Childminders aim to support children and their families by being flexible over their hours of care and are able to pick them up and drop the children up to other places of care or their homes if needed. Also childminders support parents by keeping children in their set routines.
Private sector setting tends to be paid for, an all-day nursery would be an example of a private sector setting. Childminders tend to care for children in their own homes and have to be registered with Ofsted, and every childminders home is investigated by Ofsted to make sure everything is suitable. Parents and careers tend to choose a child-minder as it less expensive that a nursery and tend to be more personal for the child as they are in a natural environment. Parents also tend to choose childminders if they have more than one child as they can be cared for together.
Task 2
An overview of working with children. Please give 2 examples of legislations which support the rights of children and a brief description of each. Define your understanding of ‘principles and values’ and then describe four examples. These may be from EYFS, CACHE or generic ones such as safeguarding children and confidentiality. You will then need to include two or three paragraphs about why it is so important to value and respect all children in the setting. (E3, E4, E5, C)
Children Act 1989- this act is in place to make sure the welfare of the child is number one and that to help children live with their families by providing certain supporting services that support each child’s needs, this act also gives children equal rights and views. This act supports the rights of children by making a range of services available for children that are in need of extra care and attention. A child in need maybe a child that is disabled, unable to progress in development and health without help from relevant services. Services that are available are short break services, care at home, financial help for traveling to and from medical services and holiday play schemes.
United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child- this is international human rights agreement that gives children a set of rights. This convention gives children and young adults over 40 rights, and it is in place to make sure that children have the rights to be protected and treated in the right way. This piece of legislation supports the rights of children by setting down guidelines on how children should be treated and respected and to assure all children have the right to survive, develop well and to the best of their ability, to be protected from harm and conflict, to be able to rest play and enjoy their lives. It also supports the rights of children by making sure governments around the world that are included in this treaty, follow the rights and required to report to committee on their progress on achieving all the rights.
Everyone that works within childcare must follow and work within a framework that has certain principles and values. I will be looking at EYFS- Themes, and how these principles identified in each theme guide practitioners and underpin professional standards and good practice within the work place.
The EYFS is based around 4 themes and each of these themes are linked to a principle-
Theme 1 A unique child- principle- “Every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.” (, EYFS Framework)
This means that any experience that a child has during their early years is key and important and can influence any child’s future development. This means that the care, education and support that children receive must be high quality and appropriate to every individual.
Theme 2 positive relationships- principle- “Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.” (, EYFS Framework)
This means that children are able to learn better with constant care, trusting relationships and good knowledge from adults around them.
Theme 3 enabling environments- principle- “The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children's development and learning.” (, EYFS Framework)
Every child is unique, therefore the environment in which children are learning in needs to be flexible enough or every child to learn in. the environment also needs to respect everyone’s individual needs.
Theme 4- learning and development- principle- “Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of Learning and Development are equally important and inter-connected.” (, EYFS Framework)
All children need to learn through different means of play, exploration and learning though different experiences that they may encounter. All play needs to be made suitable for every child’s individual needs. It also suggests that all play should be hands on and not through means of a work sheet.
It is important to value and respect all children in the setting because all children deserve to be in a safe and happy environment where they are happy to learn without fear of getting rejected and as a EYP we have a duty of care and responsibility and to make sure children are respected, listened to and cared for in the best possible way. By showing children that you listen to them it shows them that they are valued and helps to build their confidence. At the end of the day our duty as a EYP is to care for these children and give them the best possible start to life and by showing them that they are valued and respected it would then reflect in their everyday lives, for example through their pay and routines. By showing children that they are being listen to and valued teaches them to respect themselves and others and builds their confidence in everyday tasks, children will then be confident enough to talk to you and share their thoughts and feelings. As an EYP you need to understand that every family and their children all have different needs and you need to plan to help that family and their children progress, whatever those needs maybe you need to plan for those children in the setting. As an EYP you also need to remember that every family brings up their children differently and you may not agree with the techniques they use but you have to respect that family and not interfere, only if you think that the child/children may be in danger.
Task 3
Describe and give three examples of 3 professional skills which support your training and work with children. Then give 4 examples of study skills which also support your work. (E6, E7, D1, E5)
If you want to be an EYP there are many professional skills that you need to have in order to be successful in your setting. Confidentiality is key in a setting this is because you need to build a relationship up with both children and parents. All information that you are told my parents is to be kept private unless what you have been told is that serious that it needs to be passed on to for example a manager. By building a good relationship with the parents through means of confidentiality, parents are willing to tell you more about their child which would then help you in your work with their child. Being organised is important in an early years setting as you need to plan and organise everything, for example lessons or play sessions. You also have to be organised in making sure you have a daily plan for each child. Another skill is having people skills. You need to be able to talk to everyone in your setting in the correct manner, for example being polite and using the correct language with adults and children. You also need to be able to talk to parents about their children in such a manner that they believe that you respect and care for their children.
Using good study skills helps you with your assignments and exams but as well as that these study skills can also be applied when working with children. Planning and organising your time can be used to complete work needed to be done, e.g, essays and assignments and organise and plan for upcoming exams. Planning and organising is also a key skills in the setting as you need to plan for activity’s with the children, you may also be asked to organise a day trip with the children which takes a lot of planning and organising. This skill supports my learning by making sure I have completed the work I need to do without stressing out and rushing my work if left to the last minute. Note taking and mind mapping is a good way of studying and revising for exams. This skill supports my learning as I use mind mapping as a way of planning my assignments as it shows me what I need to include and gives me a better understanding of what needs to be done, as well as taking notes during lectures which I use to look back on when writing my assignment. Note taking in the workplace is also useful as if you’re observing a child, you haven’t got time to write full sentences, so making short brief notes that you can go back to saves time. Another study skill is using the internet. The internet helps me to research criteria that I may be struggling on and also gives me an understanding of certain information that I may not understand. This supports my learning my giving me a better understanding of certain information as the internet can be a great source of information if you use it correctly. Using the internet in the workplace can also be useful for many reasons, for example if a child in your setting has a disability and you want a better understanding of what activity’s you could plan for that child, you could use the internet to give you a better understanding of that child’s disability.
Task 4
Detailed and reflective account of the early years practitioners role. Give a balanced view of issues and include examples of practice to show your understanding. (D1, D2, C, B, A, E5)
It is important to build a relationship with the parent as the parent will begin to feel more confident and trusting with certain information about either themselves or their child, by having good communication skills for example open body language, maintain eye contact, your tone of voice and your gestures ,this also shows that you are willing to listen. To show that you are a good listener and taking in information you need to concentrate on the parent and show that you have listened by reflecting back what has been said. By having a good relationship with the parent you are able to bring up any issues that may have arisen with the child that needs to be addressed. The parent can also share confidential information knowing that it will be kept private because the relationship has been built. Maintaining the relationship is just as important, this can be down by sending school reports home and having parent’s evenings. This will inform the parent how their child is getting on in the setting, this would also give the parent an opportunity to discuss and problems or views they are having regarding their child/children.
