities within the
setting. Such opportunities are supplemented where necessary with planned,
one to one assessment-focused sessions with the child.
The results of the schools’ online questionnaire indicate a similar pattern of
child development assessment by education practitioners. When asked ‘Is the
Foundation Phase Child Development Assessment Profile (CDAP) (Welsh
Government, 2011) used for on-entry baseline assessment?’ education
practitioners gave the following responses.
Yes in its entirety 18% Yes – partially 45% No 37%
In the absence of an All Wales on-entry baseline assessment tool, maintained
schools have discretion to decide which assessment tool to use. For those
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
schools that are not using the CDAP for on-entry assessment, the alternative
range of assessment tools reported as being used includes:
• materials developed in the setting; in some cases schools have
adapted the original CDAP descriptions of behaviour to meet their own
needs. For example, materials developed in partnership by maintained
nursery schools and the Integrated Children's Centre in Cardiff
• the local authority baseline tool used prior to the introduction of the
CDAP
• a locally developed tool, e.g. an amended version of the CDAP, linked
to Foundation Phase outcomes, often focusing on the statutory areas
of learning, namely Language, Literacy and Communication Skills,
Mathematical Development and Personal and Social Development,
Well-Being and Cultural Diversity
• other commercial tools, e.g. Incerts, Performance Indicators in Primary
Schools (PIPS).
Some Foundation Phase advisors have issued guidance to schools to ensure
practitioners are aware of the Welsh Government requirement for on-entry
baseline assessment. The specific advice given varies. For example, the
Central South and south east Wales regional consortia have advised settings,
as an interim measure, to use a ‘watered down’ version of the CDAP but with
a focus on the four aspects of development, Personal, Social and Emotional,
Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing, Sort, Order and Number, that
align most closely with the statutory end of Foundation Phase outcomes.
Some schools in Cardiff have reverted to using the pre-CDAP Cardiff and
Vale baseline assessment tool whilst others have developed their own
in-house hybrid tool based on elements of the CDAP and other commercial
tools. School leaders have concerns about family of schools data and
satisfying the assessment-related evidence requirements for inspection.
Estyn require that children’s progress and achievements are not based solely
on outcome data, but there must be a valid baseline against which to compare
progress.
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Some schools are producing their own documents which are almost as
complex as the CDAP in their anxiety to do the right thing.
Foundation Phase training and support officer
Foundation Phase training and support officers encourage practitioners to
collect assessment evidence of a child’s possible developmental need at an
early stage as this helps to speed up the referral process. Early intervention is
not always possible however, as education psychologist support is limited.
To meet the local need to have a reliable, valid assessment tool, Wrexham
CBC has worked collaboratively with practitioners to develop a local
assessment tool, the ‘Learning Journey’, for use with children from
approximately 18 months/24 months up to national curriculum Level 4. The
focus is on the holistic development of the child, the stage of development
achieved not the child’s age. The Learning Journey tool is used for on-entry
baseline assessment at three years of age, ongoing formative assessment
and end of phase summative assessment purposes. The on-entry
assessment element of the tool is aligned with Foundation Phase outcomes.
The tool is also used to inform planning, track children’s progress across the
Foundation Phase and to set short, medium and long term targets. Hard
copies of the ‘Learning Journey’ have been distributed to all schools within the
Wrexham CBC area.
An electronic version has also been developed which is compatible with
school information management systems so assessment information can be
fully integrated into all aspects of strategic school planning. Uptake is reported
as being very positive with almost 100 per cent of schools now using the
‘Learning Journey’. Training for the use of the ‘Learning Journey’ for
headteachers and Foundation Phase leaders is being rolled out this term.
Conwy CBC is currently introducing the same tool to its schools.
Whatever their chosen tool, in 67 per cent of cases, education practitioners
reported using an assessment tool(s) which assesses children’s
achievements in each of the seven Foundation Phase Areas of Learning.
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
Approximately two thirds of childcare providers surveyed think that the
assessment tool(s) that they are using is very helpful in enabling them to
identify a child’s developmental needs. However, only 57 per cent of schools
and 55 per cent of health visitors surveyed think that the assessment tool(s)
that they are using currently is very helpful in enabling them to identify a
child’s developmental needs at an early stage. See below for details.
How helpful is the assessment tool(s) used to identify a child’s developmental needs?
Very
Quite
Not
Health visitors
55% 41% 4%
Childcare practitioners
67% 30% 3%
Education practitioners
57% 38% 5%
36+ months to 72 months For this age range, child development assessments are mainly formative in
nature and are primarily undertaken in childcare settings and maintained
schools.
From the information provided by health practitioners, health-related
assessments for children in this age range include the following.
Age Activity/By Tools used
36 to 40
months
Developmental assessment;
health visitor
Schedule of Growing Skills II assessments (SoGS II) (24) LHB tool (12)
Denver Developmental
Screening Test II (DDST-II)
Hall 4 (2)
48 months Developmental assessment on
a needs basis; health visitor
Schedule of Growing Skills II assessments (SoGS II) (12) LHB tool (7)
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
When asked ‘Is the Foundation Phase Child Development Assessment Profile
(CDAP) (Welsh Government, 2011) used for on-going assessment?’ childcare
providers and education practitioners reported the following.
Childcare Education Yes in its entirety 18% 6% Yes – partially 22% 23% No 60% 71 %
The school findings are not unexpected given that the Foundation Phase
Child Development Assessment Profile descriptions of behaviour are not
aligned with the statutory End of Foundation Phase outcomes. It is slightly
surprising to find that 40 per cent of childcare settings are using the CDAP in
some way for on-going assessment.
Typically Foundation Phase advisers do not recommend specific commercial
assessment tools and their perception, confirmed by evidence from the online
questionnaire, is that practice varies considerably across, and in some cases
within, local authorities.
For those 82 per cent of childcare providers and 94 per cent of schools that
are not using the CDAP in its entirety for on-going assessment, the alternative
range of assessment tools reported as being used includes:
• commercial tools, e.g. Incerts is the most commonly used tool;
anecdotal evidence from Estyn suggests that more than 50 per cent of
primary schools in Wales are now using this online tool. For example, it
is reported that Incerts has been introduced in all primary schools in
Monmouthshire and Torfaen CBCs. Linked to Foundation Phase
outcomes, Incerts adopts a mastery approach with continuity from 3 to
7-years-old and beyond. The tool shows distance travelled against
sub-statements of end of Foundation Phase level descriptors, enabling
in-school discussions about and moderation of assessment
judgements. The collated data is used to inform planning and to
compare the progress of targeted learners, e.g. FSM, against the whole
cohort
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• materials developed in the setting
• local authority developed tools, e.g. The Learning Journey; most of the
locally developed assessment tools focus broadly on cognitive and
behavioural areas. For cognitive areas, this is primarily assessment of
early literacy and communication skills, alongside assessment of
mathematical development. For behavioural aspects, the assessment
focus is on personal, social and emotional development
• Welsh Government guidance materials, e.g. in special schools, Routes
for Learning is used to assess the early communication and cognitive
development of children with profound and multiple, complex additional
needs. The information contributes to the six month review (for children
under the age of five) and the annual review process.
Useful features
When asked ‘What are the most useful features of the assessment tool(s) that
you use?’ health visitors identified the following general features.
• Effectiveness as a guide to determine appropriate developmental
milestones.
• Usefulness for identifying developmental needs and the likelihood of
developmental delay.
• Objectivity to support professional judgement.
• Provides a reliable source of high quality evidence for other
professionals.
• Ease of use and administration.
• Clarity and precision of language.
• Consistency of approach.
• Needs to be flexible enough to fit in with the requirements of both the
child and practitioner.
• Ease of scoring and interpretation.
When asked ‘What are the most useful features of the assessment tool(s) that
you use?’ childcare practitioners identified the following features.
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
• Useful in identifying children with possible developmental delays and
for informing future planning/next steps.
• Assessment criteria are broken down into individual statements which
can be used as targets and for both planning and assessment.
• Manageable administration.
• SoGS II is accepted as being a reliable, valid assessment tool by
health professionals including paediatricians and speech and language
therapists
• SoGS II generates a visual profile that makes it easier for parents to
understand their child’s strengths and weaknesses.
When asked ‘What are the most useful features of the assessment tool(s) that
you use?’ education practitioners identified the following features.
• Provides a comprehensive profile of each child’s ability by
developmental stage.
• Reliable, objective judgements against precise criteria.
• Clear continuity and progression.
• Assessment criteria are aligned with end of Foundation Phase
outcomes.
• Links directly with the seven Foundation Phase Areas of Learning.
• Provides a valid baseline for predicting future performance; a useful
value added measure.
• Provides valuable planning data for setting short and medium targets
for children.
• Enables tracking of a child’s progress across the Foundation Phase.
• Can be used for baseline, formative and summative assessments.
• Relatively easy to administer.
• An individual child friendly assessment, i.e. the assessment does not
cause stress to the child.
• Recognises individual progress but not necessarily in a linear format.
From a local authority/regional consortium perspective, advisors would
welcome a tool that generates high-quality, reliable comparative data to inform
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
their programme of support and challenge, enabling targeted interventions in
those settings requiring additional support.
Limitations
When asked ‘What, if any, are the limitations of the assessment tool(s) that
you use?’ practitioners identified the following issues.
• Lack of progression; assessment tools only provide a snapshot of the
child at the time that the assessment is carried out.
• On-entry baseline assessments at three years are carried out on
children of very different early years experiences, for example those
from Flying Start and non-Flying Start childcare settings.
• Time consuming to administer; particularly with large groups of children
in childcare settings that provide both full and sessional day care.
• Prescriptive, inflexible assessment criteria and recording forms which
do not allow for professional judgement.
• Recording of assessment data electronically is a challenge as access
to IT facilities is limited in many childcare settings.
• Staff turnover is a challenge in non-maintained settings and can result
in inconsistency when making judgements.
• Materials developed in the setting may have drawn upon several
different assessment tools so lack coherence.
SoGS II specific comments included:
• time consuming to administer
• relatively expensive; there are financial implications to consider when
using a SoGS II assessment in non-Flying Start settings
• perceived by some practitioners to be less effective at identifying
language delay, behavioural issues and to assess emotional
development and infant interaction
• perceived as prescriptive; relies on children being able to carry out
specific tasks which even those with age appropriate development are
not always able to achieve. Examples given include the 'self care'
section where the expectation in that children are able to remain dry
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overnight at the age of three which is often unrealistic and creates low
scores in this section
• some skills areas, particularly speech and language, rely on parental
reporting which can affect the accuracy of the scoring.
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5. Information sharing of Early Years assessment data
This section of the report identifies the range of assessment information
currently being gathered on children in the Early Years to include for what
purposes the information is gathered, how it is being gathered, using what
methods, how it is being held (including what software is used), and with
whom this information is being shared.
Purpose
When asked to identify the purposes for which their chosen assessment
tool(s) is being used, health visitors who completed the online questionnaire
provided the following responses.
Purpose % of
respondents
To monitor development/progress 97%
To identify a child’s strengths and any developmental needs 90%
To inform parents/carers of children’s development 90%
To inform other health professionals of the developmental
needs of individual children 83%
To inform other agencies of the developmental
needs of individual children 74%
When asked to identify the purposes for which their chosen assessment
tool(s) is being used, childcare practitioners who completed the online
questionnaire provided the following responses.
Purpose % of
respondents
To monitor development/progress 95%
To identify his/her strengths, interests and developmental
needs 94%
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
To inform parents/carers of children’s achievements and
next steps for their learning and development 86%
To get to know the individual child 83%
To inform colleagues of children’s achievements and next
steps for their learning 81%
To form an on-entry baseline assessment 79%
To meet the National Minimum Standards for Regulated
Child Care (Welsh Government, March 2012) 75%
To inform other practitioners, e.g. health professionals of the
developmental 74%
To inform transition throughout the Foundation Phase 70%
To meet the quality standards expected by your
membership organisation 60%
To compare the particular strengths and needs for the group
as a whole 57%
To inform children of their achievements and next steps for
their learning and development 56%
When asked to identify the purposes for which their chosen assessment
tool(s) is being used, education practitioners who completed the online
questionnaire provided the following responses.
