Sleep room rest area, this should be away from the noise and activity of the setting to allow younger children to sleep or rest. This is important as most children under 5 need 12 hours sleep a day and without enough sleep humans concentration, mood and memory are effected. Its important to cater to the childs sleep routine as guided by the parents. Some children will not sleep so it is important that they take part in a restful activity so that their body and brain can slow down and rest.
Messy area/ art and craft area, this is an area in which children can use dough, water, sand and paint, tables should be grouped together to encourage children to talk to each other when they are working. Water play can be used to teach volume as can sand play, dough play can be used to teach shapes. Paint and creative play is important as children like to represent their world in picture form and as helps to develop motor skills.
Story area, this area should encourage children to look at books and also provide an area for group work such as story time this is important as being read to plays a major part in the childs literacy development. The area can also be use for discussion time or show and tell which helps children to learn about the world around them.
Physical play area( maybe indoor or outdoor)
Children should be able to run about freely without injury and selection of large equipment ( swings, Slides, climbing frames) and smaller equipment should be provided such as tricycles, hoops, ball, cones. This is important as physical play stimulates brain activity, aids digestion, maintains and develops bone density and lung capacity and strengths muscles.
There is many benefits to outdoor play and where possible it should be provided, as out door play is usually less structured so children have more choice to do what they want. It can be energetic and physically challenging so helps to improve fitness levels as well as allowing growing bodies to stretch and expand.
E3
Example of a routine for 3-5 year old
08:00 am Welcome to the setting – free play.
08:45 Group time – introduction to activities.
09:00 Choice of activities – sand/ water/ dough play/ painting
09:45 Wash hands and snack time
10:00 Adult directed activities – cooking/ small world play(shops)/ Discuss/ show and tell.
- Story/ song time
11:15 Out door play
12:00 Wash hands and lunch
12:30 Quiet activities – puzzles, story tapes ( child can sleep at this time if required by parents)
13:30 Free play and new arrivals for afternoon session.
14:00 Group time – introduction to activities
14:15 Choice of activities
15:45 Wash hands and tea time
16:15 Play in garden or soft play area until parental collection.
Children are able to go to the toilet independently as require, although staff keep an eye on them so that individual children can be supported as needed. Children are also able to go to quiet areas through out the day if they want to rest or be in the company of an adult.
.
E4
(3-5 YEARS OF AGE)
Children in this age group come under The Early Years Curriculum and is based upon the early learning goals. This is the foundation stage and should prepare children for Key stage 1 of the National curriculum.
The early learning goals are
-Personal, social and emotional development
-Communication, language and literacy
-Mathematical development
-knowledge and understanding of the world
-Physical development
-Creative development
The aim is to prepare the child for formal schooling through education and experience. Settings should aim to expand on early literacy and numeric skills, as well as encourage creativity, self-help, reasoning- cause and effect, social and life skills.
Play-based learning environments offer diverse opportunities to explore, discover and create. They foster qualities such as curiosity, perseverance and risk taking. It is believed these qualities motivate lifelong learners but are difficult to invoke if not self discovered when young.
3-5 years a child can:
Recognise colours and shapes
Recognise own name
Concentrate for short periods of time
Memorise short songs, rhymes
Recall past events,
Children aged 3-5 – 1 adult to 8 children
Its important to bring all the children together at the beginning of the session and present to them what is available for the activities for the day, as it allows them to make a choice and be proactive in how their day will be. Lunch and snack times allow children to socialise and continue the development of PSE it also allows the education of self care, such as hand washing before eating.
