Observing Young Children

Professor Tina Bruce CBE is an Honorary Visiting Professor in Early Childhood at the University of Roehampton. Dr Stella Louis is a freelance early years consultant. She originally trained as a NNEB nursery nurse and has taught on the NNEB specialising in observations, Stella has thirty four years’ experience of working with children and families. For the last ten years she has been involved in training educators and is particularly interested in observation and its part in supporting learning, development and teaching. Currently Stella leads a small team of Froebelian travelling tutors in promoting, developing and delivering the Froebel Trust Short Courses in the United Kingdom.Stella is author of numerous books and articles including Observing Young Children (Sage), Understanding Schemas in Young Children (Bloomsbury) and How to use Group Supervision to Improve Early Years Practice (Routledge).Stella has worked both in the United Kingdom and internationally, in South Africa, where she worked with teachers to develop a Froebelian approach to teaching and learning. For the last eight years Stella has been the lead trainer in a project led by Professor Tina Bruce in Kliptown, Soweto South Africa. Stella has extensive experience working with children and their families in England, South Africa and Australia.

′This is a timely new book, which a wide range of early years practitioners will find accessible. I strongly support its principled focus on working collaboratively with families, the way it values children’s experiences, and its practical suggestions for developing high-quality, manageable systems to record assessments. I look forward to using this book with newly-qualified and more experienced staff.′

• Why keep records?What works in observation and record-keeping?Working togetherFrom baby to toddlerUsing schemas as a lensWorking with children with autismParents and partnersObserving and planning in the Foundation StageObservation as a way of adapting practiceReflections