Which area of learning?

[mumofone]

Is the act of being able to open packets, removing yoghurt pot lids etc something that falls under PD for an area of learning? Is it all part of health and self care or moving and handling, sorry I'm a bit confused! I've looked on EYO but can't find anything mentioning this but have probably missed it! Any help appreciated! :-)

[mama2three]

That's the thing with eyo , so much that we see as real progress isn't metioned specifically.
In these cases I just write up the ob , link purely by writing pd or whichever area. Its no less valuable as an observation , development matters and eyo aren't a complete list.

[mumofone]

That's the thing with eyo , so much that we see as real progress isn't metioned specifically. In these cases I just write up the ob , link purely by writing pd or whichever area. Its no less valuable as an observation , development matters and eyo aren't a complete list.

Thanks mama2three, I linked it to a CofEL in "keeps on trying" and I guess it's fine motor skills which falls under PD I think...I'm still learning so I hope this would be acceptable! :-)

[greenfaerie]

The one that surprised me in its absence was a young baby crawling up a step, I thought that was very impressive but crawling just had one entry without much variety. I also just link to the aspect in the area. :)

Edit: Also, I'm sure if you can explain your logic to Ofsted then they'd find it acceptable. You know why you found the incident worth observing. :)

[Simona]

That's the thing with eyo , so much that we see as real progress isn't metioned specifically.
In these cases I just write up the ob , link purely by writing pd or whichever area. Its no less valuable as an observation , development matters and eyo aren't a complete list.

You are so right on EYO...they really are just for outcomes and not helpful to identify the various steps children take in their learning and how they do that.
In this particular case I would say the learning covers quite a few areas ...if not all of them...but certainly PSED, PD, CLL, UW, Numeracy ...not sure about EAD but I bet there might be a link there too.

They are mentioned in good old Development Matters ...whatever made the DfE write EYO and take away the 2 columns that really help identify progress?

[mumofone]

You are so right on EYO...they really are just for outcomes and not helpful to identify the various steps children take in their learning and how they do that. In this particular case I would say the learning covers quite a few areas ...if not all of them...but certainly PSED, PD, CLL, UW, Numeracy ...not sure about EAD but I bet there might be a link there too. They are mentioned in good old Development Matters ...whatever made the DfE write EYO and take away the 2 columns that really help identify progress?

Thanks Simona, sorry, can you explain why it's UW, C&L, EAD and numeracy? This is where I struggle I guess because I can't see past PD....x

[mama2three]

the physical removing the lid etc is PD - but what actually happened ? if they were proud of themselves , what language they used , etc If you add that extra detail to the observation then it links to more areas.

[FussyElmo]

Numeracy because the child problem problem solved how to take the lid off :thumbsup:

A lot of the others will be because of the language you both used

[mumofone]

Thanks everyone, I still dont think im clear on the numeracy and EAD but will go back and re-visit the obs and look further into EYO and DM etc to see if i can get my head around it all! Am i the only one who struggles with this???!!! (YES!) Thank you for your help :-) x

[redtiger21]

I'd say this skill links most clearly with Physical Development, moving and handling. There's no clear development statement that matches it, but you can adapt them, it's about showing that you can use your professional judgement to assess a child. I'm not sure how old s/he is, but in the 22-36month bracket there's a statement that says "Shows control in holding and using......." (you could alter the ending so it simply says "certain items or tools"). Under 40-60+ months it says "Shows increasing control over and object"- the sentence goes on but you could just end it there. It also says "Handles tools and objects......safely and with increasing control". Feel free to adapt them (within reason) to what suits the observation.
As mentioned, you may have observed other skills at the time, so if you were looking for an observation on, say, the child's CAL skills and they showed that they could follow your verbal directions to open the packet, then you could use that too, but I'd only focus on what was notable and you felt was worth recording. :)

[FussyElmo]

Thanks everyone, I still dont think im clear on the numeracy and EAD but will go back and re-visit the obs and look further into EYO and DM etc to see if i can get my head around it all! Am i the only one who struggles with this???!!! (YES!) Thank you for your help :-) x

Oh course you are not.

