E100_Ema

Extending Professional Learning In my ECA assignment I will be reviewing various points of my learning during my studies with the Open University. I will be reflecting on how my role as an early year’s practitioner and understanding has developed over the past year and what I feel I have achieved to date. From a young age I have wanted to be a teacher and my long term goal in life is to go into primary teaching, with a preference for nursery and reception. I think this course has already made me look at why I do things the way I do and will, hopefully, enable to me to move on to higher roles and professions in the future. I believe that through my studies I have already developed my role as a practitioner for example the way I, on a daily basis, ensure the children’s wellbeing is protected at all time by doing things like risk assessments, following policies and procedures such as behaviour management, health and safety, inclusion and equal opportunities. I also feel that my confidence has grown during the past year, I now feel more positive when talking to parents about their children. I have also gained in feeling secure about participating in staff meetings and I am in no doubt that my contributions are valued by staff and committee members (KU8). At the present time my short term plan is to complete and pass this course to achieve the Certificate in Early Years Practice. My long term aims are to complete the Early Years Foundation Degree, of which I have now registered for U212 which will start in January 2011, and then to find a school that could support me on a GTP, which will take me a step closer to my long term goal in life of being a primary school teacher. The playgroup, where I am doing my voluntary hours, is set in a large church hall, next to the church, which is about 100 years old. There is a small sheltered L shaped outdoor play area, which makes it ideal as the children are able to play out in all weathers and it gives staff the opportunity to make the outdoor area mirror the indoor area. A playgroup has run from this hall for nearly 40 years, it is the playgroup I and my twin brother attended when we were 2 ½. I have also started to work in an out of school club at a local school; the Headmaster was quite impressed at the interview about this qualification that I am working towards. Playgroup is run by a voluntary parent committee; it has three paid members of staff on duty at every session. It is set in the centre of a small multi-cultural town providing sessional care for 24 children aged 2-5 years old who are from different social, religious and cultural backgrounds. The group is keen to involve parents fully by having parent helpers at each session this is supported by a ‘Parents as Partners’ policy. Activity 4 in Study Topic 1 (pg. 20) highlighted for me just how many policies are needed in an early years setting. Reading through these policies made me realise how much work the manager and committee have to do in order to make these policies fully operational documents that meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework (EYFS, 2008). I can agree with Handy (1999) in Chapter 1 of Working with children in the early years who suggested that leaders may ‘suffer from role overload’ (pg. 12), after seeing the amount of paperwork they have to do. When watching the course DVD I saw very little comparison to the settings that were featured overall layouts and designs. Playgroups hall is old with old fixtures and fittings whereas the children’s centres and nurseries that were shown in the DVD had all the up to date furniture, equipment and materials with managerial staff members able to keep up with things like admin duties. This could be because local authorities are responsible for the staffing and upkeep of these centres whereas playgroup relies, financially, on the fees parents pay and the nursery education funding money that comes in for the 3 to 4 year olds. The committee are constantly organising fundraising events and applying for grants for new equipment and resources. I did however find similarities to how the staff, such as Kerry at Lark Children’s Centre, were very supportive and encouraging with the children assisting them where needed but giving them enough space to try out things for themselves. By working alongside the staff in my setting, along with my studies, I have learnt how to encourage children to try to do things for themselves instead of doing it for them and supporting them where they do need a little help (CS3). This was discussed in Study Topic 3 which states ‘children operate on the edge of their capabilities. The ZPD is the difference between what children can do with the help and guidance of a supporting adult’ (pg.65). The ZPD is something I now bear in mind during my daily practice I am always trying to think of the children’s ‘next steps in teaching and learning’ which is suggested by Vygotsky (1978) in chapter 22 of Working with children in the early years (Nutbrown, 2010, pg. 244). My role at playgroup involves, along with other staff members, making sure the children are kept safe and secure at all times (PS2), my daily duties involve supporting the children at activities by talking and listening with them, asking them open ended questions and assisting them wherever they need support. An example of how I supported a child came about when a boy, aged 2.5 years, started. He was quite reluctant to leave his mums side but with encouragement from me I managed to win over by being calm, positive and putting on activities that his mum said he enjoyed doing best (PS2). After a few sessions he became more positive and separated more easily from his mum each time he came. John Bowlby (1958) highlighted the significance of ‘Attachment theory’ (Study Topic 7, p.19) stating ‘the significance of young children establishing a strong emotional attachment to a particular adult’. It could have been that this boy developed a strong emotional attachment to me which made him feel safe and secure. He still comes to me now confidently if he needs any help with something but is also secure enough