observations

Ofsted say obs are important to ' ensure breadth, balance and continuity of learning' p182 para 1 working with children

Partnership with parents: 'Wise practitioners look to learn from the parents of the children they are trying to help'(Draper and duffy,2001 p149) as cited in intro to EC

different perceptions of obs based on:
Environment
Mood
Experience p108 Intro To....

track kids progress according to 6 area of development

Smidt points out why it is important to have some knowledge of the children's language in order to understand early mark making. With knowledge of writing styles, different scripts and the direction in which they are writren; this can aid practitioners with understanding what they may be observing.

She also points out Vygotsky believed assesment to be the starting point and that it needs to point to a learning potential or in other words children need to be helped on to the next step in the learning process rather than concentrating on what they already know. However she warns us to be careful of 'outcomes based' assessments as practitioners outcomes may not be what the children want to learn