Introduction to working with children. There are many different types of settings which provide care and education for children and families. The main three settings are the statutory sector, voluntary sector and private sector.

range is from 1 - 5 years old. There is 7 staff at the nursery. The opening days are from Monday to Friday from 8 - 5:45, and the nursery is closed during bank holidays and 1 week during Xmas. The typical cost of a full time nursery place for a child is £152 a week, more that £7,900 a year. This can benefit parents/carers because if parents/carers work full time than they can go to the day care and got looked after by professional from 8 - 5:45, so you know that your children are safe and because they know exactly where the children are and that the children are supported and their needs are being looked after. E3The three main legislations in the UK that support the rights of children are the UN convention on the rights child 1991, children’s act 2004, and child care act 2006. By November 2009, the UN convention on the rights of child 1991 (UNCRC) has been signed by 194 countries, except for Somalia and the USA, although Somalia has announced it will shortly do so. The UNCRC applies to children from 0-18, and key aspects of the rights are, to be safe, to be healthy, to learn, play and have fun, and to be listened to. The UK signed on the 16th December 1991. The childcare act 2004 is a United Kingdom act that was passed on the 15th November 2004. The act was an amendment to the children act 1989 because of the Victoria Climbie inquiry. The act was created with a certain set of goals. Its primary purpose was to give boundaries and help for local authorities. It also made changes to laws that are relevant to children for example, foster homes, adoption agencies, babysitting services and handling of child-related crimes and crimes against children. The childcare act 2006 is a UK act of parliament that entered into the law on 11th July 2006. The purpose of the childcare act 2006 is to improve well-being of young children, reduce inequalities, protect children from harm and introduce the early year’s foundation stage. The EYFS supports the high quality delivery and care for children from birth to 5 years old. The childcare act 2004 also includes the Every Child Matters (or ECM for short). ECM is a UK government initiative that was launched in 2003. Its main aims are for every child to have support, to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, achieve economic well being.E4When working with children there are many different recognised principles and values. The CACHE principles and the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) principles are included in that. The CACHE principles are used in the setting and usually 'reflect the early years standard's of conduct' (Tassoni 2007, page 367) also in the Tassoni childcare book it states 'they are important as they represent a professional way of working with children, young people and their families (Tassoni 2007, page 367) This means that following the CACHE statement of value are essential in good practice and maintaining appropriate relationships. One of the principles from CACHE states 'Never use physical punishment', practioners put this into practice by telling the child off in a suitable manner in a serious but not necessary threating manner, also giving the child a consequence for their actions, because physical punishment is not acceptable under any circumstances. Another principle of CACHE states, 'you need to respect the customs, values, and spiritual beliefs of the child and their family'. Practioners put this into practice by making sure all children learn about different cultures and religions in lessons like RE. Also if a child has special dietary requirements because of their culture or religion, for example being halal or a vegan, etc., than the practioner needs to make sure they stick by these requirements and not just give them the same food or drink as everyone else just because 'it's easier'. Otherwise as well as confusing the child the practioner will also be going against parents/carers rules or instructions, and since that is their child you should be listening to them, since they know what is best for their child.The EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) principles make sure that their is high quality education and care for all children from birth to 5 years. The EYFS includes many things and must be followed by any provider of care to a child under 5 years. The Directgov website states 'All maintained/independent schools or registered early years providers in the private, voluntary and independent sectors caring for children from birth to five must use the EYFS. This includes: reception and nursery classes in maintained and independent schools, day nurseries, childminders, playgroups, after school and breakfast clubs, holiday playschemes, Start Children’s Centres' (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Preschooldevelopmentandlearning/NurseriesPlaygroupsReceptionClasses/DG_171007, Last accessed 11/11/10)The EYFS is made up of six areas of learning and development:Personal, Social and Emotional development Communication, Language and Literacy Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy Knowledge and Understanding of the World Physical development Creative development The EYFS includes 4 main themes, which are: A Unique Child Positive RelationshipsEnabling Environments Learning and DevelopmentThe 4 main principles of the EYFS are:Every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured. Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children's development and learning.Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of Learning and Development are equally important and inter-connected E5 It is important to value and respect all children in the setting; ways to do this is to have diversity and inclusion with each child. Diversity basically means different. Examples of diversity in the setting include, different cultural groups, different environment, for example if a child lives in a crowded, unclean, environment, than they will have different needs to a child of the same age but who is in a spacious clean environment. The first child who lives in a negative, unsafe environment might need other resources provided to them because they might not have access to these resources. In the Tassoni book, it states: 'Every child is different; this means that within a setting, children will have a range of diverse needs, interests and backgrounds. To avoid discrimination against any particular child, it will be important to reflect their diverse needs in the routines and plans of the setting.' (Tassoni, 2007, Page 380). This basically means that every child is an individual and needs their