Values when working with children.
- The needs, rights sand views of the child are at the centre of all practice and provision.
- Individuality, difference and diversity are valued and celebrated.
- Equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice are actively promoted.
- Children’s health and well-being are actively promoted.
- Children’s personal and physical safety is safe guarded, whilst allowing for risk and challenge as appropriate to the capabilities of the child.
- Self-esteem and resilience are recognised as essential to every child’s development.
- Confidentiality and agreements about confidential information are respected as appropriate unless a child’s protection and well-being are at stake.
- Professional knowledge, skills and values are shared appropriately in order to enrich the experience of the children more widely.
- Best practice requires a continuous search for improvement and self-awareness of how workers are perceived by others.
Ensure Children health and well being are actively promoted this is to keep the children healthy by providing the correct diet, keeping them fit by doing regular sports. You can do this value well if you know what the child’s needs are and how to meet them.
Ensure equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice are actively promoted this is make sure that any form of bullying will not be tolerated, everyone is different and you need to ensure that all children know that and do not discriminate against it. “You need to provide an environment which encourages a positive view of all the people in this world” to ensure that all children are aware of equal opportunities.( Squire,Gill,28 June 2007,Child Care, Learning & Development, Heinemann,Page 5, June 2007)
Ensure that confidentiality and agreements about confidential information are respected as appropriate unless a child’s protection and well being are at stake. When working with any people you need to follow data protection act 1998 this is so all personal information is safe, you should not speak if anybody’s personal information unless they are in danger. This is called “whistle blowing”. (Squire,Gill,28 June 2007,Child Care, Learning & Development, Heinemann,Page 5, and June 2007)
E5
It is important to value and respect all children in the setting so they all feel equal, you can promote equality by expressing each and everyones views and understandings of cultures,religions and seasonal holidays such as eid and christmas. It is important that all children feel equal and valued this is
It is also important for the children to know about them and less cases may come up regarding bullying, because everyone will understand each other and not just think that someone is different because they celebreate eid and not Christmas.
It is important that children feel valued by adults around them, you can value children by active listening and acknowledging their ideas you can do this by making sure the child is at your full attention when they are wanting to talk to you, you need to show them good communication by using eye contact, having a good body language (not slouching, if they are young children bent down). Whe they are talking to you let them express their interests and efforts. You must also listen to children’s fears and concerns because this may also bring out under laying problems.Respect the children by not laughing at what they say this will make them feel insecure. It is also important to value and respect children so they feel safe around you and they feel they can talk to you about the problems they have or their concerns.
All children have different needs where it been medical, emotional and physical. This means that different because will need different things such as a diabetic can only eat certain food (not sugary) you need to make sure that they are following their needs so it does not cause something major like a fit.
Respecting their needs will help understand the child’s situation.
Children will develop well if you set a good example they will reflect on respect and how important it is, this is why it is important to be proffessional. Respecting children will make them feel safe and this will help gain trust with you.
You must realise that all children are different and work at different speeds, they believe in different things and are taught different values. Planning activities around a variety of different celebrations will allow children to learn about other cultures in fun ways and promote respect during their development.
E6
Organisation
Organisation is one of the most important skills when working with children. I think this because it is a crucial skill, if you didn’t have any organisations skills at all you have any of the right equipment when turning up to a lesson and you would just be unable to teach.
Time management
Time management is crucial when working with children and families/carers. If you have no time management skills you would be late for all lessons and you would eventually just get fired, because it is crucial.
Professionalism
Professional skills is one of the most important skills to have when working In any job but especially when working with children and parent/carers this is because you have to keep all the information about children and parent/carers to yourself you must follow the Data Protection Act. Professionalism is really a range of skills all in one this is where you need to consider diversity you need to show empathy. Professional is how you show it you need to know what you’re doing and not acting childish.
E7
Skills I have which I feel will support me on the course are skills like:
- Research
- Computer
- Time keeping
- Note taking
- Preparation
- Concentration
- Referencing
- Listening
I think that all skills are very important when in placement and at college. I think that the main skills which will support your work the most are:
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Listening skills/concentration skills- I think this because if you do not listen in college you are not going to understand and you will most likely get behind on coursework/practical work. It is important to listen at all times when learning this is a main skill when doing anything. I think listening is important when in placement because if you don’t listen you will not understand what you are doing and also you could get mixed up e.g. someone has told you a piece of important information, which you need to record but you wasn’t really listening and now you have wrote down the wrong thing
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Researching skills- I think researching skills are one of the most important skills to have when doing a course work based college courses, this is because you can never have too many sources e.g. if you look for a child centred approach in a text book and don’t seem to pick up much information that you understand it is then best to then research it on the internet to obtain more information on the subject which will help you understand by researching information. It is important to research in college so you can acquire more information and have a better understanding and it is important to research in placement as you can then get a better understanding of what is happening around you. E.g. A nursery nurse has been speaking about a communication support worker but you don’t know what it is then you should write it down and research the meaning, then you will know for future reference and this will be a big help when coming to coursework.
