Provision and Progress for Two Year Olds

Chris Dukes, Maggie Smith

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781473904774
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Éducation
• Subtopic: Évaluation dans le domaine de l'éducation

'The number of two-year-olds entering our settings has been increasing over the last few years, and with the government set to continue with the expansion of free places, more and more practitioners will be caring for children in this age range for the first time.For those who still think in terms of the ?terrible twos?, this book serves as a vital and urgent wake-up call. Whether experienced professional or someone starting out on an early years career, it has a great deal to recommend it. '
– Neil Henty, Editor and Associate Publisher, The Early Years Educator

Do you want to know how best to provide for two year olds in your setting? Do you need effective guidance and advice on how to achieve this?

This is an unmissable guide to working with two year olds, offering practical tips and tools to support practitioners, professionals and lecturers in meeting the unique set of needs of this age group.

Written by two experienced early years' professionals this resource covers all aspects of provision and best practice for successfully working with two year olds, including key concerns such as:

• the completion of the Two Year Progress Check
• transitions into a setting
• child development
• formative and summative assessment
• effective learning environments
• working with parents.

All this plus charts, pro forma, activities and training materials as well as further reading and access to websites, providing you with all you need to respond to the needs of two year olds with confidence.

Chris Dukes and Maggie Smith are both Area SENCOs in London and experienced trainers and authors in the Early Years.

Successful transitions

This chapter includes:

• an introduction to working with parents;

• admissions, settling in and home visits;

• attachment and the role of the key person;

• focus on practice;

• further reflection: theories and trends;

• further reading;

• Parent file: the key person and attachment.

Working with parents

The transition from home into an early years setting can be an anxious and emotional time for young children and their parents. For many parents it will be the first time they have engaged with any form of childcare or educational setting since their own schooldays. They will often have preconceived ideas and anxieties based on their own experiences and attitudes and each parent will bring something different and unique. While all parents of all children have anxieties about this, it should be noted that for parents of the very young, disadvantaged, vulnerable children or children with special educational needs these worries can often be magnified.

It is therefore important that parents/carers feel confident that their child will be cared for as they would wish them to be and that they feel comfortable and able to discuss any concerns. Parents also need to be encouraged to consider carefully all the choices and options available so that they can make the best decision for their child. Often this will include practicalities such as getting to and from the setting, other children in the family, childcare, working hours, as well as what a setting has to offer their child.

Just as every parent needs to be treated as an individual, so the methods of communicating with each parent need to be tailored to their particular needs and circumstances. While some parents bring their children into nursery every day, others are only seen on the odd occasion. Working parents or families of children with special or additional needs may have particular time pressures such as appointments, hospital visits as well as other commitments, so reaching out to all parents can sometimes be a challenge.

Parents and what they bring to your setting

Photocopiable:

Provision and Progress for Two Year Olds, © Chris Dukes and Maggie Smith, 2014 (SAGE)

The term ‘parent’ is often perceived as meaning the mother; a father’s role, however, is very important and their involvement is significantly related to positive outcomes for a child. While it can be a sensitive area, with issues around non-resident fathers or parental responsibility, it is an important question to address at your setting. All the staff need to feel comfortable about welcoming fathers, to emphasise their role, stress the benefits for their children and make efforts to target activities which encourage their involvement.

Working with families who have English as an additional language is also likely to involve a more creative approach to staying in contact. Using family members who can translate is sometimes the best way to overcome any language barriers. Care should be taken as, for some parents, there are issues around privacy and confidentiality when either immediate family or friends are helping in this way. Practitioners should be sensitive to this and where possible seek advice from the local authority or community groups who may be able to provide support.

Parents top ten worries

1. What if they become upset at separating from their child?

2. What should they do if their child becomes distressed and cries?

3. What should they do on the first morning?

4. What will happen if their child hurts themselves, feels unwell or upset?

5. Will their child be able to ask for the toilet or something they need?

6. Will their child make friends or be left out or alone?

7. Will their child be bullied or led astray by other children?

8. Who should they talk to if they are worried about their child?

9. Will the staff think they are being fussy or judge their parenting?

10. Will their child be safe?

Nearly all these fears can be avoided and parents reassured by careful planning and preparation. This is the key to good transition, whatever a child’s age, stage, background or difficulties. The best settings are those which have a welcoming, well-organised and flexible approach so that parents feel able to discuss their child’s needs before they start and can continue a positive dialogue which has the child at its centre. A ‘can do’ attitude is important, however, there are also practical steps which can easily be built into the everyday practice at your setting to ensure that every child has the best possible chance of a successful transition.

Admissions and settling in

It is helpful to have a written admissions and settling in procedure which both staff and parents are aware of. The fact that young children can take longer than others to settle into an early years setting needs to be discussed during pre-admission meetings and parents reassured that they will be supported for as long as it takes to settle their child.

Children cannot play or learn successfully if they are anxious or unhappy so the best settling-in procedures aim to help parents to help their child feel comfortable in the setting. The more information a setting has about a child the better able they are to plan a positive start for them and begin an ongoing relationship with their parent/s or carers.

Three of the best ways to gather information are to:

• have well-designed admissions pro forma that ask the right sort of questions. Settings need clear and detailed information about a child’s needs, likes/dislikes, personal care arrangements, how best to comfort them, and so on;

• if necessary, and with parental permission, contact any professionals involved with the child or family. An information-sharing meeting can prove invaluable to the settling in process. Professionals can include health visitors, social workers, therapists, and so on;

• carry out a home visit. Try to build in time to make home visits an essential part of your admissions procedure.

Note: Home visits can only be made if parents agree to practitioners visiting their home. They can never be compulsory.

Home visits

Home visiting is one of the most valuable tools which practitioners have to ensure that a child starting at their setting has the best possible chance of a successful transition. It can be the start of a continuing positive dialogue which has the child at its centre, so building strong relationships and supporting parental involvement once the child starts at the setting is important.

A thoughtfully planned visit to their home environment allows parents to discuss their child’s needs, can allay fears and leave them reassured. It also gives practitioners the opportunity to learn from parents how to undertake specific care tasks in relation to their child.

Details can be shared about the child’s wider needs especially if there are health or other professionals involved with them. The setting too can provide information about the routines and policies, including the settling in procedure. A settling-in plan can then be agreed based on the child and family needs.

While it is often difficult for it to be built into the everyday practice of settings, as with all areas of pre-school practice, a ‘can do’ attitude towards overcoming the barriers is always helpful. Such is its value that those early years settings which manage to begin or have long-standing home visiting arrangements recommend it highly and are very reluctant to give it up.

Helping parents to prepare their child for pre-school

Many two year olds may not have been to a toddler group or any other type of group before. The bond between them and their parents will be strong and they may be worried about being left in an unfamiliar setting. Therefore, extra thought has to be put into how parents can best be supported to prepare their child for starting at your setting.

Some ideas to consider include:

• regular visits to the child’s home by the key worker before and during settling in;

• encouraging parents to visit the setting with their child as many times as they feel they need to;

• agree a ‘settling-in’ period which encourages parents to attend the setting every day with their child building up...