| An assessment of the needs of young children provides you with an understanding of children's developmental status and condition in order to define the areas and groups which are most in need of attention. Integrated ECD is a complex concept which encompasses several aspects. A child's development during the early years consists of physical (both health and nutritional status) and motor development (gross and fine motor skills), psycho-social and emotional development (in terms of social relationships, culturally appropriate behavior, values, and self-esteem), and cognitive and language development. Measuring the status of children requires indicators that capture the different aspects of integrated ECD. A single indicator will not be enough. Rather, it is increasingly common to work with a child profile in which various indicators are incorporated. ECD is not only an integrated but also a continuous process which start in the prenatal phase and extends until the transition to primary school. Development needs and milestones of young children shift over the years and experiences can have a lasting impact. Experiences such as malnutrition or neglect in the very early years will influence a child's developmental status as a toddler and in later years. The chart below shows that various aspects of development affect different phases of life.Â
| Â | Physical development | Psycho-social and emotional development | Cognitive and language development | | Â | Nutrition | Health | Gross & fine motor skills | Social skills & behavior | Values | Self-esteem | | Prenatal - 1 year | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | | 1-3 years | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | | 3-6 years | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | | 6-8 years | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
                                
                                                        Environmental factors           Â
                                                                                 
Assessments of child development can serve different purposes, each requiring unique indicators. Types of assessments include: - assessments for an overview of current child status
- assessments to support learning (e.g. by parent or teacher to see what type of activities the child is ready for; mostly informal)
- assessments for the identification of special needs (e.g. growth monitoring to identify malnourished children)
- assessments for program evaluation (to determine whether the program is effective in reaching its goals, or to compare alternative program models and approaches)
- assessments to monitor trends (e.g. assess the status of children within or across regions and over time)
- assessments for high-stake accountability (to hold individual students, teachers or project managers accountable)
Source: L. Shepard, S.L. Kagan & E. Wurtz (1998), "Principles and Recommendations for Early Childhood Assessments", Goal 1 Early Childhood Assessments Research Group, Washington, DC: National Education Goals Panel  
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