Childcare Level 2 Unit 1 Assignment

CACHE Level 2 Award/Certificate/Diploma in Child Care and Education Question 1 D1: An example of a statutory provision for children under 5 years is a nursery. A nursery helps children learn to communicate, reach a certain level of independency and helps the children understand the stuff e. g. numbers, colours, fruits, animals etc. It also allows children to learn new things in a fun environment and at their own pace. A nursery helps to get children into a routine of a classroom.Nurseries often have designated times for different activities and helps the children learn the patience for sitting still and listening in a group. An example of a statutory provision for children of 5-7 years would be a GP. A GP does regular checks to ensure the child is well and healthy. When visiting the GP the doctor would examine the child to make sure everything is how it should be, such as: the child’s weight, height, whether the child is feeding properly, ensure the child is making positive pr ogress etc. D2: A private provision for children under 5 years would be a playgroup.A playgroup is quite different to a nursery but they still have their similarities. A nursery has to educate whereas a playgroup provides a social group, doesn’t have a strict structure and also doesn’t have a curriculum to follow. A private provision for children aged 5-7 years would be after school clubs. The children can benefit from after school clubs because of the range of activities/services they can provide such as; many sporting activities, a safe environment, a chance to learn about their own interests and also to build on their social skills.Question 2: D3: A midwife is a highly skilled, trained professional who provides advice and care for expectant mothers. A midwife organises and carries out tests and scans during the pregnancy to check mother and baby are healthy. She offers advice and support for the mother – to both her body and her feelings. From the onset of la bour the midwife is present to assist and advise the course of the birth itself, from helping the mother through her contractions to delivering the baby.Once the baby has been born, the midwife will help the new mother to adjust. The midwife can advise and assist with her experiences of knowledge. Further support and guidance is provided for the mother by the midwife while she recovers from birth. Question 3: D4: There are many ways on how to keep information safe. The two most effective ways are; to use a filing system if any information is only on paper. The papers should be stored in a locked filing cabinet or cupboard with a key that only the staff can use.If any information is stored electronically then it should always be password protected with a high security password and which will only be known by authorised personal. The most basic way is for staff and families to not gossip outside the setting about anything from their own information or information about the setting. D7 : Every child has different needs whether it’s a disability or a medical issue there is always that chance of a child being slightly different in a way that they may need more help or assistance. For example; if a child is HIV positive no body needs to know this information.If they need medical help the first aider must always wear gloves regardless of what has happened. If the staff, children or family knew a child was HIV positive they may act different towards that child which is extremely unfair. Every one should be treated the same no matter what their condition may be. C1: There are many examples of when you should refer information about children and families to a professional in your setting. Two examples of common scenarios are; †¢If you notice an unusual mark on a child’s body or if they ention something on their own accord. In many cases, any unusual mark has a reasonable explanation such as; the child was running around their home, fell and bumped thei r head on the floor or a hard object. But any mark that didn’t happen in you setting should be reported because children are extremely vulnerable and easily manipulated. Sometimes the family/carer of the child may be hurting them so its important to report any signs as early as possible so that the case can be looked further into without the possible abuse escalating. If a child is extremely disobedient, rude majority of the time, uncontrollable on a daily basis or maybe if the child isn’t developing properly it should be reported because the child may have a certain medical condition such as; autism or ADHD. The first signs of this usually show in young children and it is important to know exactly what’s going on so you don’t address the child in the wrong way or jeopardise the child’s learning. A1: It is extremely important to ensure confidentiality so that no staff, child or family member gets excluded in any situation.In a nursery everyone is w orking in best interest of every child, if a child has a certain disability or medical condition that everybody found out about, that child has a high chance of being treated differently and very unfairly. There are many examples of personal records which must be kept confidential such as; registration and admission forms, signed consents, information concerning the child and/or family, reports from meetings concerning the child from other agencies, observations from the staff on any confidential matter involving the child e. g. development concerns or child protection matters, incident and accident logs. If a family member finds out that something has been said about their personal life or has overheard something about their own child all trust from the family and the nursery will be broken, the information could be a small part or a very important note, regardless, nurseries have policies that state; nothing about a staff member, child or family should be mentioned unless its some one of higher importance, unless someone has concern about a particular child and