Children aged 3-5 should be provided with a curriculum which encourages learning through play. The activities should take place both in and outdoors. Good activities for children aged 3-5 are role play and dressing up equipment or a home corner as this allows children to act out past experiences and to develop language skills in everyday situations. Children of this age have started to represent their world in picture form so a painting or messy area is important for the then where they can use sand, dough and paint. They also enjoy creating things so a cooking area with appropriate materials and equipment should be available if possible. They are staring to learn about quantity and develop numeracy skills and a good way to do this is through sand and water play. Activities such as sand and water play can be used for mathematical development such as teaching volume and size, opposites eg wet/dry and develop manipulation skills. Dough play and painting activities help creative development and the development of fine motor skills. They can also be expanded to drawing picture of fruits or vegetables to incorporate a healthy eating theme or modelling or use cutters with dough to teach shapes. They are starting to take an interest in the world around them so it is good to provide a nature table and/or interest table making sure that all items are clean and are not going to cause an injury (free from sharp edges etc). Adult directed activities such as cooking and show and tell are important as it help them to develop an understanding of the world around them, organising activities such as setting up a shop or bakery in the home corner helps them to develop personal, social and emotional skills.
Children of this age are starting to build confidence in there physical movements and an out door play area containing slides, swings and climbing frames should be available to them. There should also be smaller items of equipment such as tricycles, bikes, scooters, ball bean bags, as it is important that children to this age get enough physical exercise to burn off energy but also to stay healthy. Its important for children in this age group to have some form of physical lay be it in or out door as they have lots of energy and will become restless if they feel contained all the time, outdoor activities could be free play using a variety of equipment or may be an adult lead activity such as a treasure hunt or nature walk
. Its also important that child have a quiet time during the day when they can sleep or take part in quiet activities so they can recharge their energy levels There should also be a story area or book corner for quieter activities in an area in which the children can relax..
Song and story times should be incorporated in the day as they help with the language development of the children
E5
Mealtimes
Offer babies and toddlers a chance to take part in routines. There are many opportunities that are safe. They can help in daily routines such as tidying up, laying the table, pouring drinks, or offering food to other children or the adult.
You can support children's early understanding of abstract ideas like number because these ideas are used in a meaningful context. For example, you count how many we have to tea today and then match plates to children and staff, counting as you go. Ideas of sequence and order make sense through experiences, such as, 'We wash our hands, then we have our meal, then we have quiet time'.
There will be spillages if under-threes help with say, pouring drinks, but these will be minor and children will improve with practice. Even spills can be an opportunity to learn when adults say calmly, 'Where do we keep the cloth (or the dustpan and brush)?' and let children wipe or sweep up.
As children become more able to take part in their own care, you can show how pleased you are with their growing skills. Create time for them to help in feeding themselves. Children get personal satisfaction from being involved with day-to-day activities, and self-care also offers excellent practice for developing fine motor skills.
You can also promote children's development by showing you notice their personal preferences in care routines. young children can develop a positive sense of personal identity because you make personal contact with them during mealtimes. You can show them how you realise that their likes and dislikes are different from those of their friend in the next chair.
E6
Children in their first year
Evidence collected by professionals and researchers has highlighted that infants under three months require constant human attention that is sensitive to their changing needs for holding, calm, comfort and feeding. They need bodily support and prefer to be held by another human body. Despite an initial preference for mother, they quickly learn to recognise their father or another regular caregiver. They are sensitive to and engage with the rhythms and expressions of human movement and to care which is responsive to their needs.
When they are under three months the development of infants is supported by provision where:
* adults can regulate the intensity of emotion experienced by the infant (calming or stimulating) by affectionately holding, touching and talking to them;
* carers facilitate an active, purposive state of mind with the baby by mirroring their emotions and sharing attention to objects and people;
* each infant is cared for by one adult who becomes attuned to that child;
* consistent care is offered in a quiet, secure environment with opportunities for rest, immediate responses to distress or expressions of need and a familiar playful and companionable intimacy.
Between three and twelve months infants get increasing pleasure from moving expressively, from vocal play and song. Through interactive play these infants and their carers form relationships that are mutually attuned to rhythms and expressions of voice, face, touch and body movement. They enjoy showing others what they can do, smiling, frowning and enjoying and benefiting from praise and admiration. However, they rely on adults for the rituals of play and to 'scaffold' play with objects. Infants differ in their preference for particular types of activities. Some babies exhibit a preference for exploring the world around them and studying objects while others prefer sociable sharing of feelings and experiences.
