Practitioners caring for under-threes are to be issued with new guidelines for good practice from the Scottish Executive.
The Executive has commissioned Colwyn Trevarthen, professor emeritus of child psychology at the University of Edinburgh, to review provision for 0-3 care worldwide, a study which is nearly complete. This will inform the development of the Scottish Executive's Framework for Care and Learning 0-3. A draft framework is expected to be available for consultation by the early years sector by mid-2003.
A Scottish Executive spokeswoman said, 'We are committed to closing the opportunity gap so that every child can achieve their full potential. The aim of the Framework for Care and Learning 0-3 will be to build on existing practice in early years childcare. It will provide carers with additional guidelines and promote best practice.'
Professor Trevarthen's team will be looking with interest at the findings of a team at Manchester Metropolitan University who have produced guidance for England which was launched last week. Birth to Three Matters: A framework to support children in their earliest years has been funded by the Department for Education and Skills and is available to all registered childminders, pre-schools and day nurseries in England.
The guidance says it is underpinned by principles which include:
- Parents and families are central to the well-being of the child.
- Relationships with other people (both adults and children) are of crucial importance to a child's life.
- Babies and young children are social beings, and are competent learners from birth.
- Learning is a shared process and children learn most effectively when, with the support of a knowledgeable and trusted adult, they are actively involved and interested.
- Children learn by doing rather than by being told.
The framework is not organised under specific topic headings but around four 'aspects' of babies' and young children's skills and competence, entitled A Strong Child, A Skilful Communicator, A Competent Learner and A Healthy Child. An example has already been set for practice in Scotland in guidelines produced by Stirling Council last year (News, 8 November 2001). The Stirling guidelines deal with all aspects of early years learning, from creating a good physical environment to developing learning strategies.
Linda Kinney, head of early childhood services at Stirling Council, said, 'Over the past year there has been a lot of interest in the document from educational institutions, private nurseries and childcare partnerships throughout the country. I think people working in the early years field want to have a framework to support them in their thinking and practice. We found that there was not a lot of information around on good practice for very young children, and any information on babies and young children was out of date.
'With increasing numbers of services caring for under-threes the guidance is crucial. The guidance is not about watering down a curriculum, but really getting to understand how babies and young children learn.'
