Children who join Pre-school can "adapt" to the level of the group after a few weeks. It is precisely for that reason that it is important to recognize a development lead at an early stage and to match the educational offer to the needs of the child.
Early detection of a developmental lead can help to prevent learning and behavioral problems. If an early identification is made and education and support is adapted to the needs of the child, the child can develop. This helps him/her to develop a better self-image and more self-confidence.
There are different ways to get an idea of whether a child has a development lead when entering Pre-school or School.
- The first introductory meeting with parents. It is strongly recommended to have the introductory meeting take place before the child gets used to school. With the aid of an intake questionnaire and by listening carefully to parents, a lot of information can already be obtained whether the child possibly has a developmental lead.
- Transfer information from pre-school care to primary school. We recommend teachers from primary school to dug deeper if provided information is limited. The same questionnaire which could be used by teachers after the child is some weeks at school and after a meeting with parents van also be useful for a consult in Pre-school.
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The 'Intake questionnaires for Toddlers' have been developed by the SLO for both parents and teachers The goal is to make clear the development of all children at an early stage. This allows education and support to be well attuned to the development needs of the individual child.
The intake procedure was developed by Nora Steenbergen, Yvonne Janssen and Desirée Houkema on behalf of the SLO and offers in addition to a manual a questionnaire for teachers, a questionnaire for parents and (through the website of the SLO) also a "tool" to process the data.
The diversity in development at the time that toddlers enter pre-school orprimary school is great. In the various development areas (e.g. cognitive, motor, social and emotional) the difference can manifest itself as under-development compared to peers. It can also become clear that there is a development lead. The gap or lag with peers can be a few months, a year, but also several years. Whether there is a developmental lead or lag may differ per development area (see also Asynchronous Development in building stone 6 of the toolkit).
Parents have observed the development of their child intensively and are therefore very able to estimate in what stage their child is. They have seen their child function in different situations. Parents can therefore give a lot of information about their child. For a Kindergarten or school the expertise of parents offers great opportunities to connect education to the child’s needs from the very beginning, both in the educational offer and in the support. To gain a clear picture of the child at the start of the primary school or Kindergarten is for a continuous development. Preschoolers can adapt very quickly to peers and the chance of this is greater in children with a developmental lead, resulting in the risk of underachievement for later times.