Childcare Level 3 Unit 5
Unit 5 – Principles underpinning the role of the practitioner
The practitioner will develop many different relationships whilst in practice. They will hold relationships with first and foremost the children, parents, colleagues and other professionals. According to the EYFS “Successful relationships between parents and educators can have long-lasting and beneficial effects on children’s learning and well-being” http://www.keap.org.uk/documents/eyfs_eff_prac_parent_partner.pdf
This means practitioners should develop positive partnerships with other people as it enhances children’s learning and development. Every one of the relationships that the practitioner develops will be different as they will have to adapt their relations to each …show more content…
individual they encounter. For example working with a close colleague would be dissimilar from working with a professional from outside the setting.
The main relationship the practitioner will hold will be with the children. The worker needs to make sure that all children are treated equally and fairly. However the practitioner must realise that whilst the children need to be treated equally they must respect that there will be a lot of diversity amongst the children and that most children will differ in their educational and personal needs and therefore they must adapt themselves in order to fulfil their responsibilities.
E2
There are many ways of working that help with professional relationships; however I have picked the two that I believe to be of the greatest importance in relation to professional relationships. The two points that I think play a big part in the relationships the practitioner holds are, maintaining confidentiality and Inclusion.
In order to develop professional relationships the practitioner has to ensure that they maintain the confidentiality of any personal information subjected to them about anyone the practitioner comes into contact with. The statutory framework for the early year’s foundation stage supports this by stating, “Providers must ensure that all staff understands the need to protect the privacy of the children in their care as well the legal requirements that exist to ensure that all information relating to the child is handled in a way that ensures confidentiality.” (EYFS statuary framework p26 3.69)This means that the practitioner must understand their role and that they need to handle all information relating to the child with the utmost discretion. If the practitioner fails to keep information confidential it could have a huge impact on both the child and the parents. Trust could be lost between them and the parent could then feel uneasy about leaving their child in the care of someone who has proved themselves untrustworthy. It could also risk the child 's safety if the practitioner were to release any information that was sensitive to the particular child 's situation.
Inclusion also plays a large part in the practitioners professional relationship 's as the way they act towards the children reflects on them. For example, if the practitioner were to disclude a child from partaking in some activities because they had problems interacting with the children it would create problems in the relationship between them and the child 's parent. It would also put a strain on the relationship with the child as they may start to feel singled out by the practitioner and left out by the other children. The EYFS states that, "Practitioners must consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child in their care, and must use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all of the areas of learning and development." (Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage p6 1.7) This declares that in order for the practitioner to do their job properly according to these guidelines, they must adapt their style of care to every child they come across. If they successfully do this both professional relationships between the parent and child will be a healthy one built on mutual trust and understanding.
E3
Multi professional working is important in any childcare setting.
As a practitioner you will come across many different types of children, those of which may need extra attention from other professionals. For example, a child who is deaf may be observed in the nursery by a speech and language therapist. This could be very valuable for the child because he/she needs more assistance and helps to acquire language compared to the other children and with the help from the other professional they will be kept up to speed with the rest of their peers. A multi agency approach is beneficial for all children in your work place because you will find as you work that they can help the children in a way you can 't. Multi agency teams can include professionals from lots of different sectors such as: social workers, speech/ language therapists/ parents/ carers/ psychologists/ behavioural therapists. All of these people work together to deliver a multi professional approach when dealing with the children. The children 's workforce development council states that, “Multi-agency working enables different services to join forces in order to prevent problems occurring in the first place.
http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/c/integrated%20working%20explained.pdf.
This shows that it is very beneficial for child care settings to have a multi professional approach as it improves the care of all children because any issues are put to rest straight away so that nothing becomes of it. My setting is a good example of multi agency working as they work very closely with social services. This is so that if they notice any signs of child neglect they can nip it in the bud straight away using their connections with them.
E4
Reflective practice benefits the setting as it improves the practitioner’s way of working. Everyone in the setting can contribute to reflective practice. Being reflective is effective as it gives the practitioner the ability to make better judgments based on other people’s thoughts and ideas. For example, if the practitioner were to organise an activity with the children that a co-worker thought could be improve and carried out better, they could talk together and brain storm about a better way to carry out the activity. One example of this is, multi ability groups working together on one activity. This has happened whilst at my placement and I have noticed that the more gifted children tend to get bored as the practitioners spend more time with the less able ones. This was then brought up in a staff meeting and it was agreed that they need differentiate the groups into the more able and less able, from this they can then carry out different activates that will keep both groups happy and stop them from straying their attention from the task. Parents also make a big contribution as they often have lots of opinions about the way their child is being cared for. Practitioners should take what parents say into consideration as this will help develop a good professional relationship between them and practitioner this is because parents like to feel involved in everything their child does. This is done through various sessions with the parent such as: parent’s evening, PTA and surveys. The early years foundation stage card pack states that, “Parents and practitioners have a lot to learn from each other. This can help them to support and extend children’s learning and development.” (EYFS card 2.2) This shows us that partnership between practitioners and parents are vital if you want to give the child the best learning experience possible. There is a lot to learn from parents that we as practitioners can use when we are caring for the children.
