1.2 Explain The Principles Of Relationship Building With Children

TDA31-1.2 Explain the principles of relationship building with children, young people and adults.
A school environment should be calm, relaxed and enjoyable for the children so they can thrive in their work and social skills. Teachers and staff should model good practice in communication and relationship. Plus understanding that non- spoken children/ adults show evidence of felling and thinking.
Being a teaching assistant the relationship with pupils must be professional without being too distant. Remembering to maintain a sense of humour and being considerate and remembering issues which are personal to them are very important. Also below are more key points to building a relationship with children, young people and adults.

Effective Communication: Key area for developing relationships with others, it helps to build relationship with people. Being able to listen to what they have to say/ sign.
It also helps people to trust and work well in any setting.
We communicate through tone of voice, gestures, and especially our body language. For example-appropriate use of non- verbal skills- facing the pupil, eye contact, smiling, nodding and positive body language. Being polite and courtesy- no shouting, no talking over other people etc these are all things which create effective communication. For children/ adults who are blind or reduced sight learn to social and smile through familiar voices and tones of voice.
“Relationships are built upon trust, and having a consistent approach is very important. The person you are relating to needs to know that they can confide in you and be themselves in your company. They need to get to know you as a person and know that you will listen and respond fairly to what they say or ask. Most importantly children, young people and adults need to feel that you like them, accept them, and are genuinely interested in them.” Laser Learning Tutorial There are barriers which can effect communication for children and adults for example they might not have the ability to express themselves. For example understanding that English might be some children’s/ adults second language and they might struggle to understand. Therefore staff needs to communicate in ways that are easy for all parties involved: maybe face to face or symbols.

Showing respect: Being courteous and respectful, and listening to others point of view. By showing respect and acknowledging people’s views and beliefs helps to build a better rapport and understanding among the people in any setting.

Being Considerate: In any setting taking time and being considerate to young people and adults, helps us to understand why they might have behaved in a particular way under stress or pressure.

Active Listening: Communication is a two-way process, as much about listening and understanding others as getting your own messages across.
Listening carefully to who is speaking, giving them your full attention. Also considering the mood of the participants and minimising distractions in the immediate surroundings.
Some people just want you to listen and others might be talking to you for advice. Therefore you might need to ask questions during the conservation, if you want the person to open up and express their feelings or the situation in more detail you wouldn’t use ‘closed’ questions which usually receive one word answers such as ‘yes’ or ‘no’. ‘Open’ questions are a positive way to encourage the person to speak, a variety of responses allows more details, descriptions of the account, feelings, experiences and ideas. Occasionally summarising what they have said to be sure you have understood shows you have been listening and is interested in the
conservation.
Praise and encouragement: “Praise and encouragement are essential components when communicating with children. All children (especially young children) need immediate and positive affirmations or rewards to show that their learning and development are processing in accordance with the adult’s (and child’s) expectations.” Quote- Teena Kamen. Knowing when a child needs support managing failure and disappointment is a key role for teaching assistant. They will support by emphasising the importance of taking part, trying their best. Making sure children are praised or rewarded for their efforts not just achievements. This will help the children with their confidence and increase positive self- esteem and also encouragement to try new activities and experiences. The four main methods for praise and encouragement are verbal- positive comments about child’s behaviour or activity. Non verbal- body language, leaning forward, facing them, facial expressions or sign language. Symbolic- smiley faces, stickers, stars (on the reward chart). Written- comments on their work, or home school book to let parents/ careers know and recording the achievement.

Bibliography

Laser Learning
Teena Kamen-“Teaching Assistant’s Handbook Level3, Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools” 2011
Miranda Walker- “Children’s Care, Learning and Development. NVQ3 Candidate handbook” Nelson Thornes Ltd 2006
Jenni Lindon- “Understanding Child Development” Thomson Learning 1998