Pre - School Environment - Essay Example

Pre- School Environment Order No.168192 No. of pages -6 – 6530 A Pre- School Community based Environment can be described as an academic –cum – play facility which is used in the preparation of tiny tots for the regular Primary School. Every child is nurtured and cared for according to their development of academic, social and spiritual needs. A Community based pre- school enrolls children from one to five years and ensures that the infants develop such skills which would be useful when they go to a regular school. These schools draw upon the facilities available in the community such as libraries, playfields and resource centers. In return they contribute by enriching the lives of other people in the community by building useful infrastructure that could be used by others in the community. Each child is unique and an individual by themselves having their own level of development, experiences and perceptions and when such is the case, needs specialized care and monitoring of those areas that are unique to its needs. A Community based Pre –School provides a warm, comfortable and caring atmosphere for a child that helps him gain confidence and independence while having fun. P1. Providing a safe Pre-School Environment: Every school whether big or small has their own visions and aims and Pre – School is no exception to the rule. The Pre – School aims at achieving excellence not only in knowledge, but ensuring safety in all fields encompassing a child’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspects. Their aim is to ensure that every child achieves their potential while developing the right attitudes, skills and knowledge by enabling them to be creative, innovative and enterprising. To achieve all the above, a safe environment is of utmost importance. A child could show better results if its surroundings are safe and free from any sort of hazardous activity. P2. A Hygienic Environment: A child’s environment should at all times be kept neat clean and tidy to promote a healthy learning atmosphere. Children tend to touch things and put their fingers into their mouths without knowing the out come. The teacher should check to see if there is dirt and dust on furniture and get it immediately cleaned. This attitude would ensure that the child is not in any danger of contacting any disease through bacteria and germs. P3.Stimulating Environment: The Pre- School is committed to providing a stimulating and a healthy environment for the infants. The materials provided to them are not only aesthetic but also kindles the child’s imagination to explore, investigate, discover and manipulate. Their curriculum covers areas of literacy, numeric efficiency, science, geography, art and its appreciation, music, dance and drama. There is a continual appraisal of the environment and it is enriched according to the responses that they receive. Areas of Development: An infant is easily malleable and therefore it is at this juncture that extra care should be rendered to see that the child grasps good habits and leave out the bad ones. A key teacher is assigned to each child who is placed in an age appropriate group and she is responsible for documenting the progress and development of the child. Teachers carefully plan the days work, integrating topics that would capture the child’s attention without any diversion. She regularly takes them on short tours of the campus, all the time enkindling the spirit of wonder and discovery. The prime focus of the Staff at the Pre- School is to render an all round “holistic approach” to the child which is crucial for an all round development. Mental Development: The child’s mind is akin to akin to a sponge which absorbs readily. All that the child sees, hears and observes is immediately picked up. The more the child is exposed to either academic learning or learning through activity, the more he comes to understand things and people around him. A lot of activity, which involves the child to think and do things, helps him to develop his mental capacity. Academic Development: In a pre- school environment, the child doesn’t do any rote learning. A child learns everything it has to learn through the play-way method. Every child is unique and therefore learns things at its own pace. The teacher never rushes the child but diligently guides the child to learning. A lot of learning is done by reading stories, showing them pictures of things and teaching them their names and also getting them to sing action songs and rhymes. Social Development: This aspect has to get a lot of focus in a Pre- School environment because finally the child has to live in a society. Through music, dance and drama, the teacher teaches the child how to greet others with a smile, how to mix with other children without feeling shy or introverted, how to tolerate others and most of all how to help others. These are lessons of life that are sowed diligently at the Pre – School level. Cultural Development: Children are innocent and not prejudiced in any way. The teacher could nurture the same feelings in the child by getting the children to mix well with each other through games, music, dance and drama. While interacting with other children, the child learns to be tolerant of other castes and cultures and learns to respect them. Reading to children stories of other lands and showing them pictures of them would help greatly in them getting the right perspective. Physical Growth and Development: It is of great importance that a child be given good and healthy food to ensure proper growth. Foods should include Carbohydrates for energy e.g. Bread, potatoes and cereals, Proteins to build and repair his body- e.g. meat, milk, fish, eggs etc..Fats to give him energy –e.g. butter, oils, margarine etc..Foods rich in vitamins and minerals should be encouraged such as green leafy vegetables and plenty of fruits and nuts. The food given to the child should always be clean and fresh and free from bacteria. The child should be given a lot of water and juices to drink to prevent dehydration. A child should be given a balanced diet full of nutrients, calcium and phosphorous to ensure he grows well and healthy. Guidelines of Birth to Three Matters: The