E5
There are various guidelines that practitioners must follow when they are working with children. Two of the main ones that effectively highlight the main principles that underpin working with children are EYFS and children act 89.
The EYFS has four guiding themes that say how we should shape our practice in early year’s settings. Firstly it states that, "Every child is a competent learner from birth, who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured." http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117. This principle emphasises that all children are unique and it advises practitioners that they should use their time to observe their children and see what each individual child 's, interests, needs and preferences are. When they gather this knowledge they should use this to plan effective experiences for them to work on each child 's strengths and weaknesses. All the activities ' should be created in mind of the children, understanding that they are all different and some activities will benefit some children and will make no difference to others. Next the EYFS says, "Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person." http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117. This is saying that creating a secure environment for children is very important. Without it they will struggle to flourish and become outgoing and happy in their setting. It would be very hard for the children to learn effectively when they aren 't comfortable in the place that they 're in, so this point really urges practitioners to spend the time to develop good relationships with children and parents and create a mutual trust as this is when the child will work best. Another of the themes the EYFS encourage practitioners to think about is, "The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning. " ." http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117. This means that the environment has to be right if the child is to learn. For example, if the walls in setting were boring and dull and had no pictures up, this would then reflect on the child 's attitude towards learning as it doesn 't encourage them to do good work. However, if there were pictures of the children 's work up all over the room signalling to them that they 've done well they will be more willing to try harder as it seems like they are being recognised for doing good work. Environment is important for children. The last theme they EYFS promotes is, "Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected." This enforces to practitioners that all children are different and that they need to cater to each child 's individual needs as they won’t all be in the same place of learning at the same time. It urges practitioners to be patient with each child as it could be more of a struggle to teach some children rather than others.
E6
Whilst working with children it is important to value their interests and experiences, it is not only good practice to do this but it is also a requirement of the early year’s foundation stage curriculum (EYFS). It is paramount that the practitioner understands each child 's interests as it helps them plan activities more effectively because they will know what activities the children will participate in and enjoy. Planning an activity based on what you know interest 's the children means that they are more likely to concentrate and learn more from it than if they were doing an activity that they were disinterested in. "Babies and children will always concentrate and therefore learn more easily if they are doing something they are interested in and enjoying." (Tassoni, 2007, pg. 235). My placement is an example of doing this as we have a lot of little girls who are interested in princesses and fairy tales and recently the teacher has incorporated that into the syllabus by using fairy tales in our literacy session this keeps them interested all lesson long.
The main way of finding out what a child 's interest is, is to observe them, by doing this the practitioner notices which activities they have fun with and which ones they don 't. Another way this can be done is to speak to the parent 's/ carers of the children, this is more useful as they spend most of their time with the child so they are certain to know what their child likes/dislikes.
For children who don 't receive this kind of attention at home it is crucial that we as practitioners devote our time to learning about all about them. For example, there could be a child who has been in and out of foster care for most of their lives. These children will have never really had enough time with their carer for them to develop a real relationship so the practitioner needs to dedicate some time to engage the child, this will help them to start to learn how to form relationships with people as this could be something that is totally alien to them.
Valuing the children can make a huge difference in the way they act on a day to day basis. It will help to make their self esteem higher, to feel included, to concentrate more and for us to have a better understanding of each child and their way of life. Making a child feel important will affect the way they come to nursery in the morning. For example, if a child received no attention from the practitioner and was shown no interest what so ever they wouldn 't like coming to setting in the morning. They may look dull, upset and feel worthless. Showing a bit of interest towards them does wonders for their confidence, and it also assures their parent 's that they have chosen the right place to take their child. "When you involve children and you respect their ideas and their capabilities, they grow in confidence and self esteem."( Carolyn Meggit, Tina Bruce, Julian Grenier P 2012 p.234)This could then improve your relationship with the parent and result in better professional relationships for the practitioner.