Purpose % of
respondents
To monitor development/progress 94%
To identify his/her strengths, interests and developmental
needs 93%
To inform transition throughout the Foundation Phase 91%
To form an on-entry baseline assessment 86%
To inform colleagues of children’s achievements and next
steps for their learning and development 85%
To inform parents/carers of children’s achievements and
next steps for their learning and development 86%
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To get to know the individual child 78%
To compare the particular strengths and needs for the group as a whole 71%
To inform transition between the Foundation Phase and Key
Stage 2 71%
To inform other practitioners, e.g. health professionals of the
developmental needs of individual children 69%
To inform children of their achievements and next steps for their learning and development 65%
The results across health, childcare and education sectors show a
considerable degree of uniformity with practitioners focusing very much on the
needs of the child and the importance of sharing relevant information with
parents/carers.
How is the assessment information being gathered? Health visitors use a variety of methods to record developmental assessment
information. The most commonly reported methods are:
1. On paper using a standardised recording form
Paper copies are forwarded to the LHB and the information is inputted into the
All Wales National Child Health Database by administrative staff. For
example, in BCUHB a paper record in triplicate is generated; copies go to
parents, the LHB for data inputting and final copy is retained by the health
visitor. Similarly in Cwm Taf LHB copy sheets from the assessment are sent
to Community Child Health Office where the information is stored centrally in
both paper and electronic formats. Health visitors in Hywel Dda LHB
undertake initial assessments on paper and then an electronic system, the
‘TRIBAL’ data base, is used to record assessment information from Flying
Start settings only.
2. Using an electronic computer-based profile
For example, health visitors in Cardiff and Vale LHB record the initial
developmental assessment on paper but then the enter assessment
information onto the PaRIS electronic profile (Patient record information
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
system) to create an Electronic Patient Record. The Child Health Surveillance
Programme captures information for national reporting. Similarly Flying Start
health visitors from Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, use
the local authority PaRIS electronic recording system.
Some LHBs have also trialed electronic recording systems (not specified)
which do not work effectively as they rely on mobile phone reception which is
unpredictable in rural areas. For example, Cwm Taf LHB trialled a hand-held
electronic data collection system two years ago using the community
information system (CIS), however, due to reorganisation this work has not
progressed. In Powys LHB all contacts by Flying Start health visitors are
recorded centrally on an electronic data base (not specified) held by the local
authority.
3. On paper as a record of practitioner’s field notes, observations and
assessments
After the initial paper record is produced during the assessment, practice then
varies. In some LHBs, e.g. Aneurin Bevan LHB, practitioner’s field notes and
observations are recorded on paper in the home during the child’s
assessment and recorded in the Personal Child Health Record, the national
standard health and development record. Alternatively, in some LHBs the
generic health visitor’s written data is subsequently inputted onto an electronic
record and the paper notes shredded.
Practitioners in childcare settings use a variety of methods to record
developmental assessment information. The most commonly reported
methods are: 1. On paper, e.g. practitioner’s field notes and observations
For example, in Gwynedd practitioners record formative assessment
information on post-it notes and post-observation sheets. They subsequently
transfer the information to the child development file for each individual.
Secure storage of child assessment records is a particular issue in
non-maintained settings where facilities are often shared with other users.
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2. On paper using a standardised recording form
For example, the Development Tracker used in Swansea is a paper-based
proforma consisting of a one page check list of milestones for each area of
child development. Completed copies of the assessment are sent to the
central Flying Start office and inputted onto a computer record, using Excel,
for each child.
3. Using an electronic computer-based profile
For example, in Cardiff Flying Start settings SoGS and NBAS assessments
are recorded on the PaRIS electronic profile via the Local Health Board.
Flying Start and registered childcare settings in Merthyr Tydfil CBC have been
successfully using the Child Development profile (CDAP) electronic database
for the past two years. The remaining childcare settings across Merthyr Tydfil
were given the CDP database in spring 2012. However not all settings have
access to secure IT equipment. In such cases, paper copies of the CDP have
been completed manually. The electronic tracking system is able to generate
a profile for each child and, if required, for groups of children.
Practitioners in school settings report that they use a variety of methods to
record developmental assessment information. The most commonly reported
methods are:
1. Using an electronic computer-based profile
Increasingly schools are using electronic tracking systems to store the
outcomes of their on-entry baseline assessments and ongoing formative
assessments. Examples include a locally developed local authority tool such
as the Learning Journey in Wrexham CBC, or their own in-house tool, e.g.
SIMS assessment manager. Examples of commercial tracking tools include
Incerts, Classroom Monitor and 2Build a Profile.
2. On paper, e.g. practitioner’s field notes and observations and stored in the
setting.
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3. On paper using a standardised recording form
For example, the Learning Journal used in Wrexham CBC, has, for on-entry
baseline assessment, an OMS standardised mark sheet which is available in
paper and electronically; it is a school decision as to which format to use. The
electronic version can be entered onto the school information management
system (SIMS). Wrexham CBC has worked with Capita to develop the
required software to be compatible with SIMS assessment manager and there
is no additional cost to schools. The software is able to run reports by age,
gender, free school meals (FSM), etc., to provide information on potentially
vulnerable groups.
In some cases, Foundation Phase advisers interviewed did not know how
on-entry assessments are being recorded currently or if those schools that are
using the CDAP in its entirety or partially are using the CDAP recording form
to gather the information. Given the significant change to roles resulting from
the establishment of regional consortia, they had not had an opportunity to
visit schools, during the period of research, to monitor practice.
With whom is the developmental assessment information being shared? Health visitors report that they share developmental assessment information
with the following groups.
Parent/carers 99% Other health professionals 75% The Local Health Board 36% Other Early Years education practitioners 35% Other practitioners, e.g. Flying Start coordinators 29%
Childcare practitioners report that they share developmental assessment
information with the following groups.
Parents/carers 96% Other practitioners in the setting 79% Receiving schools 73% The local authority/education professionals 62% Health professionals 59% I do not know how the developmental assessment information I gather is used beyond my setting 2%
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The national childcare organisations do not collect child development
assessment data from their members. In terms of information sharing on
transition from non-maintained to maintained settings, practice is variable
within and across local authorities. It would appear in some cases that school
settings have a lack of trust in assessment judgements made in
non-maintained settings. Schools may dismiss the information due to
perceived variability of practice in pre-school settings or they are simply
unaware of the range of assessment evidence that is being collected in
pre-school settings. Education practitioners report that they share
developmental assessment information with the following groups.
Other practitioners in school, e.g. SENCO, Inclusion coordinator 96% Parents/carers 84% The local authority 57% Health professionals 51%
Perceptions are that there is improved sharing of information within settings
and a developing culture of shared responsibility and accountability for a
child’s progress across a phase or key stage.
Given the range of assessment practice and tools used in schools within and
across local authority boundaries, collection of data for comparative purposes
has no value and consequently does not take place. The exception is
Wrexham CBC where schools are strongly encouraged to use the Learning
Journey and on-entry baseline assessment data is collected electronically by
the local authority. End of Foundation Phase outcome data are shared with
the local authority and collated electronically for national data collection (NDC)
purposes. Foundation Phase advisors reported having difficulty accessing
DEWi, the national Data Exchange Wales Initiative.
The Wales Accord on the Sharing of Personal Information (WASPI) provides a
framework for service-providing organisations, including those in health and
education to, where appropriate, share personal information on individuals;
legally, safely and with confidence. The Flying Start programme also has
specific requirements around information sharing. However, from the evidence
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gathered, reciprocal sharing of child development assessment information
across settings and agencies does not appear to be the norm and practice
varies considerably across Wales.
When asked ‘Do other settings and agencies share their child development
assessment information with you?’ practitioners who completed the online
questionnaire provided the following responses.
Health visitors
Childcare practitioners
Education practitioners
Yes – always 10% 8% 5% Yes –sometimes 62% 52% 70% No 28% 40% 25%
SoGS II outcomes are consistently shared with local and regional Flying Start
coordinators electronically and also reported nationally to the Welsh
Government. However, practice at local level varies considerably. For
example, the outcomes of SoGS assessments are not shared uniformly with
Flying Start advisory teachers and Flying Start childcare practitioners across
local authorities which can be a source of frustration.
In some areas it is standard practice for the initial 24 month SoGS II
assessment results to be shared routinely. For example, Flying Start childcare
settings in Cardiff receive the 24 month SoGS II results which identify any
child that requires extra support. SoGS II results are discussed with
parents/carers who are routinely informed about their child’s progress.
Parents/carers sign a consent form regarding sharing of information and
individual children are referred to other professionals if required, e.g. speech
and language therapist, dietician, physiotherapist, paediatrician. In other local
authority areas, however, SoGS II assessment results are only shared with
parental consent on ‘a need to know basis’ or if a developmental delay is
confirmed.
A similar tale emerges regarding the 36 month SoGS II assessment. In some
areas the Flying Start health visitor works with the child’s key worker to
complete the final 36 month SoGS II assessment. However, in other areas,
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
the 36 month assessment outcomes are not shared with the childcare setting
which in turn creates difficulties when the child’s transition document is being
prepared.
Typically child development information is shared with the parents/carers and,
with their consent, other health professionals. In Flying Start areas of Neath
Port Talbot, development assessment information generated by the
Developmental Tracker is made available for parents/carers in the childcare
setting but is used mainly by practitioners and the Flying Start team to plan
the future support needs of the child. Information is only shared with other
professionals if there is a concern on ‘a need to know basis’.
Referral protocols and pathways are in place, e.g. children in need,
safeguarding, direct practitioner referrals for specific therapies, audiology and
portage which enable anonymised information to be shared more widely with
other professionals. The format by which referrals are made varies. For
example, in Powys referrals are made on paper using the designated referral
forms for each service. The SoGS II assessment is attached with the referral
to the paediatrician. If the referral is to an external agency such as Action for
Children or Barnardos, then the Common Assessment Framework (CAF)
assessment is also attached.
In other LHB areas referrals may be verbal, written referral by letter or
electronic depending on the procedures adopted. For example, in Cardiff
Flying Start settings, if information is gathered that indicates further tests are
required then a ‘Goal for Actions’ sheet is completed by the key worker in the
childcare setting and shared with parents/carers and others in the following
ways.
• electronically where possible through PaRIS
• paper referral forms
• multi-agency meetings, e.g. Early Years Forum
• verbally.
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Local authorities also have transition documents which vary in format.
Usually, the childcare key worker agrees the content with parents/carers and
the transition document is passed to the receiving setting as a paper record.
There is no evidence of electronic transfer of assessment information from the
childcare setting to the receiving setting. The Common Transfer System works
effectively between maintained settings.
Health visitors also share information, with parental consent, before children
enter a maintained setting so that teachers are informed if an individual child
has a developmental delay that needs more input and support. A face-to-face
handover of information is normally arranged for children with an identified
developmental need but who are not necessarily on the special educational
needs (SEN) register.
In BCUHB, child development information, in the form of a checklist of
developmental progress, is handed over by the health visitor to the school
nurse at age four years. Procedures for the transfer of health records for
children leaving the LHB area are well established. This is normally in the
form of paper records as not all LHBs in Wales have compatible electronic
recording systems.
Senior LHB managers report that information gathered is analysed and then
utilised for operational or strategic planning purposes in a variety of ways
including to:
• monitor health outcomes for children across the LHB area
• improve upon any general areas of deficit identified, e.g. encouraging
outdoor play to improve gross motor development
• provide standard comparators across the LHB area
• inform future service planning, e.g. to ensure the right mix of
professionals to meet the needs of all children
• enable comparisons to be made between the different cohorts
• demonstrate the impact of specific interventions
• show compliance with national programme requirements, e.g. Flying
Start
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• meet national public health targets, e.g. immunisation
• produce statistical reports for the Welsh Government.
In Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board data is collated as part
of the care programme review, as specified by NICE guidelines, which has
been in place for three years. As part of its monitoring processes, Powys LHB
is exploring currently ways of profiling the universal contacts health visitors
have with children aged 0 to 5 years to record information such as how many
children have had their six week, eight month, two year and school entry
health reviews and how many children were recorded as having
developmental delays.
Health visitors report that, typically, they use the developmental assessment
information they gather on children in order:
• to make a formal referral to health services, e.g. speech and
language therapy, paediatrics (94 per cent of respondees)
• to make a formal referral to educational services, e.g. Education
Psychologist (48 per cent of respondees)
• for LHB strategic planning (12 per cent of respondees)
• for local authority strategic education planning (7 per cent of
respondees)
Other reasons stated included:
• to evaluate the effectiveness of Flying Start services (13 per cent of
respondees)
• for child protection and safeguarding purposes/to inform Social
Services (6 per cent of respondees)
• to provide data to assess child and maternal health and so inform
health promotion/public health work.
Childcare practitioners report that, typically, they use the developmental
assessment information they gather on children to:
• make a formal referral to educational services, e.g. Education
Psychologist (37 per cent of respondees)
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• make a formal referral to health services, e.g. speech and language
therapy, developmental paediatrics (43 per cent of respondees).
Other reasons stated included:
• to ease transition into the Foundation Phase setting (13 per cent of
respondees)
• for child protection and safeguarding purposes/to inform Social
Services (5 per cent of respondees)
• to evaluate the performance of Flying Start settings.
Education practitioners report that typically, they use the developmental
assessment information they gather on children:
• to make a formal referral to educational services, e.g. Education
Psychologist (75 per cent of respondees)
• to make a formal referral to health services, e.g. speech and language
therapy, developmental paediatrics (69 per cent of respondees)
• for LA strategic planning (35 per cent of respondees)
• to identify CPD training needs (26 per cent of respondees)
Approximately 11 per cent of practitioners in school settings did not know how
the developmental assessment information they gathered is used beyond their
setting.
Perceptions
To gauge their perceptions of child development assessment, practitioners
were given options in which they chose a point between two extreme positions
to represent their views. They provided the following responses when asked
to identify the extent to which, in their opinion, child development assessment
is:
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
Essential 1 2 3 4
Unnecessary 5
Childcare practitioners 75% 18% 5% 1% 1%
Education practitioners 75% 18% 6% 1% 0%
Health visitors
73% 22% 4% 1% 0%
Helpful
1 2 3 4 Hindering
2
Childcare practitioners 71% 17% 8% 3% 1%
Education practitioners 67% 26% 4% 3% 0%
Health visitors
78% 15% 6% 1% 0%
Diagnostic
1 2 3 4 Labelling
5 Childcare practitioners 49% 26% 17% 5% 3%
Education practitioners 48% 35% 14% 3% 0%
Health visitors 30% 38% 29% 3% 0%
The results are very consistent across health, childcare and education
sectors, with the overwhelming majority of practitioners agreeing that child
development assessment, carried out rigorously, is both essential and helpful.
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The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
6. Summary of key findings The evidence generated during the review indicates that there is no consistent
approach to child development assessment across Wales at the present time.
Very few assessment tools are used on a universal basis with all children.
Each LHB and each health profession uses its own preferred assessment
tool(s). Similarly, with the exception of Flying Start settings, childcare
practitioners are using a wide range of assessment tools, either commercial or
those developed locally or in-house. With the withdrawal of the requirement to
use the CDAP for on-entry baseline assessment, schools are reverting to
using previous approved on-entry baseline assessment schemes or are
increasingly relying on commercial assessment tools which generate reliable
and standardised data. Consequently the current mixed economy approach to
child development assessment makes it impossible to:
• ensure that all professionals working with a child have access to the
same information
• track children’s progress within and across the local authority and LHB
boundaries
• collect meaningful local, regional or national comparative data.
Perceptions are that the quality of assessment practice in childcare and
school settings has improved, particularly child observation skills, resulting in
more reliable judgements. However, Estyn report that in almost half of the
schools inspected some aspects of assessment are weak. Foundation Phase
training and support officers also report that planning and assessment are the
two main areas in which practitioners need ongoing support.
The lack of a consistent approach results in a fragmented system where
families can be asked the same child development assessment related
questions repeatedly by different professionals involved with their child.
Similarly practitioners who move from one setting, school, authority or LHB to
another are often required to master a different approach to development
assessment in their new role, although the needs of the children with which
they work remain broadly the same.
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Health visitors recognise the importance of child development assessment
and see it as central to their role. However, they feel it is crucial to consider
child development assessment as one element of a broader assessment of
the whole family, looking at such factors as the home environment,
attachment, bonding and social interaction. Concerns were also raised about
the current excessive case loads of generic health visitors and their capacity
to take on additional child development assessment commitments. Ongoing
training needs were also stressed.
From the perspective of the All Wales Flying Start managers, they would not
like to see the demise or disuse of the SoGS II assessment tool, an
assessment recognised and used by health and childcare professionals. They
feel considerable investment has already gone into the use of this assessment
tool plus staff training in order to reach the current position. Also a significant
amount of data showing the trends in improvement in children’s
developmental milestones (for individuals and whole populations) has been
collected. They argue strongly that there is a case to maintain the use of
SoGS II assessments and for any new Early Years assessment tool to build
on current practice.
It was also strongly felt by practitioners from health, childcare and education
sectors that there was a need for the Welsh Government to provide direction
and guidance for practitioners in order to achieve a more consistent and
coherent approach to observing, assessing, recording and reporting children’s
developmental progress in Early Years settings. School leaders would
welcome an assessment tool that allows electronic recording of information
which integrates with the school’s information management system. Such an
approach would facilitate the generation of quality evidence for school self-
evaluation and for strategic school improvement and development planning,
e.g. using the child development assessment information more strategically to
identify patterns over time and plan targeted interventions.
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Concerns were expressed about the cost effectiveness of approaches
adopted during the development and implementation of the Foundation Phase
CDAP. The quality of training and clarity of key messages for key
stakeholders was also questioned by some practitioners. Views were
expressed that practitioners need to be fully involved in the development of a
new Early Years assessment tool to reflect sector leading practice. Also the
need for rigorous piloting of any new tool with regular opportunities for
practitioners to feedback before it is rolled out nationally was stressed.
Serious concerns were raised by some Foundation Phase practitioners about
the potential implications of the introduction of the National Literacy and
Numeracy Framework. In particular, the statutory annual requirement from
September 2013 to assess, record and report children’s progress by age not
developmental stage. It was felt that summative assessment can lead to
comparing and ranking individual children at a very young age relative to what
is deemed ‘normal’. It was suggested that this focus on age-related norms
may skew Foundation Phase practice, with a perceived reduction in emphasis
on the rounded development of the whole child.
There is such a drive on literacy and numeracy that the other areas of learning are not being given so much weight.
When asked ‘What are the key features you would look for in any child
development assessment tool?’ practitioners identified a wide range of
features. The most commonly reported features are listed below.
• Clarity of purpose.
• Standardised and evidence-base.
• A reliable, objective assessment that provides a comprehensive profile
of each child’s development.
• Easily understood and applied by practitioners from all settings and
professions in a consistently robust way which is not open to
interpretation.
• Manageability; a tool that is relatively easy to use and which does not
require the deferment of normal routines.
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45
• Encompasses all areas of child development, focusing on the whole
child while containing a diagnostic element.
• Demonstrates clear progression within the developmental steps
identified and continuity with Foundation Phase Areas of Learning and
end of phase outcomes.
• Takes account of the child’s behaviours and responses in different
environments.
• Provides unambiguous information for planning the next steps for each
child.
• Facilitates the reporting of assessment outcomes to parents/carers in a
way which is easily understood.
• Generates valid data for tracking a child’s progress and which enables
accurate comparisons to be made between individuals and different
cohorts.
• Provides evidence for self-evaluation and can be used as a reliable
measure of value added.
• Enables assessment information to be recorded, collated, analysed
and shared electronically with ease.
• Enables comparison of data locally, regionally and nationally.
• Free/low cost to administer.
The consensus of views given was that, to support practitioners across
professions and sectors, implementation of a new Early Years assessment
tool must be underpinned with a high-quality, consistent, sustainable national
training programme. Also, there will be an ongoing need for moderation
training nationally to secure reliable judgements whatever assessment tool is
used.
Appendix 1: Fieldwork materials – topic guide for one-to-one interviews with strategic stakeholders Introduction Markit Training and Consultancy Ltd. has been commissioned by the Welsh Government to carry out research to identify the full range of Early Years assessment tools currently being used in Wales to assess children from birth to the end of the Foundation Phase (0 to 7 years of age). Pre-interview
• I am part of the research team that has been commissioned by Welsh Government to undertake a review of Early Years child development assessment tools (0 to 7 years).
• Our focus is on current practice in assessment of child development (0 to 7 years) in education, health and childcare settings.
• Additionally we will be identifying the range of assessment information collected, how it is gathered, how it is being used, shared and disseminated.
• We are interviewing key individuals drawn from a range of organisations/settings, including you as a representative of (refer to contact’s organisation/role).
• Any comments you provide may be included in the final report to the Welsh Government but will not be attributed to any individuals or organisations.
• The interview is likely to take about 30–45 minutes. • Can I interview you now or arrange a time to call back? • Are you happy for me to record your responses? • Are there any questions that you would like to ask me before we start?
The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
Brief description of the interviewee:
Name: __________________________________________________________
Organisation: __________________________________________________________
Contact details __________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Role: __________________________________________________________
Responsibilities: __________________________________________________________
(e.g. line management) __________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Date of interview: __________________________________________________________
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We are interested primarily in those assessment tools which are used on a universal basis with all children. (e.g. the Foundation Phase Child Development Assessment Profile (CDAP), Schedule of Growing Skills II assessments (SoGS), Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST-II)) To find out this information, we would like you to answer the following questions. 1. Does your organisation require the use of a specific child development assessment tool?
YES/NO (If yes go to Question 1.1. If no go to Question 1.8.)
Birth to the age of 3 Age 3 to 5 Age 5 to 7
1.1 Which child development assessment tool(s) is currently being used? (for each age range if appropriate)
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1.2 Why is this tool required? (benefits, practicalities, meet the requirements of registration/membership; meet National Minimum standards; requirements of national programmes)
1.3 For what purpose(s) is this tool being used? (What assessment information is being gathered? Which specific aspects of child development are assessed? Links with FP Areas of Learning?)
1.4 Who uses this tool to deliver the assessment? (Health visitor, other health professional, childcare worker, FP practitioner/teacher, other?)
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1.5 At which specific age(s) is the tool used? (e.g. six month review, 12 month review, etc.)
1.6 In which setting(s) is the tool used? (At home, health clinic, childcare setting, nursery, school, etc.)
1.7 What, if any, are the limitations and constraints of the assessment tool(s) that you require/recommend? (Go to Question 2)
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1.8 Why doesn’t your organisation require/recommend the use of a specific child development assessment tool?
1.9 Do you have any plans to
recommend the use of a child
development assessment tool in
the future?
(If Yes – which tool?)
1.10 Why might you consider
recommending the use of a child
development assessment tool in
the future?
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1.11 What are the key features
you would look for in any child
development assessment tool
considered?
2. Does your organisation collect, collate and use assessment information gathered from the use of your required
child development assessment tool?
YES/NO (If yes go to Question 2.1. If no go to Question 3.)
