Children, Young People and Adults
Establishing respectful, professional relationships with children, young people and adults is a major role for anyone working with children and young people. One of the first things you will need to is establish ground rules and mutual respect, it is important that children and young people see you as the adult and that your relationships remain on a professional level. You should start by talking with them about how you are going to work together and what each person want to get out of the relationship. You will need to communicate effectively in order to provide the support required from you. Good communication and listening skills are a big factor when …show more content…
forming relationships, you will need to demonstrate this and make sure you are approachable and have time for the children to talk to you if they need to. You will need to be able to adapt your behaviour and communication accordingly for varied levels of development. The way in which you present yourself and your behaviour should always be appropriate to the age and stage of development of the children and young people you are working with.
You should always maintain a professional and polite attitude with all ages of children and young people. When working with children and young people you will deal regularly with disagreements. When children have had or are having a conflict you should always go back to how it began and find out what has happened, you will need to listen to all sides and form other children present who was to blame if anyone, decide if there are any apologies needed and any further action you may need to take. Children will need to be taught how their feelings affect their behaviour and how things they do affects others. You may also be faced with conflicts with/between other adults. When these situations arise you should try to resolve the problem and always show sensitivity towards those involved. If you feel the situation requires further action you may need a mediator, you should consult your manager and explain what has happened to cause the conflict. It is impossible to work in a tense atmosphere, the children will pick up on this and it is unlikely the problem will go away without action taken. Schools should have a grievance policy in place to provide you with
information and details on how to approach and deal with any problems which arise when working with adults.
The way in which you behave with others will have an impact on the children you work with. Children copy the behaviour of the adults closest to them, which means your interactions should be effective and polite and promote positive outcomes in communicating with children and young people. You will need to consider how you approach and respond to others, check what you say so children and young people can understand what you expect of them. Asking children to communicate and behave in a way which you don’t show yourself will cause confusion. You need to ensure you promote effective professional relationships with adults, people who are comfortable in your company are more likely to communicate effectively. Mutual support and openness will be required for you to work with other adults, you should maintain professionalism but still work in a practical, supportive and sensitive way. All adults should behave appropriately in schools as effective role models for children and young people you need to show them how to relate and communicate with others through your own interactions and relationships. Children and young people respond to positive communication, they are more likely to learn if they have good relationships and are supported by adults who get along well together.