Birth to three matters framework lends support by guiding and giving information to parents and all those responsible for taking care of infants in their formative years –i.e. one to three years. Such guidance is instrumental in enhancing all the above developments in babies as well as small children. The framework encompasses four elements – They being- A Strong child A Skillful Communicator A Competent Learner A Healthy Child. The Birth to three framework also provide other facilities like a drop and pick up of the child whose parents are going to work, good training for those who want to work at its centers, how to get funds to support them and periodic meetings of the teacher with the parents. P4. Physical Care Needs: The Pre- School has very good scope for the physical development of the child since most of the activities are through playing and learning. Simple exercises like walking, running, jumping and playing games contribute to the child’s physical development. Many good qualities like socializing, friendship, sportiveness and discipline could be taught by the teacher through her physical classes. P5. Emotional Security of a child: The teacher plays a major role in training the child in self- control and positive peer reactions. Basically a child is very vulnerable and gets easily hurt or put off. The teacher is the person whom he depends upon to lend a sympathetic ear to any fear or apprehension he may have. She has to be extremely considerate and tolerant in order that the child takes everything in the right perspective. P6. Teachers and other staff of the Pre –School: Communication: The teacher plays a pivotal role in either the child liking school or hating school. Therefore it is her responsibility to see that the child is very comfortable and does not build any fear or disgust when coming to school. She should welcome the child as well as the parent with a big smile and reassuring words. She should set an example by speaking politely and being courteous to every person she comes in contact with. She should render full emotional security to the child and thus build the child’s faith and trust in her. The Birth to three matters framework plays an important role in giving special training to the staff who work with these infants. The role of the teacher and other staff is to ensure that the environment is both peaceful and clean and conducive to learning. The teacher is a role model to the child and as such should be careful in imparting disciplinary qualities to the child. Other staff like social- workers and health workers should be called in periodically to lend their support by conducting health check-ups and other inter-active sessions. The teacher advises the parents to let the child rest at home if they are sick. They are also asked to report if the child is having a health problem to enable them to give the child a thorough check-up. The social- worker should explain to the staff as well as the parents, the procedures involving abuse of children so that necessary action can be taken when the need arises. P7. Reporting Child Abuse: The safety of children is everybody’s business and as such hold responsibility towards a child. If a parent feels that a child is being maltreated or abused they have every right to report it directly or through a teacher, health-worker or a social worker. “The Local Safeguarding Children Board” LSCB, is a board within the Governments “Every Child Matters” agenda and strongly supports the safety and good health of children. It also monitors and co-ordinates the working of various agencies working for the welfare of children. The representatives of the LSCB comprises of senior staff working with children in an agency. When the authorities come to know of any abusive incident they discuss the next appropriate course of action. It is then put down in writing and handed over to the social services. The social worker acknowledges receipt of the statement and takes action within the next 24 hours. They make an immediate assessment and ensure the safety of the child. After this a detailed investigation is done. P8. Importance of Reporting Child Abuse: Staff should be trained in detecting and reporting Child Abuse. A senior staff member should be designated to ensure the protection of children. They should be able to guide them through the procedures of Child Abuse when the need arises. There should be a child protection policy which includes procedures to be followed in case a teacher or any other staff members are accused of either harming or abusing a child. Lessons covering PSHE – Personal, Social, Health and Education can be taught or spoken about. P9. Developing one’s own Practice: . The teacher could maintain a good rapport not only with the child but also its parents by being courteous, appreciative and cheerful. A teacher who is enthusiastic to develop her own practice should equip her classroom with good amenities like display boards, notice boards, colorful charts and pictures and to make it stimulating and interesting she should change them from time to time. She could also make use of Sure Start – Supplementary Resources- It consists of various play activities for kids that could be utilized by child care professionals as well as parents which would help to kindle his curiosity and help the child to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. Such tools used by the teacher helps to develop a child’s curiosity and imagination. The Pre – School is a sort of Haven for infants where they are nurtured, taught and groomed to face situations in their environment. They are given an all round development keeping in mind the uniqueness and individuality of each child. They are loved and cared for so well that they come to think of it as a “home away from home”. References: St. Andrews College, Newzeland www.stac.school.nz/main/preschool Australia Street Infant School, Australia www.australist-p.school.nsw.edu.au.preschool.html Kingsmead Pre – School, www.hertford.net/kingsmeadpreschool Birth to Three Matters www.leics.gov.uk/birth_to_3_matters Sure Start www.surestart.gov.uk/resources/childcareworker/birthtothreematters www.pre-school.org.uk/resources/schoolsite.pdf Direct Gov. www.direct.gov.uk Read More