EYFS: Early Years Foundation Stage
Susan Isaacs (1885-1948) inspired the EYFS; she thought that children from birth up to 7 years should have play based education. “She carried out research to show how children regressed if they started school at 5 years… May early years professionals today share this view and are concerned with the current trend of children entering into compulsory schooling in the year of their fifth birthday..” CACHE Level 3 Childcare and Education: 4th edition-Penny Tassoni, Kath Bulman, Harriet Eldridge [page: 282]
Her influence can be seen on current play provision through:
- Working with parents
- Imaginary play to explore feelings
- Freedom
- Current debate on whether children should have to enter school as early as 4.
EYFS use play in order for children to learn. They do this so that children can get the best out of their play; all work is children’s play. Professionals plan lessons around play; this is the best encouragement for children and gets them excited to learn.
Placement:
I understand the importance of planning for play as it helps to support children’s individuals needs and improves their overall intellect and physical development.
E6:
The three skills I am going to talk about are:
- Skill 1 - Confidentiality
- Skill 2 - Professional Relationships
- Skill 3 - Communication
Skill 1: Confidentiality
Confidential information is anything that is personal to an individual. We being individuals have the right to keep personal information private. In a child care setting confidential information is processed all the time. When confidential information is being managed it is important for child care directors, administrators and staff to be aware of any ethical and legal responsibility to protect the individual and their family.
“As the primary carers and guardians of their children, parents have the right to decide what personal information is collected and recorded about their child...” CACHE Level 3 Childcare and Education-Marian Beaver, Jo Brewster, Sandy Green, Sally Neaum, Heidi Sheppard, Jill Tallack and Miranda Walker [page: 68]
In placement confidentiality is important in order to protect the children and professionals in the setting. It is important that confidential information is kept between professionals in order to protect the child from any danger or risk to their overall health and well being.
Skill 2 - Professional Relationships
“Parents can find the multi-professional approach quite daunting and childcare professionals who have day-to-day contact with them are in a position to support. Interpret and keep them up-to-date with any developments...” CACHE Level 3 Childcare and Education-Marian Beaver, Jo Brewster, Sandy Green, Sally Neaum, Heidi Sheppard, Jill Tallack and Miranda Walker [page: 314]
While you may form strong professional relationships with children's parents during work placement, it is crucial that any relationships formed have a firm, professional basis. A professional relationship is one within which both the professional and parent understand each others best interests, responsibilities and boundaries.
If you develop professional relationships with parents you must make sure you maintain confidentiality in order to protect yourself, the child and also the child's family. You must also try to give the parents regular feedback about their child's development and progress whilst being in that particular setting. Always remember the well-being of the child you are working alongside is the most important issue.
In placement professional relationships are important in order to provide the best possible care for those around you.
Skill 3: Communication
“Effective communication is at the heart of good working practise. There are many ways in which to communicate at work, through conversations, discussions and presentations. These may involve colleagues, managers, children, parents and carers, other professionals and people in the wider working communication. Communication can be face-to-face, over the telephone, by fax, letter or email. Whatever form the communication takes, when you are caring for children, what you say and how it is interpreted or understood can have a serious impact on the well-being of the children, the organisation and also on yourself ...” CACHE Level 3 Childcare and Education-Marian Beaver, Jo Brewster, Sandy Green, Sally Neaum, Heidi Sheppard, Jill Tallack and Miranda Walker [page: 206]
Communication in a child care setting is one of the greatest ways to provide the best possible care for the child. Not only is communication important to provide care for the child, but it also helps form good professional relationships with the child's parents and work colleagues.
The most important communication is verbal, however, for the younger children, mainly infants and toddlers, daily written reports are another excellent tool to accompany the verbal communication. Such reports should not only be written by the staff, but also by the parents to provide a two-way open line of communication.
In placement communication is very important in order to interact with professionals you are working along side and the children you are caring for.
E7:
Organisation-
In college:
Organisation is important in college as you need to be prepared for each lesson, you also need to make sure you have the right equipment in order to complete tasks in which you may be set.
In placement:
Organisation in placement is important in order to be prepared for tasks that you may be given. Being organised means you will be able to get on with any tasks that you may have been set, with out any difficulty or problem. Your placement will pick up on your skills; you want to give a good impression.
Planning your time-
In college:
Planning your time in college is important in order to meet deadlines and be on time so that you are not missing any work due to unnecessary circumstances.
In placement:
Planning your time during placement is important as you need to make sure you are turning up on time and finishing any tasks that you may have been set I order tom move on to the next task.
