Importance of Early Development of Children for Their Future Successes - Assignment Example

Working with Children In the recent times, research has clearly demonstrated the importance of early years in the development of children and their future successes. Consequently, research has also demonstrated the importance and remuneration of high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). Studies conducted have also demonstrated that the growth of early education programs in several countries have produced benefits for kids at school-entry, in puberty and later in adulthood (Devereaux & Miller 2003, pg. 67). Together with the drive to allow parents (more so mothers) to enter and remain in the workforce of childcare, the demand for childcare has increased. The international desire to improve the quality of childcare and pre-school provisions has contributed a great deal in ensuring that children receive high quality education and childcare as they start their journey of life in educational set-ups (Shaw & Brewer 2012, pg 60). This paper will delve into details of the several provisions needed for childcare, the various types of environments and establishments relating to child development, the skills required as well as the training needed for the numerous childcare roles and working environments. CHILD-CARE PROVISIONS There are various types of childcare and educational provisions. These provisions fall under both formal and informal sectors. These provisions include nursery education, playgroups, child-minders, crèches, pre-school, care homes, just to mention but a few. Nursery Education Nursery education is aimed at giving additional physical, social, emotional and cognitive support to children when they are outside the home. Nurseries are normally attended by children aged between two and five. These facilities are normally offered free of charge by Local Education Authorities (Dates 2004, pg. 54). However, if offered by private institutions or organizations then are subject to fees. Nursery schools are normally staffed by teachers who are trained. They are normally assisted by nursery nurses as well as other support staff comprising of volunteers, nursery and teaching assistants (Dallimore 2004, pg. 98). Pre-school Pre-school is another provision offered to children. These facilities are usually attached to primary schools and are meant for children of ages four. Pre-schools are normally staffed by highly trained teachers and support staff. They are charged with the responsibility of preparing children for school (Laming 2003, pg. 43). It is important for children to attend pre-school before joining primary school since it gives them an insight of what to expect when they join primary schools. Child-minding activities Child-minders offer private care to children of all ages, normally up to eight years of age. They usually operate these business entities in their homes. Child-minders are self-employed and run their businesses from 7am up to around 7pm or 8pm. In this regard, they are responsible for taking the kids assigned to them to and from school. Parents prefer using child-minding services compared to other child care options because of their several advantages. For example, child-minders are more flexible compared to other out-of-school services. This is based on their availability time as well as their provision of personalized care (Anon 2006, pg. 90). Child-minders also have the capabilities of providing formalized activities like homework time. Since they are home-based, child-minders normally plan and structure their activities according to the needs of a child; thus, their care is more of domestic than formal. Child-minders also have close contacts with the parents of the children they take care of (Anon 2013, pg. 51). This is extremely important since it gives them an opportunity to the child and the family in an intimate setting. This is beneficial to the child since his or her needs will be met to the latter. Parents should choose child-minders who live in their neighborhood in order to facilitate easy transportation of their children to and from school. This is extremely advantageous for parents in cases when they are caught up in traffic snarl-ups or are held up at work. Consequently, it reduces problems resulting from being late to less flexible venues like schools or out-of-school events (Network & HBC 2003). Parents having children with different ages normally find it beneficial for them to be taken care of by one child-minder. This is extremely important since it allows easy collection of the children from the child-minder after returning from work. Local authorities usually have similar child-minder networks or similar arrangements in situations where other local providers can chip in if one’s child-minder is sick. However, this type of arrangement may not work in certain circumstances. For example, in situations where no local providers do not exist, or if the replacing child-minder working hours are different from the replaced one, or even if he or she does not have what it takes to do the required job (Shaw & Brewer 2012, pg. 84). Out-of-school care Out-of-school care refers to the various childcare services and activities that are administered to children outside the normal school hours. These activities take place in several settings, ranging from schools to churches. Several out-of-school clubs are run by organizations and not schools attended by the children (Shaw & Brewer 2012, pg. 87). These organizations comprise private and public sector, as well as community and voluntary organizations. The services provided by these organizations include after-school clubs, breakfast clubs, and holiday-play schemes, among others. School-based provisions are universal and when these facilities are offered outside the school setting, it poses a serious challenge to parents who must commute to the nearest childcare facility for their children to be accommodated. This is extremely difficult especially for low-income families who lack access to private transport as well as families living in areas that have inappropriate public transport (Laming 2003, pg. 95). The intention of the UK government to provide out-of-school care to all children from age three to fourteen implies that the transportation problem will be solved in the near future. Studies have revealed that after-school programs may fail to meet the demands of older children (Bell et al. 2005, pg. 