February / March Sample

Magazine magazine of the of the Professional professional Association association for for Childcare childcare andand Early early Years years | February/March | april/may 2013 2014

BRAND NEW FACE WELCOME TO YOUR NEW LOOK PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION YOUR COMMUNITY BEING A POSITIVE ROLE MODEL

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Supporting children with SEN Written by Aaron Hunter

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A key part of the Westminster Government’s new Childcare and Families Bill is a set of regulations which will change the way children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) receive care in England. PACEY is taking a lead role in helping childcare professionals to provide high-quality support to children with SEN and their families.

Childcare professionals often provide care to children with SEN; recent Government statistics indicate that one in 10 nannies and childminders and almost half of nurseries care for at least one child with SEN. It is important that childcare professionals receive a high standard of support to meet the individual needs of children with SEN. Delivering this support is essential to making sure that the child’s family can find care in their local area, and that professionals themselves feel confident when working with children who have

complex needs.

In October 2013, the Government released the Draft Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice: for 0 to 25 years.

The Code of Practice lays out the Government’s expectations of local authorities; health, education and care bodies; and childcare professionals when providing support to children with SEN. The Draft SEN Code of Practice includes some significant changes: statements of special educational needs and Learning Difficulty Assessments will be replaced

by Education, Health and Care

plans for children whose existing provision is not enough to support their needs. There are also proposals to merge the 2-year-old progress check with the health check currently carried out as part of the Department of Health’s Healthy Child Programme.

The majority of responsibilities set out in the Code of Practice are intended to shape how local authorities produce their “local offer”. This includes each authority’s plan to design, develop and deliver SEN provision in their area, and who they should work with at each stage. For early years

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lead within the early years sector to take our members’ views to policymakers, and to ensure that where members are given responsibilities for providing SEN support, they are supported effectively to carry them out.

In December 2013, we responded to the Government’s consultation on the Draft SEN Code of Practice, and recommended that the Government sets clear requirements for local authorities to engage with childcare professionals in the design and delivery of their “local offer”. We also recommended that Ofsted’s inspection criteria reflect the Code of Practice, to help identify

where members are delivering high-quality care to children with SEN, and where they may need additional support.

This year, PACEY will work to develop resources for childcare professionals who care for children with SEN. We’ll engage with members throughout the process to ensure that these resources support the highest standards of care. We will also continue to represent members to Government at local and national levels, to make sure your views, insights and experiences are taken into account in key policy decisions. n

Draft SEN Code of Practice – your rights and responsibilities The new Children and Families Bill is due to become law in September 2014. Please note that as the Children and Families Bill is still making its way through Parliament, the following information is subject to change.

Responsibilities to...

Engage children and their families Provide equal opportunities Assess SEN

Who does this affect?

All early years providers All Ofsted registered early years providers All early years providers

Have or refer to a designated SEN coordinator

Group/network settings

Rights to...

Who does this affect?

Anyone

Bring suspected SEN to the attention of local authorities Be consulted by local authorities

Relevant early years providers

Detail Early years providers should fully engage the parents of children with SEN when drawing up policies that affect them.

The existing requirements under the EYFS are to have and implement a policy and procedures to promote equal opportunities for children in their care, including disabled children or children with SEN. Early years settings should have a clear approach to assessing SEN, both as an ongoing process and at the points specified in the EYFS at 2 and 5 years old.

Maintained nurseries must ensure there is a qualified teacher to act as the setting’s SEN Coordinator (SENCO). Childminders in a network or a proposed childminder agency may share the role of SENCO between childminders and the agency/coordinator of the network.

POLICY

professionals, responsibilities remain largely unchanged from those set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). For more information, please see the table below.

PACEY recognises how important local support is for those who care for children with SEN. Although we welcome the Government’s emphasis on closer ties between local authorities and health, education and care professionals, more needs to be done to ensure that childcare professionals and those who represent them are involved in developing these proposals at a local level. PACEY is taking the

PACEY recognises how important local support is for those who care for children with SEN

Detail

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Anyone can bring a child who may have SEN to the attention of the local authority. This should be done with the knowledge and agreement of the parent(s)/guardian(s) where possible.

Local authorities must review their SEN provision, and consult a range of partners, including the providers of relevant early years education in the area. They must also secure relevant expertise among early years providers to ensure that sufficient and appropriate provision is in place for children with SEN in the local area.

If you have any recommendations for how PACEY can support you to provide high-quality care to a child or children you care for with SEN, please email us at magazine@pacey.org.uk

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20/01/2014 11:54

Getting to know your community

“No man is an island, entire of itself”. John Donne’s famous and well-loved poem is about the connections that we all have with each other.

As children develop their individual sense of themselves, they begin to understand and explore their relationships with those around them.

Creative play is an ideal way to support children to understand relationships and their community.

Rhymes and routine

Written by Lizzie Duffey and Iva Manova

For babies, an understanding of people and communities lies within the early attachments they form with those closest to them. Consistency is key for babies, and you can support their developing confidence by working closely with parents to establish consistency across routines.