E7 & B1
The ten year child care strategy in 2004 set out the Government’s plans to make early learning and child care in this country truly world class. It includes an ambitious policy programme set up to see that every child develops to their true potential. It also was set up to help parents to work and allow them to make informed choices about their Children 's care and family life. An example of one of their policies is, "ensure that everyone working in early years provision has a full and relevant qualification of at least level three (equivalent to A-level) and consider making this a requirement from 2015." https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/00173-2009DOM-EN.pdf This policy is set in place to ensure that all children receive the best care possible and to assure parents that their children are in safe hands. It also ensures that the child care sector is employing practitioners who they know will be fully informed of the role they are to play whilst working.
This initiative helps practitioners to do a better job as it proposes that they must have certain relevant qualifications to care for children. This means that staff are required to have proper training before being allowed to enter a position caring for children. Having a better standard of training enables the practitioner to be more knowledgeable of their role so that when they eventually start working they can give children excellent care. Having these qualifications is a benefit for the practitioner as it reflects well on them. Parents will want to send their children to you if they know you have received appropriate training and have a good education as they know their children will be left in good hands. The ten year strategy not only improves the quality of child care by forcing staff to gain the required qualifications but also gives: Extension of paid maternity leave, extension of free nursery provision, reforms to the childcare element of WTC, more Children’s Centres and wrap-around care. This all benefits practitioners, parents and children. This strategy is put into practice when hiring new staff, as you look for those who have the relevant qualifications. Also staff dedicate their time to give extra provision for children by taking part in breakfast club and after school clubs. This strategy has been a great leap forward in child care, however some practitioners may have found difficulties when it came into place as some of them may have had to re-apply for their jobs because they didn 't hold the relevant qualifications. Some may have had to train to gain new qualifications to be up to standards with the strategy which may have put pressure on them and caused stress.
The Next Steps for Early Learning and Childcare is a piece of research that builds upon the ten year strategy. It shows the progress that has been made since 2004, and sets out new steps to address the challenges ahead.
D1
Reflection is a very useful, very important thing all practitioners should do in order to improve practice. Being reflective is essential as it helps us learn from our past experiences. For example, whilst at placement I was working with a child who has some behavioural issues. During the activity they started to act up and I was unsure of how I needed to handle the situation so I handed the child over to another, more experienced member of staff. I watched closely how they dealt with the child. Looking back at this experience I can use what I have seen from my colleague to help me handle a similar situation, if it were to happen again. Being reflective will improve my practice as I can look back at my past experiences to guide me whilst in setting. This will make me more independent and ultimately help me develop a better my understanding of my role. Gibbs ' reflective cycle states that to be reflective one must: Firstly, "give a detailed account of what happened or the information you have." With this you have all the information of the thing you wish to reflect on. Next he says that you should, "Recognise your feelings and how to manage them". By writing down your feelings of this event you will then know which parts of the situation have bothered you and understand what needs to change. He then states that you need to evaluate the experience, " What was the value of it? Was it a positive experience? Benefits and challenges for those involved?" This helps you to deduce whether the experience was positive or negative. He then goes on to say that you need to analyse and conclude, "Break down all the evidence you have and now give your own opinions. Explain what you think and why." By doing this it will make you think what you should have done and why. And lastly Gibbs ' introduces an action plan, "How can you put your knowledge into practice? What do you need to do? What are your next steps?" The action plan sets guidelines and directs you to what you need to do if you ever enter a situation like this again. It will help you to do the right thing next time.
I think that being reflective is very beneficial for the practitioner. I have deduced this from my own experiences that I have had whilst at my setting. It has helped me to become a better practitioner as I have learned to use my past experiences to guide me when I am working. If anything happens whilst at placement I try to reflect as I 'm always trying to improve the way I work.
D2
There are many ways I think I could improve my learning and performance, however a big issue I struggle with relates to college, and that is being organised. I struggle to get things done on time because I 'm not organised enough and I usually tend to leave things until the last minute. For example, my assignments. The last assignment I did wasn 't as good as it should have been because it was rushed. Many teachers have told me that I have a lot of potential, but I just need to put the work in. I think I could improve on this by planning my work load better and getting things done as soon as they are given to me. "Improving your own Learning and Performance (IOLP) is all about being aware of what you are learning, how you are learning and how well you are learning." http://www3.surrey.ac.uk/Skills/pack/iolp.html This quote explains that in order to make your learning more effective you must look at how you learn different things and adapt the way in which you learn if needs be to make it more effective. Using Gibb 's reflective cycle I have reflected on a particular area in my studies which I think could be improved - my organisation and I have put an action plan in place to resolve this problem. I am going to complete any work I get as soon as it is assigned to me, therefore I will have no stress near the due date and my work will be completed to a much higher standard as it will not have been rushed.