A way to plan your time in both college and placement would be:
- “To make lists – able to cope with stressful situations
- Ask others – other colleagues and students may be able to share useful tips and ideas
- Try setting targets
-
To be honest with yourself and others – if you are worried or experiencing difficulties talk to someone who can support and advise you” CACHE Level 3 Childcare and Education-Marian Beaver, Jo Brewster, Sandy Green, Sally Neaum, Heidi Sheppard, Jill Tallack and Miranda Walker [page: 31]
Evaluation-
In college:
Evaluation in college is important so that you are able to look through tasks you may have completed and see where your strengths and weaknesses are. This will also help improve the quality and standard of your work in order to gain a higher grade.
In placement:
Evaluation in placement is important for any assignments or observations you have been set to do; your task may be to evaluate how a child interacts with others. To complete this you will have to be observant in your placement and evaluate how a child interacts with their peers and others around them.
D1:
"We need to begin with the firm belief that all parents are interested in the development and progress of their own children."
Importance of working with parents
For professionals working in a child care setting they may feel they have little opportunity to provide meaningful parenting support. Child care professionals may feel their expertise is working with children and therefore lack confidence when communicating with parents and guardians.
Many parents are embarrassed about sharing difficulties they are having with their child’s development and behaviour, parents may be reluctant to accessing support when they are finding family life challenging as they fear they may be seen as “failing parents”.
It is important that child care providers interact with parents so that they can keep the parents up-to-date with their child’s progress and development. This may be by sharing the child’s work with their parents and showing photographs of their child working. This allows the parents to see what their child is doing whilst being in day care provision.
"I've struggled with depression on and off for years. Most days it's a real effort to get myself out of the house and I just want to avoid people. If I didn't have to take my daughter to the children's centre each morning, I don't think I'd see anyone. The staff at the centre have been great. Even though I'm just dropping my little girl off, they always make me feel welcome. They notice if I'm looking down and ask me if I want to stop for a quick chat and a cup of tea. It makes such a difference knowing they're there and they care. They're encouraging me to come along to some stay and play sessions in the afternoons - I might give them a go now I know some of the people there."
Mother of three-year-old
Importance of working with professionals
It is important for professionals to work with other professionals in order to maintain a high standard of care for the individual. This may be health care, education or even child support/protection. Professionals also work along side each other in order to gain experience and to evaluate each others choices via observing one another.
“It is fair to suggest that because childcare workers are generally in day-to-day contact with individual children and their families, they have a broad knowledge and understanding of that child. It can therefore be difficult to accept that others, such as visiting professionals, may be more able to assess and judge what is best for the child at certain times. At this point, it is therefore important to remember the other professionals have undertaken training in their area of expertise...” CACHE Level 3 Childcare and Education-Marian Beaver, Jo Brewster, Sandy Green, Sally Neaum, Heidi Sheppard, Jill Tallack and Miranda Walker [page: 314]
When professionals are working along side each other they form a multidisciplinary team; this is important so that each professional can bring there own expertise and share information in order to give the best possible care for the individual.
Victoria Climbie enquiry:
Victoria Climbie was born in November 1991 in the Ivory Coast Africa. She died aged just 8 years old in London February 2000. Victoria was tortured to death by her great-aunt, Marie Therese Kouao, and the woman's boyfriend Carl Manning.
Victoria need not have died...
Police, doctors and social workers all had contact with Victoria during her abuse. However Victoria was failed by two senior Doctors and other professionals whom did not take the appropriate action and failed in their duty of care; this lead to her unfortunate death. It is recorded that Victoria had over 128 injuries to various parts of her body.
When consultant paediatrician, Dr Mary Schwartz saw Victoria at the Central Middlesex Hospital, she decided her cuts were due to the skin disease scabies. Victoria was sent home to her abusers. And Dr Schwartz told the inquiry she assumed social services would investigate further.
"I feel devastated and saddened that we failed to protect her.”
Dr Mary Schwartz
After two weeks from visiting Dr Mary Schwartz, Victoria was back in hospital; this time North Middlesex. This time Victoria was seen by Consultant Dr Mary Rossiter; she felt Victoria was being abused, however, she confused colleagues by writing “able to discharge” on Victoria's medical notes. Victoria Climbie was yet again send home to her abusers...
It is recorded that Dr Rossiter told the inquiry that she has thought about Victoria on a daily basis and she feels distressed that she did not keep up her professional standards.
Due to professionals not working alongside each other during this case, Victoria Climbie unfortunately passed away due to the abuse she was receiving and the extent of the severe injuries she sustained at the age of 8.
The importance of working with professionals
It is important to work with other professionals in your career in order to maintain a high standard of care for the individual and to maintain your duty of care as a professional.