Environments that support the development of infants between three months and twelve months are characterised by:
* adults who are attuned to the rhythms and expressions of the infant they care for and who enjoy developing this relationship through interactive play;
* carers who understand how to foster a child's interest in objects, their surroundings and social engagement with other people and who can recognise or respond to a child's preference for one or other of these different forms of learning;
* an emphasis on expressive play with caregivers (not largely reliant on toys or other material resources) in order to foster the child's disposition to learn in company;
* an understanding of the infant's developing self-esteem and pride in accomplishment, sharing unconditionally in the child's pleasure and pride and growing social confidence and relationships.
Inconclusion, consistent care giving by one adult or a very small number of adults able to form a warm relationship with the child and to respond sensitively to the infant's changing needs and preferences and developing pride in achievement; minimising staff turnover and changes of carers; a focus on responding to infants as individuals with their own needs; communication about the changing ways and temperaments of babies with parents who know their own child, the carer and routines of the care environment well.
Children in their second year
Between approximately 9 months and two years old infants develop a shared understanding and memory that allows a growing capacity for symbolic coding of ideas and classification into categories. Along with a growing vocabulary they build a repertoire of gestures, behaviours and imitations. Schemas or habitual ways of acting and understanding also develop. During their second year infants can display great pleasure when showing and talking about their discoveries and they enjoy imitating their peers. They are very sensitive to social manners and customs, making them more aware of differences among the members of social groups they experience. Research has also shown that at around 18-20 months children develop a new awareness of the meanings of others and can react emotionally to this, for example becoming fearful if misunderstood or confused by conflicting meanings in what people say or do. Similarly they can be disturbed by differences between the emotional relationships they experience at home and in out-of-home provision.
During this year children become more able to play imaginatively with company of different ages and can benefit from play with older children as well as peers. They need physical activity and freedom to explore what their bodies can do but can also enjoy pretend play in groups. Before they can use words infants communicate interest and pleasure in what they are doing non-verbally and use imitation to negotiate interests and form relationships (although individual children differ in sociability and willingness to lead or follow). They will respond to talk and action that aims to foster their natural sociability and concern for others.
During their second year infants need caring environments that offer:
* opportunities to extend knowledge and understanding through intimate, consistent and confident relationships;
* structured adult-child conversations in the context of games that develop categorising and symbolic coding;
* talk between adults and children that considers the past, present and future and extends and shares imagination;
* an environment rich in things to explore, opportunities for physical movement, dance, song, rhyme, story telling and creative activities;
* a sensitive and flexible balance between encouraging children to express their thoughts and feelings and to reflect on discovery and what they know;
* encouragement to toddlers in pretend play in groups;
* care by adults who know the narrative style of the children they care for and the level of communication and language used by each child;
* sensitivity to differences in children's social and cultural backgrounds while encouraging regard for the culture and norms of the playroom;
* staff who are prepared to take a receptive and imitative part in children's projects;
* caregivers ready to respond positively to differences in children's temperaments and preferences;
* staff who attend to the development of pro-social behaviour as well as children's emotional well-being and learning.
In conclusion: Out of home provision for infants in their second year requires: a consistent relationship with a care giver who knows the child's stage of cognitive, linguistic, social and emotional development well; adults who are ready and available to interact with children in talk, imitative behaviour, discovery and pretend play; a social environment rich opportunities to develop language, symbolic coding and classifying, movement and engagement with music, rhyme and creativity; sensitivity to the social and cultural background of the child and opportunities for parents and caregivers to share their understanding of the child in their context.
Children in their third year
Research has highlighted the impressive advances in social competence, co-operation, communication and language, as well as thinking and memory, that children make during this period. Between 24 and 36 months they become able to use drawings and story telling to express or represent their own inventions, discoveries and beliefs. They are naturally inventive, have wide-ranging interests and have an obvious pride in achievement that improves their feelings of self-worth. They are beginning to appreciate more structured adult guidance and can follow adult leadership eagerly in creative games, can attend to stories and are beginning to acquire the literacy skills of their family and community. They can engage in discussions that are designed to foster moral development and thinking about their own thinking.