34). These services in most cases are tailored towards young school-age children; thus, older children may not find out-of-school services stimulating. In order to avoid such scenarios, the Hyndland after-school club uses consultations between parents and children to cater for the needs of all children enrolled in the programme (Shaw & Brewer 2012, pg. 63). For instance, older children are provided with computer games and sports that suit their abilities and interests. Informal care Over sixty percent of families with working mothers employ the use of some type of childcare. One-third of these mothers prefer using informal care for their children. In this type of childcare, close family members such as siblings and grandparents are normally used. However, in some cases; friends and other relatives are also used by working mothers to take care of their babies (Dates 2004, pg. 81). There are several benefits attached to informal childcare, and its cheap cost tops the list. On the other hand, its timing and location also makes it attractive for working mothers. However, in some cases there are no alternatives that working mothers can choose from; thus, they are compelled to use formal and informal childcare. In as much as the research conducted on informal childcare is minimal, it is reasonable to assert that informal childcare is a variable that is dependent on pertinent issues such as time, age and skills of the care-giver, as well as availability of resources. To summarize, it is viable to make conclusions that the type of childcare provisions differ according to several factors such as the availability of resources, the child’s needs, requirements of the parents’, as well as the provision type (Dates 2004, pg. 77). Activities conducted in the childcare provisions may school curriculum-based or may be ‘downtime’ activities aimed at providing respite and rest from learning at school. ENVIRONMENTS AND ESTABLISHMENTS PROVIDING CHILD-CARE PROVISIONS The responsibility to provide childcare provisions lies with the national and local governments. However, there are other parties that have taken the initiative to ensure that childcare provisions are provided to children. Some of these are volunteers and people in the private sector. National government responsibilities In the entire UK, the general responsibility for children and youngsters lies with the Children’s Commissioners. These commissioners represent the interests and views of children and youngsters. In England, there exists a Children Rights Director who works under the umbrella body known as Commission for Social Care Inspectorate (CSCI). Set up in April 2004, the CSCI is charged with the responsibility of regulating, reviewing and inspecting all social care services (Anon 2013a, pg. 94). The United Kingdom’s government is also charged with overseeing the benefit and tax regimes. In line with this role, the Sure Start programme has been successfully implemented all over UK. This programme aims at bringing early education, childcare, health and family support services together. Even though Sure Start is a UK-wide initiative, it operates majorly from regional and local bases and has played an instrumental role in developing childcare initiatives (Anon 2013b, pg. 59). Local government responsibilities According to the Children Act of 2004, it is mandatory for every local authority to appoint a children’s director responsible for the kids’ services within the locality and an elected councilor with a political responsibility for t e welfare of children. The government promotes working together of all organizations providing childcare provisions to children, whereas local authorities are charged with responsibility of supervising the partnership engagements between all the organizations providing childcare provisions (Anon 2006, pg. 66). This implies that education, health, as well as social services will partner together into ne children’s trust. Regulatory framework and inspection The responsibility of regulating and inspecting childcare provisions in England is conducted by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED). OFSTED scrutinize all childcare provisions including nursery schools for kids below five years of age. From 2001, all child-minders looking after children below eight years old for more than two hours daily must register and be inspected by OFSTED before they commence their work with children. Additionally, out-of-school clubs catering for children below eight years old for more than two hours daily must register and be inspected by OFSTED before they commence their work with children. Some countries require childcare providers to register. These countries include Australia, Holland, Denmark, USA, Northern Ireland, Belgium, Sweden, among others. Registration requirements vary according to the type of provision and the provider of the provision (Laming 2003, pg. 88). For instance, in Germany, daycare providers must have a care license if the care being given is more than fifteen hours a week for a period of three months. This license gives room for up to five children to be attended to. On the other hand, in Ireland, child-minders taking care of three of less pre-school children are exempted from childcare regulations. CHILD-CARE ROLES There are several roles within care environments comprising nurses, care workers (au-pairs, child-miners, children’s nannies, playgroup leaders or assistants) as well as those supporting children within institutions (primary and nursery teaching professionals and educational assistants). All these people are charged with carrying out roles normally conducted by parents such as confidence building, acceptable behavior guidance, as well as general personal safety. In order to fully execute these roles, child-carers should be aware of child protection issues, as well as be in a position to recognize any slight sign of mental, physical or emotional abuse (Anon 2013b, pg 79). Therefore, for these functions to be executed with perfection, childcare workers need to be highly skilled in a variety of areas. Nursery nurses Nursery nurses are responsible for the well-being of children in the daycare. These are professionals highly trained and play an integral part in the children’s early development years. Nursery nurses cater for the needs of children from six months old to four years (Steven & Belfied 2006, pg. 67). They ensure that children are in good health and sick