Explain How To Adapt Communication With Children And Young People

Children need to feel they are a valuable member of their school community. It is important for children to learn in a safe and secure environment. The school community is made up of children of all ages, from different cultures and have different abilities. As a member of the school staff team you have to be able to relate to all the children and develop positive relationships with them, to do this you need to adapt your communication style and behaviour accordingly.
The age of the child or young person
Children of different ages will require different levels of attention. Through spending quality time with a wide range of children and age ranges you will begin to learn how to adapt your vocabulary and social interactions with them.
Younger children still need lots of reassurance and comfort from staff, they may of just started school and miss their parents, in order for them to adjust to a school environment and develop independence they will need a lot of reassurance. Younger children can be very tactile and you may find you need to give them appropriate physical contact to reassure them, this could be holding their hand at playtime if they are upset. We can help younger children to feel secure by encouraging them to build up friendships with other children. When communicating with younger children it is essential that we are at the same eye level as the child and use simple instructions €
Some children may benefit from alternative forms of communication to use alongside verbal information this could be; hand gestures, pictures or symbols. As a child matures you may need to provide them with more opportunities to talk through new concepts in their learning, supporting them to develop their own opinions about certain subjects or help them to verbalise personal issues. They may still require a lot of encouragement, praise and approval in order to improve their social