Early Years Settings

and can offer sessional or full day care to children aged two to five. Some schools

Families have many choices for childcare, ranging from in-home care, a childcare facility, an after school program or a

Private Nursery Schools are owned privately and can offer seasonal or full day care to children aged two to five. Some schools can offer a particular educational approach, for example Steiner or Montessori. They may operate only during term-time or open all year.

The early years framework emphasises a personal and individual approach to learning and development because valuing a child’s individuality, ideas and feelings is an important part of developing an individual approach to the learning and development. A child has universal physical needs such as food, drink and shelter and psychological needs such as love, affection, security, friendship which are essential to maintaining their quality of life. In recognising and trying to meet an individual child’s needs each child’s age, physical maturity, intellectual abilities, emotional development, social skills and past experiences and relationships need to be considered.

* an explanation of how different approaches to work with children in early years have affected current provision in the UK.

There are free pre-schools which are run by the local authorities that children can attend for 3 hours a day once they have turned 3 or if children are already in a day nursery then they will have 15 hours a week deducted off their bill the term after the child turns 3. The day nursery has to follow the strict guidelines set out by Every Child Matters and Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum as do the local authority pre-schools.

Explain how different approaches to work with children in the early years has influenced current provision in the UK

Early years practitioners should be aware of the developmental, learning and care needs of children in their care. By completing regular observations on the children, talking to the parents/carers and looking out for any changes in the children’s behaviour, I can ensure that I am aware of a child’s changing needs. Throughout my observations and discussions with parents/carers I must be open to the possibility that a child in my care could have a safeguarding issue. It is my responsibility as an early years practitioner to attend safeguarding training and to keep up to date with new legislation and guidelines. I can also keep up to date with other safeguarding issues by reading journals such as Nursery World (https://www.nurseryworld-magazine.co.uk/)

The nursery aims to meet the needs of parents with needs from full day care or just a few sessions a week by providing a high standard of care and education for your children.

Explain how the range of early years settings reflects the scope and purpose of the sector

All three and four year olds are entitled to 15 hours of free early year’s education for 38 weeks of the year. Parents have the right to request a flexible working pattern if they have a child aged under six or a disabled child under 18. This free education may take place in Ofsted registered premises, this may be named as an Early Years Unit these are often attached to a school, alternatively it could be a nursery, playschool or a registered childminders.

For the first observation site I went to First United Methodist Child Enrichment Center. The preschool seemed small to have a total of 46 students age ranges from 6 months to preschool and 16 teachers. 11 teachers were full time and 5 were part time. Full time teachers receive benefits such as health, dental, etc. The part time help did not receive any benefits. The enrichment center hours were 7:15 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. This was different to me most schools start at 8 where this one did not. The center had all locked outside doors that required a code to get in or a bell to be let in. I really liked that it made everything safer. The children received breakfast, lunch, and a snack through the church except the infants the parents provided anything

My question relates to my idea that I would like to explore further, I think it would be really fascinating to see how early childcare settings accommodate children with diverse needs while using developmentally appropriate practices and maintaining inclusion as well as the overall well-being of the child. I think comparing developmental appropriate practices to the Montessori method could be interesting as well as I believe they are both related and can be used together to direct independence and self-directed learning from children. It would be interesting to see if early childcare settings bounce beliefs and ideas from both to create beneficial activities for their children.

The title of the article helps readers to orientate their focus and arise curiosity as to what extent is the childhood environment contributes or impede learning. The title is concise enough and to evoke interest and not to lengthy and “too short to be informative” (Flinders University, 2012)

The issue of gender is a vital issue in Australian early childhood settings. The issue of a child’s gender is present at birth. During pregnancy parents are asked ‘if they want to know their child’s gender’. Then from the moment the baby arrives, society tries to define the child based on their gender (Jennett, 2013, p.3). Society’s views of masculinity and feminity influence children’s toys, books, games and clothes (MacNaughton, 1997, p.27). Not only does society influence children’s products from birth, then parents are required to make choices on what their children are to wear or play with. As a result of all this, children may end up with preconceived notions of what is considered to be gender appropriate play (Jennett, 2013, p.3). The stereotypical views influenced by society do not need to determine the way children are taught in early childhood settings. With this is mind it is essential educators in early childhood settings challenge the view that children should be behaving in a gender appropriate way, based on their biological sex. Do you think opportunities should be denied to children based on their sex?