Birth to the age of 3 Age 3 to 5 Age 5 to 7
2.1 Describe how the assessment information gathered is recorded? (Using what methods; paper, electronically?)
2.2 Describe how the information gathered during the assessment process is stored? (What software/programme is used?)
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2.3 With whom is the information shared, if at all? (Colleagues, parents/carers, health professionals, etc.)
2.4 How is the information shared, if at all, with other professionals involved with the child, their parents/carers?
2.5 What method is then used for the onward reporting of the information gathered about each child? (paper, electronic)
2.6 If information is gathered that indicates further tests are required how is this communicated to other professionals?
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2.7 Is this information then collated centrally? If yes – how does this happen? If not – what happens to it?
2.8 How, if at all, is the information gathered from the range of assessments analysed and then utilised for operational or strategic planning purposes?
3. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about child development assessment/assessment tools that you feel could help further develop current practice?
Post interview
Thank you for your time
Appendix 2: Fieldwork materials – online questionnaire for health visitors Review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales Markit Training and Consultancy Ltd. has been commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), Welsh Government to carry out a review of the development assessment tools currently being used for the Early Years (0 to 7 years) across health, educational and childcare settings in Wales. We are interested in those development assessment tools which you use with all children. To help find out this information, we would like to invite you to complete the following questions. Any comments you provide may be included in the final report but will not be attributed to any individuals or organisations. Thank you for your cooperation. 1. Name of your Local Health Board:
………………………………………..………… 2. Please select the answer below which best describes your role:
• Generic health visitor • Flying Start health visitor • Other, please specify …………………………………..
3. What age range of children do you work with?
4. How would you describe the assessment tool(s) you are currently using to
complement your ongoing surveillance of child development? Please select any answers which apply.
• A tool developed by your Local Health Board. • An assessment tool specified by the Welsh Government, e.g.
Schedule of Growing Skills II assessments (SoGS). • A commercial assessment tool, e.g. Denver Developmental Screening
Test II (DDST-II). • Other; please specify ……………
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5. If you use more than one assessment tool, please indicate which tool is used at which age.
Age range Tool(s) used Specific age
assessed
0 to 1-year-olds
1 to 2-year-olds
2 to 3-year-olds
3 to 4-year-olds
4 to 5-year-olds
6. For what purpose(s) is this assessment tool(s) being used? Please select any
answers which apply.
• To identify his/her strengths and any developmental needs. • To monitor development/progress. • To inform parents/carers of children’s development. • To inform other health professionals of the developmental needs of
individual children. • To inform other agencies of the developmental needs of individual
children. • Other; please specify …………………………………..
7. How is the assessment tool being used?
• Child observation across a range of contexts and over a period of time. • One-to-one session with the child. • Other; please specify ……………
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8. In which setting(s) do you use the assessment tool(s)?
• At the child’s home. • At a health setting, e.g. clinic. • At a childcare setting. • At a nursery. • Other; please specify …………….
9. How helpful is the assessment tool(s) to identify a child’s developmental
needs?
• Very helpful. • Quite helpful. • Not helpful.
10. What are the most useful features of the assessment tool(s) that you use? 11. What, if any, are the main limitations of the assessment tool(s) that you use? 12. How is the developmental assessment information you gather on children
recorded?
• On paper, e.g. field notes and observations. • On paper using a standardised recording form. • Computer-based, e.g. an electronic profile. • Other; please specify …………………………………..
13. With whom is the developmental assessment information you gather on
children being shared?
• Parents/carers. • The Local Health Board. • Other health professionals. • Other practitioners, e.g. Flying Start coordinators. • Other Early Years education practitioners. • Other; please specify …………………………………..
14. Do other settings and agencies share their child development assessment
information with you?
• Yes – always • Yes – sometimes • No
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15. For what purpose(s) is the developmental assessment information you gather
on children being used?
• To make a formal referral to educational services, e.g. Education Psychologist.
• To make a formal referral to health services, e.g. speech and language therapy, paediatrics.
• For LHB strategic planning. • For LA strategic education planning. • Other; please specify ………………………..
16. For the following three questions, please indicate on a scale of 1–5, the
extent to which, in your opinion, child development assessment is: Essential Unnecessary
1 2 3 4 5 ____________________________________________________
17. Helpful Hindering
1 2 3 4 5
____________________________________________________
18. Diagnostic Labelling
1 2 3 4 5 ____________________________________________________
19. Please add any other comments about the use of child development
assessment tools that you feel could help improve current practice. Thank you for completing this e-survey.
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Appendix 3: Online questionnaire for childcare practitioners Review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
Markit Training and Consultancy Ltd. has been commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), Welsh Government to carry out a review of the development assessment tools currently being used for the Early Years (0 to 7 years) across health, educational and childcare settings in Wales. We are interested in those assessment tools which are used with all children in your setting. To help find out this information, we would like to invite you to complete the following questions. Any comments you provide may be included in the final report but will not be attributed to any individuals or organisations. Thank you for your cooperation. 1. Name of your setting: ………………………………………..…………………. 2. Please select the answer below which best describes your setting:
• A private day nursery • Cylch Meithrin • Pre-school playgroup • Childminder • Flying Start playgroup • An Integrated Children’s centre • Other; please specify …………………………………..
3. What age range of children do you work with? 4. Which of the following services do you provide? Please select any answers
which apply.
• Full day care. • Sessional day care. • Foundation Phase Nursery provision for the local authority (e.g. part-
time education for children aged three and four). • Part-time provision for Flying Start. • Wrap-around care. • Other; please specify …………………………………..
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5. Please select the answer(s) below which best describes your role:
• Nursery owner/proprietor. • Nursery manager. • Nursery/Playgroup/Meithrin leader. • Play worker. • Childminder. • Childminder’s assistant. • Other; please specify …………………………………..
6. Are you a member of any of the following organisations?
• Mudiad Meithrin. • National Child Minders Association. • National Day Nursery Association. • Wales Pre-School Providers Association. • Other; please specify ……………
7. In your setting, is the Foundation Phase Child Development Assessment
Profile (CDAP) (Welsh Government, 2011) used for on-entry baseline assessment?
• Yes – in its entirety • No • Yes – partially; please explain ………………….
8. If you are not using the Foundation Phase CDAP in your setting, which
assessment tool are you currently using for on-entry baseline assessment?
• Materials developed in your setting. • An approved local authority assessment tool, i.e. a tool chosen by your
local authority. • An assessment tool recommended by your membership organisation. • An assessment tool recommended by an outside agency, e.g. Flying
Start. • A commercial assessment tool(s). • Other; please give details ……………
9. In your setting, is the Foundation Phase Child Development Assessment
Profile (CDAP) (Welsh Government ,2011) used for ongoing assessment?
• Yes – in its entirety • No • Yes – partially; please explain ………………….
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10. If you are not using the Foundation Phase CDAP in your setting, which
assessment tool are you currently using for ongoing assessment?
• Materials developed in your setting. • An approved local authority assessment tool, i.e. a tool chosen by your
local authority. • An assessment tool recommended by your membership organisation. • An approved commercial assessment tool(s). • Other; please give details ……………
11. Please indicate which assessment tool is currently used with which age range
in your setting? Age range Tool(s) used 0 to 1-year-olds 1 to 2-year-olds 2 to 3-year-olds
3 to 4-year-olds
4 to 5-year-olds
12. For what purpose(s) is this assessment tool(s) being used? Select any
answers which apply.
• To get to know the individual child. • To identify his/her strengths, interests and developmental needs. • To form an on-entry baseline assessment. • To monitor development/progress. • To compare the particular strengths and needs for the group as a
whole. • To inform children of their achievements and next steps for their
learning and development • To inform colleagues of children’s achievements and next steps for
their learning and development.
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• To inform parents/carers of children’s achievements and next steps for their learning and development.
• To inform other practitioners, e.g. health professionals of the developmental needs of individual children.
• To inform transition throughout the Foundation Phase. • To meet the National Minimum Standards for Regulated Child Care
(Welsh Government, March 2012). • To meet the quality standards expected by your membership
organisation. • Other; please specify …………………………………..
13. If you have children aged 3 to 5 years, does your chosen tool(s) assess the child’s achievement in each of the seven Foundation Phase Areas of Learning?
• Yes • No (if not, please explain ……..)
14. Who administers the on-entry baseline assessment?
• Nursery manager • Nursery leader • Child key worker • Play worker • Childminder • Childminder’s assistant • Other; please specify ……………
15. How is the assessment tool being used?
• Child observation during continuous, enhanced and focused provision
across a range of activities and over a period of time. • One-to-one session with the child. • At set times during specifically planned activities. • Other; please specify ………………………….
16. How helpful is the assessment tool(s) that you use in enabling you to identify
a child’s developmental needs at an early stage?
• Very helpful. • Quite helpful. • Not helpful.
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17. What are the most useful features of the assessment tool(s) that you use? 18. What, if any, are the limitations of the assessment tool(s) that you use? 19. How is the developmental assessment information you gather on children in
your setting recorded?
• On paper, e.g. practitioner’s field notes and observations. • On paper using a standardised recording form. • Computer-based, e.g. an electronic profile. • Other; please specify …………………………………..
20. With whom is developmental assessment information you gather on children
in your setting being shared?
• Other practitioners in the setting. • Parents/carers. • The local authority/education professionals. • Receiving schools. • Health professionals. • I do not know how the developmental assessment information I gather
is used beyond my setting. • Other; please specify …………………………………..
21. Do other settings and agencies share their child development assessment
information with you?
• Yes – always • Yes – sometimes • No
22. For what purposes is the developmental assessment information you gather
on children being used beyond your setting?
• To make a formal referral to educational services, e.g. Education Psychologist.
• To make a formal referral to health services, e.g. speech and language therapy, developmental paediatrics.
• Other; please specify …………………………………………..
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23. For the following three questions, please indicate on a scale of 1–5, the extent to which, in your opinion, child development assessment is:
Essential Unnecessary
1 2 3 4 5 ____________________________________________________
24. Helpful Hindering
1 2 3 4 5
____________________________________________________
25. Diagnostic Labelling
1 2 3 4 5 ____________________________________________________
26. Please add any other comments about the use of child development
assessment tools that you feel could help improve current practice. Thank you for completing this e-survey.
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Appendix 4: Online questionnaire for education practitioners Review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales Markit Training and Consultancy Ltd. has been commissioned by the Welsh Government to carry out research to identify the full range of Early Years assessment tools currently being used in Wales to assess individual children from birth to the end of the Foundation Phase. We are interested primarily in those assessment tools which are used on a universal basis with all children in your setting. To help find out this information, we would like you to answer the following questions. Any comments you provide may be included in the final report but will not be attributed to any individuals or organisations. Thank you for your cooperation. 1. Name of your school: ………………………………………..…………………. 2. Please select the answer below which best describes your setting:
• A maintained nursery • An infants school • A primary school with an attached nursery • A primary school without an attached nursery • Other, please specify …………………………………..
3. Please select the answer(s) below which best describes your role:
• Headteacher • Senior leader • Assessment coordinator • Classroom practitioner • Other; please specify …………………………………..
4. In your setting, is the Foundation Phase Child Development Assessment
Profile (CDAP) (Welsh Government, 2011) used for on-entry baseline assessment?
• Yes – in its entirety • No • Yes – partially; please explain ………………….
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5. If you are not using the Foundation Phase CDAP in your setting, which assessment tool are you currently using for on-entry baseline assessment?
• Materials developed in school. • An approved local authority assessment tool, i.e. a tool chosen by your
local authority. • An approved commercial assessment tool(s); please specify
…………… • Other; please specify ……………
6. In your setting, is the Foundation Phase Child Development Assessment
Profile (CDAP) (Welsh Government, 2011) used for ongoing assessment?
• Yes – in its entirety • No • Yes – partially; please explain ………………….
7. If you are not using the Foundation phase CDAP in your setting, which
assessment tool are you currently using for ongoing assessment?
