How to monitor children Essay

Explain how to monitor children and young people’s development using different methods. Observations are an important part of a teaching assistants role as feedback given to teachers is valuable as the teacher will then be able to report back to parents and carers on pupils progress. This sharing of information between teacher and parent will enable them to work together in the pupils best interests. Informal observations are those which are carried out on a daily basis as you work with pupils you may notice a child is having difficulty understanding a new concept you would them pass this information on to the teacher as part of the feedback process. We also use summative and formative methods of assessment such as formal testing i.e. SATS which record a child’s academic and intellectual development. You may use sampling methods – tick box checklists and time sampling methods or simply to undertake an observation. It is important with all methods of monitoring to record the feedback to teachers/parents about your findings. You would compare these observations SATS testing results against normal milestones and expected developmental age statistics and information from parents. You should also take into account a child’s cultural needs as these may create developmental delay (they may be delayed if they are not using their first language).