Childcare - Now I Am Two!

The government programme to provide funded childcare places for disadvantaged two year olds will be fully implemented in 2013 and will be extended to 40 per cent of all two year olds by September 2014.

In addition, The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage places even more emphasis on assessment at this age with the two-year-old progress check. This clearly states that

 “practitioners must review (children’s) progress and provide parents with a short written summary of their child’s development in the prime areas. This progress check must identify the child’s strengths, and any areas where the child’s progress is less than expected”.

Your learners need to be prepared for these new developments, which highlight more than ever the importance of observing the specific needs, interests and development of two-year-olds in early years settings.

Knowledge of children’s development and learning forms a significant part of both the Level 2 Certificate and Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce, particularly:

L2:       Unit TDA 2.1 Child and young person development

Unit CCLDMU 2.2 Contribute to the support of child and young person development

 L3:      Unit CYP 3.1 Understand child and young person development

Unit CYP 3.2 Promote child and young person development

Unit EYMP 2 Promote learning and development in the early years

In addition, Observation, Assessment and Planning for Play and Development also form a whole unit (Unit 9) of the new Edexcel BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Children’s Play, Learning and Development (supported by the forthcoming Collins student textbook). This unit also emphasises the importance of involving parents in observations of children’s development and using information from observations to plan activities for children.

This is a good time to review your learners’ knowledge of the specific needs and interests of two year olds.

DVD clips are always a good place to start. Siren Films (http://www.sirenfilms.co.uk have a good selection, or you may have your own.) Invite your learners to observe and make notes about the all-round development of two year olds, such as:

• what can they do physically?
• how do they communicate and express themselves?
• how do they play and interact socially?

Follow this up with learners working in pairs to investigate more about development at two years old. The NHS choices website (http://www.nhs.uk) provides an interactive birth-to-five development timeline, with developmental milestones at specific ages and a selection of short video clips.

Ask learners to complete the chart “Now I Am Two” (attached), summarising developmental milestones in the prime areas of the EYFS and encourage them to share examples from their placements.

This is also a good time to review the benefits of Heuristic Play for two year olds. Use a DVD clip (or one of several examples available on You Tube) at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA2gZiNES4E&list=PLiP6YPAzOGmOIseQvji-rUKNx_oUOUlRs&index=3

Ask your learners to observe and make notes about how children are using the heuristic play materials to:

• explore and experiment
• use problem solving to figure things out
• be creative and imaginative, use materials in original ways and represent their ideas

Learners could then work in pairs or small groups to devise lists of objects to use in a Heuristic Play session and complete the chart (attached) to outline how Heuristic Play supports the all-round development and learning of two year olds.

The Pre-School Learning Alliance (https://www.pre-school.org.uk )  also has a wide variety of support materials, including ideas for play activities and a downloadable information document about learning through play.

As early years settings prepare for the influx of vulnerable two-year-olds, many local authorities are responding by developing training packages and support materials for early years practitioners. Cheshire East Council (http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk) have produced a best practice toolkit entitled “Are You Ready for Me-Now I’m 2?”  This guide provides a scaffolded approach for evaluating and improving current provision for 2 year olds, to meet the requirements of the revised EYFS and also has some useful material to use in your classroom.

Janet Stearns, Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies, former Lead Examiner for CACHE

Childcare - 'Tis the Season

As the end of the year approaches, our thoughts turn towards the seasonal festivities in schools and nurseries across the country. Many of your learners will be in their placements helping out with end of term parties, nativity plays, Christmas concerts and other celebrations and it is always a good time to remind ourselves of the many different religious festivals and celebrations that are recognised across the UK.

Equality and diversity in the early years is a very important part of both the Level 2 Certificate and Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce, particularly:

L2:       Unit SHC 23 Introduction to equality and inclusion in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings

L3:       Unit SHC 33 Promote equality and inclusion in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings

Unit CYP 3.7 Understand how to support positive outcomes for children and young people

In addition, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion in the Early Years also form a whole unit (Unit 10) of the new Edexcel BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Children’s Play, Learning and Development (supported by the forthcoming Collins student textbook). This unit also includes strategies for inclusive practice and planning to meet children’s individual needs.