Try working with the parent(s) to continue elements of their home routine at your setting, perhaps by incorporating baby’s favourite song, story, nursery rhyme or game to simulate a home routine?

This kind of consistency will not only comfort babies and young children, but can help them to understand and look forward to different events throughout the day. Consistency and routine can work very well for toddlers, too as it supports their independence as they begin to know what to expect and so can anticipate what to do next.

Small world play

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As children get a little older, their experience of the people around them begins to extend to incorporate friends and people

within the local community.

Encourage the children to think about and understand their local community through small world play. A variety of simple materials such as small boxes, yoghurt pots, tissue paper and paint can be enough to create your very own mini community! You could recreate the park, local shop,

children’s centre, or anywhere the children choose in the local area.

Small world play allows children to engage in creative, imaginative play whilst learning about the community and the world around them. This type of play also supports children’s communication skills as they build their small community together.

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Written by Pippa Ashton

Small world play with junk modelling Junk modelling is a great way to reuse household packaging whilst encouraging the children to get creative. It also helps the children to explore a variety of materials and textures as they play. Why not dip into your recycling and see what you can find?

You could use cartons, boxes and packets to recreate shops and familiar places within the local community. Try using the small world figures (such as Happyland or Playmobil® figures) to add to it.

Eventually you would have a big play scene that the children could explore. Why not stick long lines of masking tape to the floor to create a small world road through your community. Add toy cars along the way, too!

Themed role play days

Provide a range of props for the children to choose from and involve them in creating a theme for your role play day.

You could have a doctor’s surgery, using shoe boxes as beds and dolls and teddies for patients. Or perhaps a school day, where the children set up teddies and dolls at school. This can also involve a range of mark-making exercises if the children take it in turns to play the role of the teacher, using a chalk board at the front of the class and ticking against names on a register.

You might like to introduce the theme of transport by providing cushions, chairs or cardboard boxes for the children to use. They could pretend to be bus drivers, taxi drivers and train drivers as they talk about where they are going to take their passengers.

IDEAS

Community play ideas

Providing a wide variety of role play resources can support children to recognise and appreciate similarities and differences

Share your small world and role play activities at: local.pacey.org.uk www.facebook.com/paceylocal www.pinterest.com/paceylocal

Role play According to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in England, children should “know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.” Similarly, the Foundation Phase in Wales states that children should “gain

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awareness that all individuals are of equal value and learn to acknowledge, respect and value individual and cultural similarities and differences.”

Providing a wide variety of role play resources can support children to recognise and appreciate similarities and differences. For example, you could supply dressing-up clothes, dolls and props to represent a range of cultures, backgrounds and professions. Make the most of your community by getting to know

local businesses and the resources that might be available to you.

Perhaps a local optician will supply some old frames for your role play area, to help the children learn about similarities and differences between individuals?

Extend the children’s learning by inviting people such as parents, police officers or firefighers to talk to them. This will help the children to relate people and places back to their play experiences and further enhance their understanding of community. n

further resources PACEY childminder members automatically receive free iChild silver membership, giving you access to a wide range of EYFS and Foundation Phase activities.

Visit MyPACEY to access these fun resources and to find out more about how to promote your childminding business through iChild

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At PACEY, we ensure we listen to our members’ feedback and suggestions. Many of you have telephoned or emailed to ask about membership for your assistants, and we’ve been working on a solution for you.

We have developed a new childminding assistant membership category to deliver benefits to those in the sector who are working alongside registered childminders. We understand that childminding assistants need access to professional guidance and training and are every bit as dedicated and professional as their employers.

As such, the childminding assistant category provides many of the great benefits that nannies, childminders and nursery workers receive. And remember, if you employ a childminding assistant, you can organise your specialised Employers’ Liability Insurance through PACEY, too.

For just £34.50 a year, childminding assistants will receive: l Free online training courses, to keep up to date with current thinking and childcare techniques l Expert helplines on health and wellbeing, childcare and early years – giving valuable advice and information in just a quick phone call l A full range of factsheets, ‘howto’ videos and practice guides to give clear and concise hints and tips on day-to-day topics l The Childcare Professional, PACEY’s membership magazine delivered regularly to their door l The opportunity to take part in

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Benefits

New childminding assistant membership

Written by Laura Seal

our consultations and research, and have their say in our policy work l Member access to PACEY Local, our online community of childcare professionals l Discounts on qualifications and products – from both PACEY and PACEY partners Childminding assistant membership benefits the employing childminder, too, as the helplines, free online training and reading resources

support Continuous Professional Development without the need for costly solutions or external training.

We look forward to welcoming the first of our new childminding assistant members as soon as possible, so if you know of a childminding assistant who would benefit, or if you employ an assistant yourself, simply call our Membership team on 0300 003 0005 or go online at www.pacey.org.uk n

COMING SOON In response to member feedback, Childminding Assistant Contracts will soon be available from PACEY. To purchase or for more information, call us on 0300 003 0005 or visit shop.pacey.org.uk

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