Here's the polished version:
Child Development for Wales: Observations
Making an Observation
Observations are used to record development, interests, experiences, and achievements, building an overall picture of the children in your care.
🔒 To make observations, you'll need the Manage observations permission enabled. If this is the only observation permission a staff member has, their observations will be sent to a manager for review before being sent
From the Newsfeed
Go to the Newsfeed and click the Observation tab next to Post
Search for the child or children you are observing in the To: box
Optionally, upload a photo, video, or document
Optionally, add next steps in the bottom box
💡 If you create a group observation, any future edits will be reflected across all children included. You cannot remove a child from an observation after it has been sent without deleting the observation completely
From a Child's Profile
Go to the child's profile and select the Journey tab
Click New and select Observation from the dropdown
The boxes above the text allow you to choose the framework you're working in. The Reference material panel on the left is where you'll find curriculum guidance to support your knowledge of the child's development. When you enter the child's name, relevant bands or stages are suggested as a starting point.
💡 To see the reference material in the app, you'll need to be on a tablet device (iPad or similar) in landscape mode
You can also view a child's past observations and assessments for reference by clicking Past observations and assessments, and add next steps by clicking What's next?
💡 Draft observations are deleted 90 days after they were last edited
Curriculum for Funded Non-Maintained Nursery Settings
The Curriculum for funded non-maintained nursery settings (Developmental Pathways) is available on Famly with the new child development.
To enable the updated child development, go to Settings, then Child Development and Setup.
Once moved over to the new child development, you can enable the correct frameworks under Settings, then Child Development and Learning frameworks or Reference material.
💡 The new child development no longer involves linking to frameworks. Instead, staff should use the reference material as a guide, focusing on the written portion of the observation to capture key moments in a child's development. This approach moves towards a more child-centred practice
Adding Links to the Welsh Framework
ℹ️ This is only available on the old version of child development.
When making an observation, click the eye icon at the bottom of the text box to add links to your chosen framework. A new screen will open where you can select the appropriate links. Once selected, click Add links, then Send to post directly or send for review.
Observations will appear on the staff member's and child's Newsfeed, in the child's Journey tab, and in the Child Development tab.
Reviewing Observations
The overview page can be found under the Learning icon, then Child Development. It shows all recent observations made in your setting in chronological order. As a manager, this is where you can review observations, request changes, and send them to parents.
Filtering Observations
Use the filters on the left-hand side to filter by:
Type
Date range
Observation status
Author
Key person
Reviewing an Observation
Click on an observation to open it. From here you can:
Edit the observation yourself
Add links to your curriculum
Add a comment in the box on the left-hand side and click the paper plane icon to send it
Click Request changes to send the observation back to the original author
Change the author and take ownership of the observation
Click Approve and send when you're happy for it to be sent to parents and added to the child's journey
Notifications About Observations
Staff and managers receive notifications in Famly based on the following:
The staff member who wrote the observation is notified when a manager requests changes
The manager is notified when a staff member updates an observation that is in review
The staff member is notified when a manager approves and sends an observation
The staff member who created the observation is notified when a parent comments on it
Parents and Observations
To promote partnership with parents, they can add their own observations to their child's journey. Parent observations are sent to management for review before being posted.
Setting staff can view parent observations in the Child Development app and can add links to statements, request changes, take ownership, or write a comment back to the parent. If changes are requested, the parent will receive a notification.