The development of infants in their third year is supported by:
* practitioners who are skilful at sharing and enriching children's narratives and creative representations, accepting the child's imaginative stories and products and acknowledging their pride in achievement;
* adults who offer leadership in creative games and encourage participation in expressive movement;
* story telling and an introduction to the culture of literacy and the tools and technology used to communicate;
* opportunities to make things, represent ideas in different media, play and discover alone or in groups;
* engagement in learning relationships and projects over extended periods of time without major interruption or disruption to either the relationships, routine or environment;
* practitioners who can identify what each child is ready to achieve or learn next with the help of an adult or older child (in their 'zone of proximal development') and support these new discoveries and attainments;
* talking and sharing that fosters moral development and thinking about thinking and feeling;
* adults who are sensitive to temperamental differences and to changes in a child's characteristic behaviour that suggest that s/he is experiencing difficulty and who are willing to work with other professionals when children need special attention;
* encouraging children to play imaginatively together but offering adult structure or guidance when it will be appreciated;
* practitioners who are sensitive to the way that each child feels about himself or herself, their sense of well-being, self-worth and their pride in achievement.
In conclusion: Out of home provision for infants in their third year requires: opportunities to express and represent discoveries and learning in different media; imaginative and inventive play and discovery in groups, alone and with interested adults; adults who are aware of each child's stage of development in language, social competence, cognition and moral reasoning and who are able to share and lead the infant's discoveries and their participation in the world of older children and adults; attention to each child's sense of well-being, self-worth and pride in achievement.
E7
In order for the body to grow and function it needs nutrients, the body needs 5 main food groups
Fats – Butter/ margarine, olive/vegetable oil, also present in dairy products and meat.
Carbohydrates – bread, pasta, potatoes, rice.
Protein – Meat, fish, soya, peas/ beans/ lentils.
Dairy – Milk, cheese, yogurt.
Fruit and vegetable – Carrots, broccoli, apples, bananas.
Vitamins and minerals are needed for development and growth and can be obtained by eating
a balanced diet.
Fresh drinking water should be available to all children at all times as the body is made up of 2/3 water. Research has shown that drinking enough water throughout the day can prevent short and long term medical problems, improve mental performance and aid behaviour management.
Its important that foods containing excessive fats, sugar and salt are avoided or restricted. Growing children need some fat in their diets but should avoid foods with excessive saturated fats such as crisp, biscuits, ice cream and shop bought cakes. They should be provided is healthy snacks such as crunchy vegetables, fruits, rice crackers and raisins. Avoid to give children sugary snacks and drinks between meals, choosing water or milk to drink, if parents request that there child is given fruit juice make sure to dilute it to reduce the risks of dental decay and snacks such as cubes of cheese or low salt crackers. Choose breakfast cereals which are not coated in sugar or honey and do not add extra sugar.
Nuts should be avoided as there is a danger if children choking on them, uncooked eggs should be avoided due to the risk of salmonella.
As children are growing their energy requirements are high ( normally boys need more than
girls). To achieve this high energy intake a childs fat consumption is often higher than
an adult. As a child grows its energy requirements increase rapidly and a boy aged 7 -10 years old needs a higher daily intake of calories than an adult women. The younger a child is the more frequent smaller meals it will need.
Its important to start to encourage children to eat a healthy diet as early as possible before there is a chance for fads and prejudices to develop as normally healthy eating habits which are learnt early are likely to produce fitter healthier adults. When encouraging children to eat healthily it important to be a good role model, especially if you eat with the children, you should set a good example to eat a healthy and varied diet and do not rush your food. If you are on a diet do not make it obvious to the children. Its important that meal times are relaxed as the child will eat more. Other strategies which could be used to encourage children to eat a healthy diet could include;
Present food in an interesting way, or cutting food in to shapes, encourage children to help feed themselves by cutting it in to pieces that are a manageable size for them, or serving finger food
Buffets allow children to choose there own food from a variety and the quantity which they want, its important not to over fill a child’s plate as they may feel overwhelmed and worried about finishing it, its better to serve a smaller portion and let them ask for more if they are still hungry.