students are taken home for their parents to take them to hospitals. This is extremely important since it helps in avoiding the spread of contagious diseases to other students. Nursery nurses should be hardworking individuals, tolerant, good with children and can multi-task. They should also have good communication skills since they will be communicating with parents on the health status of the children. The main qualifications needed for this job include: BTEC National Diploma in Child Care, Learning and Development; CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Child Care and Education; and NVQ Level 3 Child Care, Learning and Development (Steven & Belfied 2006, pg. 68). Child-minders A child-minder is a self-employed person running his or her business from the confines of their homes. They take care of children up to the age of eight years. In order to run their business, child-minders are supposed to be registered after meeting the specific requirements set by the responsible government agency. After requesting for registration, OFSTED officials normally visit home of child-minders for assessment in order to make sure that it is a safe and suitable environment for childcare (Bell et al. 2005, pg. 60). After registration, new child-minders are required to take a First-Aid course and a training to equip themselves with child-minding skills. Child-minders are also expected to take Public Liability insurance, have an updated health check and a Criminal Records Bureau disclosure. A stringent child-minder/children ratio must be followed. For example, the provision states that six children under the age of eight should be taken care of by one child-minder, and not more than three of these children should be aged five years and below. Consequently, out of the three, not more than one kid should be under one year (Dates 2004, pg. 63). However, there are exceptions to these rules in cases where siblings are involved. This is only done to ensure that there is continuity of care for the children. Primary and nursery teachers Primary school teachers have the responsibilities of imparting knowledge to children of aged between three and eleven. Their training does not only cover teaching methodologies, but also pre-school classes. The nursery and primary school teachers are highly trained professionals in order to help children in areas such as confidence building, acceptable behavior guidance, as well as general personal safety (Bell et al. 2005, pg. 70). In order to fully execute these roles, primary and nursery teachers should be aware of child protection issues, as well as be in a position to recognize any slight sign of mental, physical or emotional abuse. Teachers can take diploma or degree courses in Early Childhood development in order to equip themselves with skills and expertise necessary for taking care of the young children. Individuals who take up Bachelor of Education courses can also be primary and nursery school teachers. This is because they are equipped with skills they learn from psychology units on ways of handling young children. Skills and Qualifications There are several qualifications in childcare. Some of the most common ones include Council for Awards in Education (CACHE), National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), open University Awards, Edexel City and Guilds (C&G). The main qualifications are listed in the table below. Level Award Other important Information Basic Qualifications CACHE Foundation Award for Caring for Children One year full time, level 1 CACHE Certificate in Child Care and Education One year full time, level 2 C&G Progression Award in Early Years Care and Education Level 2, One hundred and twenty hours of an assessed child-care Introduction to Child-minding Practice Twelve hours Level 3 Qualifications BTEC National Diploma in Early Years Eighteen units of practical work CACHE Diploma in Childcare and Education Two years full time study Certificate in Child-minding Practice 3 units NVQ level 3 in Early Years care and education Varied mandatory and optional units In conclusion, it is important to note that children are extremely important, but vulnerable people who should be handled with extreme care. This is ascribed to the fact that our children grow into what they are exposed into becoming. Therefore, in order for children to have good behaviors when they grow into adults, confidence, as well as good mental and emotional states of mind, they should be provided with high quality childcare provisions (Dates 2004, pg. 32). High quality childcare provisions are a responsibility of both parents and the government. The international desire to improve the quality of childcare and pre-school provisions has contributed a great deal in ensuring that children receive high quality education and childcare as they start their journey of life in educational set-ups. All the stakeholders starting from nurses, care workers (au-pairs, child-miners, children’s nannies, playgroup leaders or assistants) as well as those supporting children within institutions (primary and nursery teaching professionals and educational assistants) should work hand in hand to ensure the well-being of children (Steven & Belfied 2006, pg. 54). Consequently, they should be highly trained in order for them to discharge their duties effectively. Bibliography Anon, 2006. Employment developments in childcare services for school-age children: United Kingdom, Dublin. Anon, 2013a. Evidence to inform the Childcare Commission, Anon, 2013b. Guide to the Education and Care Services National Law and the Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011, Bell, A. et al., 2005. Use of childcare among families from minority ethnic backgrounds. Department for Education and Skills Research. Dallimore, D., 2004. A Flying Start: Childcare for children, parents and communities, Dates, J., 2004. Foundations of Child Development, Oxford: Open University Press. Devereaux, J. & Miller, L., 2003. Working With Children in the Early years, Oxford: David Fulton Publishers. Laming, Lord, 2003. The Victoria Climbie Inquiry: Report, Network, K.C. & HBC, 2003. The Next steps for School Age Childcare 2003. Shaw, J. & Brewer, M., 2012. Childcare use and mothers’ employment: A review of British data sources. Families and Children Strategic Analysis, 4. Steven, B.W. & Belfied, C.R., 2006. Early childhood development and social mobility. The Future of Children, 16(2), pp.73–98.  Read More