Development from conception to age 16.

years the child should be able to name eight colours, counts by rote up to 20, name five textures (e.g. soft, furry, hard, smooth, etc) and name the times of the day, for example bedtime, dinnertime. At age 6 children should be able to count by rote to 100, can name the days of the week in order, can print own name and can tell the month and day of their own birthday, etc.E3In childcare there are many different theorists and theories to explain the different behaviours and attributes displayed whilst growing up. There are 4 main theories of development that theorists focus on. They are constructivist theory, social cognitive theory, behaviourist theory and psycho-analytical theory. Bandura is a main theorist and is widely recognised. Bandura's theory is part of the social cognitive theories. The social cognitive theory looks at the way that children learn by observing and imitating. This process is known as 'modelling'. In this theory there are no developmental stages but Bandura has tried to explain why some actions are imitated and others are not. Bandura's experiment during the 1960's involved showing some children a video of a adult who is in a room with a large inflatable doll, known as a 'Bobo doll' , In one video a group of children watched the adult hitting the doll and being overall aggressive, and another adult either ignored the behaviour or encouraged it. In a second video, another group of children watched the same adult hitting the doll in the same manner as before, but the other adult intervened and punished the adult for their behaviour. After watching the video the children were put in the same room, one-by-one, with the Bobo doll and there actions were observed and recorded. The observation showed that the children in the first group copied the aggressive behaviour on the doll but the second group showed little aggression to the doll. This experiment proved that children learn from and are influenced by adults; behaviour and actions. Piaget's theory of cognitive development is one of the most influential theories put forward. Piaget’s theory is part of the constructivist theory. The constructivist theory is based on intellect and how children learn and development. The theory involved four stages of development, Sensori-motor (0-2 years), Pre-operational (2-7 years), Concrete operations (7-11 years) and Formal operations (11-15 years), although Piaget did add that all children might not reach the final stage but it has been suggested that Piaget underestimated children's development. E4 See attached appendices at the back of the assignment.E5There are many different types of techniques that can be used to observe children. One technique normally used is called a checklist. Checklists are easy to use and understand. The Tassoni book states, "They are used in many settings and form the basis of most systems of record keeping on children and young people"(Page 93) this means that this method is deemed very popular and is used a lot. This method is most commonly used in order to observe something specific. It is also easy to observe many children and is easy to be objective. The disadvantages of the method are that it has been planned beforehand and is not detailed. Also it is closed data and there is no record of how easily the child achieved each task. Another method is called time sample. This can be used to give information at regular intervals about whatever activity the child is doing. This method is good because an activity can be recorded over a long period of time and can be more detailed. Also the observer can look after other children whilst still observing. The disadvantage is that other adults may be needed and also good time keeping is essential. One more method of observation is a written narrative. This is seen as the simplest observation since all you need is a pen and paper, because all the observer needs to do is just write what they see and is a spontaneous observation. Also the method is versatile, which means it is quite adaptable and can be used for many different things. The disadvantage of this method is that it can be quite difficult to record everything and details can be forgotten because while you are writing something, another thing could be happening that you have now just missed. Also since you are meant to be writing things quite fast, your writing might not be legible or neat and also your sentences might not make sense, so it is important to re-write what you have written and this can take up your time. Also you might not be able to remember what you have written causing confusion and difficulty for yourself. E6It is important to maintain confidentiality when doing observations. The Tassoni Childcare and Education book, states, ' All children, young people and their families have a right to confidentiality' (page 98) The main reason for this is that observations might involve very personal things that should not be disclosed, mainly to help protect the child and their families. There are different ways that practioners and others can make sure they maintain confidentiality. Examples of this are doing things such as, not using the child's name, or child's date of birth, store the information in a secure place such as a locked cupboard or a drawer and should not be easily accessible, so hidden in a office or closed room, and away from public places of the school. It might also be kept on a computer although it would need to be password protected to avoid accidental leaks of information of any kind. The information should only be shared with anyone if essential because this way it helps gossiping and does not embarrass the people concerned. You should also not feel superior by knowing this information and the information should not be given or received for your own curiosity. The Data Protection Act 1998 was established to help protect individuals and to prevent the breach of private information. The Act is to be followed by all settings whether or not they have computerised records. D1We can see the child's needs in relation to physical development by looking at observations of the child. By looking at the checklist observation, which is focused on gross motor skills we can see that Child A can do hopscotch. This means that this child is at the correct stage for his development, since he is five years old. Aswell as this Child A can also ride on a bike and avid obstacles. Child A is developing normally since he is able to do most things at a normal rate, such as hopping, skipping, running, etc. For Child A the next stage of development would be gross motor skills for a 6 year old. The Child Development: An Illustrated Guide, Six Years states, "Can catch balls and throw balls with accuracy" and "Can skip in time to music, alternating their feet" (page 98).These are some examples of what the next stage of development consists of. In order to help Child A improve on his gross motor skills, a visit to the local park would provide Child A with a large area in which he could, run around and he could also make use of the play area in which Child A could climb and jump,etc. Or also at P.E Child A would benefit from doing work on the equipment available such as benches or even mats in which to do things like, handstands, roly poly or balances. When doing all this it is best to include all pupils in class, so all children can benefit rather than just one. By looking at the timescale