Understanding Participation: A Classroom Observation Toolkit
Observe with purpose. Support with confidence.
Understanding children's participation goes beyond noticing behaviours—it involves recognising strengths, identifying barriers, and understanding how the child, the activity, and the environment work together.
The Understanding Participation: A Classroom Observation Toolkit is a practical, occupational therapy-informed resource designed to help educators make objective, strengths-based observations of children's participation in everyday learning environments. Whether you're supporting children in early childhood, kindergarten, or primary school settings, this toolkit provides a simple and structured way to document observations, identify patterns, and plan meaningful supports.
Designed with busy educators in mind, each page is easy to use, printer-friendly, and encourages thoughtful observations without adding extra workload.
What's Included
- Welcome and toolkit overview
- Understanding participation through an OT lens
- Observation principles with objective observation examples
- Participation observation forms for:
- Engagement
- Regulation
- Sensory
- Motor Participation
- Attention & Executive Function
- Social Participation
- Communication
- Environment Scan
- Looking for Patterns page
- Participation Snapshot
- Next Steps planning page
- Key Takeaways
- When to Seek Further Support
- Who Can Help? (professional roles explained)
- References
Perfect For
- Early childhood educators
- Kindergarten teachers
- Primary school teachers
- Education support staff
- Learning support teams
- Inclusion support educators
Why You'll Love It
✓ Occupational therapist developed
✓ Strengths-based and neuro-affirming approach
✓ Encourages objective, evidence-informed observations
✓ Supports collaborative conversations with families and professionals
✓ Simple, practical, and easy to use in busy educational settings
✓ Printer-friendly with a clean, calming design
Please note: This resource is designed to support classroom observations and should not be used as a diagnostic or formal assessment tool.
Supporting every step towards a meaningful future.
Created by Nurtured Futures Co.
