WellComm Screening tool for nursery

[wardobe123]

Hi does anyone know about this screening tool?

I've got a nearly 29 month old and they said he should be at 4 but he's working at level 3. But it's not an issue as he was a point of level 4 and the test was done a few weeks and he is doing those things now.

Another mum with a child 8 months old stated their child was working 2 levels above what they should be???

I'm now worried mine my child isn't progressing

An 8 month old working 2 levels above?! I haven’t got the assessments at home but im
sure that’s unlikely! I wouldn’t worry just ignore that parent and work on the areas your child struggled with.

No the child is 8 months older then mine..I thought they just get assigned a level according to their age? And traffic light system if achieving it?

I train people to use WellComm, honestly there's nothing to worry about. I think your nursery probably need to attend some training, they've worried you for no reason at all!

What do you mean?

I have tried to find the resources online but they aren't forthcoming (I assume you need to pay).

I was told mine is being assessed for level 4 but my mum friend said hers is reaching level 6..

It isn't an assessment, it's just a profiling tool. Section 4 asks: following 1 and 2 key word instructions 'give me the car and the ball' for example.
Do they understand 'where?'
Do they engage in imaginary play?Are they most of the time able to put 2 words together (more cake, big dog etc)
Can they use the prepositions 'in' 'and 'on'
Do they use present tense -ing words 'walking' etc
Do they say 'I' instead of 'me' (many still use 'me want' and that's fine
and I think the other 2 are using 'big' to describe something and understanding a negative (most kids get this one wrong!)
Not scoring green for all of them does not mean it's a fail, it just shows the setting which areas to practice with the children. I think your nursery could have explained it better, hence my comment about them perhaps needing some training! Please don't worry! You can always ask them for some activities from the 'Big Book of ideas' that comes with the toolkit to practise any bits your child is not secure in.

Thanks. So why did they say he's one or two points from level 4?

That's a conversation for you to have with nursery. They should be able to tell you where your child got an amber or red score and what they are doing to encourage those areas so that next time they profile, they can see if they are now in green. I know it feels like a worry, but at this age, children learn at a different pace, new skills can develop so quickly. Talk to your child's key worker and ask them to break it down for you.

Oh yes they sure did tell me where he needed to work on..

He's developing well so I don't have concerns.

From my understanding you work out how many months the child is and select the appropriate test. I guess months are all grouped together, and level 4 is the level my child is working towards based on his age.

Do you think they would assess a child using a much higher level for fun? My friend made it appear that her son should be aiming towards level 4 but they have said he's so smart and is working at level 6?

I am aware of this assessment through my work and it tends to over-identify amber/red levels in other words says more children are at amber and red than should really be. So, if the picture is a bit odd and the child can't work out what it is, or they don't say exactly what the administrator has written on their sheet but they can use the same words another time, they might miss points.
In other words, try not to worry!

I also train people to use the WellComm. It's a screening tool to identify language need. You would need to ask nursery to confirm, but it sounds like he might have scored Amber on section 4, but 1 point away from Green. You need to get around 7 or 8 out of 10 to score green (it varies in each section) and around 4 or 5 to score amber. It sounds like nursery have observed him since and identified he is doing some of the things he didn't manage when they screen him.

You could ask nursery to see the score sheet. They also get a 'Big Book of Ideas' with the toolkit, with ideas of how to help in each area, so they could photocopy from this.

When we do the screening tool, we start with the correct age section. If they score amber or red, we go back to an earlier section. We don't go higher, so would never identify someone scoring 2 sections above, although it would be possible to do so. The reason why we don't is the purpose is to identify children with language needs in order to support them.

I've got 5 dc. Tbh as long as they aren't hugely behind in their development like not walking aged 2 then I really wouldn't worry as they all learn at their own pace.

With an 8 month gap, it is feasible that Section 4 is the correct age for your child and Section 6 for hers.

Section 4 - 24-29 months
Section 6 - 36-41 months

So you could have a 28 month old and 36 month old that should be 2 sections apart.

If your child is only 1 mark off green I wouldn’t worry. Just double check the areas they have given you to practise (with no verbal or non verbal clues - this where a lot of parents get confused). As someone posted above, the test is quite odd in places so don’t read too much into it as long as you are sure there are no other concerns.

Sorry that should be nowhere near walking aged 2. Lots of children (mine included) are not quite walking aged 24 months but close.

Hi she said he should be measured on section 4 but because he was so "intelligent" he's measuring at section 6. Surely the nursery will asses him at his age not what they think he's working at?

Yes it seems bizarre they would have screened him at a higher age.

Thanks it's really useful that explanation.

Thank you..yes we discussed it..he did it over a month ago and has stated to do the things or I've seen him do the things so I'm not concerned

If he's 8 months older I.e. 36 months, then the correct age section would be section 6, as BlossomValley said. It's likely the story has got lost in translation a little bit. This other child was presumably assessed with a later section because of his age, rather than due to any judgement on his abilities. 8 months makes a big difference when you are 2!

Which would make sense if he had reached the age, but he hadn't....he's just turning 36 months this week and I was told the story a few months ago.

I think she's not being truthful but that's a different story

I use it for work. Wellcomm is a brilliant tool for highlighting where we need to focus the work with children. It can pick up those who are just a little behind where they ideally would be to stop the gap getting bigger aswell as focusing interventions for those who are much further behind.

If your child is only one age bracket behind expected I wouldn’t worry but if you ask they should be able to highlight which areas need to be focused on

Unfortunately she said hes two levels above where he should be, and the dates done align.

Thank you.

Yes they explained the results etc.

I also agree with taking with a pinch of salt claims of working above age. Unless we know a child is working significantly below age (in which case we work from best judgement and work from there) the program works from age expected levels and backwards. If a child is at
expected level there is nothing to be gained from moving ahead.

The range of normal speech at that age is huge. I have had one of my children speaking fluently with good pronunciation of all sounds and another barely using 3 words at a time. They are both able to speak fine now. Another child might be much more verbal than yours. It doesn’t mean your child is behind. My very verbal child was struggling with gross motor skills but mostly people just saw her sitting and talking so didn’t realise.

I would worry less about specific grading and more about just making sure your son is exposed to language lots. So things like reading stories with him every day, lots of talking to him, just every day stuff. If you go to the supermarket, talk about the shopping list, ask him to help you choose the food etc.

There's loads of evidence that language develops better in children who simply hear lots of words and that happens by being spoken to lots and having conversations with another human.