Copyright Vicky Brock

In order to really appreciate diversity and discrimination, learners need to be aware of their own attitudes, values and beliefs. I have frequently used an “Attitude Poll” as a starter exercise in class, which provides a forum for learners to explore their own beliefs as well as reflect on how they might deal with ideas that challenge their own views. Divide your learners into small groups and provide each group with a set of statements, including several controversial ones (Some examples are attached). Invite the learners to discuss each statement in turn and decide if they agree or disagree with the statement. Each group should then select one statement (perhaps the one they had the most discussion about or the most controversial) to share with the whole group. You will need to act as facilitator, adjudicator (and sometimes referee!), but it can give rise to some extremely interesting and thought-provoking discussion. This has an important message for learners who will someday be working with a wide variety of people, holding a mixture of different views, which will very often be in opposition to their own. How will they handle that? Learners can sometimes be very critical of parents and families, but it is important for them to think about how they will maintain a professional attitude, which encompasses diversity and is non-judgemental.

Many of your learners will have studied different religions in school, but their knowledge and understanding is often varied. One way to consolidate what your learners already know is to use the blank chart on world religions (Attached) and ask your learners to work in groups to complete as much of the chart as they can. Explain that it is not a test and stress that they are not being assessed on how much they know. Provide the completed chart (Attached, and adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk) for your learners to fill in the gaps.

The significance of this relates to the implications for early years practice, particularly in areas like festivals and celebrations, dress, diet and dealing with death. Your learners may already have some understanding of different religious practices from their own lives or their placement experience. Invite learners to share their experiences and create a collage about the different ways that early years settings embrace religious diversity in practice, (for example by celebrating different religious festivals, having a range of resources or involving parents or community leaders in the setting).

One activity I have found very thought provoking for learners is a role-playing exercise around answering children’s questions, (Attached). This can be extremely challenging, but can also give rise to some very useful discussion and practical advice. If learners are reluctant to engage in role-play, then encourage them to think about how they would respond and then share their ideas in the group. With issues involving different religious beliefs, stress the importance of putting the question back to the child, or checking in with what the child already knows i.e. “Where do you think people go when they die?” or “What has you mum told you about that?”

Amidst the hectic whirl of the end of term and preparing for the holidays, we can always count on young children to bring us all back down to earth.

Janet Stearns, Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies, former Lead Examiner for CACHE

Class activities for child nutrition

November 5^th to 9^th was National School Meals Week. This year, it coincided with the publication of a survey by the Local Authority Caterers Association, which examined parental views about nutritional standards in free schools and academies. The survey revealed that 57% of parents did not know if their child’s school was meeting the nutritional standards set by the government. The majority of parents also said they would welcome the introduction of an independent body to monitor schools to ensure that standards are being met.

Knowledge of nutrition is an extremely important aspect of working with young children and forms a significant part of both the Level 2 Certificate and Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce, particularly:

L2:       Unit MU 2.8 Contribute to the Support of the Positive Environments for Children and Young People

L3:       Unit EYMP 3 Promote Children’s Welfare and Wellbeing in the Early Years        

Food and Mealtimes in the Early Years also forms a whole unit (Unit 14) of the new Edexcel BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Children’s Play, Learning and Development (supported by the forthcoming Collins student textbook). This unit also emphasises the importance of working with parents in helping children to develop healthy eating habits and attitudes towards food.

Many of your learners will have studied food and nutrition on a variety of other courses and may already be familiar with the main principles of a balanced diet, the nutritional content of different foods and the role of different nutrients in the body. It can therefore be challenging to keep the topic fresh as well as specifically relevant to the early years. The School Food Trust (http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk) provides a wide variety of learning resources in addition to many of the current policies about food and nutrition in the early years, which I have found very useful.

The School Food Trust Guide “Eat Better, Start Better” (2012) provides a range of information about healthy eating for young children, including food choices and portion sizes. The Food Groups table (Download here) can provide a useful starting point for your learners to refresh their knowledge about the main food groups and nutrients. Working in pairs or small groups, learners could begin by completing the blanks in the table. This could be followed by the case study (Download here), where learners could analyse the food intake of a typical five year old and make suggestions for improvement. You could even ask your learners to keep a personal food diary and analyse their own food intake over a few days. I have often found this leads to a few surprises, with learners looking at ways to improve their own diet!

Another important focus for food and nutrition in the early years involves an awareness of individual dietary requirements, including cultural or religious restrictions and food allergies and intolerances, which are common in young children. The School Food Trust provides a comprehensive chart (Download here), which summarises some of the main religious dietary restrictions. Learners could use the chart as a reference tool to complete the associated task in planning meals and snacks for different children.

For more independent study, your learners could investigate different food allergies and intolerances at:

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/food-allergy/Pages/Intro1.aspx

The same website also has a section on healthy eating recipes, which I have used with learners to research and create a fun recipe book for children.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages/Recipes.aspx

With increasing concerns about childhood obesity, it is perhaps more important than ever for learners to be fully aware of their responsibilities in helping children to develop healthy eating patterns in the early years.