to ask other adults present. I believe that studying the course material, and as I spent time with the child in the early stages, Bowlby’s theory was something that I took into consideration. I have learnt a lot from the staff and committee members who have been very supportive with me and my study needs. I have become aware of how each one of them brings something, personally, different to the group and how this adds to the success of this tight knit community group. I feel I have added to the group by bringing patience and caring to the team, Read and Rees (2010) discuss the strength of teams in Chapter 4 of Working with children in the early years (pg.49) stating ‘children need to mix with a variety of adults who relate to them in different ways’. I feel it is vitally important for children to see and feel positive relationships around them as this will help to develop their sense of self and their overall personal, social and emotional development. I have enjoyed working with the parents of the group and feel that they are a vital asset not only for the operational aspects of the setting but to the children’s learning and development as they participate in the sessions providing support where needed. Smith (2010, pg. 39) highlights this in Chapter 4 of Supporting children’s learning in the early years stating what an ‘important role parents play in children’s learning and development and how important it is to work in partnership’. I have really enjoyed my role, and time at playgroup and I get great satisfaction knowing that I have made a difference to the children’s learning and development by supporting, praising, leading by demonstration and playing alongside them. Over the past year, since I began my studies, I feel I have grown professionally regarding the knowledge I have gained and the way I work within practice. I have particularly enjoyed learning about how children learn through play. By observing the children during free play I found it interesting how different children showed the same sort of repetitive play, this was noted, in Study Topic 3 (pg. 57), by Athey (1990) as a ‘schema’ which is ‘A pattern of repeatable behaviour into which experiences are assimilated and gradually coordinated’. I have seen Athey’s schemas in practice at playgroup as some children seem to really enjoy ‘Covering objects and putting them into containers’ (pg. 58). Schemas are something I would like to research more, maybe through local authority training or in my future studies with the Open University. I have discovered that play is vital to children’s learning and development as all children love to play; this was highlighted in Study Topic 3 stating ‘play is a valuable activity in children’s learning, what ever the setting you work in and whatever the age of the children’ (pg. 68). I really enjoy my role and get great satisfaction knowing that I have made a difference to the children’s learning and development by supporting, praising, leading by demonstration and playing alongside them. I have enjoyed working with the parents of the group and feel that they are a vital asset not only for the operational aspects of the setting but to the children’s learning and development as they participate in the sessions providing support where needed. I have particularly enjoyed learning about heuristic play I think it is an invaluable way to learn as children are discovering for themselves using their natural curiosity. Chapter 10 in the Reader, Working with children in the early years, states ‘There is no question of success or failure’ (Holland, 2010, pg. 114) when discussing heuristic play. I do agree with this as learning comes from the process of the children’s play and not an end product. Chapter 10 also suggests that ‘The adults role is to collect, buy or make a good quantity of objects such as empty tins and metal jar caps, woollen pom-poms, wooden clothes pegs, wooden and metal curtain rings and ping pong balls’ (Holland, 2010, pg. 114). I believe that all settings would benefit by basing their overall ethos around heuristic play and it would be easy for practitioners to provide as even simple household objects such as kitchen utensils that can be filled, stacked and knocked down could be used to stretch their overall development. During my studies I obtained written permission from parents to carry out observations, at various activities, on the children concerned; detailing to them what would be involved in the observations and the reasons why and ensuring them that the children would be able to withdraw from the activities at any time. To maintain confidentiality, in line with my settings policy, I changed the names of the children and that of my setting so as to maintain confidentiality, protect identity and anonymity. Safeguarding the children was a key element in my induction procedure at playgroup. The senior practitioner explained playgroups policies and procedures in detail highlighting the designated people to seek out if I suspected any form of abuse. Nicky the day care manager at the Lark Centre DVD talked about how important it is for relevant practitioners to address any concerns they have about children with other professionals such as Health Visitors for reasons such as ‘at risk’ children. I have been included in the in house training for the Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) agenda discussing various issues with staff and committee members, such as those noted in Study Topic 6 (pg. 141), and how the group could enhance the five outcomes more into the activities, experiences, policies and procedures at playgroup (KU6). I have also attended local authority training on ‘safeguarding’ and ‘roles and responsibilities’. This training gave me an awareness of the forms of abuse and the signs and symptoms to keep an eye open for, such as the ones listed in Study Topic 5 (pg. 132) stating ‘it is also important to engage regularly in safeguarding training’. I think this is important as regular training means practitioners are kept up to date and informed on new legislation and revised procedures (KU7). My setting follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS, 2008) framework which aims to ‘Help young children achieve the five Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes by; setting the standards, providing for equality of opportunity, creating the framework for partnership working, improving quality and consistency, laying a secure foundation for future learning’ EYFS (pg.7) and, as stated in the reader, ‘Provides the framework and guidance for practitioners to use in achieving the key outcomes of the ECM agenda’ (Cable, Miller and Goodliff, 2010, pg. 1) (KU3). When looking at the EYFS guidance packs for the first time I felt quite overwhelmed by the amount of information in them but as I began to use them in practice, and research for my coursework, things began to clarify in my mind. For example when researching policies in Study Topic 1 (pg. 20) the EYFS framework highlighted for me just how many policies are needed to ensure that children’s safety, health and well-being are paramount at all times. Reading through the policies at playgroup has made me realise how much work a manager and committee have to do in order to make these policies fully operational documents that meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework. During this course, and my time at playgroup, I have gained new perspectives of the EYFS and how to use it effectively. I have discovered how the EYFS helps to guide practitioners through children’s learning and development by using the ‘development matters’ in the guidance framework (EYFS, 2008). The EYFS ‘Look, Listen and Note’ section states that observations help practitioners to assess progress, enabling them to “plan appropriate play and learning experiences based on the children’s interests and needs” (DCSF 2008, p.11) (KU3). These documents, along with the course material, have helped me understand how important it is for practitioners to keep observational records on children and there have been several reasons that have been highlighted for me, during my studies and time at playgroup, such as to keep track on their overall development which ‘is an essential part of your role as an early year’s practitioner’ in order ‘to recognise children’s existing achievements and establish strategies for their future learning’ (Study Topic 3, pg. 72). Also to monitor that children are progressing at the expected rate of development and ‘provides a picture of a child’s competences, interests and needs’ (Study topic 11, pg. 105). During the observations I carried out for the TMA’s I tried to bear in mind the activities in Study Topic 11, only recording the children’s actions and own words and remembering that ‘making judgements about what children have achieved is not the same as observing what they do’ (pg. 117). This was also discussed in Study Topic 3 stating “it is important to record what you see rather than what you think is happening” (p.74) (CS2). Whilst agreeing with these statements I found it a fine line between the two but I always tried to take it in to consideration when writing up my observations. By planning using observations based upon their interests I have found that children are able to thrive in their learning environment and as stated in the EYFS ‘Children need to be stretched, but not pushed beyond their capabilities, so that they can continue to enjoy learning’ (pg. 10). I have learnt how important it is to work as a team one where parents and practitioners are able to discuss together, and plan for the children’s individual diverse needs. On reflection I have learnt that the EYFS is the main principle behind my setting, and all other early year provisions, fundamentally it is what enables settings to operate. I have been quite surprised by how much this working document is referred to by staff during a working week. I have enjoyed researching about how children’s learning and development can flourish by planning for their individual needs and have found that when planning activities and experiences for children it is important to understand their stage of development and how they learn best. Measuring their progress, next to an age appropriate framework, such as the EYFS, is essential if practitioners are to provide activities that will challenge and extend their development further (KU4). Study Topic 10 discusses how early years practitioners could be seen as ‘organisers, facilitators and initiators’ (pg. 95) I can identify with this when reflecting on my role in practice, as an ‘organiser’ I help to arrange the environment by ensuring areas look inviting and have appropriate activities on offer for the children to choose when they arrive (KU1). This is also discussed by Robson (2010, pg. 223) chapter 22 of Supporting children’s learning in the early years stating ‘Settings, and the ways in which we organise them, then, have an effect on all of those within them’. As a ‘facilitator’ I engage with the children during their play supporting the them at activities by talking and listening with them, asking them open ended questions and assisting them wherever needed. I particularly enjoy reading to the children and similar to the childminder reading in the course DVD I like to encourage them to join in with the parts they know, the rhyming, and listening to their views on the stories (KU1). And as an ‘initiator’ I encourage the children to try new experiences and activities that are on offer by leading by demonstration and being a good role model to the children in the group. To conclude I have really enjoyed the challenge of studying E100. I feel I have built up a great deal of knowledge and understanding of how children learn and develop. With the help and support from those in my setting and the research I did at home I had lots of information to use in my TMS’s. The only trouble I had was trying to achieve the correct word count, frequently going over the allowed count. It was reassuring knowing that I could email my tutor at any time to clarify any points of the TMA I was unsure about. I will definitely continue to study with the Open University and have already registered for my next 60 points.