One main thing I think I could work on in terms of my placement is my attendance as I know it could be much better. "Attendance is Key to Success!" http://hia.mpls.k12.mn.us/attendance_is_key Missing placement means that I could be missing things that may be a huge benefit for my learning in becoming a good practitioner. Understandably there may be times when there is no chance that I can make it into placement, however there are others where I may not be feeling up to scratch but I am still fit enough to work. These are the times I need to push myself to go in as, as the quote states attendance is the key to success. Using the various reflective cycles it has enabled me to focus on this area and I have decided to really push myself and not just take days off when they aren 't ' t really needed.
C1
As practitioners the various guidelines and rules that tell us how to effectively care for children are put in place to help us give a better standard of care to children. The EYFS four guiding themes focus on how to assure that every decision the practitioner makes must be to aid the children. Each theme is implemented in practice to allow the children to reach their full potential. For example, "Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected." http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117. This theme from the EYFS is focused on a lot in my practice as they try to make sure that every student is allowed chances to reach their full potential in whatever type of skill they excel in. We have one child who is especially good at drawing and is very creative so they urge her to take the lead in any activities done in class which are related to this. They also implement this theme into their practice as they give a lot of support to those children who aren 't learning as fast as what some of the other children are. They have special activities for these children to take part in such as extra time with support staff who help them to develop their reading skills. They want every child to have every opportunity to push themselves and be the best they can be. "Every child is a competent learner from birth, who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured." http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117. This theme relates to practice as my supervisors use this as it urges them to find out what each child 's interests are and that way they can build an effective learning plan for them where they will grow and develop. We have a child who struggles keeping their attention in class, however they know that he likes super hero 's so they devised a lesson incorporating this as they knew that it would interest not only him but most of the male children in the class. Using these themes it allows staff to do a better job as it guides them in practice as to how to build an effective stimulating learning experience for all their children. They know that if these guidelines are followed and implemented in practice the children will have a better standard of education and care and therefore will have a positive experience.
A1
The next steps for Early Learning and Childcare focus ' on the progress we 've made following the ten year strategy. This research tells practitioners that we have a duty to provide outstanding care to children. The research states, "Early learning and childcare is important because it: promotes good child outcomes – ensuring all children, and especially the most disadvantaged, reach their full potential; supports employment – responding to changing patterns of employment and ensuring that all parents can work and stay out of poverty; and helps families make choices – recognising that families quite rightly expect to be in control of the choices they make in balancing work and family life." https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/00174-2009DOM-EN.pdf This enforces to practitioners that we are required to provide the same outstanding services of care to all children no matter where they come from. It promotes diversion and inclusion. It also shows us that we also need to extend our care to the parents as well and help them in any way we can. Practitioners implement this into practice by ensuring that all children are observed so that they can determine their strengths and weakness and build on these to make sure that the children are pushed to be the best they can be and reach their full potential. They make sure that parents are always able to work by providing care for their children every day. Lastly they help parents to make choices regarding their families by having good professional relationships with them and allowing them the knowledge that they are always available to give them advise if needed. There may be challenges for the practitioners when doing these things as sometimes parent 's may not be as supportive as what they need to be when it comes to their child. Sometimes the children may be difficult depending on their environment in their home life. To overcome these obstacles the practitioner must always try to do the best by both the parents and children. This may mean finding a common interest with the parents to ensure that you can develop a good relationship, or finding a different way to approach a difficult child. Being a practitioner means that you have to experiment with different things and always adapt your style of working as you will come across so many different people.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.keap.org.uk/documents/eyfs_eff_prac_parent_partner.pdf 28.11.2012
DfES (2008) The Early Years Foundation Stage, DfES, Nottingham 03.12.2012
DfES (2008) The Early Years Foundation Stage, DfES, Nottingham 06.01.2013 http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/c/integrated%20working%20explained.pdf 06.01.2013
DfES (2008) The Early Years Foundation Stage, DfES, Nottingham 07.01.2013 http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117 08.01.2013 http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117 08.01.2013
." http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117 08.01.2013
Tassoni, P et al 2007 CACHE level 3 Child care and education Heinemann Oxford 08.01.2013
Carolyn Meggitt, Tina Bruce, Julian Grenier - 2012 - CACHE level 3 child care and education- Hatchette- London https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/00173-2009DOM-EN.pdf 19/01/201 http://www3.surrey.ac.uk/Skills/pack/iolp.html 19/01/2013 http://hia.mpls.k12.mn.us/attendance_is_key 28/02/13 https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/00174-2009DOM-EN.pdf 28/2/13
The practitioner will develop many different relationships whilst in practice. They will hold relationships with first and foremost the children, parents, colleagues and other professionals. According to the EYFS “Successful relationships between parents and educators can have long-lasting and beneficial effects on children’s learning and well-being” http://www.keap.org.uk/documents/eyfs_eff_prac_parent_partner.pdf
This means practitioners should develop positive partnerships with other people as it enhances children’s learning and development. Every one of the relationships that the practitioner develops will be different as they will have to adapt their relations to each …show more content…
individual they encounter. For example working with a close colleague would be dissimilar from working with a professional from outside the setting.