Janet Stearns, Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies, former Lead Examiner for CACHE

Childcare - Activity plans for Health and Safety

The whole early years sector has recently been shaken by the tragic deaths of two young children.  A three year old died in September after becoming entangled in a rope on a slide at York College Nursery and a nine month old baby choked to death at a nursery in Greater Manchester on October 23^rd. Heartbreaking accidents like this serve as stark reminders about the importance of health and safety when working with young children and perhaps provide a good opportunity to review some of the key principles with your learners.

Teaching health and safety can often be challenging. Learners need to know about health and safety legislation and how it applies to the early years workplace, but it can be a very uninspiring topic to undertake in the classroom. It is vitally important to help learners make practical links with their different placement experiences and support them in the process of understanding their own responsibilities.

Health and safety forms a very important component of both the Level 2 Certificate and Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce, particularly:

L2:       Unit MU 2.4 Contribute to Children and Young People’s Health and Safety

Unit TDA 2.2 Safeguarding the Welfare of Children and Young People

Unit PEFAP 001 Paediatric Emergency First Aid

L3:       Unit CYP 3.4 Support Children and Young People’s Health and Safety

Unit SHC 34 Principles for Implementing Duty of Care in Health, Social Care or Children’s and Young People’s Settings

Unit CYP 3.3 Understand how to Safeguard the Wellbeing of Children and Young People

These units cover a wide range of topics around health and safety, including legislation, safe working practices and dealing with emergencies. The assessment tasks include both knowledge-based and competence-based evidence and this can be supported with class activities, which encourage learners to make relevant links with their placement experience.

For example, the activity “Assessing Hazards” (attached) will encourage learners to investigate the health and safety procedures in their placements and talk to early years staff about the practical implementation. Learners can then share the information with each other in class and discuss key aspects of best practice. This could be followed up by the activity “Design a Webpage” (attached) which the learners could undertake in groups, sharing their ideas and experiences.

The two case studies (attached) offer the opportunity for learners to apply their knowledge in different practical situations and to discuss and reflect on the implications of keeping children safe in early years settings.

The new BTEC National Qualification in Children’s Play, Learning and Development (supported by the forthcoming Collins student textbook) includes a unit on health and safety practice in early years settings, with an emphasis on policies, procedures and risk assessment. To achieve a Distinction grade in this qualification, learners must show that they can:

Assess the ways in which legislation and procedures in early years settings contribute to children's health and wellbeing.

Evaluate the extent to which risk assessment contributes to effective early years practice in a selected early years setting.

Evaluate the extent to which policies and procedures for response to emergencies in early years settings contribute to children’s health and safety.

In the aftermath of these recent tragic deaths, it seems timely to review how critically important it is for learners to fully understand the significance of these criteria.

Activity worksheet 1

Activity worksheet 2

Case study 1

Case study 2

Janet Stearns, Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies, former Lead Examiner for CACHE

Communication: through the eyes of a child

The Communication Trust has recently produced four films to help parents encourage their children’s communication development.

http://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/parents/films-for-parents.aspx

These short films (between 2 and 5 minutes) are based on material from last year’s national year of communication project ‘Hello’ and cover the age ranges birth to 6 months, 6 months to 1 year, 1 to 2 years and 2 to 3 years.

Narrated by Kathy Burke, the films present a unique perspective on communication through the eyes of a child and are full of useful advice about interacting and talking with young children.

Although the films have been made for parents, they provide a very useful resource for your learners. The material can be used to enhance learning in the classroom as well as helping to reinforce the links between theory and practical experience in placement.

With Communication and Language as one of the three prime areas in the Early Years Foundation Stage, there is a renewed emphasis on the importance of communication, particularly with the under three’s. This is a very important component of both the Level 2 Certificate and Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce. Particularly:

L2: Unit TDA 2.7 Maintain and Support Relationships with Children and Young People
      Unit SHC 21 Introduction to Communication in Health, Social Care or Children’s and Young People’s Settings

L3: Unit CYP 3.5 Develop Positive Relationships with Children, Young People and Others Involved in their Care
      Unit SHC 31 Promote Communication in Health, Social Care or Children’s and Young People’s Settings

Young learners often struggle to communicate effectively with babies and children and the fun approach presented through these films helps to break down embarrassing barriers and self-consciousness. Key themes from the films can be extended in class with group activities and discussions, which encourage learners to share examples from their placement experience. For example, how they can extend children’s vocabulary, ask open-ended questions and develop conversations using strategies like recasting and modelling. The four activities (attached) could be used alongside the film clips and learners could use this to help them generate evidence and prepare for practical assessment in the real work environment at different levels, for example:

L2: Unit SCH 21 (AC 2.2 and 3.2); Unit TDA 2.7 (AC 1.1 and 1.2)

L3: Unit SHC 31 (AC 2.3 and 3.3); Unit CYP 3.5 (AC 1.2 and 1.3)

Download the classroom activities for children's speech and communication here.

