Blog

Tackling disadvantage and underperformance within the Early Years (EY) sector has long been a prevalent issue, and it’s one which managers, practitioners and governments alike are continually trying to remedy.

As we know, there’s no one-size-fits all approach to learning, and that’s why every child needs to be monitored and assessed on an individual basis – giving them the opportunity to learn and grow through activities which appeal to their own preferred learning styles.

But with the busy days and workloads of practitioners, the ability to quickly gain access to information about a youngster’s performance and personalised observations is of paramount importance, especially when it comes to identifying whether a child needs additional help to achieve learning outcomes.

It’s no secret that we are ebbing increasingly closer to being a digital-first society – and even more so in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen a significant uptake in nurseries ditching their paper-based systems and using software to manage daily operations more effectively.

But it’s this transition from paper to online which has allowed many settings to uncover the ‘power of data’ and the impact it can have not only on child development but staff wellbeing and parental engagement too – plus how they’re all interlinked.

For instance, if a nursery professional wants to see whether a child is underperforming – and the evidence which backs this up – having records on paper increases the risk of certain documents being ‘lost’, not up to date and, in some cases, hard to read. In contrast to digital profiles, which contain all and infant’s observations, assessments and attendance history in one place, this allows for a real-time overview of all key areas which could be impacting their performance. 

It’s a seamless way for colleagues to understand the progress a child has made in their development journey at any given moment in time – which is crucial for activity and observation planning, as well as reflection.

Having more clarity over children’s individual progress – which all colleagues within a setting can access – also creates a more unified approach to staffing. Managers are able to easily reject any observations which don’t meet Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) standards and also offer their staff more support if they spot any children who may need additional assistance.

Also, when it comes to children that aren’t at the same stage of development as their peers, a savvy system can flag up evidence for areas where the child has fallen behind. This is not only less time-intensive for staff – compared to if they were finding this information themselves from multiple files and spreadsheets – but it also enables them to investigate further into where any concerns lie. For instance, they’re able to view whether there’s perhaps an issue with the quality of staff observations, if there’s no extended learning taking place outside the setting, or if their attendance is poor – all of which could be contributing factors to underperformance.