This book helps early years practitioners improve their observation, assessment and planning techniques by balancing theory with proven good practice. Children learn and grow best when their environment is tailored to their developmental needs. This can only be done through careful observation, informed assessment and dynamic planning. The whole cycle is an essential part of effectively embedding the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in early years settings. The EYFS recommends that observation, assessment and planning should be linked and should be a constant, cyclical process. However, in practice this is rarely the case. For example, students and practitioners can often miss the critical links between observation, assessment and planning. This means that, even if practitioners approach each element successfully, the whole cycle is ineffective at the expense of quality provision. This book aims to discuss the theoretical elements and to put this into practical terms, bringing it all together to ensure a cyclical process in settings. The core of the book outlines this process and defines a complete framework to support the whole process, giving a format for effective observation, assessment and planning. It is structured so that each element of the cycle is addressed individually and in order. Subsequently each element of the cycle is dovetailed together to produce a practical, secure cycle for students and practitioners to use.