E5 – s
When the practitioner is planning to provide the children with a challenging environment, he/she must take into account various aspects to the activity and whether it will work with the children, for example, health and safety. The practitioner must risk assess the area before taking the children there which would be in the health and safety policies and procedures required by the setting. The practitioner would have to make sure that, for example, the local park has no risks such as broken glass, gates that can’t be locked and concrete floors below climbing frames that can’t harm the children.
Parents are required to sign permission slips with details of the trip/activity outside of the setting. It is important for parents to be aware and happy with all information provided by the setting for the activity.
Activities outside of the setting should consider the interests and preferences of the children. In the Early Years Foundation Stage children’s interest help with setting up activities for children to learn, so by that activities outside of the setting would benefit the children more if it related to their interests. For example, the children may take interest in the season autumn, you could take the children out to pick up leaves and make collages or a nature walk.
Individual needs should be taken into account, all children are entitled to equal opportunities and no one should be excluded. When you are planning an activity you should take into account any disabilities or illness’s that may make a child feel like they can’t take part.
Children’s age and stage of development also is a factor in planning an activity for children. Dependant on age some activities cannot be done with children and also depending on which stage of development that they are at.
E6 - Describe the initiatives which influence the provision of challenging environments for children
Reggio Emilia is a small town in northern Italy where local parents developed an approach to pre-school education during the 1940’s. The approach was started in 1945 and put into effect to rebuild the town due to the effects of the Second World War, the approach is based around the idea that children are
“… as creative, competent learners who discover in collaboration with other children and adults…” Tassoni et al 2007 page 188.
The Reggio Emilia believes that adults facilitate the learning and that the child initiates it so there is a great importance on providing stimulating environments, discovery, and children reflecting on their own learning and documenting their progress. This approach also centres on social learning being the utmost importance for children’s development.
Forrest schools are generally a 2 hour session which includes multiple activities such as safety rules through games. A typical session includes free play, ranger directed activities, a possible chance of treats roasted on a fire with a drink reflecting on the session. Sessions could also include bushcraft and painting with berry’s alongside other activities including making musical instruments out of natural items and senses activities. Some forest schools can run scavenger hunts searching for items spread out in a designated area.
Steiner’s theory on education is based on community education and the great importance on the bond between child and adult. Like Froebel and Montessori, he thought that emotional well-being and self-esteem are central to a child’s development. Steiner placed great importance on physical well-being and a healthy diet taking a holistic approach to his theory on education, he also placed importance on the environment as well. Children with special needs where encouraged to participate in play to help children develop a higher standard of empathy.
E7 – explain the importance of helping children manage risk and challenge in their environment.
Children need to be able to manage risks to protect themselves for example, crossing a road. Children need to be able to know what to do in that situation to keep themselves safe by using traffic lights or using the lollipop lady. This also moves them onto the next stage of development and increases their confidence, self-esteem (I can do approach) and independence. This also gives themselves a sense of achievement and accomplishment when managing the situation correctly and safely. It is also important for young children need new and exciting experiences with opportunities to explore and learn through play. The benefits of justify the risks as the new opportunities help increase a range of skills which include self-help and life skills which are essential for the children to develop to become more resilient. Learning outside also extends their learning and develops competence with other crucial skills such as good judgement. Challenging encourages children to take responsibility for them as it gives you the opportunity to discuss safety issues and agree on appropriate behaviour when learning outdoors.
D1 – s
HASAW 1974 states that there are many legal duties that the employers must follow to ensure that everyone within the work place remain safe. Employers are required to meet certain rules that are set however; employees are also required to meet the standards set by HASAW 1974 to keep the children, parents and themselves safe. Health and safety procedures should be read by all people visiting the setting so that everyone understands the document and follow the procedures stated in it.
To ensure that the children are safe in the setting all staff need to have an up-to-date CRB check to ensure that the children are safe around the staff and that the staff do not have any criminal convictions which may potentially harm the children.. All staff must wear a name badge or visitor badge to show that they are allowed in the school.
“Places where children are educated and cared for, HASAW states:
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Buildings and surroundings should be clean and safe
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Equipment must be used and stored safely
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Working practices must promote health and safety of children “
Tassoni et al 2007 page 161
COSHH 2002 states that all substances that may potentially cause harm to someone must be used properly and must be properly stored away in a locked cupboard. Substances that should be out of reach of children include cleaning liquids such as bleach or chemicals.
These substances are used often in a childcare setting, for example practitioners provide paint in trays for the children to use instead of giving them the bottle. All materials which could cause harm should have the correct labels that show the potential risk. Examples of these materials are: Toxic; Harmful, Corrosive, Flammable and Irritant.
Childcare Act 2006 is a Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Thus act states that in England and Wales settings must comply with the 14 National Standards that apply to them. The Childcare Act 2006 has five main areas to its framework that focus on the welfare of children and they are: Being around suitable people; Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children;
Being in a suitable environment and using suitable equipment and appropriate documentation.
The five main areas are very important as they are all linked with keeping children safe
D2 – s
All settings have different policies and procedures that are put in place and the staff need to be aware of these and show a good understanding as they should be implemented in practice. Policies and procedures are regularly updated as new laws are put in place and they must comply with them. When staff take children out of the school environment, for example forest school, they need to complete a risk assessment to ensure that the environment is safe. If a child becomes unwell or injured the practitioner needs to provide appropriate care immediately while staying calm, reassuring the child. Policies and procedures are put in place to ensure that children are learning in a safe environment.
When a child is injured a practitioner should report it to a named first aider and taken to the first aid area. The first aider will likely use equipment out of the first aid kit from the setting, if they use any equipment they will need to replace it and along with any out of date equipment.
