Factors to take into account when assessing development

Explain the factors that need to be taken into account when assessing development.
1) Confidentiality and Consent. All assessments must remain confidential and should only be shared with those who have a professional need to know, such as line managers and social services etc if necessary. Parents and carers must give their consent before assessments can be carried out.
2) Wishes and feelings. The assessment must stop if the child does not want to continue or becomes upset. The Childs emotional state needs to be considered and any problems at home need to be taken into account.
3) Disability or specific requirements. A child who has a disability should not be compared to another child but should be assessed in line with their own development rate. Extra care must be taken so as not to under estimate the abilities of children who have specific needs or a disability.
4) Ethnic, linguistic and cultural background. Children who come from different backgrounds may have a variety of ideas as to what is acceptable and how to behave in various situations.
5) Avoiding bias. Be objective when assessing development in order to give an accurate picture of actual progress. If possible the child should be observed by two adults at the same time.
6) Reliability of information. The information gathered must be from a reliable source in order to achieve an accurate picture of development.
7) Open and closed recording method. The way in which information is recorded should meet its intended purpose. This may be an account of the child did, or a summary of that information, e.g., the child uses a spade to fill the bucket with sand, or the child plays with the sand.
8) Mixing methods of collecting observations.
Narrative. This is a record of events in a timeline sequence.
Time sampling. Recording how often particular types of behaviour occur.
Event sampling. To document how a child reacts to a particular event which is pre-set.
Modified child study techniques. This checks the behaviour or traits of a child before, during and after specific behaviour, and records the levels and frequency of behaviour.