Legal Requirements for Working with Children

To summarise the current legal requirements for those working with children. This should include reference to the 6 learning goals and how they could be implemented in a child care setting.

History

The Childcare Act 2006 became a law on 11 July 2006, and it is the first ever legislation exclusively concerned with early years and childcare, ‘according to‘: [1] “Northamptonshire.gov.uk“. This Act is concerned with providing positive outcomes for a child at risk of poverty, focusing on child matters like (safety, health, economic wellbeing, enjoying and achieving a positive contribution) and is also concerned with bringing the inequalities that may exist between children.

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The Act introduces the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) for terms regarding children aged up to 5 years and this is a frame work that aims to support child care providers in delivering integrated early education and care for children.

Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. Good parenting and high quality early learning together provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.

The Childcare Act 2006 provides for the early years foundation stage learning and development.

THE EARLY LEARNING GOAL

This is knowledge, skills and understand which young children should have acquired by end of the academic year until they reach the age of 5. The areas covered under the learning goals are set below: [2] www.gov.uk/government.

Personal, social and emotional development

• Self-confidence and self-awareness:

Children are confident to try new activities, and say why they like some activities more than others. They can speak among regular friends in a group, and share their ideas, and will choose the means they need for their chosen activities. They say when they do or don’t need help.

• Managing feelings and behaviour:

Children can talk about how they and others show feelings, talk about their own and others’ behaviour, and its consequences, and know that some behaviour is unacceptable. For instance, ‘washing hands before eating.’

• Making relationships:

Children play co-operatively, taking turns with others. They take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity. They show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings, and form positive relationships with adults and other children.

Understanding the world

• People and communities:

Get children to talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. This method can open children’s mind about different culture maybe and so forth.

• The world:

Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.

• Technology:

To make children aware of different technology is offered in different places and depending on situations is needed such as laptops at home and in schools they have computers for instance. This is good to keep children mind entertained with information on technologies.

Physical development

• Moving and handling:

Keep in track of children’s body control and co-ordination in large and small movements. They move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. They handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencils for writing or colouring and so forth.

Literacy

• Reading:

Can children read and understand simple sentences? The phonic system is used to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. With practice children can pick up words and say them easily next time. This can demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read.

• Writing:

Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.

Mathematics

• Numbers:

Children count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20. Anything after 20 will be difficult for young children so with practice this can be done.

• Shape, space and measures:

Children use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. They recognise, create and describe patterns. They explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them.

Expressive arts and design

• Exploring and using media and materials:

Children like to look at their song on TV and listen to the song and sing it at the same time. They can also safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

• Being imaginative:

Children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. For example, they can sing back to their friends the song they have learned by watching it in the TV.

Explain what is meant by respecting and valuing individuality, and devise plan of how this can be implemented in the child care setting, a table format may be used in this task.

Each member of staff within a childcare setting has a responsibility for the children in their care for the children’s well-being, learning and development. Each child therefore is valued and respected by all staff showing that they respect each child as a individual, realising each child has different strengths and weaknesses.

By valuing and respecting children, positive relationships can be build up between staff, parents and children, this shows good practise by the setting, and if the setting has a proportion of children from different culture background, there could be a set day each month where a world day celebrates a particular child’s culture. This includes food, religion, cloths, songs etc… and involves the rest of children by knowing and researching about different cultures.

Evaluate the benefits of consistency with regards to positive and negative behaviour and identify strategies that can be used to encourage positive behaviour in the child care setting.

Making Consistency More Effective in negative/positive behaviour.

If parents shows consistency in disciplining the child then this is a good thing, For example, if a younger child is hit by an older child and no consistency in punishment is being taken against the older child then he she will repeat it but if rigorous punishment is taken all the time then the child thinks twice on repeating their negative behaviour and the same can be said about positive behaviour. For example, If kids have to wait two weeks to earn a reward, it may not reinforce good behaviours today. Offering an immediate positive consequence will increase the chances the child will repeat that behaviour.