D2:
A multi agency team is one that is made up of many professionals that provide care for an individual. All professionals have to work together as they have a duty of care; they need to meet the needs of their client and provide the individual with the best possible care.
There are many characteristics that make up a multi agency team, some of which are confidentiality, efficiency, respect and cooperation. These characteristics are used in order for professionals to provide a high standard of care for their client.
The common recording procedure (CAF) is a shared assessment and planning framework for use across all children’s services and all local areas in England. CAF aims to help the early identification of children and young people’s additional needs in order to promote co-ordinated service provision in order to meet their needs.
What does the CAF consist of:
- “A pre-assessment checklist to help decide who would benefit from a common assessment
- A process to enable practitioners in the children and young people’s workforce to undertake a common assessment and then act on the result
- A standard form to record the assessment
- A delivery plan and review form
The assessment covers three domains:
- Development of the child or young person
- Parents and carers
- Family and environment”
Skerne Park use the CAF assessment in order for their multi-agency teams to provide the best possible care for the individual. Information that the multi agency team have about the individual can be assessed by each professional in order for them to meet the needs of the child.
Communication:
Communication is important amongst a multi agency team in order for each professional to provide a duty of care. If there is a breakdown in communication when working as a multi agency team the care the individual receives may not be to a high standard; this may cause children to be at risk or danger.
The multi agency team that worked alongside Victoria Climbie failed to act on allegations made due to a breakdown in communication between each professional.
“The social worker responsible for the safety of child abuse victim Victoria Climbie saw her for less than 30 minutes in the seven months before her death…Victoria was not at risk of "significant harm" and closed the case a week before she died from horrific injuries.”
There are many ways in which multi agency teams can communicate; these are listed below:
- Notice boards containing information
- Phone calls among each professional
- Individual’s medical records
- Team meetings with each professional involved in the multi agency team
- Letters
- Emails and many more
Notice boards are a good way to communicate amongst the team and to pass on information as most settings have a staff notice board. However confidential information must not be placed onto a notice board. If for any reason a professional is off work they may miss an important notice which could possibly affect their understanding on a particular situation; this may become a disadvantage.
Letters and emails are a good way to communicate with other professionals amongst the team as you are able to state confidential information and all human rights remain. However it is the professionals responsibility that confidential information remains amongst themselves and other professionals in the team; if confidential information is shared with anyone outside of the multi agency team the professional may be looking at a court case.
Respect
For a multi agency team to work in a professional manner, respect is vital. As a professional you must value and respect other professionals in which you work along side and also the individual you are working with.
You are able to show respect through punctuality as this shows you are committed to working as a team and you show that as a professional you respect others contributions to the case.
To show respect in my placement I show that I am punctual and that I will complete any tasks I have been given in order to start the day. I listen to the professionals around me and try to complete all tasks to a high standard in order for the children to enjoy their day at school and to make sure they are enjoying their activities for each individual to reach their learning potential.
C1:
The emotions and opinions that a child expresses during play and education can guide a professional to identify the individuals likes, dislikes and activity preferences. This will assist in accurately planning and implementing activities of varied interests and learning styles. For example, if you were to ask a child what activity they want to do or what educational games they would like to play and then set up each activity or game the same week, the child would feel as though their views are just as important as their peers. Children will also gain a sense of belonging in the child care setting and realise they are being valued and respected by those providing the care. As a result children may reflect the professionals attitude towards them in their own behaviour towards other peers.
Showing children that they are valued and listening to their views allows them to respect themselves and has a positive effect on their self confidence; not just in their work but also in their day-to-day routines. As an individual they will become increasingly open minded and out spoken, therefore making it easier for professionals to understand the individuals needs and wants; by doing this professionals are able to successfully provide for the individual the duty of care they have to offer.
Hannah Mortimer, author of various early years books and an educational psychologist, believed that young children should be allowed to have a say in what they do and be included in decision making when planning. This was so professionals could ensure that all children have equal opportunities, should feel involved and be successful in their learning and play. Children should be given activities and interventions to suit their interests and strengths as an individual. If this was taken into practise children will start to feel a greater sense of achievement when they recognise their own opinions were the source of their success.
“Respecting children and treating them with equal concern is essential when caring for children to ensure children feel valued and appreciated as individuals.”
B1:
It is important to know your limits and boundaries when working with children at Level 3 due to being unqualified and having little or no experience. Not knowing your limits and boundaries could possibly end in a court case whether it is you as the individual or the care setting you are working amongst; this could be due to not following policies and procedures within the care setting and potentially harming yourself or those around you.
