The Importance of Child Observations in a Nursery

Keeping up-to-date records of children’s progress is a crucial part of the daily routine at a nursery and is critical in aiding a child’s development. Each observation allows staff to witness first hand a child’s interests and abilities. Observations provide an uninterrupted view of how children learn and play, furthermore it highlights any areas where a child may need extra support and encouragement.

A written note should be made when observing a child doing something for the first time or when learning is happening that you may or may not have not evidenced before. The observation must have the name of the child, be dated and indicate whether it occurred during a child-initiated or adult led activity.

At Boys & Girls Nursery we have strict observation rules in place:

• Each child is observed at least once a week by their key person
• Observations are written at the time a child is partaking in an activity, so all information is accurate, this can be done at any time and in any area
• We have observation stations situated around the room so we can always be on hand if an observation is required or we witness a ‘WOW moment’
• A next step in learning is identified and these are filtered into the planning through continuous provision and adult led activities

Folder night is an important part of the observation, assessment and planning process allowing the team to look through their key children’s folders and see if there are any areas that may need focussing on or developing.