Janet Stearns, Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies, former Lead Examiner for CACHE

Secondary Childcare - Working with Parents and Carers

Earlier this year saw the launch of a new online directory, The Good Care Guide. It will enable parents to search for, rate and comment on the quality of care provided by all registered childcare settings in England. The creators of the guide, My Family Care, hope it will improve transparency and quality of care, by giving families a say.

This highlights once again the importance of positive relationships with parents and carers, which is a very important component of both the Level 2 Certificate and Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce. Specifically:

L2: Unit MU2.9 Understand Partnership Working in Services for Children and Young People 
Unit SHC 21 Introduction to Communication in Health, Social Care or Children’s and Young People’s Settings
L3: Unit CYP 3.5 Develop Positive Relationships with Children, Young People and Others Involved in their Care
Unit SHC 31 Promote Communication in Health, Social Care or Children’s and Young People’s Settings

Developing a positive relationship with parents requires a great deal of empathy, which can often be difficult for some young students with limited life experience. It is not easy to understand the challenges facing many parents today and this can lead to judgemental attitudes. Students can be encouraged to gain an appreciation of the difficulties some parents face by exploring their own views about parenting and reflecting on the complexities.

An introductory exercise I have often used is called the Attitude Poll (attached) and this can be a useful starting point to help your students discuss different ideas and viewpoints about parenting. Divide your students into small groups and give each group 3 or 4 statements to discuss. They should decide whether they agree or disagree with each statement and provide a reason why. Each group is then encouraged to share one statement with the whole class and some of the responses can be recorded.  

Your students could then be encouraged to share experiences from their placement or work setting about developing partnerships with parents and carers. Specifically, about how they communicate effectively and provide information for parents and how parental involvement is encouraged in their setting. The worksheet attached could provide a useful recording format to capture the students’ ideas and create evidence towards assessment.      

I have also successfully used a practical activity with students working in pairs or small groups to create a ‘Parent Notice Board’, giving them instructions to create a display, which provides:    

• up-to-date information about what is happening in the setting (eg. events)

• topical information about childcare policy (eg. healthy eating)

• clarity of information for parents whose first language is not English

• opportunities for parents to comment or provide feedback/suggestions

Another enjoyable activity I have used is the ‘Parent/Practitioner Interview’ where students work in pairs, one as the ‘parent’ and one as the ‘practitioner’. The ‘parent’ interviews the ‘practitioner’, using the questions attached, and the ‘practitioner’ answers, based on his/her own experience from placement. The responses can then be shared and discussed in relation to developing partnerships with parents and carers.

At different levels, students could use the evidence generated here to support their assessment for:

L2: Unit SCH 21 (AC 3.1 and 3.2); Unit MU 2.9 (AC 3.1 3.2 and 3.3)

L3: Unit SHC 31 (AC 3.2 and 3.3); Unit CYP 3.5 (AC 2.1 and 2.2)

Janet Stearns,
Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies, former Lead Examiner for CACHE

Further Education and Adult Learning - Children and Young People's Workforce: Fun with puppets in the EYFS

The final report on the review of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is due to be published in April this year. One of the key proposals involves a change from the current 6 areas of learning to 7 areas, split into 2 groups: “prime” and “specific”.

The 3 PRIME areas of learning would be:
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
• Communication and Language (CL)
• Physical Development (PD)

The 4 SPECIFIC areas of learning would be:
• Literacy (L)
• Mathematics (M)
• Understanding of the World (UW)
• Expressive Arts and Design (EAD)

Highlighting Communication and Language as a prime area, distinct and separate from Literacy, represents a significant change and emphasises the importance of effective communication with children. This is a very important component of both the Level 2 Certificate and Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce.

Particularly:
Level 2
Unit TDA 2.7 Maintain and Support Relationships with Children and Young People
Unit SHC 21 Introduction to Communication in Health, Social Care or Children’s and Young People’s Settings

Level 3
Unit CYP 3.5 Develop Positive Relationships with Children, Young People and Others Involved in their Care
Unit SHC 31 Promote Communication in Health, Social Care or Children’s and Young People’s Settings

Young students can often struggle with the concept of appropriate communication with children, for a variety of reasons, including:

• they often feel self-conscious or silly when communicating with young children, particularly babies
• they may have different experiences of communication with significant adults in their own lives 
• their lives can be dominated by electronic communication and social networking, often to the detriment of real, face-to-face communication

The attached sheet (Communicating with Children - download this here) can be a useful starting point for your students to reflect on their practice in placement and share examples with each other. Communication techniques can be further explored by using practical diversions like puppets.

