Cyp3.2 1.1
It is an important part of a practitioner’s job to observe and assess children in order to establish where a child is at with regards to their development, health and well being and if they require extra support. The factors that need to be taken into account when assessing development are: * Confidentiality – Parents/carers must give consent for information to be collected and stored about their child and they should be able to access this freely. If information needed to be shared with other professionals, signed consent needs to be gained from the parent/carer with the exception of cases where it is believed a child is in immediate and significant harm. All information recorded must be securely stored so it is not freely accessible for everyone to see. Practitioners must also ensure they do not discuss children’s observations whilst chatting i.e. in the staff room. * Children’s wishes and feelings – Although children cannot give consent to an observation in the way an adult can, it is important that a practitioner looks out for the following signs which will indicate whether a child gives consent or not. * An observation should be stopped if a practitioner’s believes it may be causing the child distress or discomfort. The practitioner should look out for the following signs -The child is not engaged in the activity and keeps looking at you; The child seems uncomfortable; Child shy’s away when you get close enough to observe; Any indication through words that the child does not want you to observe them. * If a child asks what you are doing or shows interest you must – Explain you are watching them play and that you find what they are doing interesting; Show the child that you are writing down what you are writing down what they are doing; Don’t push the child back into the activity, wait for them to return to it by them self. The child will get used to observations over time. * The practitioner must intervene if an accident is about to