The main relationship the practitioner will hold will be with the children. The worker needs to make sure that all children are treated equally and fairly. However the practitioner must realise that whilst the children need to be treated equally they must respect that there will be a lot of diversity amongst the children and that most children will differ in their educational and personal needs and therefore they must adapt themselves in order to fulfil their responsibilities.
E2
There are many ways of working that help with professional relationships; however I have picked the two that I believe to be of the greatest importance in relation to professional relationships. The two points that I think play a big part in the relationships the practitioner holds are, maintaining confidentiality and Inclusion.
In order to develop professional relationships the practitioner has to ensure that they maintain the confidentiality of any personal information subjected to them about anyone the practitioner comes into contact with. The statutory framework for the early year’s foundation stage supports this by stating, “Providers must ensure that all staff understands the need to protect the privacy of the children in their care as well the legal requirements that exist to ensure that all information relating to the child is handled in a way that ensures confidentiality.” (EYFS statuary framework p26 3.69)This means that the practitioner must understand their role and that they need to handle all information relating to the child with the utmost discretion. If the practitioner fails to keep information confidential it could have a huge impact on both the child and the parents. Trust could be lost between them and the parent could then feel uneasy about leaving their child in the care of someone who has proved themselves untrustworthy. It could also risk the child 's safety if the practitioner were to release any information that was sensitive to the particular child 's situation.
Inclusion also plays a large part in the practitioners professional relationship 's as the way they act towards the children reflects on them. For example, if the practitioner were to disclude a child from partaking in some activities because they had problems interacting with the children it would create problems in the relationship between them and the child 's parent. It would also put a strain on the relationship with the child as they may start to feel singled out by the practitioner and left out by the other children. The EYFS states that, "Practitioners must consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child in their care, and must use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all of the areas of learning and development." (Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage p6 1.7) This declares that in order for the practitioner to do their job properly according to these guidelines, they must adapt their style of care to every child they come across. If they successfully do this both professional relationships between the parent and child will be a healthy one built on mutual trust and understanding.
E3
Multi professional working is important in any childcare setting.
As a practitioner you will come across many different types of children, those of which may need extra attention from other professionals. For example, a child who is deaf may be observed in the nursery by a speech and language therapist. This could be very valuable for the child because he/she needs more assistance and helps to acquire language compared to the other children and with the help from the other professional they will be kept up to speed with the rest of their peers. A multi agency approach is beneficial for all children in your work place because you will find as you work that they can help the children in a way you can 't. Multi agency teams can include professionals from lots of different sectors such as: social workers, speech/ language therapists/ parents/ carers/ psychologists/ behavioural therapists. All of these people work together to deliver a multi professional approach when dealing with the children. The children 's workforce development council states that, “Multi-agency working enables different services to join forces in order to prevent problems occurring in the first place.
http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/c/integrated%20working%20explained.pdf.
This shows that it is very beneficial for child care settings to have a multi professional approach as it improves the care of all children because any issues are put to rest straight away so that nothing becomes of it. My setting is a good example of multi agency working as they work very closely with social services. This is so that if they notice any signs of child neglect they can nip it in the bud straight away using their connections with them.
E4
Reflective practice benefits the setting as it improves the practitioner’s way of working. Everyone in the setting can contribute to reflective practice. Being reflective is effective as it gives the practitioner the ability to make better judgments based on other people’s thoughts and ideas. For example, if the practitioner were to organise an activity with the children that a co-worker thought could be improve and carried out better, they could talk together and brain storm about a better way to carry out the activity. One example of this is, multi ability groups working together on one activity. This has happened whilst at my placement and I have noticed that the more gifted children tend to get bored as the practitioners spend more time with the less able ones. This was then brought up in a staff meeting and it was agreed that they need differentiate the groups into the more able and less able, from this they can then carry out different activates that will keep both groups happy and stop them from straying their attention from the task. Parents also make a big contribution as they often have lots of opinions about the way their child is being cared for. Practitioners should take what parents say into consideration as this will help develop a good professional relationship between them and practitioner this is because parents like to feel involved in everything their child does. This is done through various sessions with the parent such as: parent’s evening, PTA and surveys. The early years foundation stage card pack states that, “Parents and practitioners have a lot to learn from each other. This can help them to support and extend children’s learning and development.” (EYFS card 2.2) This shows us that partnership between practitioners and parents are vital if you want to give the child the best learning experience possible. There is a lot to learn from parents that we as practitioners can use when we are caring for the children.