I have recently been involved in teaching a group of single, teenage mums with their babies. We have been focusing on developing strong attachment relationships, the importance of playful communication and parent/child interaction, (giggling, tickling games, blowing ‘raspberries’ etc.). The young mums were all extremely self-conscious and very resistant and the session seemed doomed to failure. As a last resort, I decided to help them make simple puppets, which they could then use to communicate and interact with their babies. This made a world of difference and by the end of the session, the young mums were playing and laughing with themselves as well as with their babies.

Your students can easily make simple puppets in the classroom, using socks, gloves/mittens, cardboard or paper plates and craft sticks. Some examples can be found at:
http://www.teacherhelp.org/puppets.htm
http://montessoribyhand.blogspot.com/2008/02/puppets-on-stick.html
http://www.eduplace.com/hac/pdf/puppet.pdf

Your students could then use their puppets to communicate playfully with each other and think about how they might use puppets to communicate with children in their placement or work setting, for example:

• to communicate with a baby
• to encourage a shy child
• to comfort a child who is upset
• to use at story time with a group of children

Students could use this experience both to help them generate evidence and prepare for practical assessment in the real work environment at different levels, for example:
L2: Unit SCH 21 (AC 2.2 and 3.2); Unit TDA 2.7 (AC 1.1 and 1.2)
L3: Unit SHC 31 (AC 2.3 and 3.3); Unit CYP 3.5 (AC 1.2 and 1.3)

Janet Stearns
Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies, former Lead Examiner for CACHE

Further Education and Adult Learning - Children and Young People's Workforce: Using Persona Dolls

PERSONA DOLLS IN ACTION: EQUALITY AND DISCRIMINATION

In the aftermath of the Stephen Lawrence murder trial, issues around equality and discrimination have once again become a focus for attention in the media.

Children’s service workers have a duty to help children and young people develop inclusive attitudes and this is a very important component of both the Level 2 Certificate and Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce. 

Specifically:

L2:       Unit TDA 2.7 Maintain and Support Relationships with Children and Young People

Unit SHC 23 Introduction to Equality and Inclusion in Health, Social Care or Children’s and Young People’s Settings

L3:       Unit CYP 3.7 Understand how to Support Positive Outcomes for Children and Young People

            Unit SHC 33 Promote Equality and Inclusion in Health, Social Care or Children’s and Young People’s Settings

A good starting point is to help your students understand their own perspectives and to think about how they view others. As we all know, this is potentially a very sensitive issue, but an important one to address if students are to fully understand the nature of inclusive practice. The wordsearch attached can be a useful opening prompt for discussion. (Answers available separately here).

Practical classroom sessions are a fun and valuable way of helping your students both to develop their understanding and demonstrate their competence in the real work environment. Persona dolls have been used for many years as a playful tool to help young children learn about diversity and individual differences and they can be equally valuable for students in helping them to prepare evidence for assessment.

The Persona doll website (http://www.persona-doll-training.org/ukhome.html), has some very useful information, including example scripts for stories to use with the dolls and a wide range of links to other sites relating to anti-discrimination and inclusive practice.

Dolls from  www.persona-doll-training/org

Your students could work in groups to develop their own Persona doll story dealing with a particular aspect of discrimination (eg. race, gender, or even bullying). An example story is given on the attached information sheet or use examples from the Persona doll website.

Students could then share their stories and discuss how they might be used with children in the real work environment. Some students may have already encountered Persona dolls in their placement or work setting and could be encouraged to share their experiences with others in the group. Some of the stories might be developed and the students could practice telling their stories in a simulated “circle time” using a puppet or large soft toy in place of a Persona doll if necessary.

Encourage your students to think about questions they might ask the children, for example “how do you think teddy feels now?” or “how could we help teddy to feel better?” . Students should also be prepared to respond to some of the children’s comments, for example “my dad says you should always hit people back” or “boys who cry are sissies”.

At different levels, students could use the evidence generated here to support their assessment for:

L2: Unit SCH 23 (AC 2.2 and 2.3); Unit TDA 2.7 (AC 3.2 and 3.3)

L3: Unit SHC 33 (AC 1.1 1.2 and 1.3); Unit CYP 3.7 (AC 4.1)

Janet Stearns
Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies, former Lead Examiner for CACHE