1.1 When assessing a child’s development many factors need to be taken into account. First of all you should account for circumstantial factors such as if the child is tired, ill or what their friends are doing at the time, they may not try as hard, therefore, it could be marked that they are not developing in a certain area when really they just didn’t want to take part that day. Also, home problems should be taken into account when assessing a child. If the family are having problems, there has been bereavement or there’s been a birth of a sibling, this can affect a child’s behaviour and often can make a child regress.
Another thing to think about when assessing development is the phrase, “stages not ages”. It is more important to assess if a child is following the expected pattern of development rather than where they should be at their age because the ages are just guidelines so unless a child is very far over the age there is no need to worry. It is important to consider a child’s ethnicity and culture as a child living in an area different to their own ethnicity and culture may be discriminated against or may feel different to others and feel like they do not fit in. If a child feels like this they will have low self-esteem which will keep them back from joining in and developing the same as others. Also, if a child’s family life is different to that of a ‘normal family’ they may be discriminated against and may not be provided the same opportunities as others, such as if they live in poverty or are travellers. These children may feel under-valued which will affect their attitude to learning. Also disability and additional needs need to be taken into account and when assessing a child with a disability it is important to assess their development and progress rather than compare the child to others who do not have a disability and may find the task easier. Having a disability could also give a child low self-esteem and make them feel discriminated against which again will affect their development.
Also you should remember every child is different and the rate of development is affected by how much stimulation they get from home and can be affected by factors before birth. It is important to realise that information you gather is not always reliable, the child may have guessed the colour, or heard a child’s answer before, therefore several assessments should be made before coming to a conclusion. It is also important to remember confidentiality of assessments unless the child is at risk.

2.3 A person-centred and inclusive approach means children have the opportunities to explore, think, and question for themselves. They get to have a choice in their learning, which will mean they are keener to learn. Involving children in decisions that affect their lives mean they are happier with the situation, they will feel more responsible and grown-up, therefore behaviour in the situation will improve and they will try harder. Having a person-centred approach should include the use of observations, involvement the parents/carers and constructive feedback and encouragement.
At Alphabet, spider diagrams are used. The children are asked what they would like to learn about regarding that terms topic or ideas of what we may talk about. Their ideas are written in a spider diagram, they also sometimes draw pictures to stick on the spider diagram, which is then placed on the wall and implemented into the planning. Observations are made on children in all areas of development which are then used to influence planning so to develop a certain area which children are not making satisfactory progress. For example, if a focus task meant the children had to cut pictures out and observations showed half of the children could not hold scissors correctly, planning would then involve activities for practice and development in that area.

2.5 At alphabet, to encourage the children to actively participate in decisions affecting their lives I