E5
There are various guidelines that practitioners must follow when they are working with children. Two of the main ones that effectively highlight the main principles that underpin working with children are EYFS and children act 89.
The EYFS has four guiding themes that say how we should shape our practice in early year’s settings. Firstly it states that, "Every child is a competent learner from birth, who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured." http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117. This principle emphasises that all children are unique and it advises practitioners that they should use their time to observe their children and see what each individual child 's, interests, needs and preferences are. When they gather this knowledge they should use this to plan effective experiences for them to work on each child 's strengths and weaknesses. All the activities ' should be created in mind of the children, understanding that they are all different and some activities will benefit some children and will make no difference to others. Next the EYFS says, "Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person." http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117. This is saying that creating a secure environment for children is very important. Without it they will struggle to flourish and become outgoing and happy in their setting. It would be very hard for the children to learn effectively when they aren 't comfortable in the place that they 're in, so this point really urges practitioners to spend the time to develop good relationships with children and parents and create a mutual trust as this is when the child will work best. Another of the themes the EYFS encourage practitioners to think about is, "The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning. " ." http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117. This means that the environment has to be right if the child is to learn. For example, if the walls in setting were boring and dull and had no pictures up, this would then reflect on the child 's attitude towards learning as it doesn 't encourage them to do good work. However, if there were pictures of the children 's work up all over the room signalling to them that they 've done well they will be more willing to try harder as it seems like they are being recognised for doing good work. Environment is important for children. The last theme they EYFS promotes is, "Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected." This enforces to practitioners that all children are different and that they need to cater to each child 's individual needs as they won’t all be in the same place of learning at the same time. It urges practitioners to be patient with each child as it could be more of a struggle to teach some children rather than others.
E6
Whilst working with children it is important to value their interests and experiences, it is not only good practice to do this but it is also a requirement of the early year’s foundation stage curriculum (EYFS). It is paramount that the practitioner understands each child 's interests as it helps them plan activities more effectively because they will know what activities the children will participate in and enjoy. Planning an activity based on what you know interest 's the children means that they are more likely to concentrate and learn more from it than if they were doing an activity that they were disinterested in. "Babies and children will always concentrate and therefore learn more easily if they are doing something they are interested in and enjoying." (Tassoni, 2007, pg. 235). My placement is an example of doing this as we have a lot of little girls who are interested in princesses and fairy tales and recently the teacher has incorporated that into the syllabus by using fairy tales in our literacy session this keeps them interested all lesson long.
The main way of finding out what a child 's interest is, is to observe them, by doing this the practitioner notices which activities they have fun with and which ones they don 't. Another way this can be done is to speak to the parent 's/ carers of the children, this is more useful as they spend most of their time with the child so they are certain to know what their child likes/dislikes.
For children who don 't receive this kind of attention at home it is crucial that we as practitioners devote our time to learning about all about them. For example, there could be a child who has been in and out of foster care for most of their lives. These children will have never really had enough time with their carer for them to develop a real relationship so the practitioner needs to dedicate some time to engage the child, this will help them to start to learn how to form relationships with people as this could be something that is totally alien to them.
Valuing the children can make a huge difference in the way they act on a day to day basis. It will help to make their self esteem higher, to feel included, to concentrate more and for us to have a better understanding of each child and their way of life. Making a child feel important will affect the way they come to nursery in the morning. For example, if a child received no attention from the practitioner and was shown no interest what so ever they wouldn 't like coming to setting in the morning. They may look dull, upset and feel worthless. Showing a bit of interest towards them does wonders for their confidence, and it also assures their parent 's that they have chosen the right place to take their child. "When you involve children and you respect their ideas and their capabilities, they grow in confidence and self esteem."( Carolyn Meggit, Tina Bruce, Julian Grenier P 2012 p.234)This could then improve your relationship with the parent and result in better professional relationships for the practitioner.
