Early childhood education Essay

In a childcare setting the practitioners has an important role in supporting children. In a childcare setting the practitioner needs to help the children learn and achieve their full potential in their development stages; they must understand where the children are at in their development and know what they should be trying to achieve next, the practitioner can do this by spending time with the child and learning what the child can do and what they are struggling with so then they can plan activities to help the child with what they are struggling with and help them achieve their next stage of development. As a practitioner you’ve got to think about if the child is ready to be achieving the next stage of development because if they are not ready then it will be harder for them to do it; when a child achieves something new that they have not done before it is the practitioners job to praise them so they will feel like they did something good and will feel like doing it again as they like being praised for it and having that attention. Practitioners must make sure that all children in the setting are safe and secure; at all times children must be supervised, at least 1 of the staff members must be qualified in each room and their must be at least 2 members of staff in the room so if you need anything you can go and get it without the children being left on their own. To keep the children safe you must make sure that all dangerous objects and equipment are kept out of sight of children and make sure if it is equipment outside such as climbing frames or slides etc. that they do not go on them, you must make sure before the children go outside to play that you check whether all the playing equipment is safe so their wont be any accidents or injuries and if it is dangerous weather such as raining or snowing you must not allow the children on the equipment that they could injure themselves on. at my previous placement in the playground their was some monkey bars but in certain conditions when it was raining or snowing this piece of apparatus where not in use and all the children were told they could not use it; they did this so that none of the children would go on it and slip and injure themselves. When children first start the setting the practitioner has to make the child feel safe and secure because if you welcome them and you are warm and comforting they will feel more comfortable in the setting and won’t mind leaving their mum and dad’s and will want to stay their and play with their friends. it is important that you work in partnership with parents because the parents know their child better than anyone, this allows you to find out what the child’s likes and dislikes are and if you have good communication with the parents you will know what to expect the child to be like in the day whether they are upset or happy or they might need a sleep as they didn’t have much the night before, when you work with their parents you can find so much about the child which will help you later on and you can talk about the child about how they could help them develop if they are struggling or if they need advice on how to potty train them. (see appendix 1) E2 Many families have to deal with change in their lives and they usually have the support of their families to support them through these changes. Many families face daily issues that affect their family life and often need help to sort them out. These issues could be financial difficulties; all families have a lot of things to pay out for such as housing bills, care provision for their child and food etc. if the families cannot pay for this then it can be very hard on them if they don’t have the correct support of their families and organisations as they could not have enough money to keep their house or to buy food and clothes for their child, families could support them with this situation by helping them out with buying stuff for the child for example a few extra clothes, food etc. , but also if the family also cannot afford this there is organisations you can go to within your community that helps in these situations such as food banks. Another issue is employment; if a member of the family loses their job then it can be difficult as you will not be getting enough income as you usually would and will be harder to provide for the child or if the mother wants to go to work and earn some extra money and not just be at home then it could be difficult if both the parents/carers work as you have to find provision for the child and can be difficult if you cannot afford to put the child in the nursery, families can support you with this as you can ask them if they can have the child for a bit some days whilst you are at work or you can try and get government funding at a nursery so you can take them in maybe in the morning depending on when you work and get another member of your family to pick them up if you are unable to. Many families go through divorce and separation and it can affect the family in so many ways; if the two parents separate then their will not be as much income so they will struggle in paying on everything and also may not have somewhere to go straight away so they might have to go and live with some of their families and will be cramped. There are certain organisations that can help you with these situations, you can go on the council list and they will try and find you a place as soon as possible as you will be classed as homeless and you can get housing benefits or benefits as a single parent. There are different types of family structures and it depends what structure you are in with how much support you will be getting not just with family but organisations within you society as well. Parents whose families are married will not need as much support as they will be getting more income and can get support of each other but they will get some support if they need it. when the child is being brought up by a lone parent then they will get support by all their family as they might need help to look after the child when they have something to do or has to work; when a parent is bring up the child on their own then they might be struggling financially as they will only be getting their income and no one else’s, if you are a single parent then you can claim money for being a single parent to help you out a bit more. In reconstituted where only one adult is the