E4
Reflective practice allows you to look at what you do and make it better. It allows you to have the chance to reflect on your teaching practice, skills and knowledge, allowing you to see what went well and what didn’t and what could have been better. Reflective practice allows you to identify areas in which you need help such as professional development such as behaviour management skills. It is a good chance to sit down, think back and see what you think you could improve for next time. You can also ask one of the other members of the team if they thought your method of teaching worked well or not and if they think there are any areas that may need improvement. Reflective practice helps with team meetings, helping practitioners to identify what staff training is needed. You need to be able to reflect as an individual as well as a whole team to provide children with the best possible education. Another benefit of reflective practice is it provides a source of evidence to show to other employees when applying for a new role or promotion and increases confidence by seeing your own improvements of practice. Reflective practice also allows opportunities to challenge yourself and what you do, allowing you to try different practice techniques. It also allows give you data to base a reflective discussion with your manager. As a practitioner you can sit down and think of what techniques went well and what approach you would use next time if it didn’t, if your practice went you can share your ideas with other members of the team and give them advice and guidance to help them out and improve team work. There in one main way in which you can see if your practice has gone well, you can see if the children have met their milestones and who hasn’t, and plan ways and techniques to help those children who haven’t to reach their milestones. If most children are reaching their milestone and only one or two children are not it may mean they may need extra help and support which you can look at when reflecting on your practice, and find the best way to go about this issue for next time. When I’m on placement I always go home and think about what went well in my day and what I would change next time. Next time I’m on placement I can then try out different techniques and reflect on the strategies I have used to see which one I think went best, by doing this I can improve my own learning for the future.
E5
The 10 main principles that underpin working with children are:
1. The Welfare of the child
This comes under the children act 1989, which involves making sure the child is well looked after and is at the centre of all practice. The welfare of the child is most important at all times. It also includes having the parents involved with their children and any legal proceedings that may concern them. The child's health, emotional stability, safety, etc., all come first in whatever issues are being decided, and grown-ups come last.
2. Keeping Children Safe
This includes RIDDOR 1995 legislation which involves carrying out risk assessments before children play or before any school trips. Equipment should be checked regular and surfaces for any sharp objects such as glass. Keeping children safe also includes and the health and safety at work act 1974, which includes lifting objects in the safest way, regular fire alarm tests and drills, provision of drinking water, checking electricity, covering electrical sockets, always having a first aider and first aid box on site. Keeping children safe also includes making sure gates and doors are locked so children don’t go missing or run out on to the roads, and also making sure children go home with the right people.
3. Working Partnership
This is when parents and practitioners work together to support children's development, this has a positive impact on children's long-term well-being and achievement. This can include the practitioner talking to the children’s parents/carers about their child’s development, sharing information on the child, parents evening, and reports on the child or giving advice and support if the parents/carers are struggling in anyway.
4. Children’s learning and development
This can involve proving age appropriate equipment for the children. Also providing challenging and stimulating activities which will keep children busy, increase their thinking skills and further their development to reach their milestones. Observations are great because they can tell a practitioner what milestones the child is at and if a child is reaching them all the next set of milestones can be looked at and if not practitioner can focus on activities to improve their milestones.
5. Valuing Diversity
This is respecting all children no matter what their race, religion or ethnicity is. Settings do this by providing books with different race people in the book, providing welcome on the setting door in all different languages and celebrating other cultural events such as Devali etc.
6. Equality of opportunities
It is important that we treat all children in the setting equally no matter what background they are from, we shouldn’t show favouritism or discriminate against any child or their family. We should also not stereo type which is not judging a book by its cover and understand that all children have different needs and it’s our job to meet those needs.
7. Anti-discrimination
This is an important principle that states that we should respect the wishes of all children and family. We should not show any form of discrimination. This includes giving all the children the same equal opportunities and regularly promoting this principle in all settings.
8.Confidentiality
This should not be breached outside the setting, whatever practitioners are told should be kept to themselves unless it is best for the children that other practitioners no, or if the child’s well-being is at stake. Practitioners should follow the Data Protection Act 1998, which is making sure files regarding information about a child or their family is kept in a locked file in a cupboard or computer, which only people with authorised access can open.
9. Working with other professionals
Working together in a multi-agency team is very important as it means the children are always looked after and have the best possible support as it brings agencies together to form a team around a child. This can include people such as the social services and other health professionals.
