Essay: Discuss ways that practitioners can support children’s emergent literacy development.

D1- Discuss ways that practitioners can support children’s emergent literacy development.
Emergent literacy is the early stages of children’s speech and language reading and writing development. A child’s first stage of speech is the child making cooing and gurgling sounds, although the child is not saying any words gurgling, cooing and babbling is one of the first stages when a child starts communicating. The first stages of writing is when a child starts mark making even when a child draws lines on paper it’s still a stage of writing. Sulbzy,Teal and Kamberelis (1989 P.77) state that “ children who have had frequent opportunities to write and read at home are more likely to enter conventional literacy as confident, risk taking reader and writers”. Children will start reading when practitioners familiarize children with one of the reading schemes such as Oxford Reading Tree or Letter Land. Children will learn how to pronounce letters and make sounds. Practitioners can support children in emergent literacy by providing the children with resources to be able to hit the first stages of reading and writing. Practitioners should ensure resources are always available for the children to use such as, reading books, paper, pencils and pencil crayons. “Literacy is a specific area of learning which is essential for children’s skills and knowledge; this is so children are able to take part in society” (EYFS 2012 P4). The Early Years Foundation Stage splits literacy into two parts reading and writing. The EYFS states that practitioners can encourage a child’s early stages of literacy, from birth to 11 months, by using finger puppets, rhymes and songs which the baby is familiar with to support them they can do they can do this by providing a range of different textured books which they can share with the babies. As the child is getting older the practitioners can allow children to handle books and try to bring the child’s attention to the pictures in the books by asking the children questions such as “what can you see?” “Can you find the red ball in this picture?” when the child is between 16-26 months practitioners can provide the child with story sacks and tactile books which they can take home and parents can encourage the child to use the books and home and they can also discuss the story and ask questions about the pictures in the books. When the child is around 36 months the practitioners should ensure they have an attractive book area which the children and other adults can enjoy. Practitioners should ensure that they have an attractive reading area for children although the child may not be able to read children enjoy looking at pictures in a book the will also make their own story up using the pictures. When the child is over 60 months practitioners need to ensure that they help children discover what the main parts are in a story and they should also give children simple text which the children are able to interpret to give them confidence and to practise their developing skills. At my placement children have open access to pens, paper, wipe boards and laminated sheets which each child has this has the child’s first name written in big letters and below are dots the child has to follow with their pen in order to join the dots up to help them write their names. Practitioners should carry out assessments in order to see how well a child is doing in their literacy developments. Practitioners should ensure that they have ongoing records of children’s development which need to be in detail. Practitioners ensure that they talk to children about books and about the child’s writing skills this is so children understand where they make errors in their writing for example children may mix the letter ‘b’ and ‘d’ they may place them in the wrong places for example the child may be writing the word ‘bed’ they may write it as ‘deb’ here they have put the letters the wrong way round this is a common mistake and practitioners should support and talk to children about their writing skills so they are aware of where they make mistakes so they are able to correct them. Practitioners are also required to ensure that they have their own assessments of children’s learning at the end of the child’s key stage, this is so they can improve the child’s learning and to support them accordingly. Summative assessments should be used for children’s achievements in reading and writing this is so professional judgements can be made on the child’s progress and what support and resources can be given to help the child develop further. Observations and assessments ensure that the individual needs of a child are being met (Bruce and Meggitt, 2002). All records must be evaluated and reflected on and used to inform curriculum planning.
