APEL Level 3 Certificate in work with children(Early Years or Playwork), Unit 2: reflect on practice
Section 3 - Identifying all aspects of children's needs
Your account should include an explanation of:
* the range of needs which children have and how they link to development
* different ways of identifying and recording needs
* why you use particular methods for particular children or settings.
Do not forget that you are asked to explain, so don't simply describe what you do or attempt to write everything you know. As always, remember to use phrases such as:
* because
* as a result of
* so that
* in order to.
This will link what you do with an explanation of why you do it.
Sub-section 1 This gives you a chance to show you understand that children have a range of needs: physical, social, intellectual, and emotional. You should be able to explain the possible effects of unmet needs on a child's development.
* This is not an exact science and there are many shades of grey, so make sure you don't use sweeping statements. We all know, for example, that children benefit from outdoor play, but settings without a permanent outdoor area or garden can still meet children's needs.
* Remember that children's needs are also linked to their family and culture and cannot be seen in isolation. Your everyday practice may not cover basic issues, such as access to sufficient food or clean water, but it may be appropriate (briefly) to ensure that your reflective account shows you are aware of the social, cultural and geographical context that you work in.
There are different ways of approaching this section, but it's likely that the most useful way is to identify children's needs and link these to areas of development. For example, physical needs range from basic needs such as nutritious food, adequate clothing, access to healthcare, safety and protection, to needs for space, a time and place to play, fresh air, exercise and opportunities to practise motor skills. The issue for the reflective account is not to write an essay on these, but to think about their importance and how lack of access might affect development.
Sub-section 2
This is about identifying and recording needs and will give you an opportunity to explain what happens in your setting and why you do things in a particular way.
* You might find that developing the reflective account leads to a change in your practice, and this gives you an excellent opportunity to explain why.
* Most settings will use information from families, baseline assessment or profiling, child observations and assessments, and information from other professionals such as health visitors or speech and language therapists.
* Think how you record all this information: consider confidentiality issues, data protection and whether you use IT or paper-based systems.
Sub-section 3
* Builds on the above and shows the scrutineer or panel that you not only understand the different approaches and methods for finding out about children's needs, but can use them flexibly to meet the needs of different children or circumstances.
* Remember to explain why you use a range of methods, the danger of jumping to conclusions about children and the need to check out your findings and impressions with others.
NB: Remember to always follow the requirements of your awarding body - your mentor will provide support to help you get a clear picture of what these are.