10. The reflective practitioner
This is important to provide the best possible practice for the children, by reflecting on our own practice we can see what techniques went well, what could be improved for next time and whether the activities are helping children meet their milestones.
E6
It is extremely important that we value children’s interests and experience as it will boost a child’s confidence and self-esteem. By encouraging the child to talk about his/her interests and asking open-ended questions, a practitioner can support and extend the child’s thinking. This reflects the social interaction theory of Vygotsky and the social-construction theory of Bruner. It is also important that when a child is speaking, we let them finish what they are saying because this will again increase a child’s self-esteem because they will see you actually want to listen to them and are interested in what they are telling you. If we listen to what a child is saying they will feel more comfortable and happier to talk to you and if they have any problems or concerns they will feel they can trust and open up to you. Interaction and dialogue between a practitioner and a child introduces relevant vocabulary, encourages discussion, challenges the child and encourages reflection. The role of the practitioner is crucial in helping children develop their thinking skills. It is important that we listen carefully to children, monitor our effects of words and gestures, show empathy and have a non-judgemental approach. We need to also be sensitive to other peoples moods and feelings and adapt our communication style to suit the situation, by doing all this it will make the child feel more comfortable and at ease speaking to you and they can see you want to listen. By valuing children’s interests it helps the child and the practitioners to see him or herself as someone who makes a difference. It is important that we give children as many opportunities as we can to try new activities so they can express an interest in someone new such as sport and use their talents. If a child your child brings over a picture or something they have done or created we should discuss it and show you value it. Children’s confidence in their own abilities and development will only grow if we show an interest in their achievements, however small they may seem to you. It is also importance we listen to children as it exercises their brain. It increases their leadership skills and increases their motivation. If a child's idea is ignored, it might decrease their motivation thinking that no one thinks that their idea is importance. We should also ask children what they would like to do on some days as this will increase self-esteem as the children will feel they have a say in what they do as well.
D1
Reflecting improves our own performance as it gives up time to stop and think about what has happened, what is happening and what should happen next. Reflection is essential in providing high quality professional practice. Reflection improves our skills and techniques in working with children and families and improves our ability to communicate with other members of the team. By reflecting it helps us to understand how our own experiences and beliefs influence work. If we share reflections with other members of the team it can help us to develop more effective strategies and listen to ideas on how you could improve your own practice and what others think are going well and what isn’t going so well in your practice, this is all important in improving communication and making sure the children are taught in the best possible way. Reflection is really a process that begins with looking back on a situation, and learning from it and then using the new knowledge to help us in future similar situations. Reflection encourages us to become aware of our intellectual thoughts and our feelings which relate to a particular learning experience or area of our practice. Reflection is important as it allows us to try out new ideas and try them out to see if they go well or not. Reflecting allows you to assess what you are doing well and to identify where you might like or need more training or guidance to ensure you are performing to the best you can and meeting all standards and expectations within the setting and meeting the settings policies and procedures. Reflecting helps us to think about what we are doing and to always be aware of how we work with children, families and other members of staff. Reflecting on your practice can enhance and improve confidence and self-esteem because you can look and what you are doing well, the things you have learnt and achieved and feel good about yourself, especially if you have done something easily that you use to find difficult as you can reflect on your own improvements and monitor your own personal development. This gives you the confidence to continue working well and to aim to try other new ideas and new skills or knowledge you may have gained in your practice.
Through self-reflection we allow ourselves to understand how a professional situation makes us feel and how we choose to respond professionally in action and/or words as two separate things. Because caring for children and families is so important and at times very emotional, we need to be aware of how our personal perspectives influence our work.
D2
To improve your own learning you can ask your supervisor in your setting their opinion on how they think your practice is going. You can ask your supervisor if they could sit down with you when they have some spare time and ask them if they could tell you what they think is going well for you in your practice, what isn’t going so well and what they think you could improve. They can help you by discussing ways in which you can improve your own learning and practice and providing you with strategies to try yourself that they or others may use and feel have worked well. You can show them your own personal reflecting of your practice and show them ways that have gone well for you. By talking with your supervisor this will improve communication and effective team work which will benefit the children in the setting and make you feel more relaxed and happy to be part of the team if everyone gets on and respects on another.
You could ask a member high up in the team if they can watch your performance for a little while one day, observing how you are doing and maybe write a report on your progress that you yourself can look at to help you with your own personal reflection to see what techniques you use that your supervisor agrees have gone well and what they observed didn’t go so well or could be improved next time and worked on.
