Early Years Observation and Assessment (ABC)

What is the ABC Service?

ABC means Observation and Assessment in the Early Years.

The ABC Service is a service provided by the Local Education Authorities of Gwynedd and Anglesey for early years’ children. It is part of the Additional Learning Needs and Inclusion Service (ALN&I)

It is a service for young children identified by the Moderation Panel as children who have additional learning needs.

What does the service offer?

ABC Centre

Placement in a specialist centre if the needs meet the entry criteria.

The ABC Centre counts as 10 hours of education as in a school. The children share a setting with their Mainstream School.

• Each child is an individual and therefore there are no definite rules in place for the length of time children attend the ABC class. This will be constantly reviewed
• It is the Moderation Panel who makes these decisions.
• The children have been discussed in the Moderation Panel and have been offered placement at the ABC Centre based on their additional learning needs which meet the ABC placement criteria.

There will be detailed input on the Additional Learning Provision / Individual Targets of the children to ensure that the children receive the appropriate support for the development of their skills and future  independence.

• The ABC team will monitor the children's progress using the ABC Progress Tracking Profile / ABC Service Criteria.
• The Parents play a very important role in the decisions and discussions take place along the process.
• Introduce the group of children to a classroom situation. Prepare the child for full-time education.
• Staff who have specialised in a range of needs and are familiar with observing, assessing and promoting children's language, play, self-care, physical, social and sensory skills.
•  Opportunities for a child to pursue their own interests and follow the ‘May I Join you?’  strategies to promote social communication skills. Learning methods are used through play.
• Early intervention to provide the children with the appropriate opportunities and experiences from the outset.
•  Regular opportunities to liaise and discuss targets/strategies with Parents. The Class Dojo App is used to do this as well as face-to-face conversations.
•  Opportunities to discuss and co-plan with agencies such as Speech and Language Therapists, Specialist Nurse, DERWEN etc.
•  An opportunity for each child to develop at their own level. ABC staff support Parents in working on toileting skills and provide a toileting programme and change nappies at the Centre.
•  The ABC class formulates and implements simple targets for early skills development e.g. toileting, play and socialising skills, Language and communication targets.
•  There are opportunities for different agencies such as Language Therapists and Physical Therapists to come to the ABC class and support the child. ABC staff are working with all agencies involved in the child.
•  An Education Psychologist will visit and hold discussions to ensure long-term provision.

ABC Gwynedd and Anglesey Outreach Service

The outreach service is an integral part of every ALN team, including the ABC Team.

Based on evidence, the Moderation Panel recommends that the child would benefit from the expert input of the ABC team in the schools.

Visits from staff who specialise in a range of needs and are experienced in observing, assessing, and promoting children’s language, social, play, self-care, physical, and sensory skills of the nursery year.

• The role of Team ABC is to outreach  to Gwynedd and Anglesey Schools to assess individuals, advise and support through modelling and upskilling staff in schools. • The frequency of visits will vary according to the needs of the child and the nature of the provision available in the School.
  
  

What does the input involve?

• Observing, assessing, and consulting with classroom staff while modelling the use of strategies and visual resources within universal provision. 

• Providing specific guidance and training to help schools plan effectively to meet the child’s needs. 

• Sharing tailored recommendations and interventions at an individual level to support the child’s development. Good practice will be modelled to help the pupil achieve their targets. 

• Supporting school staff in planning and preparing the child for full-time education. 

• Sharing strategies and resources while modelling good practice for those attending both the ABC Centre and the school setting. 

• They can also advise and support school staff during  IDP (Individual Development Plan)  reviews for outreach children. 

• Following each visit, records will be uploaded to the IDP system under the ‘Meeting’ tab.
• Tracking Profile / ABC Access  Criteria – will be updated termly on the IDP system. 
  
  
• There are opportunities for Speech and Language Therapists to visit schools in conjunction with ABC Staff in order to assess, provide suitable targets and resources for them.

How are children referred?

Where it is brought to the attention of the Local Authority that  a child in Early Years may have Additional Learning Needs (ALN), the Local Authority must decide whether or not the child has ALN. The Early Years Service co-ordinates the arrangements with the Early Years settings to allow the Local Authority to make the decision.

Following a decision of ALN the children will be discussed in an ABC Panel before starting the Nursery class.

 A Moderation Panel considers each application individually before reaching a decision on the basis of the evidence received. The needs must meet the entry criteria. 

How do schools refer individuals to us?

Following a period of action, they would initiate an ALN enquiry if concerned about a child then an application can be made to the ALN Forum.

What is the the Educational Psychologist’s role?

There is close collaboration with an Educational Psychologist. They attend the ABC class to get to know the children and offer ideas and strategies and contribute towards the Individual Development Plan (IDP) meetings.

What is the Quality Officer’s role? 

There is a close link between the ABC service and the designated Quality Officer.

The Quality Officer is available to facilitate and co-ordinate the child's transition from the ABC class to the School.

Transport

The Local Education Authority can arrange a taxi for children who reside further than 2 miles away from the ABC class (in accordance with the Education Department's Transport Policy). The taxi transports the children to the class and then brings them home at the end of each session.

Not all parents wish to use taxi transport. Some prefer to bring their child to school themselves.