own individual needs supported. As an early years worker we also need to consider and carry out inclusiveness. Inclusiveness basically means, 'including everyone'. Examples of inclusion in the setting include, providing suitable equipment (e.g. scissors, chunky pencils, chairs, tables, etc), not having favourites, etc. Not having favourites is especially important to be avoided because it is not just being unfair on others; it is also seen as being extremely inappropriate. The UN convention on the rights of the child, Article 2, states: 'Children must be treated without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national, ethnic, or social origin, disability, birth or other status'. This article is very important in relation to children and as an early years worker we have a responsibility to promote this article. The points considered earlier to do with diversity and inclusion can support this. As early years worker we need to make sure that we treat all children and families we come in to contact with equally. This means we have to respect all children and their families, and we can do this by recognising diversity and providing inclusion. E6Professional PracticeBeing ApproachableBeing approachable is important when working with young children because it makes the children feel more relaxed and feel more comfortable being around you, also if, for example a child is being bullied or if their is some problems than the child will be able to tell you and you will be able to deal with it effectively because you know about it. Being approachable is also linked with things such as friendliness and trust. Also being approachable is good for when working with other people because if you are, for example, the team leader or something like that, then the people you are working with can feel like they can talk to you and also listen to you more, so you have control. ConfidentialityConfidentiality is important when dealing with young children because at times children may be going through certain personal situations at home, etc, and cannot confide in anyone then if you promise confidentiality then they will be able to trust you, but you should advise them that there is confidentiality but under some circumstances that confidentiality will be broken, for example if a child is victim to abuse you have a responsibility to tell someone and ensure that child's safety. And even if that child thinks you have 'betrayed that trust, then it is your duty to make sure they understand that you were doing it for their protection. Also within working with a team, confidentiality is a good key skill, because if a co-worker confides in you with something then you should not tell everyone like it is gossip and that way people have more trust and you can help them deal with things and possibly advise them. Friendliness Friendliness is important when dealing with young children because it has to have an element of fun in it, whatever you are doing because otherwise children feel tense and an easily get scared and not put trust or confidence in you and you will not be able to efficiently communicate with the child. Friendliness is also key in teaching because you have to make lessons fun in order to keep children's' focus and also not make it too stressful for children and are able to learn in a calm comfortable, nurturing, environment. E7Study skills are very important and can support your learning during your training. Managing time is a study skill. Being able to manage time is important and can be very helpful to your learning, because you can then prioritise your work and it will help stay focus, also you won’t be rushing all the time meaning the overall quality of your work will be better. Books is another study skill. Books are important and can help support your learning. Books have a lot of detail and have the consistency that the internet does not. Most books have the same information written in different ways, whereas internet sites such as Wikipedia, where users can edit information, is not very reliable. If you do not want to buy books, since they are quite an expensive resource, you can also go to the library, which is a good resource for finding information. The internet is another study skill. The internet is an invaluable resource and can be very helpful in finding information quickly, since using things like books can be very time-consuming. Although some websites are not very reliable, so you also need to make sure the information you collect is correct. D1Practioners should develop and maintain appropriate relationships with parents and other professionals. It is important to do this because it helps meets the children's needs in a self-centred approach. Practioners need to be approachable and effective communicator and to be trustworthy in order to develop these relationships. In other words you need to be 'professional' and remember to be friendly and calm with all people.Developing and maintaining appropriate relationships with parents can benefit both you and the parents. Parents will feel confident in discussing things with you, which means you can work together to support the child's needs. Also parents will feel safe and reassured when they leave their child in the care, which is important when establishing trust and a relation.In the Tassoni Childcare and Education book, it states: Parent's are seen as valuable partners in their children's care and education'. (Tassoni, 2007, page 11). This is because parents are the ones raising their child so if you are able to develop and maintain a relation with parents than you can work together to understand and fully support the child in case any problems at home arise. Developing and maintaining appropriate relationship with your colleagues, will benefit both you and them. If you maintain an appropriate relationship you can have trust within the team, also if you and your colleagues are all arguing and not co-operating then you can't support the child's development. Another thing is that as a team you can discuss the children and have the same views about any difficulties so you can keep an eye on or even deal with any problems.An important skill when developing and maintain relationships with colleagues is to remember to be friendly, but not friends. You should remain professional, because you should not treat your colleagues like family or close friends because they are not these things, also treating them different, like you would your friends, may affect your judgement should something happen and then put you in a difficult position.The Tassoni book states, 'you can talk to him or her but you might recognise that there still remains a little distance between you' (Tassoni, 2007, page 12) Things like contact on social network sites, such as Facebook, or partying and getting drunk together should