E7 & B1
The ten year child care strategy in 2004 set out the Government’s plans to make early learning and child care in this country truly world class. It includes an ambitious policy programme set up to see that every child develops to their true potential. It also was set up to help parents to work and allow them to make informed choices about their Children 's care and family life. An example of one of their policies is, "ensure that everyone working in early years provision has a full and relevant qualification of at least level three (equivalent to A-level) and consider making this a requirement from 2015." https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/00173-2009DOM-EN.pdf This policy is set in place to ensure that all children receive the best care possible and to assure parents that their children are in safe hands. It also ensures that the child care sector is employing practitioners who they know will be fully informed of the role they are to play whilst working.
This initiative helps practitioners to do a better job as it proposes that they must have certain relevant qualifications to care for children. This means that staff are required to have proper training before being allowed to enter a position caring for children. Having a better standard of training enables the practitioner to be more knowledgeable of their role so that when they eventually start working they can give children excellent care. Having these qualifications is a benefit for the practitioner as it reflects well on them. Parents will want to send their children to you if they know you have received appropriate training and have a good education as they know their children will be left in good hands. The ten year strategy not only improves the quality of child care by forcing staff to gain the required qualifications but also gives: Extension of paid maternity leave, extension of free nursery provision, reforms to the childcare element of WTC, more Children’s Centres and wrap-around care. This all benefits practitioners, parents and children. This strategy is put into practice when hiring new staff, as you look for those who have the relevant qualifications. Also staff dedicate their time to give extra provision for children by taking part in breakfast club and after school clubs. This strategy has been a great leap forward in child care, however some practitioners may have found difficulties when it came into place as some of them may have had to re-apply for their jobs because they didn 't hold the relevant qualifications. Some may have had to train to gain new qualifications to be up to standards with the strategy which may have put pressure on them and caused stress.
The Next Steps for Early Learning and Childcare is a piece of research that builds upon the ten year strategy. It shows the progress that has been made since 2004, and sets out new steps to address the challenges ahead.
D1
Reflection is a very useful, very important thing all practitioners should do in order to improve practice. Being reflective is essential as it helps us learn from our past experiences. For example, whilst at placement I was working with a child who has some behavioural issues. During the activity they started to act up and I was unsure of how I needed to handle the situation so I handed the child over to another, more experienced member of staff. I watched closely how they dealt with the child. Looking back at this experience I can use what I have seen from my colleague to help me handle a similar situation, if it were to happen again. Being reflective will improve my practice as I can look back at my past experiences to guide me whilst in setting. This will make me more independent and ultimately help me develop a better my understanding of my role. Gibbs ' reflective cycle states that to be reflective one must: Firstly, "give a detailed account of what happened or the information you have." With this you have all the information of the thing you wish to reflect on. Next he says that you should, "Recognise your feelings and how to manage them". By writing down your feelings of this event you will then know which parts of the situation have bothered you and understand what needs to change. He then states that you need to evaluate the experience, " What was the value of it? Was it a positive experience? Benefits and challenges for those involved?" This helps you to deduce whether the experience was positive or negative. He then goes on to say that you need to analyse and conclude, "Break down all the evidence you have and now give your own opinions. Explain what you think and why." By doing this it will make you think what you should have done and why. And lastly Gibbs ' introduces an action plan, "How can you put your knowledge into practice? What do you need to do? What are your next steps?" The action plan sets guidelines and directs you to what you need to do if you ever enter a situation like this again. It will help you to do the right thing next time.
I think that being reflective is very beneficial for the practitioner. I have deduced this from my own experiences that I have had whilst at my setting. It has helped me to become a better practitioner as I have learned to use my past experiences to guide me when I am working. If anything happens whilst at placement I try to reflect as I 'm always trying to improve the way I work.
D2
There are many ways I think I could improve my learning and performance, however a big issue I struggle with relates to college, and that is being organised. I struggle to get things done on time because I 'm not organised enough and I usually tend to leave things until the last minute. For example, my assignments. The last assignment I did wasn 't as good as it should have been because it was rushed. Many teachers have told me that I have a lot of potential, but I just need to put the work in. I think I could improve on this by planning my work load better and getting things done as soon as they are given to me. "Improving your own Learning and Performance (IOLP) is all about being aware of what you are learning, how you are learning and how well you are learning." http://www3.surrey.ac.uk/Skills/pack/iolp.html This quote explains that in order to make your learning more effective you must look at how you learn different things and adapt the way in which you learn if needs be to make it more effective. Using Gibb 's reflective cycle I have reflected on a particular area in my studies which I think could be improved - my organisation and I have put an action plan in place to resolve this problem. I am going to complete any work I get as soon as it is assigned to me, therefore I will have no stress near the due date and my work will be completed to a much higher standard as it will not have been rushed.
