The overhaul of early years qualifications that introduced the new Level 3 diploma was designed to equip practitioners with both the knowledge and skills to make a positive difference to the lives of the young children in their care.
This is particularly demonstrated with the core unit 'Promote child and young person development', which builds in practical ways on the theory and knowledge base of the unit featured last month, 'Understand child and young person development'.
Promoting child development requires not just high levels of knowledge and understanding, but competence too.
It focuses on the fundamentals of being a competent practitioner offering effective, quality childcare practice - observation of the individual child, assessment, planning and delivery of activities to encourage that child to develop further.
'I really like this unit,' says Gail Shenton, deputy to the partners at the Jancett Group and JACE Training. 'It is at the heart of the qualification. It is a huge unit and is like the central, pivotal piece of a jigsaw puzzle with everything else around it.'
This wide-ranging unit draws together the knowledge and skills that learners develop throughout their study for the diploma, and sets them into context. So, it covers child development, child-centred practice, observation, assessment, continuous provision, activities, equipment, communication, partnership with parents and team working.'
Mrs Shenton emphasises its key importance. 'If you cannot help a child move from one step to the next, they are not going to move forward. Once people have got an understanding of the ages and stages of development, this unit shows them how to put that into practice. The important thing is to make sure that, yes, the child moves forward, but at their own pace.'
She also stresses it is important that while learners understand there are certain milestones of what a child may achieve at specific times, it is a broad spectrum.
'There is an age range, so a child can be walking at nine months or 22 months,' she says. 'This unit is about observing the child and guiding them on. You don't do it for them but you encourage them on.'
BEHAVIOUR INSIGHTS
The unit looks at key issues such as supporting children experiencing transitions and promoting positive behaviour. Mrs Shenton welcomes the way that behaviour is incorporated into holistic practice, rather than being packaged into a separate behaviour management topic as if it were a problem.
'It is about understanding the frustrations that can come at certain stages,' she says. 'There can be reasons for certain behaviours - if, for example, a child is struggling or finding something really difficult or going through a transition and being under pressure.
'I think that if you are working in a setting where they are doing everything correctly and the children are being stimulated and are not frustrated, then you generally won't have behaviour issues.'
She thinks the most challenging element of this unit for new practitioners is undertaking observations and assessments. 'Everybody can do a tick sheet observation but doing a proper observation and assessment is a huge task and it can take people time to get to grips with really understanding what they are seeing and assessing where the child is at. It takes time to gain the knowledge and experience.'
BECOMING A KEY PERSON
Laura Clark, who is taking the diploma while working at Pollyanna Day Nursery in Carshalton, has recently been promoted to the post of retained support assistant. She has taken on the role of key person for a two-year-old girl, so she is getting plenty of experience at carrying out observations.
'The child has just moved into the twos-to-threes room and I have been working with her, helping her to settle in. I now have much more paperwork to do with my observations and planning activities for her,' says Laura.
'It has been really interesting to watch her develop since she has been in the room. At the moment we are working on her toileting. I have not worked with a child at this stage before, as they have either been in nappies or toilet trained. She is doing really well.'
Her nursery manager Sharon Perry explains that at the setting's recent parents' morning Laura was able to sit down with the child's parents and give them a summative report on their daughter's progress. In their feedback the parents asked for the child to be encouraged in dressing and undressing.
Laura says, 'Now, when she goes to the toilet I encourage her to pull her trousers up rather than doing that myself. When she goes out I encourage her to take her shoes on and off and put her coat on. We have threading beads which she is really good at and concentrates.'
Laura has nearly finished the diploma and will complete it by the end of the year.
'I look back and see how much I have learned,' she says. 'I am much more involved now. I would like to go on and take a Foundation Degree, but I would like to have a break before starting to study again. I am doing more paperwork at work now with my observations, so I am doing more of my study at home.'
Part 12: In the 13 December issue we will look at Principles for implementing duty of care in health, social care or children's and young people's settings
KEY ELEMENTS OF PROMOTE CHILD AND YOUNG PERSON DEVELOPMENT
The main elements of this unit are:
- Be able to assess the development needs of children or young people and prepare a development plan. Learners need to be able to draw up a development plan for a child in their workplace setting as well as explain the factors to be taken into consideration when assessing development.
- Be able to promote the development of children or young people. Demonstrate this by implementing a development plan for a child according to your own role and responsibilities, taking into account that development is holistic and interconnected. It also involves being able to listen to and communicate with children so that they to feel valued.
- Be able to support the provision of environments and services that promote children's or young people's developmenUnderstand how working practices can impact on their development.
- Be able to support children and young people's positive behaviour.
- Be able to support children and young people experiencing transitions.
TOP TIPS
- Break down the work of preparing a development plan into manageable tasks. For instance, start with considering the physical development of a child you work with. Think about the different assessment methods you use.
- Plan a couple of activities that would support the child to develop physically. Repeat this approach with the other areas.
- Look at the setting's environment. Talk to the lead practitioner in your room and ask about the layout, the continuous provision and the outdoor provision. Use your observations to see how it supports the child.
- Think about the transitions that you have experienced in your own life and how they impacted on you.