Encouraging children to try new foods can be a learning activity, such has holding taste test eg. Fruit tasting, trying a spoon of different flavour yogurts, tasting food from other cultures. Its also a good idea to introduce new tastes through cooking lesson as a child is much more likely to try something that they have helped to make.
Meeting individual dietary requirements
Children may have individual dietary requirements due to medical, ethical or medical requirements. Some of the dietary for religious reasons are that Buddhist and hindus are often vegetarian, Muslims do not eat pork and animals must be killed according to Islamic law. The Jewish diet is known as kosher and they general do not eat pork, fish without scales, birds of prey and rabbit, milk and meat produces must be stored and eaten separately. Rastafarians are often vegetarian and must also avoid pork, some only eat ital foods. Sikhs are often vegetarian and never eat beef. This is only a basic outline and you must talk to the parents about their child’s particular dietary needs and how the setting will meet them
Some parents want that their children follow a vegetarian diet and its important to clarify with them if their child can eat fish. Vegans eat no animal products at all including dairy products, honey and gelatine. The parents wishes must always be respected , but its important with a vegetarian and vegan diet to make sure that the combination of proteins is correct in high energy foods and nutrients so that the child receives enough energy for growth and development.
The medical needs of some children require that they follow a particular diet, a child with diabetes must not have too much sugar and have regular meals and snacks. Children with celiac disease must avoid gluten which is found in wheat and barley, a child may also be allergic to lactose which is found in milk and diary products and is also added to many processed foods.
Many children suffer from allergies and intolerances, common ones are wheat/ gluten, lactose, eggs, nuts and fish. Children by also have reactions to citrus fruits, chocolate, caffeine and food additives. Common allergic reactions are eczema, rashes, stomach upsets, shortness of breath and changes in behaviour. In rare case the child may go in to anaphylactic shock.
The parents are the best source of information when it comes to the dietary needs of their child, its important to dices the needs with them and plan how to meet them. Its especially important that the kitchen staff understand and follow any dietary requirements. Detailed lists should be displayed in the kitchen on in the eating area in the setting. Parents who have a child with food allergies may prefer to supply them with a packed lunch and its important to advise them on what foods can be stored safely in the setting.
E8, B
Children’s earliest experiences usually take place within the family. Families are complex, and each family is different. Just as each child is a unique individual, each family is also unique. Each family, however it is made up, is extremely important to the child within it. To be effective, adults who work with children and their families need to take into account that it is crucial to be able to engage with parents in all circumstances. Effective partnership with parents involves fully appreciating that parents have a deep understanding of their own child, from which others need to learn. It involves:
. respecting and valuing the knowledge, skills and experience that parents have
. being non-judgmental and appreciating children’s strong feelings about their families
. trying to understand things from a parents perspective as well as from your own
. valuing the parent’s contribution, whatever form that contribution may take.
.
Developing strong and secure relationships with parents is essential for all those involved. Genuine relationships between staff and parents are based on partnership.
This includes:
. finding the time to engage in a genuine dialogue with parents and other carers in order to reassure them and in order to build trust, for example by
finding out about their child’s personality and what interests them at home
. recognising that parents feel most at ease when they feel that their child is known by all the adults who play a role within the early years setting
. making sure that parents feel confident that their child will be welcomed and valued as an individual.
For many parents, ensuring that they feel genuinely included relies upon communicating all of the small details of the day, however trivial they might seem. Others, however, may find it difficult to hear all the details of exciting developments made by their child when they were not present. Knowing parents well helps you to tune into their needs and preferences. Taking the right approach with individuals helps parents to feel included, confident and in control.
Sensitive approaches towards parents help to overcome any difficulties associated with shared care and they help to establish mutually respectful relationships.
