Page 17 - PSPS: A Training guide

The Leuven Scale, known as the Sics/Ziko Observational Scale, has been widely used in
schools and preschools to establish how well each child is coping with the transition. It
assesses the child on two indicators, Well-Being, and Involvement. If done
intermittently it can identify which children are settling in and which may need extra
support. It is a simple short observational method whereby a child is observed briefly
at the same time each day for a short time with their levels recorded and reviewed. For
example schools in the UK and Belgium have used the Leuven Scales early in the new
year to operate a ‘traffic light’ type system, recording the findings in the first few
weeks and quickly identifying the children lowest on the scales of well-being and
involvement, thereby enabling them to quickly focus on any child that is struggling.

Using some of these tools and methods well help to ensure that the child is at
the centre of planning, preparation and policies/procedures. Listening to
families, and giving the opportunity to children themselves to express how they
are feeling and coping will ensure that the transition is a successful part of the
continuity of care that begins in the home, continues through preschool and
into the early parts of their transition to ‘big school’.

Documenting the process – how the service is capturing what is happening so
it can be revisited multiple times with the child and parents:

Choosing a tool for pedagogical documentation, having a method for
capturing observations and comments on particular issues for each child is
important. This can be done through digital methods, written notes, logs,
journals, learning stories or any other means. It enables the partnership
between the child, the parents and the preschool/school to develop and to be
maintained. Open access for such documentation will be valuable, and
revisiting previous findings can be a form of great reassurance and support in
seeing progress for each child on their transition journey.