Tma1

1 E100 TMA01 I work fulltime as a child-minder from my own home in a village on the outskirts of Slouth City. I currently childmind ten children ranging from 2 to 11yrs old. The children I mind all live locally and their parents all work. I provide care from 7.30 till 6.30 pm Monday to Friday. I am Ofsted registered as “good” (2009) KU3. My provision follows the national English guidelines of Early years Foundation stage (EYFS 2008), which came into effect in September 2008. The EYFS (2008) follows the learning and development of children from birth to 5 years Old. The EYFS became mandatory for all schools and early years providers who are Ofsted registered. The EYFS has four themes:1, a unique child,2, positive relationships,3, enabling environments ,4, learning and development. The ethos of the EYFS ensures that children learn through play with close links with Parents while tracking the child’s progress. It includes children with special educational needs or disabilities or different backgrounds. As well as the four themes of the EYFS there are also six key principals to be put into practice which follows the child’s indivual development. These are : personal, social and emotional development Physical development Knowledge and understanding of the world Communication, language and literacy Creative development Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy I have put these principals into practice by giving every child under five years old a “learning journey” book which I use to track their development when they are in my care. 2 E100 TMA01 The learning journey book records activities and observations of the child’s progress in the six principals. The book is accessible at all times to the parents and I send it home monthly. The parents are free to add any mile stones or achievements if they wish. Once the child moves to another carer, nursery or reception then the book will be passed on to their next setting. I find this method of recording the child’s progress is an excellent way to monitor their development so that activities can be tailored to their individual needs, interests and abilities. Although I do a number of intended curricular I also do unintended curricular which is often spontaneous free play chosen by the children themselves. I usually get a small collection of different toys, games and activities out either in my home or in the garden.The children them are free to choose what they want to play. In comparing my curricular with passed theorists, I think my own is similar with the Steiner (born 1826) Approach. A lot of my time with the children is spent out in the garden or at the local country park. I live a small walk away from Bradgate park where the children love to go all times of the year. It was Steiner’s belief that children should explore nature and their senses and the world around them through the curriculum they experience in the early years (chapter 7,2011). Another similarity to Steiner and my setting is that he believed that children learn through repetition of activities, songs, rhymes and story. The children I mind love to have books or songs repeated. They get a great sense of achievement when they know the next line of a song or book. 3 E100 TMA01 Another pioneer of early years practices was Maria Montessori (born 1870), she believed in more structured and controlled activities, where the children are placed in similar age groups. She believed that the adults should be more of a guide rather than a teacher. The main difference with my setting and the present Montessori nurseries is the children I mind all play and socialize together, under my guidance with sometimes structured or free play, no matter their age or the activity we are doing. CS3 The government policy of Every child matters (ECM) was introduced in Sep 2003 after the death of Victoria Climbie. She was abused, torched and killed by her aunt and her aunt’s boyfriend. It was discovered after her murder that she had in her short life been in contact with four local authorities, police, NHS, NSPCC and local churches. They had all failed to act on the signs of neglect they had recorded or witnessed. In 2003 the Lord Laming report was published about Victoria Climbie , and this brought about the change in legislation. In 2004 the children act was passed to change early years services and bring about better service integration. KS5 (Lord Laming report 2003). It is the government policy Every Child Matters that I first started child-minding under. The disadvantage of the ECM policy is that it only covered the 150 local authorities in England, so if a child was to move out of English local areas they could fall through the net of the care system in other authorities, even though still requiring help and support. Government guidelines and policies are being reviewed and changed regularly. The present coalition Government which came to power in 2010 authorised an independent review of the EYFS. They asked Dame Clare Tickell to consider if it could be less beaurocratic and more focused on children’s early learning. 4 E100 TMA01 In her report she focused on three key points. These are that the EYFS should stay mandatory for all early years practitioners. That there should be three prime areas of learning : communication and language, personal, social and emotional development and physical development, and that the present 69 early learning goals be reduced to 17. (Nursery World 2011). Dame Tickell also recommended that by 2013 all early years practitioners should have at least a level 3 qualification. This legislation is to come into effect September 2012. I personally believe these changes will make my job easier, reducing the paper work required by Ofted and help me along with the parents to focus on the child’s development and wellbeing. I also believe the recommendation that all practitioners have a level 3 qualification is a good thing. From a child-minders prospective I believe it will increase our professionalism and raise standards of care for the children we mind. My local early year’s team regularly keep me informed and up-to-date with the training Opportunities and course’s which are available to me. My present qualifications which I hold are : Cache level 3 in Child-minding practice, child protection and safe guarding children, paediatric first aid and basic food and hygiene. My role in my setting is the children’s keyworker. I work alone so I have sole responsibility for the care and safeguard of the children. My roles range from behaviour management, food and drink, giving medicines, dealing with injuries, outings, complaints, information, policy and toileting. All of these roles are inbuilt to my day today routine. In providing these roles I build a trusting relationship with the children and their parents. When the children feel secure and safe their confidence builds so they can explore the world around them playing and learning as they do. CS1 5 E100 TMA01 After watching the DVD “roles” (DVD block 1) and comparing my setting with the workers in the nursery’s, I also have to plan and observe the children ensuring that the activity is age appropriate and working to government policy (EYFS 2008). The main difference is that I work with a wider age group of children and the nurseries work in groups of children with very similar ages. This means that the particular activity can be tailored for individual children. I also have links with other agency teams, the local early year’s team and a large network of other child-minders. For the last 9yrs I have been running a playgroup on Friday morning for child-minders, we are funded by the local council and have links with the liaison officers from the early year’s team. They give us support, training and inform us of any change in policy or practices. Since the previous labour government first implemented the EYFS(2004) and set in motion A 10 year plan to set up 3500 sure start centres in England and Northern Ireland there have been several changes to the policy. Firstly I now review my own practice by completing a self-evaluation (national strategies 2009). I also have to keep up to date with developments in practice and training. By doing this the government hoped to make all early year providers more competent and reflective practitioner. I believe this is exactly what it has done, I feel more practitioners who take up training and put into practice the policy’s will result in practitioners like me being better valued, respected and professional. Even though there have been several changes to the EYFS(2004) the every child matters the original ethos is still paramount to help children who are most disadvantaged. I think the changes have made it possible for parents to work and stay out of poverty, with the 15 free hours of pre schooling sessions for children over 3 years old. 6 E100 TMA01 (Open University 2011b). I have found this assignment to be very hard work but very challenging also. I haven’t studied this this intensity since leaving school 26 years ago. I have learnt a great deal just in this short time, from my skills on a laptop being improved (still a long way to go!), to learning about the many government policy’s, and how they set out to help vulnerable children.