observation, which is focused on fine motor sills we can see that Child A is not able to cut paper 'curved' as fluently as he is able to cut in a straight line. The reason behind this could be that Child A just needs to develop his fine motor skills a bit more, perhaps by doing things such as, stringing beads, playing with playdough, or more cutting and sticking, etc. You could also talk with the parents of the child and arrange with them to do activities at home which could help child and also to keep encouraging children and also teacher could regularly observe the child’s fine motor skills, for however long necessary. The Child Development: An Illustrated Guide, Five years, states, "can copy letters 'V' 'T' 'H' 'O' 'X' 'L' 'A' 'C' 'U' and 'Y" From looking at the observation you can see that at the end of the observation Child A wrote their full name, this shows that Child A has developed this skill and should be on the next stage of this skill. By looking at the written narrative observation, which is focused on balance and co-ordination we can see that Child A's balance and co-ordination is very good. He is able to do things such as a 3 point balance with no difficulty and can also do things such as 'skip, tip-toe, crouch, etc'. But in order to help and support Child A and make sure his development stays normal, Child A can do activities such as, painting, building with blocks or playing football or another sport maybe suggesting a club to the child and parents. Although when doing this be sure to make sure of any fees or specific times, since you might not be aware of any financial difficulties and need to be aware of this, also cultural or background differences could mean that the child is unable to do this so make sure of any suitable alternatives.  CWhen doing observations it is essential to be objective and remain confidential. Many things are important to remember in order to do this, for example, sharing information. When sharing information it is important to be careful as to whom you share the information with, because you should only be sharing information with the people who need the information, e.g. parents, other teachers or health professionals, etc. And you have to make sure that you don't share information with just anyone. The reason for this is that some information is highly confidential and maintaining it shows respect for the child and their families and makes them able to trust you and also tell you about any concerns or problems they have, but if you spread information about the family top others, aswell as being unprofessional it also makes people wary around you and not say anything, even if that information is important and it would help the family if they told you. Although confidentiality can be broken in certain serious circumstances. Another example of how to keep confidentiality when doing observations is to have a safe secure place to store information. This is important because if this is not done than anyone can just look at the information and this is not allowed and is improper practice as well as going against The Data Protection Act 1998. The Tassoni book states, 'The Data Protection Act 1998 was passed to protect individuals' rights and to prevent breaches' (page 99). You also need to be aware of any policies or procedures that might affect what task you want to do for an observation. For example something that could be considered unsafe for a child would come under the health and safety policy. Although you would probably be aware if something was dangerous for a child, but it is best to still be aware of the policies and the procedures to take if anything happens, such as a child has an allergic reaction to something, you should know what to do. Or if a child falls over during a physical development, gross motor skills observation. An example of a health and safety policy you are likely to find in a school is something like, 'ensure the provision of sufficient information, instruction and supervision to enable all employees and pupils to avoid hazards and contribute positively to their own health and safety and to ensure that they have access to health and safety training as appropriate or as and when provided', which was taken from the Welford and Wickham Primary School, Health and Safety Policy website.BObservations inform our planning because they tell us what they child can and can’t do, so we can adapt the work or activities to suit each individual child’s development. Although sometimes certain factors could affect your observations which could result in misleading data and could even affects the guys learning, so practioners need to be aware of these factors. One factor could be the reliability and validity of the observation. For example if you start making up stuff when doing the observation or rushing and not concentrating you could end up saying the child can do something even if they are not able to, meaning that they could be given harder work and if they cannot do it, it will probably affect their self-esteem. You also need to make sure you are using the right observation technique. Using the checklist observation means that you have specific things to be looking for and it is very simple to use although it requires planning beforehand and you are not able to record anything other than what you have wrote down. The timescale observation is good because you can record information of a child’s activity over a long period but it may record all the information about what the child is doing outside of the sample. The written narrative is good because there is no preparation needed, you can just pick up a pen and paper and start writing, also it is very versatile, although it is difficult to record everything if you are recording for a long time, meaning that things could be missed because it is impossible to not every single thing that is happening. It is necessary to observe children, the reason for this is because it helps us spot if there is anything wrong with the child and if they need support doing anything, also helps when teaching to help the child learn and effectively and develop correctly and can be used to gain information for other teachers, parents or health care professionals, etc. Another reason for observing is not just to focus on the child but also can be used to focus on the practice and what you are doing and how you might be able to improve for next time. The name for this is to be a ‘reflective practitioner’. The Tassoni childcare book states, ‘The term ‘reflective practitioner’ is often used in this context. It means thinking about the impact you have on the children’s behaviour. By observing children’s responses during sessions and activities, you can reflect upon how effective you are and from this reflection consider ways in which you might become more effective.’ (Page 89) Also when observing children, in order to get reliability, the observer needs to pick the best time in which to observe, for example if you observe a child on a Friday at around 2 – 3 o’clock, the child might be tired after week and will probably not be at there best meaning that the data from the observation is not valid and should not be used to give an overview of the child’s development. Also if the child knows you are observing them they might not act normal and therefore you are not seeing the entire child and are then not getting a full picture of the child making your observation, neither valid nor reliable.