• Materials developed in school. • An approved local authority assessment tool, i.e. a tool chosen by your
local authority. • An approved commercial assessment tool(s). • Other; please specify ……………
8. If more than one assessment tool is used in your setting, please indicate
which tool is used at which age? Age range Tool used
3 to 4-year-olds
4 to 5-year-olds
5 to 6-year-olds 6 to 7-year-olds
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9. Does your chosen tool(s) assess the child’s achievement in each of the seven Foundation Phase Areas of Learning?
• Yes • No (if not, please explain ……..)
10. Who administers the on-entry baseline assessment?
• Class teacher. • Teaching assistant. • Higher level teaching assistant. • Assessment coordinator. • Other; please specify ……………
11. Who administers the ongoing assessment?
• Class teacher. • Teaching assistant. • Higher level teaching assistant. • Assessment coordinator. • Other; please specify ……………
12. For what purpose(s) is this assessment tool(s) being used? Please select any
answers which apply.
• To get to know the individual child. • To identify his/her strengths, interests and developmental needs. • To form an on-entry baseline assessment. • To monitor development/progress. • To compare the particular strengths and needs for the group as a
whole. • To inform children of their achievements and next steps for their
learning and development. • To inform colleagues of children’s achievements and next steps for
their learning and development. • To inform parents/carers of children’s achievements and next steps for
their learning and development. • To inform other practitioners, e.g. health professionals of the
developmental needs of individual children. • To inform transition throughout the Foundation Phase. • To inform transition between the Foundation Phase and key stage • Other, please specify …………………………………..
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13. How helpful is the assessment tool(s) that you use in helping you to identify a child’s developmental needs at an early stage?
• Very helpful. • Quite helpful. • Not helpful.
14. What are the most useful features of the assessment tool(s) that you use? 15. What, if any, are the limitations of the assessment tool(s) that you use? 16. How is the assessment tool being used?
• Child observation during continuous, enhanced and focused provision
across a range of contexts and over a period of time. • One to one session with the child. • At set times during specifically planned activities. • Other; please specify …………………………………..
17. How is the developmental assessment information you gather on children in
your setting being recorded?
• On paper, e.g. teacher’s field notes and observations. • On paper using a standardised recording form. • Computer-based, e.g. an electronic profile. • Other’ please specify …………………………………..
18. With whom is developmental assessment information you gather on children
in your setting being shared?
• Other practitioners in school. • Parents/carers. • The local authority. • Health professionals. • Other; please specify …………………………………..
19. For what purposes is the developmental assessment information you gather
on children being used beyond your setting?
• For local authority strategic planning. • To make a formal referral to educational services, e.g. Education
Psychologist. • To make a formal referral to health services, e.g. speech and language
therapy, developmental paediatrics. • To identify continuous professional development (CPD) training needs. • I do not know how the developmental assessment information I gather
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69
• Other; please specify ……………………………. 20. Do other settings and agencies share their child development assessment
information with you?
• Yes – always • Yes – sometimes • No
21. For the following three questions, please indicate on a scale of 1–5, the
extent to which, in your opinion, child development assessment (0 to 7 years) is:
Essential Unnecessary
1 2 3 4 5 ____________________________________________________
22. Helpful Hindering
1 2 3 4 5
____________________________________________________
23. Diagnostic Labelling
1 2 3 4 5 ____________________________________________________
24. Please indicate on a scale of 1–5, the extent to which, in your opinion, that
on-entry baseline assessment should align with the end of Foundation Phase statutory assessment requirements.
Essential Unnecessary 1 2 3 4 5 ____________________________________________________
25. Please add any other comments about the use of child development
assessment tools that you feel could help improve current practice. Thank you for completing this e-survey.
Appendix 5: Sample for one-to-one telephone interviews
Interviewee Organisation represented
Chair of AWFPA All Wales Foundation Phase Advisors
System leader with responsibility for the Foundation Phase Central South Consortium Joint Education Service (CSCJES)
Head of Service 0–8; Lifelong Learning Department Wrexham CBC; representing north Wales
Early Years and Foundation Phase Advisor, Pembrokeshire CBC South West and Mid Wales Education Consortium
System leader with responsibility for the Foundation Phase Team South East Wales Education Achievement Service
Head of Health Visiting Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board
Head of Public Health Nursing Aneurin Bevan Health Board
Associate Chief of Staff (Nursing) Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Head of Nursing for children and special public community health nursing Cardiff and Vale Health Board
Practice Development Health Visitor and Senior Nurse Flying Start (both nominated by LHB lead) Cwm Taf Health Board
Flying Start Case Work Manager, Carmarthenshire County Council (nominated by LHB lead) Hywel Dda Health Board
Head of Public Health and Community Paediatric Nursing
Powys Local Health Board
The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
Interviewee Organisation represented
Foundation Phase HMI Estyn
South East Wales/Early Years senior inspector Care and Social Service Inspectorate Wales
Director of Learning and Development Care Council of Wales
Development Officer (Early Years) Children in Wales
Director of Training Mudiad Meithrin
Senior Manager (Wales) NCMA Cymru
Foundation Phase Development Officer National Day Nursery Association
Chief Executive Officer Early Years Project Coordinator Childcare Coordinator (Flying Start)
Wales Pre-School Providers Association (WPPA)
Chair, Flying Start Manager, Cardiff CBC All Wales Flying Start Managers Network
Flying Start Manager Bridgend CBC
Flying Start Coordinator Newport City Council
Flying Start Coordinator Merthyr Tydfil CBC
Flying Start Coordinator Gwynedd CBC
Flying Start Advisory Teacher Neath Port Talbot CBC
Flying Start Advisory Teacher Ceredigion CBC
Flying Start Advisory Teacher Flintshire CBC
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Interviewee Organisation Represented All Wales Foundation Phase Training and Support Officers Group
Chair
Foundation Phase Training and Support Officer Cardiff Council
Seconded Headteacher, Assessment Branch, DfES Ysgol Crug Glas, Special School, Swansea
School Improvement Officer and Powys County Borough Council Early Years Development Officer
Lead Officer Foundation Phase, Flying Start and Childcare Conwy County Borough Council
Early Years Officer Caerphilly County Borough Council
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Appendix 6: Sample for childcare online questionnaire
Type of setting Local authority Nurseries (NDNA) Andi Pandi's Nursery Carmarthenshire
Stepping Stones Flintshire
Rainbows Private Nursery Newport
Acorns Nurseries Cardiff Mudiad Meithrin (MM) Y Bontfaen Vale
Pencoed Bridgend
Caban Cegin Gwynedd
Glan y Mor Ceredigion Wales Pre-School Providers Association (WPPA) Little Learners Playgroup Caerphilly
Pontymoile Under 5's Penygarn Torfaen
Peter Pan Playgroup Pembrokeshire
Rhosneigr Pre-school Playgroup Anglesey Childminders (NCMA)
- Wrexham - Powys - Merthyr Tydfil - Cardiff
Total sample = 16 settings from 15 local authorities
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Appendix 7: Sample for education online questionnaire Nursery school Language Local authority
Pontycymer Nursery School English Bridgend Grangetown Nursery School English Cardiff Ammanford Nursery Bilingual Carmarthen The Croft Nursery School English Flint Treharris Nursery School English Merthyr Don Close Nursery School English Newport Brynteg Nursery English Torfaen Bute Cottage Nursery English Vale of Glamorgan Sample = 8 schools/LAs Integrated Children's Centres Language Local authority Heart of the Valleys Integrated Children's Centre English Blaenau Gwent New Tredegar Integrated Children’s Centre English Caerphilly Yr Eos Integrated Children's Campus Bilingual Ceredigion Canolfan Integedig Bilingual Conwy Oaktree Centre Bilingual Denbighshire Plas Pawb Welsh Gwynedd Acorns Centre English Monmouth Resolven ICC English NPT Y Frenni Children's Centre Welsh Pembrokeshire Radnorshire ICC English Powys Ynyscynon Early Years Centre English RCT Swansea Integrated Children’s Centre English Swansea Wrexham Early Years Centre English Wrexham Canolfan Blant Llangefni Welsh Ynys Môn
Sample = 14 centres/LAs
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Infant schools Language Local authority Llanfabon Infants School English Caerphilly Ysgol Babanod Llanfairfechan Bilingual Conwy Ysgol y Parc English Denbigh Ysgol Abercaseg (Babanod) Welsh Gwynedd St Joseph's Catholic Infant School English NPT Mount Airey Community Primary (Infants) School English Pembrokeshire Mount Street Infants and Nursery School English Powys Brynhyfryd Infant School English Swansea Sample = 8 schools/LAs Primary schools Language Local authority Beaufort Hill Primary English Blaenau Gwent Ogmore Vale Primary School English Bridgend Oakfield Primary English Cardiff Trimsaran Community Primary School Bilingual Carmarthen Ysgol-Y-Dderi Primary Welsh Ceredigion Ysgol Bryn Coch English Flintshire Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Santes Tudful Welsh Merthyr Cross Ash Primary School English Monmouth Langstone Primary English Newport Caegarw Primary School English RCT Penygarn Community Primary English Torfaen Ysgol Iolo Morgannwg Welsh Vale of Glamorgan St Giles VC Church in Wales Primary English Wrexham Ysgol Gymuned Pentraeth Welsh Ynys Môn
Sample = 14 schools/14 LAs Total sample = 44 settings
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Appendix 8: Overview of the main Early Years assessment tools identified as being used currently in Wales
Birth to three matters Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
Birth to three years
Launched in November 2002 by the Department for Education and Skills, Birth to three matters is a framework to support those practitioners working with very young babies and children.
It provides information on child development, effective practice, examples of activities which promote play and learning, guidance on planning and resourcing, and ways to meet diverse needs. Four aspects of child development are identified as:
• a strong child • a skilful communicator • a competent learner • a healthy child.
Key worker
Taking the child as the focus, each aspect is divided into four components which in turn have four specific criteria against which judgements can be made. Paper
Four age-related stages of development are also described which enable practitioners to identify relevant characteristics of children in their setting. • Heads up, lookers and
Ccmmunicators (0–8 months). • Sitters, standers and explorers
(8–18 months). • Movers, shakers and players
(18– 24 months). • Walkers, talkers and pretenders
(24–36 months).
Available from:
www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/Birth
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British Picture Vocabulary Scale: 3rd Edition – BPVS III Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
3–16 years
BPVS3 assesses children’s receptive (hearing) vocabulary. The teacher says a word and the child responds by selecting the picture (from four options) that best illustrates the word’s meaning.
The questions sample words that represent a range of content areas such as actions, animals, toys and emotions and parts of speech such as nouns, verbs or attributes, across all levels of difficulty.
Teachers, SENCOs and speech therapists in mainstream and special education settings
As no reading is required, BPVS3 can be used to assess language development in non-readers and especially children with expressive language impairments.
As no spoken response is required, BPVS3 may be administered to children with autism and other related communication difficulties.
Individual
Timing: Untimed, approx. 10 minutes.
Format: Paper
Available from:
www.gl-assessment.co.uk/products/british-picture-vocabulary-scale-third-editionwww.winslow-cat.com/british-picture-vocabulary-scale-3rd-edition-bpvs-iii.html
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Bury Infant Check
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
4.1–5.6 years
Assesses children in reception classes who have special needs and may need intervention.
Key areas include: language; learning style; memory; number; perceptual and motor skills.
A quick test can be used on a whole class to identify children who will need to take the full check which identifies areas that need special attention.
Individual Comprises sixty assessment items, only thirteen of which are teacher-rated.
Untimed
Available from:
Pearson & Quinn, NFER-Nelson, 1986. www.etcconsult.com/schools/302-early-years-bury-infant-check-age-41-56-
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Classroom Monitor
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
Birth–60 months 5 to 11 years
Classroom Monitor is an online assessment, tracking, and report-writing system.
Closely aligned to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
Comes pre-loaded with criteria for every subject from the National Curriculum, P-Scales and ’Assessing Pupils’ Progress’ (APP) materials which offer schools a set of criteria, guidance and exemplars for making judgements about learners’ progress in relation to national curriculum levels.