If a child is ill, e.g. a bug, a practitioner would isolate the child and encourage them to take small sips of water. Depending on the severity of the sickness and the time of day, the practitioner would contact the parents to pick up their child.
If there is an emergency within the setting, for example a fire Drill, practitioners would need to follow the policies and procedures which state everyone in the school should calmly and immediately evacuate the building.
It also states that staff should know the locations of fire equipment and whether it is in working order. All fire exits must be kept clear as they will be used in case of an emergency. Bins should be regularly emptied to make sure that there are no substances which can cause the fire to spread.
C – s
A Forest school is a school where children get to learn through outdoor play and learning. The theory behind forest schools is that they encourage individual children at any age to learn through positive outdoor play experiences. By taking part in activities in a woodland environment each individual child has an opportunity to develop motivation, good emotional and social skills in which through self-awareness can be developed to reach their potential.
Forest Schools has had success with children of all ages who visit the same local woodlands on a regular basis and through play, who have the opportunity to learn about the natural environment, how to handle risks and most importantly to use their own initiative to solve problems and co-operate with others. In forest schools when learning from outdoor play children use full sized tools, play, learn boundaries of behaviour; both physical and social, establish and grow in confidence, self-esteem and become self-motivated. Forest schools help to develop self-awareness, self-regulation, intrinsic motivation, empathy, good social communication skills, independence and a positive attitude, self-esteem and confidence while learning through outdoor play.
B – Consider possible ways for safety and privacy of children to respect their wish’s
One of the best ways for respecting children’s wishes is by following policies and procedures such as a child protection policy,
“The school, staff, parents and governors share a common responsibility to keep our children safe. This is emphasised in the Children Act 1989 which states that the welfare of the child is paramount. The school has a statutory responsibility in the area of child protection to recognise abuse and to refer concerns about abuse to the appropriate agency i.e. . “
or a racial equality policy
“· Promote good relations between people of different racial groups where they exist
· We will ensure that the culture and ethos of the school places equal value on the diverse racial faith and ethnic groups, cultural and linguistic heritage represented in our society.”
Understanding children's rights is also an important task as they have the right to ideals such as dignity, respect, fairness, protection from discrimination
“Article 2: The right to be protected from all forms of discrimination.”
Tasoni et al 2007 page 105
and confidentiality; confidentiality is covered with the Data Protection Act 1998.
Being understanding and giving choices.
Be sensitive to children’s preferences , consider age and stage of development .
Not all children are comfortable changing in a communal area.
Clear and consistent boundaries set for comfort and protection of everyone in the setting.
Support children's understanding
Personal Assistance
Confidentiality
Being alone with a young child
Children with disabilities may still use nappies it is important that we are sensitive to their maturity and respect their dignity.
Wheel chair access to maximise a child's independence
Physical contact should be developmentally appropriate
We should encourage independence (p210)and promote self-care
A – Discuss the effect on practitioners of meeting the care needs of children
There are many positive effects from working in a setting and meeting the care needs of children, I believe the most rewarding is, as a practitioner, watching the children develop. A practitioner may be affected with a sense of pride due to seeing the children develop in all area’s and the practitioner may feel a sense of achievement due to this.
“Knowing that you're making a difference”
and
Practitioners working with children do so because they enjoy working with children as the job itself is a reward to see children develop and gives you a sense of pride as your proud of the children developing. To be a successful practitioner you should be working with children as you enjoy it and enthusiastic about it, there are many different experiences when working with children and there is a lot of job satisfaction to it. This is one of the biggest effects on practitioners, the satisfaction of enabling and empowering children while watching them grow, it is the main reason for me to become a teacher.
There are many downsides to working as a practitioner such as possible health declines do to the stress of the job. Stress is a big concern for practitioners as it may cause such issues like lack of sleep which then may lead to becoming emotionally drained as it is a tiring job. Working hours is also a stress factor as so much has to be done in school and possibly drag on into the practitioners own time at home such as marking work to help the children improve, another stress factor is the workload itself.
“The downside, as any teacher will say if you ask them what they don't like about their job, is the PAPERWORK. You will spend much of your evenings and weekends marking work for your class, and possibly sometime during the holidays too.”
“Work, on average, 50 hours a week”
There are other important factors that may be called a negative side to the job such as the children themselves. As a practitioner you may find it difficult at times as you will develop preferences of children you like to work with and children you prefer not to, with this a practitioner would feel pressurised to work with the children that he/she would prefer not to as they possibly need more help than the others. With this being said, a practitioner may become too emotionally attached to the children and may develop unrealistic expectations of the group’s potential at their developmental stage.
There are many support features to help a practitioner along the way, for example, being a part of a good team who will be supportive and with clear communication is helpful for practitioners to develop their skills. Team work skills are essential when working in a setting; this could be reflected by multi-agency teams with many professionals working alongside each other. Team meetings is also a good support group as all the professionals can get together and reflect on anything they feel they must and with the bonus of the other practitioners being able to advise him/her.
“According to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 50 percent of new teachers in the United States will leave the teaching profession within their first five years. Research shows the importance of having a team to work with, colleagues who support teachers and from whom one can learn and grow”
(Ingersoll, 2003) from
Practitioners have the support of policies and procedures to act as guidance in certain situations such as bullying or accidents, practitioners must abide by these at all times to protect the children, families and themselves. There are also codes of practice which coincide with the policies and procedures which help guide the practitioner.
There are many forms of support within teaching such as advice from colleagues or mentors, meetings and any extra training which could be provided. Another example of this is a development review to see how you are coping with the job and to see if there are any problems with a solution of training: There are also appraisals and supervision meetings that can achieve the same goal.
E9 Bibliography