Sensitive approaches towards parents include:
. understanding the demands on parents, for example, by accepting that all parents cannot and may not wish to be involved in the setting in the same way or to the same degree
. understanding individual circumstances and being respectful of differences
. understanding and responding to the changing needs of parents, for example when there might be change or an upheaval in a family
. understanding that parents may need reassurance with regard to the continuing importance of the parental role.
Sensitive approaches involve:
. communicating sensitively and supportively with parents, even in difficult circumstances, perhaps where their child is being aggressive to others, struggling with tantrums and the desire to get their own way, or not settling well
. sharing important information consistently, through informal chats and more formal meetings
. showing warmth and interest through what you say and what you remember
. creating environments that welcome and value the parental role, for example by having a dedicated space for parents to sit or a parents. room
. ensuring that parents and carers feel comfortable and well informed about transitions that affect their child.
Recognising and respecting that time spent with parents is valuable time is important. Parents know a great deal about their own child and have specific knowledge of their child that others can never have. Early years practitioners and others who work with young children often have in-depth experience of working with many different children. Put together, this knowledge works very effectively in ensuring that the child is understood.
Parents not only benefit from but are entitled to feel included and one way of ensuring this is to consistently share important information with parents, where possible, on a daily basis. There are many ways of doing this, including:
. informal exchanges of information as parents or carers drop off and collect children
. more formal exchanges of information, such as baby care sheets, parent held records, documented observations of the child during the day and children’s profiles
. displays of children’s work
. digital photographs of the days events on display where parents can choose whether to look at them
. video footage, where parents agree, for parents to take home with them of their child that day
. opportunities for parents to spend time in the setting and opportunities for support and discussion with parents within the home.
B
Every Child Matters highlights the importance of strong partnerships between parents and settings and agency. This is because a strong partnership between parents and staff benefits everyone. Parents feel reassured of continuity between the childs home and the setting, children feel secure knowing that both parents and the staff in the setting care for them and the staff feel confident of providing the child with suitable care based on their own and the parents understanding of the child. Parents have a lot of information on the child and the family which will help to ensure the childs safety, health and well being at the setting. Information provided may include how the child relaxes, what they like to eat, the childs activity level, the childs fears and the family lifestyle.
Its important for practitioners to share information about the child which may support parents at home and form a link/ bridge between the setting and home. Sharing positive information about a childs experiences with their parents helps to build a relationship with them, parents also feel more involved when they know what is happening. Its important to keep them informed through conversation when the child is picked up or dropped off, using newsletters or a message board or creating a photo display board. Questionnaires and surveys can be used to gauge opinions.
Parents will feel more welcome if they are involved in the setting, so setting must take steps to actively encourage participation from parents. The setting may organise open days or evenings or displays of childrens work, involve families in fundraising events, run family sessions which adults and other siblings can attend, organise concerts/ plays. Some careers may be able to volunteer on a one off or regular basis in an area of expertise or interest. Families from different cultural backgrounds maybe able to help with activities reflecting their culture.
D
Routines are important to help children feel safe, as children feel reassured when they know what to expect. Routines must have enough structure so a child can realise what is going to happen next but they should not be rigid, they need to be flexible enough to adapt to the child’s daily changing needs. There may be times when children are responding to an activity is a really positive manner and it is better to allow them to continue till the close of the activity than to break the momentum they have built up. As sometimes the benefits will be greater than making sure the routine is followed exactly, and occasionally having lunch or break slightly later with not have any serious effects.
Studies have documented that schedules and routines influence children’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. For example, predictable and consistent schedules in preschool classrooms help children feel secure and comfortable. Also, schedules and routines help children understand the expectations of the environment and reduce the frequency of behaviour problems, such as tantrums and acts of aggression. Activity schedules that give children choices, balanced and planned activities (small vs. large groups, quiet times vs. active times, teacher directed vs. child directed, indoor vs. outdoor), and individualized activities result in a high rate of child engagement. In addition, the duration of the play period can affect children’s social and cognitive forms of play (a play period that is longer than 30 minutes leads to higher levels of social and cognitive play).
