When working with children and young people it is important to know the aims and responsibilities for your setting. The government frame work, Every Child Matters (ECM) places great importance on partnership working. The five outcomes for ECM are • Be healthy • Stay safe • Enjoy and achieve • Make a positive contribution • Achieve economic well-being It is very important that everyone working together with children and young people finds out about the five outcomes and bases their working practice on them. When people working with children and young people work together it can be very positive for the children concerned. The adults could be • Parents • Carers • Colleagues • Professionals • Multi-disciplinary teams They need to: • Communicate • Exchange information • Share their knowledge and expertise • Understand each other’s roles. This partnership working can be called multi-agency working or integrated working If your setting work well as a team, you will enjoy your work more and work more effectively – and the children will benefit. Then it can have a positive impact on children’s and young peoples: • Health • Development • Learning • Relationships The Early Years Foundation (EYFS) makes it clear that, if different agencies work together, it would improve the outcome for the children in their learning and development. It also shows the importance of creating effective relationships with the people you work with and respecting their expertise. You will also be
A practitioner’s role in meeting children’s learning needs are to understand and work with each and every child’s learning needs. They can do this by providing different opportunities to individual children because each child is unique and learns differently. The practitioners’ role would therefore be to plan and resource an environment that is challenging and helps children learn in many different areas of their learning.
It emphasises the important principles to be followed when working with children and young people: settings must provide a safe and secure environment, if any children are identified as suffering from abuse or likely to suffer the appropriate action must be taken.
The 5 positive outcomes for children and young people that practitioners should be striving to achieve under the framework of Every Child Matters are:
Throughout my years as a childcare practitioner, I have accumulated a wide range of experience working with children aged 3 – 11. However, the majority of my experience is with children aged 3-5. Through
The role and responsibilities of an early year’s practitioner follow a number of codes. When working with children there are many care needs of children, such as special needs, safeguarding children, children’s learning, behaviour, and working with parents. Early years practitioners have set responsibilities when working with children, like meeting the learning needs of a child, providing an environment which is welcoming and also they have to work together as part of a team to provide good service for both children and parents.
Explain how the procedures of the work setting protect both children and young people and practitioners.
It is important to ensure children and young people are protected from harm within the setting, as the parents are leaving their children in your care with the expectation that they can trust you and your colleagues to keep their children from harm. It is difficult for parents to leave their children in an education or care setting and then go to work; they need to be confident that their children will be in safe supportive hands with people that will help them develop.
As an early years setting I have a responsibility to help the children in my care achieve the 5 outcomes of the UK Governments Every Child Matters (ECM) – Be Healthy, Stay Safe, Enjoy & Achieve, Make a positive contribution and Achieve economic well-being.
1.1 Explain why working in partnership with others is important for children and young people
In order to improve their work with young children practitioners use their own learning by using ways of work that are non-judgemental, sensitive and positive. Therefore, practitoners through initial on-going training and development need to develop, and demonstrate and continuously improve a number of things in their work. They may have to work with the wider community such as parents and carers and also with other professionals with inside and outside the setting. They may have to improve on their relationships with both the children and their parents and develop a knowledge and understanding of the diverse ways that children can learn in order to support and extend children’s learning across all areas and aspects of learning (Leicestershire County Council).
1 Why is it important for children and young people that you work in partnership with the following people/groups?
Working in partnership is essential to the development of children and young people in the early years setting and school. Partnerships are formed by positive relationships, from practitioners to parents, carers and multi-agencies. Multi-agencies are different types of servicers brought together for one purpose, which is to support the needs of the child and young person. Through this partnerships are formed with practitioners and families through the key worker system, and integrated work supports the child and young person by meeting their needs and improving their life. Integrated practices and multi-agencies work together to benefit children and young people as it brings together a range of different services which is open to the community.
All professionals working with children have a responsibility to work with honesty, to work with having strong moral principles and to have a high standard in partnership with others. You need to respect the views and opinions of others when working in partnership with them, there is bound to be a range of different opinions. This can be difficult to work with. Nevertheless, regardless of whether or not you agree with the views that other have put forward, it is imperative that you respect their views and opinions.
They are many ways in which you can work in an inclusive way within a children’s setting.
My past personal and professional experiences have allowed me to see that work with children and families is of utmost importance. Providing empowerment to children and families and helping them to succeed is both tertiary and preventative care. When children are allowed to learn and grow in a safe and nurturing environment they will be better prepared to thrive as adults. In working with Children First/Communities in Schools I was able to provide case management to clients. In order to successfully provide case management I was required to be flexible, problem solve by seeing the client wholistically as both an individual and as a product of his/her environment and circumstances, and know the resources available in the area. I have also spent