D2 – Explain how practitioners can encourage emergent mathematical development through outdoor play
Children should have ongoing provision outdoors as this an entitlement for all children in early year’s settings. It’s important that practitioners give children the opportunities to engage in outdoor learning through play this can be done by the practitioners setting up activities outdoors which promote the child’s development these activities can be both adult led or child led. When children are outdoors it gives them more opportunities to engage in many activities. Outdoor learning can also have a positive impact on the child’s well-being and their development. They have access to fresh air, lots more space and they are able to move faster and in many other ways. The practitioner’s role is to engage as a co-player with children and to extend their learning. Practitioners need to plan outdoor mathematical activity which children may have an interest in such as building train tracks outdoors, counting how many tracks they have used and how many trains can fit onto the track altogether. At my placement they have a range of different maths activities in their outdoor area every week the setting has new activities planned for the children. The setting has a basket of pretend jewels practitioners hide the jewels around the outdoor area whilst the children are indoor putting their coats on. When the children come out to play the practitioners explain that they have hidden jewels around the outdoor area and that they have a set amount of time to find them (10-15 minutes) after the set time has gone by children have to gather back together to talk about the treasure. The practitioners sit the children own and ask them questions such as ‘shall we count how many jewels you have found’, ‘what shape are your jewels?’ and ‘who has collected the most/least jewels in the group? And how do you know?’ In this activity children have to work independently to find the jewels, the aim of the activity is to encourage children to work independently, encourage them to count and to help them discover who has the most jewels and who has the least. Another maths activity the setting planned was that the sand has numbers in their sand which were hidden the child had to find the numbers and put them in the correct order from lowest to biggest, the setting also changed the activity slightly by putting in different sized objects the children had to put them order from biggest to smallest and then say why they think it’s bigger or smaller than the other items. Practitioners need to ensure that they provide an enabling environment for children to play in. enabling environments should provide children space to play in, resources that keep children occupied and children can play with, displays which re attractive for children and their parents to look at they should also provide accessibility and stability too. These should be provided as they promote children’s physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing. A good enabling environment supports children’s leaning and development across the six areas of learning in the EYFS and ensures that each child is “a competent learning from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured” (EYFS 207 Practice guidance for the Early Years Foundation stage.DCSF, page 5). The play environment for children plays a key role in supporting and developing children’s learning and development, an enabling environment will give practitioners the opportunity to discover a child’s interests and enable them to explore and experiment. Enabling environments give children the chance to practice and develop their sills further. Children are able to understand rules and have the opportunity to communicate with others. Enabling environments also encourage a child’s independence and helps the child to develop a positive attitude towards their learning. A key aspect of Maria Montessori’s approach (1870-1952) is based on providing children with the freedom to learn in an environment prepared with materials and resources designed to enable children to direct their own learning. The environment is neat and tidy and all the resources are labelled and at child height so that each child is able to choose their own toys to play with. The Montessori approach firmly believes in free flow play between indoors and outdoors with the outdoor space being prepared for the children to encourage exploration and independent activity.
D3- Demonstrate understanding of children’s school readiness.
In the Early Years Foundation Stage it states that “School readiness promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s school readiness” (EYFS, 2012 P11). The Effective provision of pre-school education project has helped children’s learning and development and ensures that practitioners help the children to become confident when they are in a childcare setting, helping them develop the resilience to deal with difficulties and also to become curious in play and interested in learning. School readiness is a resource of the interaction between the child and the rage of environmental and cultural experiences that maximize the development outcomes for children. There are three dimensions of school readiness, (1) ready children, focusing on children’s learning and development. (2) Ready schools, focusing on the school environment along with practices that foster and support a smooth transition for children into primary school and advance and promote the learning of all children. (3) Ready families, focusing on parental and caregiver attitudes and involvement in their children’s early learning and development and transition to school. These dimensions are important and must work in pairs because school readiness is a time of transition that requires the interface between individuals, families and systems. School readiness effects the child’s holistic development and learning as it is a part of the child’s development. Children who aren’t looked after well at home are likely to perform poorly in school where as children who are looked after and are given the correct support and guidance from parents and carers are likely to perform well in school. Holistic development is important for when a child is being prepared for school and their ability to learn in different learning environments. Children need support from their parents and carers and their key person when they are preparing for school. When a child is going to start they will need many skills and abilities in order to be ‘school ready’ such as being able to tell the teacher when they need the toilet, the should be able to eat their lunch without need support the child will also need to understand and follow school rules and the child will need the ability to speak and tell their teach when something is wrong It’s important that children have these skills as the child will need to be confident in learning and more independent. Children who have a good bond with their parents should be able to say goodbye to their parents when they start school. It’s important that children are given the right nutrients and health care as this will help the child develop. Parents should also provide children with resources which will support the child’s learning. Children will also need to get used to the school environment as they will need to be able to feel safe in the school in order to learn, parents can arrange transition visits for the child to experience what school is like and so they are familiar with the school environment, teachers and children. A child will develop confidence through their achievements when a child achieves something they feel good and proud about themselves. At my placement after the practitioner has done the register they sing the good morning song and then the practitioner asks a child to get the magnetic calendar which has the days of the week, dates, months and seasons. Every day they will go through the calendar and the child will change the days of the week, what the weathers like and what month and date it is. I think that this resource is a brilliant way to help children learn the days of the week and the months of the year. It’s important that the child is able to control their behaviour, when the child starts school the child will need to be well behaved and has to listen to the teacher when the teacher is speaking and the child must also follow any instructions the teacher gives them. Parents can ensure that the child understands the rules of the school and that they must obey a school may be that “Children must wear plain black school shoes” the child has to understand that they have to wear black shoes and a school uniform even though when they were at nursery they were able to wear whatever they wanted to.