You saw PD straight away which is the main area all the other areas can be linked to it depending on the language used and what else happened.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with just linking it to PD :thumbsup:

[Simona]

Thanks Simona, sorry, can you explain why it's UW, C&L, EAD and numeracy? This is where I struggle I guess because I can't see past PD....x

Not easy but I will do my best.
Nothing wrong at all in linking to just PD...but you can go further if you want to.
I think you use EYO...not sure...but if you do you can see the learning goal in EYO but not how to get the child to progress in the learning step because you don't have EEnvironments...which you are very important in setting up...and PRelationships as you are the key person....you also will be unable to link all the areas as EYO only covers UChild.

It will take a short while to master DM but when you plan you can then link that step to all the related areas...usually all 7....so one observation will cover so many steps in learning.

I recall you mentioning this child before who was determined in opening his own yoghurt and said his mummy does it for him at home?
You asked if this was a WOW moment...I think it was and it would have gone into a series of connected next steps

What you observed then was PD ...as in fine motor skills in opening the lid and holding his spoon....self care too.
PSED...determination, confidence and independence and also CoEL in that child 'I want to do it my way'
Language, communication and comprehension too were very clear in the child's speaking.
Those are the Prime Areas covered

You can extend that step by looking at Numeracy...shape of lid, pot size and include measures and colour of the yoghurt...why is yoghurt white or pink or yellow?
Sensory...did the child lick the lid or go 'yummy'?
UW...where does yoghurt come from?...it also covered Technology
EAD...links to sensory and imagination and also experimentation and exploration

By using DM you can cut down on your documentation as one observation can be linked to all the areas....that is my personal view
It will also facilitate your dialogue with an inspector as you will be using the same language.

[BallyH]

Not easy but I will do my best.
Nothing wrong at all in linking to just PD...but you can go further if you want to.
I think you use EYO...not sure...but if you do you can see the learning goal in EYO but not how to get the child to progress in the learning step because you don't have EEnvironments...which you are very important in setting up...and PRelationships as you are the key person....you also will be unable to link all the areas as EYO only covers UChild.

It will take a short while to master DM but when you plan you can then link that step to all the related areas...usually all 7....so one observation will cover so many steps in learning.

I recall you mentioning this child before who was determined in opening his own yoghurt and said his mummy does it for him at home?
You asked if this was a WOW moment...I think it was and it would have gone into a series of connected next steps

What you observed then was PD ...as in fine motor skills in opening the lid and holding his spoon....self care too.
PSED...determination, confidence and independence and also CoEL in that child 'I want to do it my way'
Language, communication and comprehension too were very clear in the child's speaking.
Those are the Prime Areas covered

You can extend that step by looking at Numeracy...shape of lid, pot size and include measures and colour of the yoghurt...why is yoghurt white or pink or yellow?
Sensory...did the child lick the lid or go 'yummy'?
UW...where does yoghurt come from?...it also covered Technology
EAD...links to sensory and imagination and also experimentation and exploration

By using DM you can cut down on your documentation as one observation can be linked to all the areas....that is my personal view
It will also facilitate your dialogue with an inspector as you will be using the same language.
Fabulous Simona.

[mumofone]

Not easy but I will do my best. Nothing wrong at all in linking to just PD...but you can go further if you want to. I think you use EYO...not sure...but if you do you can see the learning goal in EYO but not how to get the child to progress in the learning step because you don't have EEnvironments...which you are very important in setting up...and PRelationships as you are the key person....you also will be unable to link all the areas as EYO only covers UChild. It will take a short while to master DM but when you plan you can then link that step to all the related areas...usually all 7....so one observation will cover so many steps in learning. I recall you mentioning this child before who was determined in opening his own yoghurt and said his mummy does it for him at home? You asked if this was a WOW moment...I think it was and it would have gone into a series of connected next steps What you observed then was PD ...as in fine motor skills in opening the lid and holding his spoon....self care too. PSED...determination, confidence and independence and also CoEL in that child 'I want to do it my way' Language, communication and comprehension too were very clear in the child's speaking. Those are the Prime Areas covered You can extend that step by looking at Numeracy...shape of lid, pot size and include measures and colour of the yoghurt...why is yoghurt white or pink or yellow? Sensory...did the child lick the lid or go 'yummy'? UW...where does yoghurt come from?...it also covered Technology EAD...links to sensory and imagination and also experimentation and exploration By using DM you can cut down on your documentation as one observation can be linked to all the areas....that is my personal view It will also facilitate your dialogue with an inspector as you will be using the same language.


Thanks simona, I will get DM and EYO out again and take a good look. Thank you for explaining, I see where you're coming from now :-) x