Electronic Classroom Monitor links automatically to the school’s Management Information System /database (SIMs/ Facility, etc.). Teachers record their learners’ progress against learning objectives.
Uses an online mark book with a traffic light system to support early intervention.
Supports school self evaluation and report-writing.
Available from:
www.classroommonitor.co.uk
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Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST-II)
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
2 weeks–6 years
The Denver Screening Test (DDST) provides a method of screening for evidence of development delay in infants and preschool children. The test screens a child’s development in four functions/domains:
• gross motor • language skills • fine motor-adaptive • personal-social.
The health visitor questions the parents and observes the child attempting developmental age range tasks. Completed at home or in a clinic.
Each child is scored within a range of norms, enabling the user to obtain an overview of the child's development and to identify relative areas of strength and weakness.
The result is a surveillance and developmental measuring method, similar to a growth chart, which allows further investigation of any areas of concern.
A guidance sheet is followed and the results recorded on a standard chart.
An online test similar to the paper version is also available.
Time: 10–20 minutes
Available from:
www.denverii.com
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Developmental Journals (Children in Wales)
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
0–5 years NB: There are no ages attached to the Developmental Steps.
Primarily for children with additional learning needs/complex medical needs, the Developmental Journals focus on what the child can do, building a positive record of each child's achievement over time.
Typical patterns of child development are described under seven ‘Areas of Learning’ (the same as those used in the Foundation Phase). Each journal has a series of 14 Developmental Steps. Skills and behaviours associated with each Step are identified under the seven Areas of Learning.
Each behaviour or skill has three boxes headed ‘Emerging’ (seen for the first time), ‘Developing’ (seen sometimes) and ‘Achieved’ (seen often). When the parent has decided which of these most closely describes their child’s behaviour, they simply put a date and/or a tick in the appropriate box.
Designed to be used by and with families, the journals support partnership working between families and practitioners by providing a structured framework for discussion.
There are four sets of developmental materials. Developmental journal (the generic version) is designed for families who know or suspect that their child is unlikely to progress in the same way or at the same rate as other children – whether or not a particular factor or
The final element of the Developmental journal is the Developmental Profile. Its aim is to help parents see the pattern of their child’s progress as they move through Developmental Steps.
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learning difficulty has been identified and given a name.
The remaining three sets focus on celebrating the development of children with specific additional needs:
Developmental journal for deaf babies and children – designed for families with a young deaf child. A particular focus on emerging communication and language.
Developmental journal for babies and children with Down syndrome – designed to support early intervention by improving understanding of the developmental processes involved when a child has Down syndrome.
Developmental journal for babies and children with visual impairment – designed for families with a young child who has a visual impairment.
Available from:
www.earlysupportwales.org.uk/
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Effective Early Learning (EEL) Programme/Child Involvement Scale
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
0–3 years (BEEL) and 4–7 (EEL)
The Effective Early Learning (EEL) Project and Baby Effective Early Learning (BEEL) are professional development tools of supported self-evaluation and improvement for all settings that provide early education and care for young children. Nine child involvement signals are identified as:
• concentration • energy • complexity and creativity • facial expression and posture • persistence • precision • reaction time • language • satisfaction.
This is an observation method which aims to measure the level of a child’s involvement in an activity. It is child focused and attempts to measure the process of learning, rather than concentrating on outcomes.
The signals are not designed to be used on a scale basis. They are a means of making an overall judgement of the child’s involvement using the 5 point scale. Each observation is recorded on a Child Involvement Observation Sheet.
The 5 point scale which measures involvement (see The Leuven Well-being and Involvement scales) is then used to come to an overall judgement.
Individual children are observed. Each observation to last two minutes. Each child is observed three times per session but not continuously. A total of six observations/twelve minutes per child.
Available from:
Professor Chris Pascal, Worcester University www.crec.co.uk/EEL
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First STEp: Screening Test for Evaluating Preschoolers
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
Level 1: 2.9 – 3.8 years
Level 2: 3.9 – 4.8 years
An assessment tool to detect mild developmental delays and identify children who need in-depth diagnostic testing.
Childcare worker Individual Timing:15 minutes
Focus on: cognition, communication and motor skills
Scaled scores are stratified by age for five Domains.
Available from:
www.pearsonassessments.com/HAIWEB/Cultures/en-us/Productdetail.htm?Pid=015-8182-707&Mode=summary
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Health for All Children (Hall 4) Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
All children
Health for All Children (Hall 4) sets out principles for preventive health care, health promotion and an effective community-based response to the needs of families, children and young people. It reflects the current evidence base that every child and parent should have access to a universal or core programme of preventive preschool care.
Formal, universal screening for speech and language delay, global developmental delay, autism, and post-natal depression is not recommended. Health professionals should elicit and respond to parental concerns.
Health professionals discuss with parents and take on board any concerns they may have, responding as appropriate.
Health professionals follow the guidelines set out in Hall 4 when carrying out ongoing surveillance of the general health and development of the child.
Available from:
Health for All Children (Hall 4) by Hall and Elliman, published December 2002
www.health-for-allchildren.co.uk
Information on the National Screening Committee’s policy position on child health screening is available at: www.nelh.nhs.uk/screening/vbls.html
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Incerts Assessment System
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
3–7 years Allows teachers in Wales to record assessments against the Foundation Phase Outcomes. The Outcome Descriptors have been arranged into skill ladders. Each curriculum statement is presented as sub-levels (e.g. 2a, 2b or 2c) with three developmental steps: • beginning to demonstrate the
particular behaviour • does it reasonably frequently • fully grasped it.
Demonstrates how learners progress from one sub-level to the next.
Used for recording assessments of learners, and sometimes supporting evidence. By clicking on a sub-level tickbox, the teacher is stating that through their expertise and professional judgement, they have determined that the learner is able to display the skill described in the statement. Dependant on the quality and consistency of assessment judgements that are entered into the system.
Incerts calculates a learner’s level based on the ticks entered.
The system generates a range of graphs and reports, in each case combining stored data with a pre-designed template. Levels and numeric scores are usually combined and a spreadsheet is generated; statements or sentences may be combined so that a Word document is generated for end or year reports, next step reports, etc.
The analysis function enables users to look at learners’ progress, displayed as a graph, over time and progress towards a current target. Users can compare classes and groups, and progress from year to year.
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Available from:
Incerts is an independent, non-profit organisation www.incerts.org/wiki?page=overviewAlso a password protected CDAP site cdap.incerts.org
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The Leuven Well-being and Involvement Scales
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
Developed by the Research Centre for Experiential Education (Leuven University – Belgium) under the supervision of Dr. Ferre Laevers.
Key worker observes the children individually or as a group for about two minutes.
Five point scales which measure both well-being and involvement. Unless children are operating at four or five, learning will be limited. If there is a consistent low level of well-being and/or involvement, it is likely a child’s development will be limited.
The tool focuses on two central indicators of quality early years provision:
• children’s well-being • children’s involvement.
Available from:
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Mary Sheridan; Children's Developmental Progress from Birth to Five Years; the Stycar Sequences
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
Birth–5 years
The STYCAR sequences, developed by M. D. Sheridan (1976), measure four fields of development:
• posture and large movements
• vision and fine movements
• hearing and speech
• behavior and play.
Each field of development is divided into several specialised skills.
Widely used as a reference for professionals training or working in health and social care.
A table of expected ‘norms’ within a specific age range describing key stages in the development of motor, perception, communication, play, independence and social skills.
Used as a guide on the expected normal range of children reaching their developmental milestones.
Results provide an informative record of a child's developmental progress.
Available from:
Book: Sheridan, Mary D. From Birth to 5 years; Children’s Developmental Progress. Revised and updated by Marian Frost and Dr Ajay Sharma. (Rutledge 2003)
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Modified-Checklist for Autism (M-CHAT) Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
18–30 months
The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) is a validated developmental screening tool designed to identify children at increased risk of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).
A questionnaire with 23 questions. Used by specialists or other professionals to screen for developmental delay ASD and autism. 5 minutes
The M-CHAT can be administered and scored as part of a well-child check-up.
The M-CHAT structured follow up interview with the parent is designed to reduce the false positive rate (false positive cases are children who fail the M-CHAT but do not have an autism spectrum disorder).
Available from: www.m-chat.org/
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National Child Assessment Framework Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
All children (and their families)
A framework for the assessment of children in need and their families.
Health visitors Some LHBs in Wales have devised their own assessment tool/checklist based on the ‘triangle’ below.
A systematic approach which uses a conceptual map for gathering and analysing information about all children and their families.
Home assessment
Discriminates between different types and levels of need.
Available from:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/index.htm
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Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
Newborns and infants up to two months old
The scale looks at a wide range of behaviours. The examiner has a behavioral ‘portrait’ of the infant, describing the baby's strengths, adaptive responses and possible vulnerabilities. The examiner shares this portrait with parents to develop appropriate care giving strategies aimed at enhancing the earliest relationship between babies and parents.
Health professional Used in mother and baby units and with the Integrated Family Support service. Timing: 20–30 minutes
28 behavioural items each scored on a 9-point scale, which assess the infant's behavioural response to positive and negative stimuli. Does not yield a single score but instead assesses the baby's capabilities across different developmental areas.
The Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO)
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
Newborns and infants up to three months old
A structured set of observations designed to help the clinician and parent together, to observe the infant's behavioral capacities and identify the kind of support the infant needs for his successful growth and development.
Health professionals; paediatricians Recording form and parent questionnaire.
A set of 18 neurobehavioral observations, which describe the newborn's capacities and behavioural adaptation.
Available from:
www.brazelton.co.uk/training.html
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Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS)
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
3–4 years Performance Indicators in Primary Schools On-Entry Baseline is a standardised assessment system that is designed to monitor learners’ educational progress during the Reception year.
Provides assessment of attainment in the areas of reading, mathematics and phonological awareness. The assessment provides a basis for measuring the relative progress of pupils through Reception and beyond because they take into account the starting points of individual children.
PIPS On-Entry Baseline is carried out in the first month that the child is in Reception; September, January and at Easter. The Follow-Up assessment is carried out in June. Personal and social development is assessed through teacher ratings of key features.
The assessment is completed by an adult working with each child on a one-to-one basis.
Hand entered data is sent to the CEM data processing department and data from the CD-ROM version is uploaded to the CEM website or emailed back to PIPS.
On receipt, the school data are processed and printed feedback produced. Final reports include a standardised value added progress score and a record of personal and social development for each child.
Feedback is also made available on the CEM secure website along with other tools such as Foundation Profile mapping and data analysis software.
Comparison with national data also enables teachers to identify gifted and talented/ALN learners at an early stage.
Timing: 15–20 minutes
Available in either text, a coloured booklet that the adult and child work through together, or CD-ROM format.
The adult records the child's responses on a learner record sheet.
With the CD-ROM version, the child's responses are recorded on the computer.
Available from:
PIPS is offered by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring at Durham University.
www.cemcentre.org/pips-baseline/introduction
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Pre-School Behaviour Checklist (PBCL) Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
2 to 5-year-old
A 22-item checklist which helps professionals objectively screen children for behavioural and emotional difficulties.
Individual; The examiner observes the child and marks the degree that best describes the child’s behaviour. Items are scored for frequency and severity.
For use in pre-school and nursery schools, the checklist covers emotions conduct, temper, activity level, concentration, social relations, speech, language, habits, wetting, and soiling. Each item lists three or four degrees of a particular behaviour.
Timing: not specified Includes a Developmental activities checklist.
By comparing total scores to criterion cutoff scores in the manual provided, the examiner can determine whether the child has an emotional or behavioural need that requires intervention.
Available from:
www.annarbor.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=248_101
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Salford Sentence Reading Tests (SSRT)
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
From about age 6 to 13+
A test of oral reading based on a series of sentences of graded difficulty. Especially suitable for assessing children who appear to be failing to make satisfactory reading progress.