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Preparation skills- When working with children preparation is a vital skill. This is because when you become to teach children you need to prepare the lesson, you need to create worksheets, go in early set up the room. If you don’t come prepared you will have to prepare when your there and that doesn’t look professional. This is important in college so you can keep your work in order and not get confused, it is important in placement so you can prepare for lessons and also so you are not getting confused.
E8
References
(Children's Care, Learning and Development NVQ 2 ,Marian Beaver , Jo Brewster , Sally Neaum , Jill Tallack , Amanda Booty , Heidi Sheppard, Nov 2005)
(Cache level 3 child care and education, Jo Brewster Sally Neaum , Jill Tallack , Sandy Green , Heidi Sheppard, Miranda Walker ,page 313, Nov 2008)
( Squire,Gill,28 June 2007,Child Care, Learning & Development, Heinemann,Page 5, June 2007)
Bibliography
Domestic Abuse Resources and Training for Schools in Scotland, What schools can do to support children and families affected by domestic abuse,,25.09.2012
UNICEF UK,2010, UNICEF UK,http://www.unicef.org.uk/UNICEFs-Work/Our-mission/Childrens-rights/,25.09.2012
Wikipedia, Convention on the Rights of the Child,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child, 01.10.2012
EFQM, Common Assessment Framework F&Q,
D1
When working with parents/carers it is an essential part of our role as practitioners to maintain a healthy relationship, this is so the parent/carer knows their child is safe and so they can trust you with their children’s health and well being and trust you to take general care of the child while they attend the setting. Parents/carers need to be able to confine in you as practitioners to be able to listen to their advice and needs regarding their child and be able to create a relationship of trust and respect.
Building trust with parents and other professionals is one of the most important values to building relationships this involves having good communication, maintaining confidentiality and professionalism and ensuring the children are in a
safe environment while receiving high standards of care.
When communicating with parents you need to make sure that you keep the parent involved and informed by giving regular updates on their Childs progress and behaviour and also ensuring the parents’ communication needs are met this can be done by parent evenings or just giving the parent/carer a chance to ask questions when they or yourself are not busy. When working with children you must remember that the parent is the child first educator because they know what is best for their child, it’s all about what the parent wants for their child and knowing the parents’ wishes and following them for several reasons: to maintain the relationship and trust what the parent/carer has for the setting and everyone in it and also because it’s the parent’s choice to decide what they think is best for their child. You need to share information with the parent/carers to support the child.
When working in a setting where it involves working with other people such as teachers, carers and doctors you must ensure that you are keeping everything for that person confidential (unless the person is in danger or anyone else). You must not tell anyone anybodies personal information and not have it so anyone else can see it, it must be in locked cabinets where only people which need to gain access can access. You must only exchange information in appropriate areas.
D2
A multi agency team consists of every team of professionals and practitioners who work together and come together to provide the services that meet the needs of the children and their parent/carers.
The characteristics of a multi agency team include:
Co-operation
Co-operation is important when working in a multi agency team so everybody know what is happening within the childcare setting and so everyone knows the current situation, but ensure you are fully aware of what is happening to avoid the co-operation breaking and misunderstanding the situation completely.
Consistency
Consistency is important so that all team members are taking the same approach to the task of caring for the children and working with the families
Encouragement
Encouragement is important because encouragement shows that you are ready to listen and contribute your ideas and give 100% attention and this will show all the multi agency team that you know the importance of any situation involving the child. Encouragement shows members of the team are motivating, encouraging and ready to support the child.
Respect
Respect is key when working with children as you need to respect everybody you are working with (children, families and colleagues) this is to ensure that you keep a healthy relationship with the multi-agency team and to ensure people that you are genuine and they can trust you because if you don’t show people respect they will not value your importance when working with a multi agency team and they will also have very little trust in you.
Efficiency
It is key that the skills of all members are used to a certain extent to come up with the best solutions of helping and supporting the children and their families.
Belonging
A sense of belonging should be used in any sort of team it shows individuals that they are welcome and that they can contribute ideas without feeling uncomfortable, when you have no sense of belonging in a certain place it makes you want to leave as you feel too uncomfortable, when you feel a sense of belonging it helps individuals feel confident in themselves and feel confident expressing their ideas and sharing their problems, difficulties and success.
Innovation
Individuals becoming more willing to take a different approach of the way they think and work.
Balance
Balance is very important when working in a multi agency team so everyone knows what is going on and also because some people are better at some things than others like paperwork, there is no point having two really good practitioners fantastic at paperwork and having no one that can talk on the phone, “The strengths and
Weaknesses of one person are balanced by the strengths and weaknesses of others”(Beaver, Marian, 2001,Page 212, Level 3 childcare and education (2nd edition 2008) United Kingdom, Nelson Thorns), it is crucial to have balance so everyone plays a role in the multi agency team.
Open minded
It is very good to be open minded when working in a team this is because it shows you are enthusiastic and also it puts different ideas on the table when coming to a final conclusion in the situation,This is good because more ideas means a better outcome.
Also by using the common assessment framework this is used when a professional is worried about how well a child in progressing. CAF is designed to assess the needs of children and young people at risk of not achieving the five key outcomes set out by Every Child Matters. These are:
• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• Make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well-being.