Consistent routines, activities that happen at about the same time and in about the same way each day, provide comfort and a sense of safety to young children. Whether it is time to play, time for a snack, a nap, or a loved one to return, knowing what will happen next gives babies and toddlers security and emotional stability. It helps them learn to trust that caring adults will provide what they need. When children feel this sense of trust and safety, they are free to do their "work," which is to play, explore, and learn.
Routines are like instructions—they guide children’s actions toward a specific goal. Routines can be used for many reasons, but two of the most important are ensuring children's health and safety, and helping children learn positive, responsible behaviour. For example, children wash hands before they have snack, or must hold an adult’s hand when crossing the street.
Routines support children’s social skills. As babies grow, they come into contact with more people and begin to learn patterns and routines for social interaction. Greetings, good-byes, and chatting with others are examples of routine interactions that teach social skills. These interactions are also opportunities to help our children develop language skills.
Play-time and mealtime are two routines that are very social times for children and practitioners . Through talking, taking turns, sharing toys, learning to wait, and helping others during these activities, young children learn important social skills that will help them later on in school.
Routines are an important opportunity for learning.
Daily routines are often thought of as just "maintenance" activities: meal time, running errands, getting ready for bed, taking baths. But these everyday actions are rich opportunities to support the child’s learning and development, while having fun. Routines offer the chance to build self-confidence, curiosity, social skills, self-control, communication skills, and more.
Inflexible routines can make adults feel that daily life is boring with very young children. This negative outlook filters through to the children, who experienced it as a feeling that they are boring - a serious consequence for children's emotional and social development.
A
The EPPE ( Effective provision of Pre-school Education) project showed that children who experienced high quality childcare between the ages of 3 -5, have advance all round development and achieved more at school, at primary level and even beyond than children who have experience no pre-school children care. When high-quality pre-school education is combined with learning at home with parents, the results are even better for children’s social and intellectual development. Findings published by the Institute of Education show that
children’s achievements in language, reading and numeracy increased in proportion to the number of months they spent in pre-school. At age five, children who had attended pre-school
were between four and six months ahead of those who did not attend pre-school.
Disadvantaged children, in particular, benefit from good-quality pre-school experiences, which makes them more likely to succeed when they start school. Children who have been to a pre-school or nursery are less likely to have special educational needs when they start primary school.
Some research reports show that for some children under the age of two, long hours in poor quality group childcare may not be beneficial.
High quality childcare is important in modern life as many families rely on childcare, this is because a supportive family network is less common than in previous generations and it is now unusual to live in close proximity to Grandparents, Aunts and uncles etc. Also there are many more children that live in single parent families, step families or a succession of different family groups. Fears over child safety have stopped parents allowing their children to play in the street and the addition of TV´s, computers and games consoles have compounded the issue of children not taking part in as many social situations with their peers as former generation did.
Day care can have positive effects on the sociability of the child, particularly in respect of relationships with peers. Using a variety of measures, including aggressiveness, closeness and frequency of interaction, Shea (1981) showed that children aged 3-4 became more sociable during their time in nursery school. This improvement was greater in those spending 5 days per week than those spending just 2 days. Clarke-Stewart et al (1994) showed that among 2-3 year old children in day care, peer relationships were more advanced compared with those cared for at home. However not all children benefit from day care. Those with shy and difficult temperaments may find the experience stressful with consequent negative effects on their social development Until recently the conclusion about the effects of day care on cognitive development was that it had little impact on children from advantaged families but was beneficial to disadvantaged children. However newer research suggests that this conclusion may have to be reviewed. The study by Andersson (1992) conducted in Sweden has apparently demonstrated that even middle-class children can benefit, especially if day care begins at a very young age. The findings of the study showed an association between age of entry into child care and cognitive development. Those children who had spent longest in day care had better school performance than those who had only a short time in day care or those who were cared for at home.