Everyday contexts and vocabulary make this test suitable for use with less able readers.
One-to-one oral delivery by classroom teachers and SENCOs. Standard record sheet facilitates scoring, diagnostic analysis and monitoring of progress. Timing: 4–5 minutes per child
Manual gives reading ages up to 11:3, with standardised scores for less able readers extending to age 13 for reading accuracy (age 14 for comprehension).
Available from:
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/Title/9781444149456/New_Salford_Sentence_Reading_Test_Specimen_Set.htm
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Schedule of Growing Skills II (SoGS II) Age
Range Purpose Administration Scoring
Birth to 5 years
(Core age range of 18 months to 42 months)
A structured, standardised tool to assess developmental milestones in children. Assesses skills in the following nine areas of development:
Manipulation, Locomotion, Vision, Hearing, Speech and language, Interactive, Self care; and Social skills.
SoGS can also be used to screen for developmental delays, allowing practitioners to build a comprehensive profile of a child’s wider learning needs to inform referral or intervention.
Health visitors Approx. 15–30 minutes Untimed; approx 10–14 minutes
The assessment is plotted on a standard scoring sheet against chronological age.
Scoring provides a graphical representation of a child’s developmental level and identifies whether a child is reaching developmental milestone or achieving at one band above or below. One band below or above is still in the acceptable age range. Two bands or more below will identify potential developmental issues or delays with further investigation required, e.g. referral to paediatrician.
Each record form allows for up to four assessments of any one child, providing an indication of progress over time.
Paper Individual; professionals observe and assess reactions while the child ‘plays’ and completes standard tasks.
Available from:
GL-assessment
www.gl-assessment.co.uk/products/schedule-growing-skills
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Teaching Talking
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
1–8 years
Teaching Talking provides a process of screening, profiling and recording the major aspects of a child’s development.
Regular (half termly) observation and
recording of child’s language
development on a three point scale;
pre-emerging, emerging and consistent
behaviour.
A classroom-based assessment, it focuses on children in Early Years settings and primary schools whose linguistic development appears to be delayed, or who are experiencing difficulties with listening or speaking.
Administration: Individual
Format: Paper
Timings: Untimed Range of standard profile forms provided
Used to generate evidence for an Early
Years profile and possible statementing.
Available from: www.gl-assessment.co.uk/products/teaching-talking
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WellComm: A speech and language toolkit for the Early Years Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
6 months to 6 years
A speech and language toolkit, offering screening and intervention tools for children in the early years.
Also the Report Wizard, an online tool, monitors and evaluates the progress made by children using the WellComm toolkit. Once children have been screened, their results can be entered via a secure platform to generate a variety of reports.
The Online Report Wizard can report on children across any number of linked settings and can generate individual, group and local authority reports.
Individual The assessment bands children by placing them into one of three categories; a traffic light system that identifies children requiring immediate intervention, as well as those who show potential language difficulties (see below).
Format: Paper Timings: 10–15 minutes Suitable for use by non-specialist early years professionals.
Red = consider referral to a specialist service for further advice/assessment.
Standard record form. Amber = extra support and intervention
required. Green = no intervention currently.
Available from:
GL-assessment www.gl-assessment.co.uk/products/wellcomm-speech-and-language-toolkit-early-years
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Appendix 9: Overview of locally developed Early Years assessment tools identified as being used currently in Wales Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board Locally Developed Tool
Age range Purpose Administration
7 to 8 months and 24 to 27 months
A locally developed tool, based on Mary
Sheridan’s approach, is used to carry out
developmental assessments across the BCUHB
area. The tool is used to assess the
developmental progress of children against
expected norms; all aspects of child development
are assessed.
Community pediatricians worked with health
visitors to agree universal standards of
development for children to meet.
Generic health visitors administer the LHB developmental assessment tool.
The LHB tool is approximately 90 per cent based on other validated tools.
Developed and used locally, this bespoke tool allows analysis of comparative information across the LHB area; Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Flintshire and Wrexham.
Available from:
Associate Chief of Staff (Nursing) for Children and Young People, BCUHB
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Cardiff Council
Age range Purpose
3–7 years Cardiff Council has established a working group of practitioners which has attempted to align the CDAP Developmental Areas and descriptions of behaviour with Foundation Phase outcomes. The resulting ‘tool’ is being piloted for on-entry baseline assessment purposes and will also be used also as a tracking tool to link child development assessment with FP outcomes. Consistent advice and guidance has been issued to schools. Decisions as to whether to adopt this approach are taken by individual schools. Non-maintained settings are expected/encouraged to use a similar approach.
Available from: Foundation Phase Training and Support officer, Cardiff Council
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Child Health review at 2 years; Cwm Taf LHB
Age range Purpose Administration
2–2½ years
Formal assessment.
Administered by health visitors.
This locally developed assessment tool is based
on Mary Sheridan’s principles and devised by the
LHB based on advice from Speech Therapy and
Community Paediatricians.
The in-house ‘Child Health review at 2 years’ tool
is used for assessment of a child’s hearing, vision,
motor, social, communication and emotional
development.
The tool also gives more evidence in certain areas
that indicate a cause for concern in the child’s
development especially with regards to autism
and autism spectrum disorder.
All health visitors are trained in SoGS II and
recommended to use this tool when the in-house ‘Child
Health review at 2 years’ development tool indicates
there are areas of concern.
If any concerns are identified as a result of the formal assessment at nine months and 2½ years then the health visitor will do a SoGS II assessment.
Paediatricians will use the M-CHAT tool if required.
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Available from:
Practice Development Health Visitor, Cwm Taf LHB
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3+ Powys Learning Record
Age range
Purpose
3–7 years Developed for practitioners in funded non-maintained settings and teachers in schools.
An on-entry baseline assessment to assess stage of development and to record where the child is on-entry to
3+ setting.
Also used to assess children’s progress as the 3+ Learning Record is linked to the Foundation Phase
framework areas of learning.
Schools are not directed to use the Learning Record but may use whatever tool gives them an on-entry
profile.
The LA Foundation Phase support team provides on-entry assessment and observation training and training
on the use of the Powys 3+ Learning record to staff from 3+ settings.
Available from: Early Years Development Officer , Foundation Phase School Improvement Advisor, Powys CBC
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South East Wales Education Achievement Service
Age range
Purpose
3–7 years An amended tick list based on the CDAP has been disseminated to all schools and funded non-maintained
settings in the SE Wales EAS consortium focusing on the following three main areas of learning:
- Personal and Social Development, Well-being and Cultural Diversity
- Language, Literacy and Communication Skills
- Mathematical Development.
This tick list was developed to support schools but is not a specific requirement. Teachers can use this ‘tool’
instead of the full CDAP for statutory on-entry baseline assessment.
Available from:
System leader with special responsibility for the Foundation Phase Team, SE WALES Education Achievement Service
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Swansea CBC; Development Tracker and Transition Document (adapted versions also used in Ceredigion CBC and Neath Port Talbot CBC)
Age range Purpose Administration
18–48 months
Relatively recently developed by the Swansea Flying Start team, this tool/tracker is based on the CDAP. Primarily used for on-entry baseline assessment of 2-year-olds in childcare settings for the following developmental areas:
• personal • social • emotional • language and communication • cognitive
Paper-based.
Administered by childcare workers; overseen by the
Flying Start advisory teacher who trains the childcare
workers in its use.
• gross motor • fine motor.
Proforma/tick list for each area of development (one page per area). Used for early identification of developmental needs, the tracker shows development milestones from 18–48 months.
Repeated during the child’s year in the setting.
If necessary, information is used by the setting to
develop ‘play plans’ for individual children who are not
quite meeting expected norms. If a child is assessed as
not meeting norms, a referral is made to other agencies,
e.g. speech and language therapy or educational
psychologist.
The final assessment outcomes are used as the transition document when the child leaves the setting.
Available from:
Flying Start Team, Swansea CBC
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Wrexham CBC (also to be introduced in Conwy CBC); The Learning Journey
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
18/24 months up to national curriculum Level 4
The Lifelong Learning Department,
Wrexham CBC, has worked
collaboratively with practitioners (one
member of every school cluster has
been involved in working groups) to
develop a local assessment tool. The
‘Learning Journey’ (LJ) is aligned with
all relevant Welsh Government
statutory curriculum requirements and
non-statutory guidance. The on-entry
assessment element of the tool is
aligned with Foundation Phase
outcomes.
Its purpose is to ensure greater
consistency and continuity of approach
in funded non-maintained settings and
funded maintained settings. The
The LJ tool is used for on-entry, ongoing formative and summative assessment purposes. For on-entry, an OMS standardised mark sheet is available in paper and electronically. The information gathered during the assessment process is stored electronically on the school information management system (SIMS).
The LJ does not use a
numerical/grading/level system but
adopts a ‘can do’ approach.
Children are assessed against three
categories namely
emerging/developing/progressing/ as
they become more skillful.
For criteria in each category the child is
assessed as being – lower = on track
(secure)/ + upper (e.g. Emerging E-, E=,
E+).
The software is able to run reports by
age, gender, FSM, etc.
The LJ information (on-entry and end of
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support model includes:
– cluster-based training for on-entry
assessment using actual pupil work
provided by the participants
– LA produced exemplar profiles for FP
outcomes
– cluster ‘champions’ in a lead
practitioner role for the LJ
– weekly 2.5 hour drop-in sessions with
the FP advisory teacher(s) are held for
FP practitioners, often with a focus on
planning and assessment
– moderation of teachers’
assessments/judgements is built into
training.
phase) is collected electronically by the
LA from each setting. Regular dialogue
re the tracking of children throughout the
Foundation Phase is held between the
LA and schools.
Available from:
Head of Service 0-8; Lifelong Learning Department, Wrexham CBC
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Appendix 10: Overview of the other commercial Early Years assessment tools (and related- programmes) identified as being used currently in Wales Bayley–III Screening Test
Age Purpose Administration Scoring range 8 months Used primarily to assess the motor (fine
and gross), language (receptive and expressive), and cognitive development of infants and toddlers.
15 to 25 minutes
Scores nearly 100 items by age for three domains: cognitive, language, and motor. Standard checklist form that identifies items that can be scored through incidental observation. Items that are not scored through incidental observation are administered to the child.
The Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID–II) Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
Standardised measures of infant development. The test contains items designed to identify young children at risk for developmental delay.
Experienced clinicians specifically trained in BSID test procedures. 45–60 minutes
Raw scores of successfully completed items are converted to scale scores and to composite scores. These scores are used to determine the child's performance compared with norms taken from typically developing children of their age (in months).
Between the ages of 1 months and 42 months
Available from:
www.pearsonassessments.com/HAIWEB/Cultures/en-us/Productdetail.htm?Pid=015-8027-256
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2Build a Profile – Early Years Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
3 years + 2Build a Profile – Early Years is a mobile app for building EYFS profiles. Claims to be linked to the ‘Welsh Early Years objectives’.
Online Web Management Suite for syncing multiple devices.
Individual learner profiles are automatically generated based on the evidence captured by teachers.
Security and encryption features ensure that all data is safe.
Also linked to Foundation Stage objectives for September 2012 and Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Early Level experiences and outcomes.
Requires a site licence for three devices or more.
Provides individual learner reports and whole class reports via email or the online Web Management Suite.
Available from:
www.2simpleapps.com/
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B Squared Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
Breaks down the Early Years Foundation Phase (EYFS), P Levels and National Curriculum (in England) into small steps allowing schools to track progression through each level.
Covering all the subjects within the National Curriculum within one assessment package, B Squared provides standardisation across the different subjects within the school.
Allows recording to be done in the classroom during the lesson or during observation time.
Shows progression within a level and through levels.
Completed by ‘whoever is working with the learner’.
Produces assessment information across the curriculum for P Levels, National Curriculum.