One main thing I think I could work on in terms of my placement is my attendance as I know it could be much better. "Attendance is Key to Success!" http://hia.mpls.k12.mn.us/attendance_is_key Missing placement means that I could be missing things that may be a huge benefit for my learning in becoming a good practitioner. Understandably there may be times when there is no chance that I can make it into placement, however there are others where I may not be feeling up to scratch but I am still fit enough to work. These are the times I need to push myself to go in as, as the quote states attendance is the key to success. Using the various reflective cycles it has enabled me to focus on this area and I have decided to really push myself and not just take days off when they aren 't ' t really needed.
C1
As practitioners the various guidelines and rules that tell us how to effectively care for children are put in place to help us give a better standard of care to children. The EYFS four guiding themes focus on how to assure that every decision the practitioner makes must be to aid the children. Each theme is implemented in practice to allow the children to reach their full potential. For example, "Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected." http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117. This theme from the EYFS is focused on a lot in my practice as they try to make sure that every student is allowed chances to reach their full potential in whatever type of skill they excel in. We have one child who is especially good at drawing and is very creative so they urge her to take the lead in any activities done in class which are related to this. They also implement this theme into their practice as they give a lot of support to those children who aren 't learning as fast as what some of the other children are. They have special activities for these children to take part in such as extra time with support staff who help them to develop their reading skills. They want every child to have every opportunity to push themselves and be the best they can be. "Every child is a competent learner from birth, who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured." http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117. This theme relates to practice as my supervisors use this as it urges them to find out what each child 's interests are and that way they can build an effective learning plan for them where they will grow and develop. We have a child who struggles keeping their attention in class, however they know that he likes super hero 's so they devised a lesson incorporating this as they knew that it would interest not only him but most of the male children in the class. Using these themes it allows staff to do a better job as it guides them in practice as to how to build an effective stimulating learning experience for all their children. They know that if these guidelines are followed and implemented in practice the children will have a better standard of education and care and therefore will have a positive experience.
A1
The next steps for Early Learning and Childcare focus ' on the progress we 've made following the ten year strategy. This research tells practitioners that we have a duty to provide outstanding care to children. The research states, "Early learning and childcare is important because it: promotes good child outcomes – ensuring all children, and especially the most disadvantaged, reach their full potential; supports employment – responding to changing patterns of employment and ensuring that all parents can work and stay out of poverty; and helps families make choices – recognising that families quite rightly expect to be in control of the choices they make in balancing work and family life." https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/00174-2009DOM-EN.pdf This enforces to practitioners that we are required to provide the same outstanding services of care to all children no matter where they come from. It promotes diversion and inclusion. It also shows us that we also need to extend our care to the parents as well and help them in any way we can. Practitioners implement this into practice by ensuring that all children are observed so that they can determine their strengths and weakness and build on these to make sure that the children are pushed to be the best they can be and reach their full potential. They make sure that parents are always able to work by providing care for their children every day. Lastly they help parents to make choices regarding their families by having good professional relationships with them and allowing them the knowledge that they are always available to give them advise if needed. There may be challenges for the practitioners when doing these things as sometimes parent 's may not be as supportive as what they need to be when it comes to their child. Sometimes the children may be difficult depending on their environment in their home life. To overcome these obstacles the practitioner must always try to do the best by both the parents and children. This may mean finding a common interest with the parents to ensure that you can develop a good relationship, or finding a different way to approach a difficult child. Being a practitioner means that you have to experiment with different things and always adapt your style of working as you will come across so many different people.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.keap.org.uk/documents/eyfs_eff_prac_parent_partner.pdf 28.11.2012
DfES (2008) The Early Years Foundation Stage, DfES, Nottingham 03.12.2012
DfES (2008) The Early Years Foundation Stage, DfES, Nottingham 06.01.2013 http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/c/integrated%20working%20explained.pdf 06.01.2013
DfES (2008) The Early Years Foundation Stage, DfES, Nottingham 07.01.2013 http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117 08.01.2013 http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117 08.01.2013
." http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/eyfs-principles-breakdown-4117 08.01.2013
Tassoni, P et al 2007 CACHE level 3 Child care and education Heinemann Oxford 08.01.2013
Carolyn Meggitt, Tina Bruce, Julian Grenier - 2012 - CACHE level 3 child care and education- Hatchette- London https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/00173-2009DOM-EN.pdf 19/01/201 http://www3.surrey.ac.uk/Skills/pack/iolp.html 19/01/2013 http://hia.mpls.k12.mn.us/attendance_is_key 28/02/13 https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/00174-2009DOM-EN.pdf 28/2/13