biological parent to the child and where there may be children who may have different biological parents; in this family they will have the support of both families and will still get benefits to help them out with money. All families need support at some point in their life and there are many organisations and self help groups that can provide this support and there are many different settings where you can take your child and they will be cared for such as respite care, holiday play schemes, parent and toddler groups, schools, workplace nurseries, child minders, pre-school, after school clubs, residential care, day nurseries and creches. There are four different types of sectors that provide care and education for children which are: statutory sector voluntary sector private sector independent sector A statutory sector has to be there by law and is funded by the government. Local schools is an example of a statutory sector, they have to be there by law and gets funding by the government so they can afford all the equipment and everything they need to run the school. Schools look after children from the age of 5-11 years old; they follow a set routine. Foundation stage covers EYFS and year 1 to year 6 covers the national curriculum. Schools are open from 9-3:30 from Monday to Friday. Schools are closed in the holidays such as Christmas, Easter, summer and half terms. Schools are located all over in areas easy to access so it is easy for the parents to drop and collect the children off at their school. In all schools there is always enough space for an outside area for example the playground and an indoor area where they can do P. E activities. Local schools can be adapted when needed for example building ramps for people with disabilities so they find it easy to access the school. Schools also provides snacks for the children which are healthy such as fruit and vegetables to provide them with some of their five a day. they should also have toileting times such as before they go out for break or before dinner. Statutory schools are free apart from paying for school dinners, school trips and some snacks. The aim of a statutory sector school is to provide opportunities of education for every child and to support their learning and to help them in areas where they are struggling. They also aim to provide a safe and secure environment to keep the children from harm. Another aim is to provide social opportunities for the child for example learning to make new friends, learning to socialise with people, learning the difference between adults and children and learning to respect others. It may also provide opportunities for the family as they will be meeting other parents and socialise with them and get support from them if they need it and also they can find different services through schools to help support them. A voluntary sector are provided by organisations such as charities. Volunteers and paid staff provide services in the same way as in the statutory sector. mostly all their funding’s come from donations from others. Mother and toddler groups, brownies and pre-school groups are apart of this. Mother and toddler groups are usually for children aged 2-4 years. Mother and toddler groups are usually open between 9-11:30 in the mornings or 1:30-3 in the afternoons. These kinds of organisations are usually placed in a church or community hall. The staff at these groups are usually parents themselves but the person that runs the group has to have a level 3 qualification in childcare. The group may ask for a small donation each week to cover the cost of booking the hall and also for lighting and water bills. The area where the group is located in may not have an outdoor play area for the children to play in. The group should also follow the EYFS Curriculum where children will learn through play and the space may also be Ofsted inspected . The main aim of a mother and toddler group is to provide short term care so the parent or carer gets a little time to themselves in case they need to get anything done and it also gives children the chance to develop their social skills and to make new friends. Another main aim is to get children ready for nursery. Also it provides opportunities for parents or carers to meet new people whilst helping out with the organisation or just dropping the child off at the group; this gives the parents someone to talk to about their child and if they need advice they can talk to someone. A private sector is where you have to pay extra to try and get their best out of their child’s education. When you use a private day nursery you are charged for using them, you are approximately charged ?150 a week to use these services, but at some nurseries they offer free government funding for parents who can’t afford to keep taking their child there. Nurseries are normally open from 8am-6pm all year except from bank holidays. At nurseries they look after children aged 6 weeks-5 years. They provide all meals including breakfast, snacks, dinner and tea. They also have sleep facilities, indoor and outdoor play areas for children to play in. The building may not of been purposely built to be used for a nursery but can be adapted for the children to provide their size abilities. All the members of staff will be fully qualified, managers and room leaders must be level 3 qualified. Ofsted will come and inspect the building and the staff to make sure it is safe and also to check whether they are following the EYFS curriculum. The aim of a private day nursery is to provide safe and secure environments for children to keep them from harm and to make them feel comfortable in the setting without the parents being there with them. it also gives the children the opportunity to build their social skills and make new friends. Another aim is to provide a stimulating environment with bonding sessions between the child and their key worker. Whilst the children are at nursery it gives the parents the chance to get a job and earn some extra money. E4+C The children’s act 2004 goes on about the rights of the children. This act is concerned with families and the care of children, local authority support for children and their families, fostering, childminding and day care provision. The children act is really important because it says the importance of putting the child first. This act states what is best for the child must always be the first