When I am on placement I have PDP’S (professional development profiles), we have two of these, one interim report and another mandatory. Both sheets have 9 core principles which half way through my placement my supervisor has to write a comment on each principle and circle whether she thinks I have passed or failed each principle. The interim report we get signed by our placement supervisor half way through placement and the mandatory at the end of our time on that placement. These are a great way of improving our own personal learning because if we fail any core principles on our first report we can look and reflect on each one and think of ways in which we can improve next time in order to pass the final report. They are also good because we can see our own strengths and weaknesses and if we pass everything first time round then it boosts our confidence and self-esteem and if we don’t pass some of the principles it motivates us to work harder to pass next time and to improve our practice techniques to do better to improve our own learning/development.
C1
Different principles underpin working with children and can help us support practice in settings by giving us a guideline of the 10 most important things we need to consider in our practice.. It is important that we are aware of the principles and values that underpin the early year’s education sector. The principles help practitioners to decide how to work with children. A key, number 1 principle that we should always remember when working with children is that their welfare is paramount. The idea of the principle is that when decisions are made the needs and interests of children come first. This principle also comes under the children act 1989, which involves making sure the child is well looked after and is at the centre of all practice. This principle benefits practice as the practitioner knows that the first and main principle of their work is to make sure the children are at the centre of practice as they are the most important. It also reminds practitioners that all the children have individual needs which need to be met. The principle supports practitioners practice as we can make sure children’s interests are always reflected in what they do and “that children participate in decisions about their learning and able to develop to their full potential”. Penny tasoni, 2007, page 234. The principle also states that the child’s physical, emotional and educational needs should be met, which helps practitioners with practice as they can find ways to meet their needs and carry out observations or reflect on their practice to see if the needs are being met. It also includes having the parents involved with their children and any legal proceedings that may concern them. The child's health, emotional stability, safety, etc., all come first in whatever issues are being decided, and grown-ups come last. Principle 2, keeping children safe includes carrying out risk assessments which comes under the management of health and safety at work regulations 1999, risk assessments should be carried out before and after children’s play or before any school trips. This principle helps practitioners with practice as it reminds practitioners the important of carrying out risk assessments for the safety of children. It makes practitioner aware of hazards in the setting and that they must always be on their guard for anything potentially harmful to the children, such as spillages, debris and broken toys. Keeping children safe also includes the health and safety at work act 1974, which includes lifting objects in the safest way, regular fire alarm tests and drills, provision of drinking water, checking electricity, covering electrical sockets, always having a first aider and first aid box on site. This helps practice as it ensures all settings are safe guarding the children and making sure staff have policies and procedures to keep the children safe. Practitioners are aware they MUST MAKE sure gates and doors are locked so children don’t go missing or run out on to the roads, and children go home with the right people. Principle 3 is all about working closely with parents to support children’s development. This helps practice as it has a positive impact on children’s long-term well-being and achievement. Talking to parents helps in valuing children’s interests and experiences as you can ask a parent what their child enjoys doing at home. Talking to parents and forming a relationship can help practitioners get to know a child better by sharing information on the child and giving advice and support to parents who are struggling in anyway which will improve practice as you can adapt your work to meet the child’s needs and try different techniques to overcome any unacceptable behaviour. One of the main principles when working with parents is to build relationships based on trust. This helps practice as we need to make sure we have effective communication, being honest and specific with what we say. We need to keep parents informed, giving regular updates on their child’s progress, passing on information and sharing records and observations as appropriate. It is important that we remember parents have a right to their own views about their children and to express any concerns. The 10 principles help us to consider child independence which is an important part of any child’s development and adults have a role to play as a guide and a facilitator, this comes under principle 4, the child’s learning and development. This can involve proving age appropriate equipment for the children. Also providing challenging and stimulating activities which will keep children busy increase their thinking skills and further their development to reach their milestones. Observations are great because they can tell a practitioner what milestones the child is at and if a child is reaching them all the next set of milestones can be looked at and if not practitioner can focus on activities to improve their milestones. Principle 5 states how we should always value diversity in the setting, this is respecting all children no matter what their race, religion or ethnicity is. This helps our practice as we can think of ways to value diversity such as providing books with different race people in the book, providing welcome on the setting door in all different