However once you have completed level 3 child care and education it prepares you to work unsupervised, or in a supervisory capacity with children and their families in a variety of settings within the sector of children’s services.
Knowing what the laws permit you to do when working in a setting for children protects yourself and also others around you. By not following laws and procedures you are not only putting your self at risk you are also putting your role as a professional at risk and those you are providing care for. If laws are broken you could possibly face a court hearing, lose your job and most of all trust. If you cannot be trusted when working in a care setting for children and young adults it can have a massive negative affect on all relationships between colleagues and also the bonds you form with children; this may mean you have to be supervised at all times when providing care for an individual or different groups of children and young adults.
“Operating against policy will often have serious disciplinary implications for staff involved.” CACHE Level 3 Childcare and Education-Marian Beaver, Jo Brewster, Sandy Green, Sally Neaum, Heidi Sheppard, Jill Tallack and Miranda Walker [page: 92]
There are many laws in which may be relevant to your placement these may include:
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995
- Special Needs and Disability Act 2001
- Education Reform act 1996
- Sex Discrimination Act 1975 & 1984
- The Children Act 1989
All laws that apply to the setting you are working within should be followed in order to protect your self and those receiving the care. If laws are broken you are potentially putting yourself at risk and also those in your care. All care settings have different policies and procedures, It is important you know the different policies and procedures for each setting you work in; in order to provide the best possible care for those around you.
Safeguarding children and young adults is the responsibility of most. When in a child care setting professionals have direct and indirect contact with children and their families. They also have direct and indirect contact with vulnerable adults and those who have access to confidential information about the individual. Professionals have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults amongst the care setting.
In all organisations there is a duty to make appropriate arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. Government guidance makes it clear that safeguarding is a shared responsibility upon effective multi agency work and professionals that all have different roles and expertise.
The inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie and the first joint chief inspectors report on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults highlighted the lack of priority status given to safeguarding. In response to these findings the government set out the “green paper every child matters” and the provisions in the “Children’s Act 2004”
“Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 places a duty on all agencies to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.The Health and Social Care Act 2008 also places statutory duties on organisations and individuals.”
It is important to know the limits and boundaries when working with children, in order to protect yourself and those receiving the care provided. If you do not follow policies, procedures and laws it is likely you will be disciplined and possibly loose your job; this can have a massive negative effect on future employment and overall health and well-being.
A1:
“The child is the centre of everything”
“The Child Centred Approach promotes the right of the child to choose, make connections and communicate. It allows freedom for children to think, experience, explore, question and search for answers. It presents a creative celebration of children's work.”
A child centred approach is important as you are working with the individual and looking at their bests interests in order for them to reach their full potential in learning. Child centred learning is when the child uses their known knowledge in order to develop their learning through activities that the child is interested in and also those they enjoy taking part in. Activities planned for the individual are especially good for kinaesthetic learners as they learn more through play and challenging activities.
To improve the knowledge of the individual through child centred approach planning is very important; learning should start with what the child already knows and then the development should start to take place. This can be done by making activities harder each time the child participates in order for them to complete the ‘challenge’ and develop their overall learning potential through play.
Children need to be able to move through stages by starting with the more simple tasks and then adapting them in order to make them slightly more challenging so that the child is able to use their initiative to improve their skills. As the child’s development improves each stage should start to become a little more challenging. By doing this you are focusing on the child’s outcome which encourages the child to reach their full leaning potential through play. If children go back to previous activities and change what they are doing because they want to improve, the child is reflecting on their ability.
In America the High Scope programme was introduced which is now also being used in schools in England. High Scope is a programme designed for children to be able to reflect back on their learning and see their own potential, strengths and weaknesses. These can be done through a learning journey; a book containing pictures and brief explanations on what the child has done, tried and achieved. Children are able to look through their own learning journey in order for them to reflect.
This programme is used in placement so that the child is able to look back on what they have done, tried and achieved. This gives the child the opportunity to be able to reflect on their learning and improve their skills in order to reach their full potential.
Reggio Emilia also uses a similar programme in order for children to become strong and capable learners.
Child centred practise builds strong relationships with children and adults. This allows children to gain a positive self esteem and self confidence as they are completing activities themselves. You should always give choices and time in a child centred approach as you want to build on their self confidence and self esteem.
Bibliography
The exact dates I used these resources are unknown, however they were all accessed over a period of time – 1/10/11 to 14/10/11
CACHE Level 3 Childcare and Education-Marian Beaver, Jo Brewster, Sandy Green, Sally Neaum, Heidi Sheppard, Jill Tallack and Miranda Walker