consideration; when caring for children you must always think about what is best for the child because in all situations the child must always come first and you have got to think about how the child is going to react about situations they don’t like, you’ve especially got to think about the child when it comes to activities because you have to think about where the child is at and got to adapt the activity to suit their needs. It also states that unless the child is at risk or harm, a child should not be taken away from their family without the families agreement; children should never be taken away from their family because families the most important people in their life, the only reason you should take them away is if you have concerns about the child that they are not safe then you would have to contact other services such as social services and get the situated observed. Courts must put the children first when making decisions; when making decisions in court such as who gets to look after the child the mother or father you have to think about who the child would be best looked after with. There are five outcomes for children that the childrens act 2004 talks about. (see appendix 3) In Health and Safety at Work act employers must make the workplace as safe as possible; when working with children you have to make sure all the workplace is safe and none of the children can injure themselves or get hurt. Before the children goes outside to play a member of staff must go out and check whether all the equipment is safe and not broke so the children can’t hurt themselves on them. All dangerous equipment or substances must be kept out of all children’s reach so they can not harm themselves on them and all plug sockets must have plug guards in to stop the children from putting their finger in them and all plug sockets must be turned of at all times when not being used. you must decide how to manage health and safety in the setting for example doing a written policy on how to make sure none of the children get hurt and how to keep them safe and healthy. All employees must work safely; if you are given guidance about how to use equipment you must use it that way and no put anyone in danger. E5 E6 When working with other professionals it is important to respect and value the knowledge of other professionals because everyone has better knowledge in certain areas and if you have concerns about something and you are not sure what to do then you could go to other professionals and ask for their opinions such as if you are having concerns about children if their acting a bit strange and you think they are in danger such as at home they are being hurt as they have got some strange markings or bruises appearing then you can take it to other professionals and see what they think and they can take it into their hands and look into it; they can observe the child closely to see what they actually think and the two professionals can work together and keep a close eye on the child and keep exchanging information so it works out best for the child in the end and to put them out of danger. You have got to have good communication skills whilst working with different professionals as you are working with different professionals all day and you have to communicate with them and share information with them for example teachers and teaching assistants work together all day, they share the class such as when doing phoenix or numbers they have half the class each depending on where the children are one of them will have the lower group and the other one will have a higher group and they’ve got to communicate with each other so they know how all the children in the group are doing and if they are improving; when you have shared this information you still have to communicate about what they could do to improve the child’s learning. It helps improve outcomes so if you think something is happening with a child and is bothering them then if you are working with different professionals that expertise in different things then it will benefit children in the end. If you have more professionals working together on a situation then they will pick up on signs quicker and it will benefit the child a lot because the sooner they know what’s going on than the less hurt the child gets and they won’t be as traumatized. If you are working with different professionals then you are learning from each other; each professional knows different things and knows how to handle different situations so if you come across a situation like that then you’ll know what to do. It helps us look at everything as a whole for example if you are looking at the child’s h health. Every professional works on different aspects of the child’s development so if you work together then you can go to them for advice. By working in a multi professional approach it maintains a focus on the child; by putting them at the centre of everything they do and by involving them, this ensures that everyone communicates about the child. It improves communication and strong partnerships between all other professionals which is important as they will have to work together at some point in your career. D1 If you have good knowledge about childcare then it can help you to recognise the care needs of all children in the setting. If you take reliable and valid assessments of the children then you will see exactly where the child is at and what they need help in; they might be really clever in certain areas but might need a bit of a push in others, if you do observations and assessments on the children then you will be able to plan activities where it can help them to know how to plan activities to make them develop their learning. You should always use development norms when thinking about what the children’s needs are because each child has different needs and depending on the age of the child they will have different needs as well so you have to look up where they are supposed to be and where they actually are and see what their needs will be, this will help you plan activities as well as you know where the children are at and whether they are above or below their developmental norms. Prediction of next stages; if you can predict what the next stages are of the children are it will help you to plan activities for them to help them to help them achieve their next stage and push them in that direction. You’ve got to understand that all children