on a ‘need to know basis’.In a nursery setting it is a professional responsibility to keep all information confidential. If a member of staff were to expose any confidential information it could result in them losing their job and in some cases, banned from having the same job. As a student going into a nursery for your course placement setting you must sign a Data Protection form. If you fail to keep any information confidential and decide to gossip outside of the nursery it could result in you losing your college place and not being allowed to study childcare. In most settings the policy is simply that no one other than the parents, manager or supervisor and any other authorised person is able to view the children’s records† Tassoni. P (2005) (page 74) Question 4: D5: When preparing for placement you should ensure you are fully aware of your setting; B1: In your setting, the first impressions you make are always extremely important. On your first day in the setting you walk in looking a mess, come in late, walk around with an attitude your supervisor will think that you don’t want to be there and he/she will speak to your college tutor and that means your college placement may be jeopardised.If you walk in to your setting on time, dressed suitably, have a hard working attitude and have everything organised your supervisor will realise that you want this opportunity and try help you as much as they can which isn’t a requirement from them. If you do everything in your power especially on your first day you will learn a lot, get on with everyone and get the best out of the course you possibly can. You never get a second chance to make a first impression so what you do when it comes down to meeting anyone is important and in your placement if arents see you not acting like you want this chance they wont want you around their child, they wonâ €™t be polite they will just act how you did. The best way in a nursery to make everyone know that the course is exactly what you want is to get in to the placement 15 or 20 minutes early, sit down talk to your supervisor so that when the parents come you are ready to stand there with a smile and greet them. B2: Showing a positive attitude when working in a childcare setting is important because it shows the staff and families of the children that you are committed and that you know what is expected of you.There are many ways to show this such as; †¢Be responsible and reliable †¢Team work †¢Good communication †¢Non-judgmental †¢Avoiding negative attitudes †¢Being appreciative †¢Enthusiasm †¢Look for opportunities to have fun without over exciting the children †¢Resist sarcasm Showing staff and families you have a positive attitude towards helping, teaching and also learning allows them to trust you and they still feel safe leaving the ir children with you.If you don’t have a positive attitude while being in your placement and the parents aren’t happy they may wish to take their child out of the nursery and put somewhere else which wouldn’t look good for you. Whether you have issues at home, relationship issues or you are stressed out from college you should never under any circumstances take that into your placement. Your supervisor may not know you have personal problems and you may take something out of context.When entering your placement you should be mature and responsible enough to realise it’s not the placements fault, it’s not the children’s fault so the best thing to do is smile and enjoy your day. Question 5 D6: Every child is different, whether it be religious beliefs, gender, race etc but there are many ways you can teach a child that everybody is different but we all are the same (D7). Teaching children about different countries and languages is a good way to get them to accept other individuals.Personally, the easiest way for me is to teach them about different religious holidays such as Lent or Eid. It shows the children that everybody has different beliefs, that everybody does different things but at the same time everybody is the same. D7: Every individual is a unique person but in life this isn’t always accepted by everyone. A nursery for instance has a very diverse and inclusive environment; they accept all children regardless of their gender, race, background, physical abilities and religious beliefs which is extremely beneficial in this day and age.Adults are trying to teach children that no matter how different an individual looks or acts, everybody is equal and everybody should be accepted, everyday people learn to be inclusive and accept any individual. Question 6 A*: I am a visual learner and my learning style is most enjoyable when it comes to being in my placement setting because I can watch the children play whilst learning at the same time. There are many different examples of what I can do to learn my own way such as; †¢Mind-mapping and brainstorming †¢Collages, posters and cartoon drawings Using different coloured pens and highlighters to highlight key points in study notes †¢Using symbols to help me remember things †¢Videos and CD ROMs †¢Use flow charts to see the sequence of things I find it hard to learn by sitting in a classroom and getting spoken to which is why I highly enjoy placement because no matter how busy my day is I will always learn as I go along and I will always remember everything that happened in that day whereas when I’m sitting in a classroom I lose focus easily, I am easily distracted and I don’t take note of what’s being said by my teachers.I have always enjoyed learning visually; it’s a fun and very effective way to learn. My study strategies are quick and simple. All I have to do is highlight important informatio n which I know I will need to remember or put symbols in my margin so I know what bit to start from. Even when it comes down to planning activities I find it easy to mind map anything that needs to be done. D8: Tassoni, P (2007) CACHE Level 2 Childcare and Education (4th edition) Heinmann Tassoni. P (2005) (page 74)