The observation, assessment and planning cycle ispart of the EYFS framework, which every years setting should follow as itenables practitioners to track children’s progress regarding their areas ofdevelopment and learning through this process.

It should be followedcontinuously in where observation is the starting point, then assessments andlastly planning. The starting point that is the carrying out observations is important, as it is a key factor whenunderstanding children’s needs, and interests. It helps practitioners to findout more about children as individuals. There are many things practitionersneed to identify when observing an individual child for example, their actions,behaviours, their interactions with other adults and children theircommunication and social skills, and what their interests are.

There are many severaltype of observational methods that practitioners should use, such as takingphotographs/videos, narrative, snap shot, checklists, target child etc.Carrying out assessments is the second part ofthe cycle, making assessments is the process of analyzing and reviewing whatpractitioners know about children’s development and learning for example whathas be observed about the child’s. Practitioners will need to gather thedifferent types of observations they have made and any other evidences such asexamples of the child’s mark-making, information from parents, orphotographs/video recordings.

Practitioners should identify what thisinformation tell them about the child’s learning and development was theresomething they had not observed before. This should be done regularly, as itwill enable practitioners to keep a track of children’s progress over time andgain insights into children’s learning, development and their needs. Anassessment should involve evaluation or decisions about the child’s progressand their learning and development needs as it will provide the informationthat is needed to plan for the next steps. This is called assessment forlearning: it is the formative assessment, based on observations, which informsor guides everyday planning. Another form of assessment is summativeassessment. This is a summary of all the formative assessment carried out overa long period and makes statements about the child’s progress.

Planning is thenext step of the cycle in which practitioners should use previous observationsto make the planning more effective. This is because practitioners will be ableto plan the next steps of a child by looking at the observations, as it mayinclude information about what area of development or learning the child hasshowed  or gained. Practitioners shouldrefer to developmental matters when planning activities, as they will be ableto plan appropriately in relation to a child’s stage of development as well astheir specific needs and interests.