Supporting Children’s Development

What is it?

Supporting Child Development is the core of everything we do… Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC)

“A young child’s development often involves repetition and cycles of actions and interactions. As a starting point, research with young children supports the view that the following dimensions are among the most important aspects of child development, underpinning not just learning but also essential for survival and flourishing: executive function and self-regulation, communication and language, confidence, creativity and curiosity, movement and coordination, and self and social development.”

(Realising the Ambition, Education Scotland, 2020, p. 23)

All aspects of human development are interconnected, and separating the areas can be an artificial categorisation of an integrated process; no one part of development occurs independently. Development is a gradual, sequential process. We are programmed to learn many skills. However, Realising the Ambition (Education Scotland, 2020) reminds us that the development pattern is not linear and that children develop different skills in different orders and at different rates.

“We will always be doing the right thing if we are aware of each child’s development and are providing interactions and opportunities that match the needs of the child” (Realising the Ambition, Education Scotland, 2020, p. 23). Therefore, meaningful observation and knowing our children well are vital and should always be the starting point.

Realising the Ambition (Education Scotland, 2020) states, practitioners should “Responding to the child’s actual development in order to adapt and provide
what is best at that time for the child is key, rather than expecting a child to fit
into a fixed and pre-determined group programme or plan” (p. 18).

We need to interpret what the children’s actions, emotions and words are telling us about what they require from us in the interactions, experiences and the different spaces we are offering.

Key messages:

Recognition of the importance of wellbeing and the formation of strong relationships between practitioners, children and their families lie at the heart of children’s development.
Families are seen as experts who know their children better than anyone else and have essential information to share. Therefore, we value and engage them in a meaningful way.
Practitioners know the families and community well and can offer experiences to ensure equity of experiences, and are working to close the experience gap.
Practitioners believe that all children are capable and competent learners, full of potential and ready to take ownership of their learning. They approach children as unique individuals who live and learn within families and communities (Children’s Rights and Child’s Voice).
Practitioners are knowledgeable about the stages of child development, ensuring that they can act responsively in planning appropriate learning experiences.
Practitioners use knowledge of how children learn, for example, schemas, when making observations of children and use this to inform future planning and improvement.
Each child’s needs should be at the centre of how we think about and plan for their unique development.
The curriculum is current, appropriate and relevant to children, informed by shared values and beliefs about how young children learn, with a clear focus on developing children’s skills in literacy and communication, numeracy and mathematics and health and wellbeing.
Practitioners use the ‘My World Triangle‘ and other GIRFEC tools to ensure that the child’s development is fully supported.
Practitioners are aware of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their effect on the developing brain.
Practitioners recognise the integrated way children learn and the importance of individual experiences and development within a supportive, nurturing, and stimulating environment.
Practitioners are confident that in promoting a happy, exciting and empowering learning environment, considering the interactions, experiences and spaces on offer, they add value to what children already know and can do.
Planning meets the developmental needs of different groups of children and is informed by careful monitoring and review. This ensures that identified support strategies positively impact learning and development.
Practitioners are valued as knowledgeable, reflective, resourceful and rich in experience and the experiences and environments they create for children.
Practitioners provide every child with the support they need to develop in all areas.
Observations are carried out regularly and analysed carefully to understand and tease out specific learning and identify and plan for children’s next steps.

Ways we can do this:

Practitioners take time to get to know every child as an individual learner.

Practitioners are responsive to individual children, their families and their communities.

Practitioners consistently and effectively involve parents, carers, and other partners in gathering information and reviewing support for our children.

Practitioners observe and plan for the individual children’s interests and skill levels.

The curriculum offered is meaningful; direct connections are made between a child’s current knowledge and interests and the opportunities on offer.

Practitioners have a clear and consistent procedure for ensuring a child’s Personal Plan is kept up-to-date, following open communication with parents and carers, and documenting the use of individual support strategies. This should be frequently evaluated for impact and adapted according to the individual’s needs carefully.

Practitioners view children as competent and capable; this is reflected in the environment and interactions.

Well-being, engagement, belonging, and expression are at the forefront when planning. In addition, practitioners are aware of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their effect on the developing brain.

Practitioners establish a safe and social physical environment where children thrive and use an emotionally warm and positive approach, enabling children to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world.

Practitioners effectively use SBC Developmental Overview assessments (see tabs at the bottom of this page) to inform holistic planning, considering all individual needs and creating appropriate learning environments.

Practitioners support the development of positive relationships between children, guiding children’s planning, decision-making and communication.

Practitioners can articulate how play experiences promote learning and development.

Practitioners facilitate the development of emotional intelligence, which supports the child’s ability to self-regulate their emotions. This could be done through play, narrating experiences from different perspectives, sharing carefully selected literature, and promoting group discussions about feelings.

Reflective practitioners set up and participate in play opportunities that relate to the children’s experiences and challenge them to move beyond their current levels of understanding and abilities.

Practitioners encourage children to reflect upon learning experiences in developmentally appropriate ways, building links upon their own experiences and consolidating learning. This could be through narrative during shared play experiences or looking back at photographs and recording pupil voice.

Pedagogical documentation is used to learn more about the children and make their learning visible.

Individual profiles have sufficient high-quality observations to show a child’s progress and development over time and show the next steps linking back to the curriculum to ensure progression.

Practitioners are familiar with progression pathways, trackers (see tabs at the bottom of the Emerging Literacy & Mathematics & Numeracy pages), developmental milestones, or ‘I can’ statements. Practitioners use them developmentally to help them identify the next steps in learning for individual children, ensuring that all children are making good progress in their learning through ongoing observation, tracking, and monitoring.

Following an observation, practitioners identify possible ways to take the child deeper in their learning, not necessarily onwards and upwards, but identify various ways to consolidate, widen, and revisit the learning.

(Realising the Ambition: Being Me series, ‘Whose Ambition?‘ Considerations of early childhood development for all sectors presented by James Mctaggart, Education Scotland, 2021)