languages and celebrating other cultural events such as Devali etc. Principe 6 is the important of equality it is important that we treat all children in the setting equally no matter what background they are from, we shouldn’t show favouritism or discriminate against any child or their family. We should also not stereo type which is not judging a book by its cover and understand that all children have different needs and it’s our job to meet those needs. By following the 10 principles and putting those into our practice we can make sure all children are safe, happy, secure and developing to their full potential. Principle 7 is all about important of confidentiality in practice, we can follow this principle making sure whatever we are told should is kept to themselves unless it is best for the child that other practitioners know, or if the child’s well-being is at stake. Practitioners should follow the Data Protection Act 1998 which links to this principle, which is about making sure files regarding information about a child or their family is kept in a locked file in a cupboard or computer, which only people with authorised access can open. This principle can be acted upon is practice by ensuring parents give permission for photographs to be taken of their child, passing on information only with parents’ permission and ensuring information about children is kept out of the view of other children’s parents. The 8th principle working with children is all about anti- discrimination practice, the most important principle of anti-discrimination is respecting the wishes of children and their families. This principle tells us that we should not assume that we know what is best for the children. You can tell people what their options and choices are but let them tell you what they think should be done. We should encourage anti- discrimination practice by making the setting diverse and inclusive and treating all children the same no matter what their race, sex, and religion are. Principle 9, working in a multi-agency team is very important as it means the children are always looked after and have the best possible support as it brings agencies together to form a team around a child. This can include people such as the social services and other health professionals. While early year practitioners aim to meet the individual needs of children, there may be times when they need the support of people with more expertise. Multi professional, multi-agency working is about varied services, agencies and teams working together to meet the needs of children. By making partnerships with outside agencies and services this helps practice as the needs of children and their families are more likely to be met. Such partnerships can have an important role to play in ensuring children’s learning and experiences are maximised. We can observe child first and then call in other agencies to help meet children’s needs. Speech and language therapists can work with early year’s practitioners to ensure children with a hearing or speech impairment can be effectively communicated with. This can be achieved through any ways such as sign language. This principle also helps practice as practitioners don’t have time to focus on one child with additional needs to be met as they have to treat all the children equally, so calling in another professional to help meet the child’s needs is very beneficial. The final principle is being a reflective practitioner which helps our practice a lot as we can reflect on own practice and see what techniques went well and what we could improve next week. We can reflect by carrying out observations and seeing if the children are meeting their milestones. We need to reflect to see if we are meeting all the children’s needs and also to find ways and plan activities and strategies to improve a child’s behaviour and learning.
B1
British Forest Schools have been developed from the original idea which was put into operation in Sweden in the 1950’s and developed throughout other Scandinavian and European Countries. The Forest Schools concept established in Denmark for pre-school children (less than seven years). Denmark has a similar climate to ours in the UK and it is becoming increasingly recognised that this ‘outdoor’ approach to play and learning can have a huge impact on the normal development of children. In 1995 they were introduced into the UK by Bridgewater College. Since then, the Forest School has been developing rapidly within England, Wales and Scotland. Organisations such as the National Trust, Forestry Commission and Wildlife Trusts, have eagerly taken on this initiative and offer it to schools visiting their sites. “In many other areas, local education authorities have begun training teachers to operate small-scale activities within the school grounds, before encouraging them to move into nearby woodland or open areas to give children a wider experience.” (20/05/2012). Forest schools run for about 36 weeks, going into woods in all weathers (except high winds)
Forest schools are great because they have demonstrated success with children of all ages by giving children opportunities to learn about the natural environment, learn how to handle risks and most importantly use their own imitative to solve problems and co-operate with others. Forest schools provide children with full sized tools, play, learn boundaries of behaviour in both social and physical, as well as developing children’s confidence and self-esteem and becoming self-motivated. The main aims of a forest school are to develop a child’s self-awareness and self-regulation and intrinsically motivate them. The other main aims are to develop a positive mental attitude, encourage independence and build confidence and self-esteem.
Forest schools- how good they are, how they support practice within early years settings
E.g. learn nature and social development.
discuss the main elements of the imitative,
How helps a childs development
What are your opinions on it? Good bad
Important of role In childcare
How you’re imitative can help in future learning for children
Have you seen it in your experiences in your setting ?
A1
Evaluate how current research can support practitioner’s professional practice
Foundation phase- all play, next stage all work
Evaluate are placements doing that now
by
118209 (student)
