Assess

It is useful to have some knowledge of typical development of social behaviours (link) and attachments (link) when assessing social and emotional needs of young children.  There are also other external factors to consider here such as family circumstances and experiences that all affect social and emotional development and behaviour.  Please refer to the Typical Development (link) and Identifying Initial Concerns (link) sections of this toolkit for more details.

It is important to gather as much information about the behaviours and emotional responses that are causing concern through discussion with parents, observations and the use of checklists/other assessments.

A STAR chart (link) or ABC chart (link) is a useful way of recording and measuring behaviours and emotional responses that are causing concern as this allows you to record the behaviours and information about the situation, they occurred in.  This could give valuable information in order to plan the support that the child needs.

Behaviour that causes concern can occur for a variety of reasons, such as language/ learning delay, early childhood trauma or medical needs.  Other checklists can be used to gather more information about the child’s behaviour and emotional responses but also other areas of development that may be contributing to the behaviour.  The Anger Iceberg (link) is also a useful resource in acknowledging that the behaviour that you see could be a result of other underlying feelings.  Sociograms could also be used to find out more information about a child's play and friendships.

Examples of these developmental checklists are:

• Portage checklist
• PIP Charts
• Barry Carpenter- Early Years Engagement Profile
• Use the ages and stages in Birth to 5 Years by Sharma and Cockrill
• Observing Children with Attachment Difficulties in the Early Years  by Golding et al

The results of the assessment and information gathered will enable adults to choose some areas to provide additional support and/or plan some targeted intervention.  For example, which area of social, emotional and mental health needs are you most concerned about:

1. Is it managing the child’s emotions?
2. Is it the child’s relationships with others?
3. Is it the child's social skills?
4. Is it the child’s self-esteem and confidence?

Identifying these areas initially will help in targeting support more effectively.