are different and have different needs so you’ve got to find out what all the children’s needs. D2 To improve my own practice I could look back at what I’ve done and discuss my strengths and weaknesses. You need to think about how you currently work and looking at what you need to do in order to improve. You should stand back, take a look and recognise what works well, but also you need to be able to recognise what could be changed. To be a reflective practitioner you need to be self-aware and look at how you work with children, colleagues and parents as honest as you can. Evaluating your own practice helps to put you in control of the changed that should be made, enables you to identify your professional development needs and will make you more confident. Being a reflective practitioner involves asking people you work with what they think you do well at and where you could improve. Everyone has their own ways of working and doing things differently, if you ask other people what they think you could improve at then they could tell you what they thinks going well and maybe give you examples of different ways of doing certain things, then you could test them out and see which way works best for you. Other people can look at what you are doing and discuss your strengths and weaknesses accurately, but when you might be looking at what you do well and what needs improving you may not look at every single thing as you can only look back at what you have done and other people can look at It as you are doing the activity. C B A Appendix 1 Nursery Nurse and Nursery assistant job description Nursery nurse’s provide care for children up to the age of 5 years. they work primarily with young patients, although some are employed in nurseries looking after children of NHS staff. Nursery assistants will work alongside and usually under the supervision of qualified nursery nurse’s The work of nursery nurses typically includes the following: provide physical, emotional and spiritual care to children coordinating play for children in a range of settings supporting carers in the parenting of their children  developing play as a means of communicating information to children, to distract them during unpleasant procedures and to maintain their stage of development during illness or stress maintaining the environment in a child-friendly manner maintaining toys and play equipment finding ways to stimulate children particularly those with special and sensory needs attending meetings working with members of multidisciplinary agencies within and outside of the NHS organisation they are working for maintaining records nursery assistants will assist nursery nurses in most aspects of their work, ensuring that the children in their care remain safe, happy and stimu lated. Additional responsibilities for nursery nurses after further training or experience include: supporting children who have been abused playing a key role in supporting public health assisting in the education of learners/students who are training to work as a nursery nurse or assistant Nursery nurses and nursery assistants work in a variety of settings both in the hospitals and in the community. In hospitals this will include in children’s wards, nurseries and outpatient departments in community settings this could include working in nurseries in a health centre, or in a community centre, GP surgery or children’s centre. Appendix 2 Westdale lane all about us. Westdale infant school is a local authority/community school established over 40 years ago in its new building to educate. The school is placed on a pleasant site in the area of Mapperly area in Nottingham, falling within Gedling Borough although only 3 miles outside the centre of nottingham. The schools capacity is 180 children. 60 per year. The families come from mainly the catchment area or close by. However, there are a number of children who live further away. The school is adjacent to Westdale Juniors where most children move to for year 3 in their education. There is no doubt that teachers, the staff team and governing body pride themselves on the achievements of the school and all work in order to maintain very high standards. Please see our latest Ofsted report (available through this website) to see evidence of our performance. The report shows that out school performs above the national average for overall education attainment and is well lead by senior staff. The school excells in providing a stimulating learning environment for our children and there are many enrichment based activities such as trips outside the school and visits by musicians, story tellers, and theatre groups. Much pride is taken in providing a sense of community particulary involving parents and seeking their views. we have a very successful record on fund raising based on out of school events for all members of the family. The school takes seriously its role in embracing all elements of equalityand diversity to reflect our ever changing communities. we accomadate children with special needs and learning difficutlies and the school makes every effort to support children from different backgrounds and cultures. Appendix 3 Five outcomes for children stay safe- from: maltreatment, neglect, violence, and sexual exploitation; accidential injury and death, bullying and discrimination, crime and anti-social behaviour in and out of school; insecurity and instability. Be healthy- physically healthy, mentally and emotionally healthy, sexually healthy, healthy lifestyles, choose not to take illegal drugs. enjoy and achieve- ready for school, attend and enjoy school, achieve strethcing national educational standards at primary school; achieve personal and social development and enjoy recreation, achieve stretching national educational standards at secondary school. Achieving economic wellbeing- enagage in decision making and support for the community and environment; engage in law abiding and positive behaviour in and out of school, develop positive relationships and choose not to bully or discriminate, develop self-confidence and successfully deal with significant life changes and challenges, develop enterprising behaviour. make a positive contribution- engage in further education, employment or training on leaving school; ready for employment, live in descent homes and sustainable communities, access to transport and material goods, live in households free from low incomes.