(EFQM,CommonAssesmentFramework F&Q,http://www.eipa.nl/CAF/FAQ/CAF FAQ.html,01.10.2012)
C
When working with children it is important to listen to the Childs view and value their opinions, this is to:
- Understand what the child is feeling, they could be getting bullied or just be really sad, as a practitioner it is your responsibility to ensure the child is happy and that the well being and safety of the child is been took into consideration. This is to ensure they are enjoying their time at their setting because there is nothing worse than feeling sad and left out at your setting.
- Get to know the child, it is important to know the child to a certain extent this is to ensure you know the beswt learning style for the child, you know their basic care needs and general things that will make their time at the child care setting fun. I think you need to know the above to support the child throughout their time at the setting and make It a fun learning experience for them this will make them feel welcome and want to learn and be at the setting.
- Helps young children make decisions about matters that affect them, this could apply to anything at home or school, again it could be bullying, but if you don’t listen to the child you will never know and then loads of other problems
will start accruing. If you show the child you are listening to their problems they will trust that they can talk to you again about them and help them out by giving advice or you sorting it out.
It is also important to listen to a child as you are their role model and you need to be showing them how to do things properly such as active listening- you need to show them that good communication is by giving eye contact and by good body language.
It is crucial that children know you are listening to whatever they have to say to you. If they feel you are not listening they may feel like they can not talk to you about anything, All children like to be listened to, each and every child also likes attention it is really important that when you are listening to a child you give them full attention so they genuinely know you are listening, so if you have time to listen to the child give them full eye contact and just listen, if you can not listen to the child at that time as you are busy try listen as best as possible and make as much eye contact as possible.
B
It is important as practitioners to understand the limits and boundaries of our role when working with children.
The four areas that are important when thinking about your role are:
- Health and Safety
- Managing children’s behaviour
- Child protection
- Confidentiality
Health and safety
To help maintain the children’s wellbeing you must follow health and safety this involves hazards and risks such as shutting gates, this is so a child does not come at risk and is not harmed by either someone coming into the setting or the child going out. You need to follow the legislation - Children’s Act 1989.
Managing children’s behaviour
It is important that you are aware of your settings policy in relation to managing children’s behaviour, you should find out which situations you can get involved in and how you should approach that situation. There is a fine line between playing with children and encouring them to become over-excited or distracted, you need to ensure you know not to distract them because they are meant to be trying to learn you need to make sure you are acting professional and not childish.
Child Protection
It is important that you are aware of how to keep a child safe from any harm. Every child care setting will have a child protection policy, you will need to find out how to sign in and out of the setting and what situations you can work in, this is to ensure the child is safe from any harm. You need to also ensure that you find out what situations you can work with children. It is normal for settings to insist that you should never be alone with the child this is for both partys safety. When studying childcare you also need to be aware of how much physical contact you can provide.
Confidentiality
As a learner on yor placement you will find a lot of personal information out about children. Some of this information will be confidential and must not be shared with anyone outside of the setting. This is so you are not breaching confidentiality and the Data Protection Act and also so you are maintaining your level of trust what the Multi Agency Team expect from you. Confidentiality can only be breached if the child is in danger (whistle blowing) but while training it is best to tell a manager and they can get in touch with other professionals.
If you do not know your limitations and boundaries of working with children you can risk been fired, getting sued for breaching Data Protection Act 1998 and putting the child at risk.
A
When working with children it is important that you are making sure the child is more important than anything there, so everything you do revolves around the child. This is called the child centred approach and this promtes the right of the child. It promotes them to chose and make their own decisions and also to communicate and connect. It allows the child freedom to think, explore and question while they are searching for answers. It allows them to experience new things.It presents a creative celebration of children's work. It’s all about Allowing children to the opportunity to make their own choices and express them. All of the above are characteristic of a child centred setting this links with the principles and values of working with children when one of the principles is the welfare of the child and young person is paramount, this means the most important thing. It is our job as practitioners to ensure that children’s needs are met, that they have a say, and that their welfare and health is our main concern.
Children need stability and it is our responsibility to ensure that it is there. We need to be including the child in everything and letting them have a say. We need to listen to the child to ensure they are enjoying where they are and what they are doing. Such as if one child likes football and one doesn’t at all you need to make it fair for instance play football on day then rounder’s or something so it is making it fair and so the child knows that their interests have been inputted when deciding the topic.
By working in a person centred, inclusive way you are looking at the whole person, their abilities, strengths, interests and learning style, as well as any learning needs or disabilities. It requires children and young people to be active and responsible participants in their learning, giving them a say in their learning through target setting, choice and decision making. This gives them a sense of ownership and enables them to become more proactive in their learning and to be more in control. This in turn gives them the motivation to learn – they can see where they are, where they want to be and the steps they need to take to get there.
By being person centred and inclusive you are not restrictive, but allow for learning opportunities that suit the child because you plan and target set with them. This creates a closer match between the child and the curriculum, allowing them to learn and develop at their own level and build on their knowledge.
Ensure that you are including the children’s families. Children always feel better when their families are there, they feel more comfortable and this is really important when working with children.