Standard 5
An Early Years Teacher must:
5. Adapt education and care to respond to the strengths and needs of all children
Standard 5 asks students to look closer at Standard 4 (plan education and care taking account of the needs of all children), and consider strategies that allow planning to cater for the individual child.
It is important not to overlook the more gifted children as well as those who may need extra support, finding ways to extend learning opportunities at appropriate levels.
There is an opportunity here to bring your theoretical knowledge into play, demonstrating your understanding of the factors involved in the ways children gain knowledge, those factors that can inhibit learning, and the general well-being and happiness of children in your care.
Denise Reardon, programme director of Early Years Teacher Status at Canterbury Christ Church University, gives her advice on Standard 5 throughout this feature.
SUPPORTING STATEMENTS
5.1 Have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit children's learning and development and how best to address these.
This section of the standard offers opportunities for students to show their planning is underpinned by a theoretical knowledge of child learning and development, plus a knowledge of strategies that can be used to help children who may be in need of additional help.
Here is a list of factors for reflection when looking at this area of Standard 5:
- Key events in a child's life, such as the transitions - into the setting, between rooms, inside and outside the setting, to school, between family members or moving home.
- Family break-up, the arrival of a new baby brother or sister, an illness in the family or a crisis involving the police or social services.
- Gifted children, children with English as a second language, traveller children and children from different cultural backgrounds and religious beliefs all have personalised needs.
- The needs of children who have a severe or delayed impairment, such as fine or gross motor skills, hearing, speech, sight or cognitive delay, or a recognised special educational need or disability. Examples of this include autism, Down syndrome or cerebral palsy.
As strand 5.3 of this standard tends to lean towards the range of factors that can inhibit children with special educational needs and disabilities, you may wish to consider including examples to show how you applied your theoretical underpinning in practice to a range of children.
Stages of development
5.2 Demonstrate an awareness of the physical, emotional, social, intellectual development and communication needs of babies and children, and know how to adapt education and care to support children at different stages of development
This area of the standard, specifically looking at stages of development, asks students to demonstrate their knowledge of the importance of recognising the changing demands of children at differing stages of development and how they plan to cater for these needs.
Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a really useful document because it confirms that children develop at their own unique rate and in their own unique style. The guidance materials are not fixed age boundaries but suggest a typical range of development.
The stages featured in Development Matters can help you make best-fit summative judgements and can be used as part of your daily/summative observation, assessment and planning in relation to whether a child is gifted for their age, showing typical development or requiring additional support.
5.3 Demonstrate a clear understanding of the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, and be able to use and evaluate distinctive approaches to engage and support them
Your Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) will prove an invaluable source of information here; their knowledge, observations and ideas on engaging children with a range of special needs will form the basis of much of what is required in this part of the criteria.
The range of special educational needs and disability is diverse and includes physical, emotional, sensory and learning needs. The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Handbook (2014) will help to clarify these areas.
In your assessments, clarify how you identify children with special educational needs and/or disabilities early, and the range of support that you routinely put in place to support their learning and development.
Show how your practice is underpinned by a theoretical knowledge and understanding as well as the skills required to provide the right support for the children in your care. In doing this, remember that these children may need your support to address not only their special educational need and or disabilities, but also many of the factors listed earlier in this piece.
As an aspiring Early Years Teacher, you will also need to clarify how you support your colleagues and other professionals to care for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Moving on
5.4 Support children through a range of transitions
Forms of transition, the best support to offer during these times, and the monitoring of the outcomes are both diverse and varied.
Supporting babies and young children's early experiences of transitions will prepare them for the changes in their everyday lives to come.
In your assessments, consider explaining how you use your theoretical knowledge and skills to support children and their families to move from the home environment to the setting, from room to room, from key person to key person, moving on from one setting to another, or other significant changes in their lives.
Aim to provide clarity about how you:
- communicate with other professionals and parent/carers to share information about a child
- provide enough time to plan for, and ensure, a smooth transition
- ensure that transitions take into account the needs of a child - for example, any special educational needs or disabilities, their home life, their culture, their dietary needs
- plan and design routines that are familiar and welcoming and provide opportunities for children to express their emotions and feelings, and build new relationships with their adults and peers
- work closely with parents and carers and other professionals to support the transition - for example, inviting parents to stay with their child as they become familiar with their new surroundings or encouraging the child to bring a familiar object from home, such as a favourite cuddly toy or comforter
- ensure effective communication between professionals and parent/carers
- use observations to tune in to a child's feelings and emotions.
5.5 Know when a child is in need of additional support and how this can be accessed, working in partnership with parents and/or carers and other professionals
As an aspiring Early Years Teacher, use your assessments to show how you liaise with parents and carers, the SENCO, other members of the team or outside professionals to co-ordinate additional support for children who may have identified additional needs.
Depending on the level of the child's needs, they may be co-ordinated through the Common Assessment Framework - CAF - or the Early Support Programme. In your assessment, show how you plan and organise your systems to ensure that every child receives an enjoyable and challenging learning experience that is tailored to meet their individual needs.
Remember, the statutory framework for the EYFS seeks to provide:
- quality and consistency in all early years settings, so that every child makes good progress and no child gets left behind
- a secure foundation through learning and development opportunities that are planned around the needs and interests of each individual child and are assessed and reviewed regularly
- partnership working - between practitioners and with parents and/or carers.
Important points to consider
- Are children in your care gifted or talented for their age, showing typical development or requiring additional support?
- When planning, offer developmentally appropriate indoor/outdoor, child-led, adult-initiated, group activities and experiences, organising appropriate learning environments and resources to challenge all children.
- Aim to implement developmentally appropriate teaching and learning approaches and transition experiences. Source information about the child's physical, emotional, social and intellectual needs, via child observations, parents/carers and other professionals.
Further information
Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage,
Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Handbook
The next part of this series will focus on Standard 6, in Nursery World 10-23 March.
