unit 1

E1-E2- childcare provisions
There are lots of different settings that provide care and education in my area for children and young people including statutory, voluntary and private sectors.

Statutory settings are funded by the government. These have to be available by law. A statutory setting is given a set curriculum by the government that have to be adhered too. In Wales the curriculum used is called the Foundation Phase. Children from the age of 5-7 years old are taught this specific curriculum.”Statutory services are usually free of charge. A good example is this is a school. The government is legally obliged to provide schools for children to pay money to local authority or in some cases directly to the school for their running” (Tassoni etal, 2010, pg 4). An example of a statutory setting in my area is a school. Schools provide a range of subjects in education for children from the age of 5-16 years old. A school opens from 9 o clock in the morning until 3.15 in the afternoon. All children must attend school to receive the education they need and is free to everyone. The school will provide a safe environment for all the children to learn for example bullying and bad behaviour will not be tolerated as the other children won’t feel safe. Primary schools provide trained staff that can deal with children who need a bit more help or with additional needs. Schools will also offer support to parents by having parent’s evenings, phone calls or one to one meetings if they have a problem and they need to speak to a staff member they are always available.

Voluntary setting is a childcare setting which is funded by different charities and the community. Voluntary settings help children interact with others outside of school and they are there so they can just enjoy themselves in a safe and harm free environment.” These services provided by organisations such as charities where some or all of their funding come from donations” (Tassoni etal, 2010, pg 3). An example of a voluntary setting in my area is a youth club. Children from the age of 10 to 16 years old can attend and they may pay a small amount of money for each session they attend. The money goes towards the centre they use and any repairs that need to be done. In a youth club children can play with friends and take part in different activities. A voluntary setting is not a setting that is there to make a profit they are there to help children and young adults when they need help. A youth club support’s the children all the time but they are there to make sure children have somewhere which is safe and free from harm. This will put their parent’s minds at rest and they will then support the youth club its self.

A private setting is a service that makes a profit. It is set up independently and they are not given any money from the government so, there fees tend to be quite high. A private setting in my area is a Private Nursery. They provide care and early year’s education for children between the ages of 0 to 4 years old. The nursery is open from 6am until 6pm and they also offer after school care for children at the ages of 5 to 11 years old. During their time at nursery children will be offered a safe and friendly environment to play with other children, they start learning to socialise. This time is used to introduce the Foundation Phase to prepare them for school. The children will also learn to be independent this could be taught through play for example dressing up, cooking and playing in the garden. A nursery supports the children’s parents by looking after their children so they can go back to work. A nursery will also provide a day to day diary of what their children have done and what they have eaten. This will help the parents to They also help the children learn different
Skills for example social skills and they will help them also with physical development, emotional development and cognitive development. This is all done to prepare them for school.