also be avoided because these things are not being professional and you are not establishing an appropriate relationship. D2There are many characteristics when working in a multi-agency team. The Tassoni book states, 'The term 'multi agency approach' is increasingly used to describe the way that several professionals may be involved in supporting children and their families' (Tassoni, 2007, page 11)Good communication is a characteristic of working in a multi- agency team, because everyone is going to be sharing information about the child. If there is not good communication within the team, things can get missed or vital information can be misunderstood. The Tassoni book states, ' Professionals are aware of each other's role in supporting the family and so conflicting advice or timings of appointments can be minimised' (Tassoni, 2007, page 11) This is an example of good communication.Patience is another characteristic of working in a multi- agency team, because when discussing and sharing information there could be a risk of miscommunication if no patience within team and that is not professional practice.Another characteristic of working in a multi- agency team is having listening skills. Listening skills are important because if we don't listen it is disrespectful to other people within the team. Also if someone is trying to say something important and you are not listening you might miss important information, especially when discussing important issues relating to children. CAn early years practioner should listen to children's views and value their opinions. The reason for this is that is we listen to children we can find out many important things about that child, you can find out for e.g. what the child favourite things and activities, and with this information you plan to do things that will keep the child entertained and also keep them so focused. Also as well as finding out individual things you can find out if there is a problem with child like bullying or abuse, and if you know about this information you can help child. Listening to child shows that we respect child as individual and that we can support child. Also child knows they will be listened to and not be alone and that their views and opinions will be taken seriously. In doing that the child's self confidence and esteem, and then they will also be learning important new social skills, which is important. By doing these things you are putting child at the centre of all things. This is called a Child-Centred Approach. Early years workers are, by law, meant to listen to children and their opinions. The UN convention, Article 12 states: 'Children have the right to say what they think should happen, when adults are making decisions that affect them, and to have their opinions taken into account' (Article 12, United Nations Convention on the rights of children, http://www.unicef.org.au/Unicef/SchoolRoom/ForChildrenandYoungPeople/LearnMoreandGetInvolved/ChildrensRights/TheUNConventionontheRightsoftheChild/tabid/126/Default.aspx Last accessed 01/11/10) In order to properly listen to children is to be an 'active listener'. The Tassoni book states, 'active listening is not just hearing but focusing on what the child or young person is trying to say and communicate'. (Tassoni, 2007, pg 139). This is an important skill to learn, because this way you are properly listening to all children and are not missing a single thing.One way of helping children to talk about their thoughts, feelings, ideas and opinions is to encourage them at all times. Ways to do this are by asking them, circle time, props, suggestion box, using puppets, questionnaires, etc., for example at circle time you can ask children to talk about their experiences and stuff they did at the weekend.BIt is important that practioners understand the limits and boundaries of their role when working with children. It's important to know these boundaries so you don't make mistakes which could result in harm to the child or legal liability to yourself or the organisation. Examples of inappropriate behaviour are things like, tickling children, favouritism, inappropriate clothing, nicknames, hugs, etc. The Tassoni book states, 'it is normal for setting to insist that you should never be alone with children' (Tassoni, 2007) This is only for safety reasons. Also, the Tassoni book states, 'Learners often find that children are keen to hug and touch them. While this might appropriate with young children, it is unlikely to be encouraged with older children' (Tassoni, 2007) If faced with this situation you should notice how much contact other staff give and mimic them. AIn the early years setting a Child Centred Approach is important. A child centred approach is to ensure the child is considered first before anyone else and also focusing on what the child wants, and letting child be creative and explore things for themselves. It gives children the opportunities to develop their creative skills for later life. It also enables the child to focus, enables the child to learn in an fun environment, reach their goals, focus on their individual needs, increases self-esteem and self-confidence. The Growing Places websites defintion of Child Centred Approach is, 'The Child Centered Approach promotes the right of the child to choose, make connections and communicate. It allows freedom for children to think, experience, explore, question and search for answers. It presents a creative celebration of children's work. (http://www.growingplaces.org.uk/reggio.htm, Last accessed 12/11/10)A Child Centred Approach is linked with the every child matters, since we need to meet all children's needs, and deliver the highest standards to do with safety, hygiene, etc. Also to do with this is the UN Convention on the rights of child, and the Children Act 2004, and Childcare Act 2006. We also need to put the child first and support their individual needs, through inclusion, diversity and diffrentiation. In a child centred approach we need to listen and value all childrens opinions and this also means we can plan activities so they are focusing , learning and most importantly developing.The Beaver book states, 'Child centered practice ensures that the children's wellbeing and interests are at the centre of practice, where children are recognised as individuals and where children are encouraged to reach their full potential.' (Beaver et al, 2008, page 214) In the setting the childs need are always paramount. One of the CACHE principles are: 'Respecting the child as an individual', this is important because every child is different and has different needs and also respecting them builds self esteem. Another CACHE principle states: 'Enabling the child to achieve their full learning potential', this is important because it will increase child's intellectual development.