The software creates a profile of the learners’ learning. Assessment system
available as: - Connecting Steps software package
Assessments can be used for IEPs and internal moderation.
With over 8000 schools using B Squared, detailed assessment data can be transferred between schools.
- photocopiable paper-based individual record sheets recording system.
Available from:
www.bsquared.co.uk/assessment.html
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Griffiths Mental Development Scale Extended Revised (GMDS-ER)
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
The Griffiths scales are used to measure the rate of development of young children; measuring development trends which are significant for intelligence, or indicative of functional mental growth. The six sub-scales include:
• locomotor: gross motor skills including the ability to balance and to coordinate and control movements
• personal-social: proficiency in the activities of daily living
• language: receptive and expressive language
• eye and hand coordination: fine motor skills
• performance • visuospatial skills • practical reasoning.
Paediatricians, child psychologists and educational psychologists
Simplified percentile and z-score ratings.
Available from:
www.aricd.org.uk/about-the-griffiths-scales
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Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI)
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
2 and 16 The ECBI is a parent rating scale which assesses child behavior problems.
It is intended to assess both the type of behaviour problems and the degree to which parents find them problematic.
It includes an Intensity Scale which measures the frequency of each problem behaviour and a Problem Scale which reflects parents' tolerance of the behaviours and the distress caused.
Questionnaire completed by parents, or administered by a professional, e.g. clinicians and service providers.
Used to screen for child behaviour problems and to monitor the effect of interventions on these behaviours.
Paper
Individual
Time: approximately 10–15 minutes to complete
Manual scoring for 36 items/questions against a Likert scale.
Approximately five minutes to score.
Available from: www.parinc.com/
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The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R)
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
2 through to 5 years of age
An American tool designed to assess provision rather than the developmental progress of individual children.
The scale is used for monitoring purposes, and to guide practitioners towards creating higher quality programmes.
Childcare key worker and trained assessors.
Total scale consists of 43 items arranged into seven sub-scales namely:
• space and furnishings
• personal care routines
• language-reasoning
• activities (including fine motor)
• interaction (including supervision of gross motor activities)
• programme structure
• parents and staff.
12 page score sheet which incorporates notes and tables to assist in scoring.
Available from:
www.ersi.info/index.html
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Hawaii Early Learning Profile HELP 0-3
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
0–3 years A curriculum-based assessment, covering the six developmental domains/areas:
• cognitive • language
For parents As it does not require standardised materials, it is not standardised assessment and cannot yield exact developmental age levels or scores. Any developmental age levels derived from the HELP should be considered approximate and used to help support informed clinical opinion rather than used as a definitive score or age equivalent.
• gross Motor • fine Motor • social • self-help for working with children
and their families.
Developmental assessment record/booklet of 685 skills grouped into 58 strands for easier planning of next steps objectives.
Available from:
www.vort.com/
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Incredible Years Parenting Programmes, Webster Stratton Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
0–12 months
The Incredible Years Parents and Babies Programme consists of a six part programme focused on helping parents learn to observe and read their babies' cues and learning ways to provide responsive care including physical, tactile, and visual stimulation as well as verbal communication.
The Incredible Years Parents and Toddlers Programme supports parents and consists of an eight part programme focused on strengthening positive and nurturing parenting skills.
Health visitors Not applicable
1–2 years
Available from:
www.incredibleyears.com/program/parent.asp
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The Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ITERS-R) Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
Birth to 2 ½ years
An American tool designed to assess provision rather than the developmental progress of individual children.
The scale is used for monitoring purposes, and to guide practitioners towards creating higher quality programmes.
Items have been added to make the scale more inclusive and culturally sensitive, and to reflect health and safety information.
Childcare key worker and trained assessors.
Total scale consists of 39 items/questions organised into seven subscales. • Space and furnishings. • Personal care routines. • Listening and talking. • Activities. • Interaction. • Program structure. • Parents and staff.
An expanded score sheet (which contains a worksheet) and additional notes for clarification to improve accuracy in scoring.
Available from:
www.ersi.info/iters.html
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Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (ITSEA)
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
12 to 36 months
Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) is a screening test used to identify possible emerging social-emotional developmental delays. Followed-up with ITSEA for the in-depth analysis and intervention guidance. ITSEA provides an in-depth analysis to guide intervention planning. Highly targeted to the subtle growth and developmental stages of infants with norms presented in 6-month age bands. Focuses on a child’s strengths/ competencies, as well as deficits/weaknesses in four domains:
1. Externalizing
2. Internalizing
3. Dysregulation
Input from the parent and child care provider.
BITSEA: 42-item Parent Form
ITSEA: 166-item parent form
Scores for four broad domains, 17 specific subscales, and three index scores.
Childcare provider form
BITSEA: 7 to 15 minutes
ITSEA: 25 to 30 minutes
4. Competence
‘Scoring assistant’ software provides an easy-to-understand parent report.
Available from:
www.pearsonassessments.com/HAIWEB/Cultures/en-us/Productdetail.htm?Pid=015-8007-387
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Middle Infants Screening Test (MIST) Age
range Purpose Administration Scoring
5–6 years An early literacy screening tool which focuses on reading and writing skills.
Parent questionnaire MIST identifies the lowest-achieving 20–25 per cent of learners in any one class or year group.
Class teacher Observation sheet Group or whole-class administration Format: paper Timing: unlimited
Available from:
S. Hannavy, NFER-Nelson, 1993 www.gl-assessment.co.uk/products/middle-infant-screening-test-and-forward-together-programme
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The Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
4–6 years To enable teachers to systematically observe children across a range of tasks in the first two years of schooling. This set of literacy assessment tasks is administered individually to students and assesses their skills in the following areas:
Individual A summary report is completed by the teacher, analysing strengths and weaknesses of literacy processing.
Approximately 45 minutes per student
Predictions for progress are completed after the full observation survey is administered.
• word knowledge
• print concepts
• phonemic awareness
• writing vocabulary
• text reading level.
It is recommended that teachers obtain a profile of a child across all tasks.
Available from:
Marie M Clay, 2002 www.heinemann.com/products/E00929.aspx
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Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Test (REEL-3)
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
Birth through to 3 years
The Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Test-Third Edition (REEL-3) is designed to identify infants and toddlers who have language impairments or who have other disabilities that affect language development.
Results are obtained from a caregiver interview.
Administration: Individual
The REEL-3 has two core subtests, Receptive Language and Expressive Language, and a supplementary subtest, Inventory of Vocabulary Words.
Time: 20 minutes
Standard scores, percentile ranks, and age equivalents are provided.
Available from:
www.pearsonassessments.com/HAIWEB/Cultures/en-us/Productdetail.htm?Pid=015-8498-135&Mode=summary
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Renfrew language scales
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
A set of three tests which look at both the grammatical content and the information content of spoken language. This language is elicited from asking a series of questions relating to pictures. The extent to which pictures of objects, arranged in order of difficulty, can be named correctly is assessed.
3 to 8 years
The age level of consecutive speech used in retelling a story can be assessed from the information content, sentence length and grammatical usage in this test.
Teacher All the tests are norm referenced so that a child’s score can be compared with scores achieved by children of a similar age.
Available from:
www.speechmark.net/word-finding-vocabulary-test-revised-edition
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The strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ)
Age range Purpose Administration Scoring
2/3 – 16 years
The SDQ is a behavioural screening questionnaire which asks about 25 attributes divided among five scales:
• emotional symptoms • conduct problems • hyperactivity/ inattention • peer relationship problems • pro-social behaviour.
Designed to identify the need for more in-depth assessment.
Parental questionnaire Several versions to meet the needs of researchers, clinicians and education specialists. Timing: 10 minutes
2–3 minutes to score. Generalising scores for each scale; the first four of these can be summed to yield a total difficulties score. ‘Before’ and ‘after’ SDQs can be used to audit everyday practice, e.g. in clinics or special schools and to evaluate specific interventions.
Available from: www.sdqinfo.com/a0.html
The review of Early Years child assessment tools used in Wales
Appendix 11: Glossary Areas of Learning The seven Areas of Learning which comprise the Foundation Phase curriculum for 3 to 7-year-olds are:
• Personal and Social Development, Wellbeing and Cultural Diversity • Language, Literacy and Communications skills • Mathematical Development • Welsh Language Development • Knowledge and Understanding of the World • Physical Development • Creative Development.
AWFPA The All Wales Foundation Phase Advisors network group.
Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) The Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales is a division of the Department of Public Services and Performance in the Welsh Government. Its role includes regulating and making inspections of early years service providers. Childcare In Wales, child minding and the provision of day care for children under the age of eight are regulated by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales. Childminders Self-employed childcare providers who look after children in their own home, they must be registered and inspected by CSSIW. They may offer full day care or childcare before or after school or during school holidays. Day nurseries Look after and educate children from birth to age five. They are usually open all day, but not in the evenings or at weekends. There are different types of nurseries, including Welsh-medium (meithrinfeydd dydd), private, voluntary, local authority and workplace nurseries. All nurseries must be registered by CSSIW.
Data Exchange Wales Initiative (DEWi) A Wales specific secure transfer facility for use by schools, local authorities (LAs) and central organisations to exchange and send data safely. DEWi is used for Welsh Government National Data Collection files.
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Estyn Inspects quality and standards in education and training providers in Wales including nursery schools and childcare settings, including day nurseries and playgroups, that are maintained by, or receive funding from, local authorities. Educational quality and standards are inspected for settings delivering the Foundation Phase. The non-maintained (i.e. private and voluntary sector) child care provision which Estyn inspects in relation to educational requirements may also be subject to registration and inspection by CSSIW for delivery of child care. Foundation Phase The curriculum designed to meet the developmental needs of young children from 3 to 7 years of age in Wales. Foundation Phase Child Development Assessment Profile (CDAP) The Foundation Phase on-entry baseline assessment profile; introduced as a requirement in maintained schools from September 2011. Full day care Childcare settings that provide day care for children aged less than eight years old for a continuous period of four hours or more in any day, in premises which are not domestic premises. These may include day nurseries, children’s centres and wrap around care. Health visitor Health visitors lead and deliver child and family health services for babies to children aged five years. Integrated Children’s Centres (ICC) Each local area in Wales has at least one Integrated Children’s Centre, many of which provide childcare for children under the age of five, alongside other family services. Local authority Foundation Phase training and Support Officers Provide regular support, guidance and training to maintained and non-maintained settings which provide funded education for three and four year olds. Mudiad Meithrin (MM) The main provider of Welsh medium early years education in the voluntary sector. In addition to operating cylchoedd meithrin (Welsh-medium playgroups), MM also operates Welsh-medium day nurseries. National Childminding Association (NCMA) A professional membership association working with registered childminders to ensure local high quality home-based childcare, play, learning and family support.
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National Day Nurseries Association Cymru (NDNA) The national charity representing children’s day nurseries across Wales. Playgroups and Cylchoedd Meithrin Provide play and education sessions lasting two to three hours for children aged two to five. This care is usually provided in the morning or afternoon, and mainly during term-time. Sessional day care Childcare settings that provide day care for children aged less than eight years old for a session which is less that a continuous period of four hours in any day. The premises are not domestic premises. Mainly for children aged from three to five years old, although some settings may admit two-year-olds. These may include playgroups and cylchoedd meithrin. Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) The assessment and treatment of speech, language and communication disorders in people of all ages. Wales Pre-school Providers Association (WPPA) A national charity and membership organisation that promotes and supports bilingual pre-school care, education and learning through play across Wales. Wraparound care Offered as an extension to the care provided by playgroups/clychoedd meithrin, and local authority nursery education provision, and is often referred to as Playgroup Plus/Meithrin Mwy. Groups may operate for up to four hours a day.
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Appendix 12: Acknowledgements This report has been produced by Markit Training and Consultancy Ltd. on behalf
of the Assessment Branch, Department for Education and Skills, Welsh
Government.
The authors and members of the research team would like to thank all those who
contributed to the review process.
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