Strategy (1) - QUIET TIME.

Quiet time, is a perfect time for children to just sit quietly and calm down and it helps staff to simply get on with work with minimum disruption. A child can be taken to quiet time without the whole class knowing and it is most effective when staff simply, quietly and calmly walk up to a child and ask them to come to quiet time.

Quiet time is not about making a child feel bad but an opportunity for a child to be taken out of a disruptive situation and as a consequence for unwanted behaviour. This way staff are far more likely to end unwanted behaviour rather than temporarily distract a child from it. [3]

Strategy (2) - INTERACTION

Read books with children, or play games with them. This is a great way to interact with them.

Strategy (3) - ROLEPLAY

Role play examples of appropriate behaviours to teach children how to succeed in social interactions. Give children scenarios such as “What if you want a toy that someone else is using?” Discuss possibilities and help children try out their ideas. For example: “Can I use that puzzle when you’re done?” or “can I borrow your book when you are finished?”

Strategy (4) - WATCH CLOSELY

Give great yet positive re-marks when a child does good like, ‘I’ve noticed you said hello to your friend’. ‘Well done for this so I will give you a sticker of achievement for this.’ Strategy (5) - BEING SPECIFIC

Be specific with feedback when giving attention, so children understand what behaviour is appropriate. Try: “The two of you were so helpful working together to bring chairs to the table.” instead of “Good job.”

Describe the process involved in managing conflict between children and adults. You should at least refer to at least one behavioural theorist in you answer.

What is conflict?

Killen and Nucci define conflict as two children independently pursuing personal goals that happen to bring them into conflict (Arsenio & Cooperman, 1996). [4]

Conflict is a common occurrence for children. Many have asked “Is conflict healthy or unhealthy?” When looking at discipline, should conflict be seen as misbehaviour or a learning experience? Piaget believed that conflict in children was healthy, and if worked through, would help children to overcome their egocentric thought patterns (Arsenio & Cooperman, 1996).

Many young children have difficulty sharing, waiting their turn, or finding appropriate ways to get their needs fulfilled. Conflicts between children can be a daily occurrence with preschoolers and Michigan State University Extension states that “guiding children’s behaviour is an ongoing process.”[5]

There are some worthy steps that adults can begin using immediately to assist children in learning how to resolve conflict. The steps take practice by the children who are learning them and patience by the adult who is modelling and teaching the steps.

Help children calm down. Often when children are faced with conflict they are full of emotion and are not ready to begin a process of calmness. Approaching the child gently at his/hers eye level and use soft touch. Acknowledge that there is an issue and suggest some ways to calm down. “I see that you have a problem. It looks like you might need to take a few deep breaths to relax a little.” Stay neutral! When adults attempt to find blame in a conflict the situation can easily escalate strong emotions. Children at this point need to feel they are being heard in order to calm down.

Talk about wants and needs. All children who are involved in a conflict need to have an opportunity to express what it is that they want or need. Stay focused on the ‘want’ and don’t focus on what happened. Reflect what the child is feeling by acknowledging his feelings with a head nod, short phrases, or repeating what he is saying in a clear manner. “You really wanted that toy and Joey had it in his hand.” Give the child’s feeling a name. “It is frustrating to want something that someone else has.”

Define the problem. After getting the child to voice his want or need you will have to turn the issue into one neutral statement. Repeat what the children involved in the conflict are saying in a clear statement. “Hmmm, I see that two children want to play with the same toy.”

WORD COUNT: 2027

REFERENCES:

[1] Northamptonshire.gov.uk.

[2]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335504/EYFS_framework_from_1_September_2014__with_clarification_note.PDF.

[3]http://www.parenta.com/2010/10/22/quiet-time-positive-promote-good-behaviour/.

[4]http://www.kon.org/urc/dennis.html.

[5]http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/young_children_can_learn_how_to_resolve_conflicts_with_adult_guidance_and_s.