C1 – Discuss the requirements of the current framework to assess children’s development.
The purpose of observations and assessment on children’s development and learning depend on the skills of the practitioner. Practitioners need to ensure that children make progress and that their achievements are recognised, observations are the key quality to provision. One of the reasons we observe children is to enable adults to have a better understand of the child’s needs. If children’s needs are met in an effective way it is important that practitioners discover the child’s differences and understand that the child has the right to be treated with respect. Observing children can help practitioners share the child’s achievements and empathise with the child’s positive feeling, but children should never be put in situations which may cause them distress. Observations can be used to understand more about the stages of a child’s development. Doctors and health visitors also do regular observations on children to see if they are any developmental issues which may be stopping the child from developing further. Observations and assessments are used together to gather information about a child’s progress in their development and learning. The process of carrying out observations is not an academic task. All observations should provide the information which is needed to enable a professional to make the right informed decisions such as planning certain activities to meet the child’s needs or whether they need to seek professional support or advice. Professional development is about being aware and responsive to the influences which could affect the practitioner’s judgments about the child. Practitioners must ensure that they are up to date with new changes in legislation ad statutory requirements, all of these aid the practitioner’s professional development. The process of observing a child will make the practitioner focus on the child and an area of development. Assessment is the second step in the planning cycle this is a review of what has been observed. In order for the assessment to be effective knowledge and evidence of how the child has developed certain skills is important. The EYFS states that ‘Ongoing assessment is an integral part of the learning and development process. It involves practitioners observing children to understand their level of achievement, interests and learning styles, and to then shape learning experiences for each child reflecting those observations. In their interactions with children, practitioners should respond to their own day-to-day observations about children’s progress and observations that parents and carers share.’ The EYFS provides clear guidance on assessment with a particular focus on assessment procedures and around the progress check for two year olds. The progress check for two year olds is to provide earlier support and interventions for children who have developmental stages which are delayed. Ongoing assessments and observations in all three of the prime areas and four specific areas of learning and development provide a summary of each child’s progress that informs their EYFS profile. The EYFS profile is a summative form of assessment, assessment of learning as the profile shows the levels reached by the child at the of foundation stage. However it can also be used in a formative way to inform the child’s year 1 teacher’s planning. The EYFS profile is another way of recording assessments. Ongoing profiles or records of achievements have an important role in informing parents and carer’s of their child’s continuing development. The profile also provides an opportunity to access their own learning and to celebrate their achievements as being able to self-assess. Holistic provision and assessment of children requires new skills and new ways of thinking. The assessment requires practitioners to make links between the child’s home life and how the child experiences the setting. Assessment should be considered to be a reflection on the observations which have been made in the setting. It’s important that the records kept for assessments are a ‘living’ document this is because it forms a basis of planning and also because children are constantly growing and learning. Guddemin and case (2004) state how children have periods of ‘rapid growth and frequent rest’ (P.3) and this should be reflected on in the ongoing assessments in the setting. The links to EYFS should be made clearly this is so other practitioners, parents and carers are able to see the reason for the observation done on the child and how the assessment has been formed. It’s also important to show the reasoning behind assessments to Ofsted and other inspection agencies. When practitioners meet the child’s parents and carers in order to discuss their child’s development they must be prepared to share information which provides a picture of the child’s progress. The practitioner should share examples of the child’s work and share personal stories of the child’s interactions in the classroom and with other children. It’s also important that the practitioner conveys the parents with overall progress of the child such as where the child was when they first started pre-school to where they are with their developmental stages now. Practitioner should also ensure that they take any worries/concerns and questions the parents may have into consideration this is to show value of the parents thoughts. Practitioner should then make time to touch base with the parents within the next few weeks and say their view on the ways the practitioner has given thought to the parents concerns and how the practitioner has planned t address them, this ill express to the parent that practitioners care and value the concerns and worries parents have. The biggest amount of space, time and attention should be given to the collection of evidence through assessment and observation. Recording and reporting reduce the information into broken down understood documentation and is usually for a wider audience. Putting together observations, other information and noting what the observations and assessments are showing can be recorded on the child’s individual tracker. This should be done every half term. Reporting is undertaken every year or sometimes more frequently depending on the schools regulations. Reporting links into the rest of the process and highlights important information to present to the child’s parent and carers or even Ofsted. At my placement they have parents evening to discuss children’s progress to parents and carers every 5-6 months. This is so parents have a brief picture of what their child does in nursery what activities their child’s key person plans for their child and parents and practitioners can also discuss any concerns they may have about their child.