Posture and body language are also important for children building trust and respect in adults. An adult who is slouching in a chair, with their arms crossed and staring into space would be less appealing to talk to than an adult who was sitting upright and appeared to be focused. I always ensure that I do not appear to look uninterested in what the children have to say. Likewise, if I often glared at the children then the children would get the impression that I saw them as a threat and would make them less likely to want to build a relationship with me.
M1
Communication skills are important in developing relationships with children in a placement setting because without communication, children would not have any trust in adults who they could tell them about any issues concerning them. Teachers can track progress with children by asking them how challenging they are finding the work. Communication has many benefits with children as it is a way of enhancing relationships between adults and children. This is because when you are interacting with the child, they are feeling valued which in turn builds their self-esteem. As you get to know the child better, you will begin to learn about their hobbies and interests. Bringing this up in conversation with children makes the child feel important and they begin to trust you. This relationship then becomes open and honest. The impact of communication on children is that it helps the children learn behaviour skills and helps their social and emotional development.
D1
I make sure that I am a suitable role model for children and make sure that I promote good listening skills. I make sure I do this by looking at the children who are listening to me, in hope that they will take notice and will look at other children whilst engaging in conversation. If a child has difficulty understanding me or if it is loud in the classroom, I often use signs. An example of this is that if a child shouts my name, I put my finger on my lips and my hand up so they know what to do in order to get my attention. If I say a word that they look confused at, that they may be perhaps unfamiliar with, I will use emphasis on certain words. In order to gain attention, I sometime touch their shoulder as one child in the class is slightly deaf. Also, I find that saying the child’s name before instruction helps gain their attention and they listen to the instruction, instead of saying their name after the instruction. I make sure that always responses and communication skills with children must always be age and stage appropriate. If I am giving a child a challenging question, I always give them waiting time to respond to questions which they have to think about. If a child makes a mistake, I always provide the correct forms of words sensitively rather than correcting children directly whilst they are talking. This is done by paraphrasing such as: “It ain’t there.” “Oh, it’s not there.” To make sure I do not affect the child’s self-esteem I do not correct children then ask them to repeat the sentence the right way. This way helps children build their vocabulary.
As an adult, I have to adapt my language to the children’s needs. This is done by using pauses for effect and by speaking in shorter sentences, as this breaks up sentences and gives children time to take in what I am saying. I also try to ask open ended questions, an example in placement would be that whilst I sometimes use closed questions, even though looking back at myself, I notice that while this may lead to the child answering the question in a quicker and simpler way, it is better to ask open ended questions as it helps the child develop their language skills. I also value non-verbal (augmentative) communication methods but I recon I could make use of signing more as this is useful to the children by them gaining understanding.
I should ask my teacher to assess me on my choice of lexis and how I communicate with children in order to have someone else assess me so I know what they think I could improve on. My teacher could then help me identify strategies for improving practises in the future.
P2
There are many different ways that adults can communicate with children. This is usually by verbal behaviour, such as using the pitch of your voice. Children know that soft pitch is welcoming and friendly and would be used in situations like circle time or when discussing issues with children. On the other hand, using a low pitch voice gives the impression that you are strict and perhaps intimidating. This pitch when speaking is best used when a child has been misbehaving or when you are giving a warning. An example of this would be in my placement, which is in a Year 2 class in an Infants school. As the children were heading off to break, a girl aged 6 years 4 months pulled at my sweatshirt, so I turned around and said in a quiet, gentle voice, “yes?” She then asked me to do up her coat for her. This example shows that I can be approached by children and communicate with children appropriate for the situation. As with using a quiet voice I use indoors, I could have spoken louder as children generally do not notice quiet voices. A quality of a person’s voice is important when communicating with children, as children pick up tones of voice easily and can tell differences, such as when an adult is warning a child the adult will be using an aggressive tone and when the adult is welcoming in the children into the class, they will be using a gentle tone of voice. An example of this would be during placement, where a boy aged 7 years ran off into the book corner, so I used a stern tone of voice to get his attention and to respond. One-to-one conversations with children are essential for their social, emotional and language skills. If adults and children take turns during conversations, it teaches the child how to hold conversations with other children and also gives the child a chance to listen which enhances their social and language skills. It is also good for the children to be questioned by adults, as it gets the children to think more open-mindedly.
However this does not necessarily have to be through verbal behaviour, this can also be doing through non-verbal behaviour, such as facial expressions. As a student, I often smile at the children whilst they are doing their work in order to encourage them to try well. I also glare if I sense that a child is about to misbehave. An example of this would be on a boy aged 6 years 11 months was walking off towards the book corner, as he turned and looked around to see if anyone was looking at him, he noticed me. As I knew what he was about to do, I glared at him and he put his hands in front of his eyes before returning to his desk. When I am about in the classroom helping children with work, I always kneel down to be at the child’s level in order to give them eye contact, instead of bending over to look at their work. An example of this would be in placement, where a girl aged 6 years 5 months asked me to check her work, so I bent down so she could see me mark her work and if there were any mistakes I could point them out to her. I also look interested in their work, as this attention is positive to the children’s self-esteem. School is a good place to remind children how to be considerate, such as saying please and thank you and prompting them to, and to stop talking when the child starts talking. An example of this would be in placement where a girl aged 7 years 4 months, who did not say “please” to another child when asking for a pencil, I prompted her to say “please” and she said it. This encourages children to remember to use manners when talking to others. Some children enjoy talking to others whilst other children shy away from talking to adults, so using open-ended questions are a good way to encourage children to talk.