The main conclusion regarding child care is that its effects are complex and vary primarily as a function of the quality of care provided. In other words, whether child care poses a risk to children, protects them from disadvantaged homes, or promotes good developmental outcomes depends on the quality of care. There is some indication that individual differences among children with respect to characteristics like temperament, curiosity, cognitive ability, and gender influence how children experience child care, although more research is needed on these variables. In most studies, family variables are typically better predictors of children’s development than are child care variables. Indeed, the effect of child care often depends on family factors. For example, quality child care may buffer the negative influence of maternal depression with respect to children’s social and emotional development.
The study was supported by NICHD and the members of the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. The study appears in the May/June 2010 issue of the journal Child Development.
. The study found that the effects of early child care at age 15, while small, are comparable in size to those previously observed in early childhood and elementary school. Specifically, teens who attended programs with higher-quality care during early childhood scored higher on tests of cognitive and academic achievement than teens who attended programs with lower-quality care. Furthermore, teens who spent more hours in early child care during the first four-and-a-half years of their lives reported more risk-taking and greater impulsivity than teens who spent fewer hours in care.
The researchers also found that teens who participated in higher-quality child care programs had fewer behaviour problems - including rule-breaking, arguing, and hanging out with peers who get in trouble - than teens who had attended poor-quality child care.
C
Bith to three matters
The purpose of the Framework is to provide support, information, guidance and challenge for all those with responsibility for the care and education of babies and children from birth to three years.
The Framework:
• values and celebrates babies and children,
• recognises their individuality, efforts and achievements,
• recognises that all children have from birth a need to develop, learning through interaction with people and exploration of the world around them. For some children, this development may be at risk because of difficulties with communication and interaction, cognition and
learning, behavioural, emotional and social development or sensory and physical development,
• recognises the ‘holistic’ nature of development and learning,
• acknowledges, values and supports the adults that work with babies and young children,
• provides opportunities for reflection on practice,
• informs and develops practice whilst acknowledging that working with babies and children is a complex,
The principles which underpin the Framework come from a number of sources including representative organisations, leading child care writers, experts and practitioners. The research highlighted that
• Parents and families are central to the well-being of the child.
• Relationships with other people (both adults and children) are of crucial importance in a child’s life.
• A relationship with a key person at home and in the setting is essential to young children’s well-being.
• Babies and young children are social beings, they are competent learners from birth.
• Learning is a shared process and children learn most effectively when, with the support of a knowledgeable and trusted adult, they are actively involved and interested.
• Caring adults count more than resources and equipment.
• Schedules and routines must flow with the child’s needs.
• Children learn when they are given appropriate responsibility, allowed to make errors, decisions and choices, and respected as autonomous and competent learners.
• Children learn by doing rather than by being told.
• Young children are vulnerable. They learn to be independent by having someone they can depend upon.
Birth to Three Matters', with its main purpose to work in partnership with the parents/carers to ensure that these young children are valued and celebrated, that they are seen as competent learners and learn through a safe and stimulating environment with confident and trusting adults.
This research has effected practice by showing the importance of ensuring that parents and careers feel involved in the setting and have a positive relationship with the practitioners. All setting should have flexible routines which are adaptable to the changing needs of the child. Many settings have recognised that for children to feel safe and reassured that they need an adult which they trust and now operate a key worker system. Its important that play is well planned to assist and support the many areas of the child's development. During the children's play its important that the children learn, explore, discover, communicate, gain independence and increase their mobility skills.
The Effective provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) project, this research showed that to provide high quality childcare settings must view the cognitive and social development of the child as a whole to achieve the best outcome. And that this was most effective when both free chosen play activities were combined with adult directed group work. The child’s cognitive development was found to be directly related to the quality and quantity of adult planned and initiated focused group work.
It was found that settings containing practitioners who had a good curriculum knowledge and understanding of how a child develops improved the quality of care the child received in relation to holistic development. It is important that the educational aims the setting wants to achieve are shared with parents as this is of benefit to the child.
Setting which had behaviour policies which encourage children to be assertive, but also encourage children to talk through there conflicts, and where staff help the children to develop the skills to rationalise resulted in better socialisation for the child.