It is also essential to have listening skills when communicating with children, such as listening exactly to what the child says and to paraphrase the child, in order to gain understanding as to what the child is saying.
P3
Children can be supported in developing relationships by the adult giving the child opportunities to build relationships. An example of this is for the adult to ask the children to help you. This enhances the pupil/teacher relationship and makes child feel special. An example of this would be at placement, where a boy aged 6 years 11 months is often sitting alone having finished the work. I ask him to help me prepare an activity or sharpen pencils, as he does not like choosing alone. It is important for there to be a line and boundaries, especially when it comes to having golden rules for behaviour, this reminds children how to behave. An example of this would be at placement, where the class decide a set of rules at the start of the year. This is then signed by all members of the class, including the teacher and M.D.A. and is displayed by the interactive whiteboard, which the teacher reminds the children when they misbehave. If the child misbehaves again, then the teacher gives an appropriate sanction to comply with the school’s behaviour policy. It is also good to encourage children, such as to do work or to socialise in the playground. An example of this would be in placement, where I often encourage a boy aged 7 years to grin and go through with EER, which he does not enjoy and runs off to hide. In my role, it is important that I help the children to communicate effectively with each other and understand the consequences of their actions and encouraging children to be independent, for example, having their own named trays and pegs. An example of this in placement would be with a girl aged 6 years 7 months who asked me to help her spell a word. I then told her to spell the word out and she found out herself how to spell it. Helping children solve their own problems encourages them to become independent, and I often question what the children think is best way to resolve the problem. The school setting itself is important for the children to build relationships. An example of this at my placement school is that they have a behaviour policy, inclusion policy and an anti-bullying policy. As part of the inclusion policy, it states that there is a friendship ‘bus stop’ in the playground where when a child is alone, they can wait there until another child comes and plays with them. The other children are often encouraged to come along and offer a lone child a chance to play with them.
M2
I have used what is available in the school to support children in developing relationships. I have also picked up ideas from other students in the course, such as having reading partners when reading and holding hands with a partner on the way to assembly. I think that this is a great way to show adults which children get along and which do not. This is also an opportunity for the children to make friends. I also ask children how they are feeling when they are around children who they do not regularly sit with and encourage them to be friendly to each other.
P4
Communicating with adults is essential in childcare settings, as information needs to be shared and it creates a good environment. This is done by approaching adults, such as smiling, courtesy and showing understanding. An example of this would be in placement, where I always smile when I walk past a member of staff as is polite. I also behave professionally and am courteous to the staff whilst giving eye contact. Another example of courtesy would be saying “good morning” to staff, as it makes the staff feel welcome. I do not personally talk to the children’s parents but I manage to communicate with them by writing in the children’s reading diaries so the parents know their child’s reading progress. With modern day technology, there are many different forms of communication. I often e-mail my teacher in order to keep her up to date with what I need to do in placement and when I cannot go to placement, I phone the office to say I won’t be in.
M3
Communication is vitally important for children’s care, learning and development as without communication, most adults will be left in the dark about matters concerning parents. There are many benefits of appropriate conversation between adults because they can discuss children’s welfare and discuss lessons and share their inspiration as well as give each other emotional support. If children know that the adults are friendly towards one-another, then the children will feel secure and know that every adult will feel respected. This in turn makes every adult will feel they have contributed to the children’s future. All adults in placement setting should have equal partnerships as all teachers should not feel intimidated or left out. This ensures that there is consistency of care for the children and that there are no hidden messages or agendas. Everyone should be involved with the children.
D2
Having done some experience with working with children before, I know how to approach children but as a working student in a placement setting, I had a new battle which I fought – working with adults. As a naturally shy person, I started off being very nervous around staff and initially had trouble making conversation as the adults were dominating conversation. However, by half term, this was slowly improving as I was going into the staff room regularly and saying “good morning” to everyone I saw first thing in the morning. As a result, I now get on well with the class teacher and M.D.A. as well as some teaching assistants and parent helpers. I often give time for adults to talk to talk to me and allow them to be dominant in conversations. I recon I could improve my communication skills with adults by fighting my nerves and worries when I encounter adults, thus having more clarity when I speak, as I have not long left a school environment as a pupil myself.
Bibliography:
National Strategies (Early Years): Supporting children with speech, language and communication needs: Guidance for practitioners in the Early Years Foundation Stage: (Crown Copyright:Nottingham,2008)
Tassoni P. et.al. (2005) S/NVQ Level 3, Children’s Care, Learning + Development, Oxford:Heinemann
Squire G. (2007) BTEC National in Children’s Care, Learning + Development, Oxford:Heinemann
Jarman E. (2007) Nursery World , 3 May 2007
Di Chilvers K. (2007) Nursery World , 22 March 2007
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