Working with Children in the Early Years

Carrie Cable, Linda Miller, Gill Goodliff

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781136034626
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Working with Children in the Early Years is an accessible introduction to early years theories, policy and practice, offering practitioners in a diverse range of settings the opportunity to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills for working with young children. This fully updated second edition builds on new government agendas and interests in supporting quality provision for young children and their families. Bringing together current research and thinking in a broad range of areas, it covers:

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• the diversity of practitioner roles and multi-agency working

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• working with families

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• listening to children

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• observing and assessing

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• developing professional roles

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• health and well being

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• curriculum and pedagogy

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• the importance of play and learning in the early years

All contributions are strongly practical and underpinned by relevant theory, and will support students and practitioners studying in the field of early years and early childhood studies as well as those aiming to achieve Early Years Professional Status. The book will also appeal to training providers, equipping them with a valuable and unique source to support a range of early years courses.

Part 1

Roles, provision and practices

Carrie Cable

Introduction

The chapters in the first part of this book provide insights into the changing roles of practitioners in the UK in the 21st century and aim to support you in reflecting on your own role and those of others you work with in the diverse settings encompassed within early years provision. Themes that are considered in these chapters include: the policy context for developments in early years services; different types of provision; professionalism and professional roles and responsibilities; working in teams both in and across settings and agencies; and the nature of leadership in the early years. A variety of settings and approaches are drawn on by the authors to enable you to compare and contrast your own experiences and practices.

In Chapter 1 Caroline Jones and Linda Pound discuss the range of tasks, roles and responsibilities that all those working in the early years undertake whether or not they are in leadership positions. They examine the specific nature of the roles and responsibilities associated with leadership and explore the concept of distributed leadership as one of particular significance in the early years context. The examples and case studies they provide should support you in reflecting on the different roles you carry out and different leadership styles. Becoming an effective leader in the early years is seen as an on-going process; developing professionalism is central to this process and is supported by experience and reflective practice.

In the next chapter Carrie Cable, Rose Drury and Leena Robertson examine the role of bilingual practitioners who support bilingual children, their parents and other practitioners in making connections between home and school. Many young children growing up in the UK speak one language at home with families but will be learning English at school or in their early years setting. The chapter considers the reasons for supporting children’s bilingualism and the varied roles of bilingual staff. A case study of a ‘day in the life’ of one practitioner is provided for readers to reflect on. The authors argue that many bilingual practitioners adopt a mediating role in supporting the development of shared understandings of children’s experiences and learning.

Chapter 3, by Sue Owen and Gill Haynes, offers a review of developments in the policy context of early years services over the last ten years, and then concentrates on the more recent policy and strategy developments linked to the Every Child Matters agenda (DfES 2003). The second half of the chapter reviews the background to work-force reform before focusing on the policy related to recent workforce development in England, including the introduction of Early Years Professional Status. The authors discuss these issues in the context of the development of professionalism in the early years workforce and pay, conditions and rewards.

Working together is a key aspect of professional life in early years settings. In Chapter 4 Mary Read and Mary Rees provide theoretical and practical insights for early years practitioners into ways of working together successfully. They highlight the importance of communication in forging and maintaining professional relationships and consider how to develop and manage strategies for dealing with conflict within teams. They conclude by discussing the personal and professional development of individual team members and pose helpful questions for leaders and managers of teams.

In Chapter 5 Linda Miller explores the nature of professionalism for early years practitioners. She discusses reforms in the children’s workforce across the UK and considers the developments in each nation for raising the standards and qualifications of those working in the early years. She considers different training and professional development routes and examines the discussions and debates surrounding the requisite knowledge and skills practitioners will need. She argues that the challenge for practitioners undertaking further professional development is to develop a critical and analytical perspective towards their practice in order to uncover new professional insights.

The theme of Chapter 6 is team work but this time within multi-agency contexts within early years provision. Caroline Jones and Linda Pound outline the challenges and emphasise the role of negotiation in establishing and maintaining good working relationships across what were previously seen as professional boundaries. The Common Assessment Framework is considered in some detail as a tool in developing shared understandings. The authors argue for an inclusive approach to collaboration which cuts across professional boundaries and embraces different perspectives. This inevitably means people moving outside their comfort zones and reflecting on their taken-for-granted assumptions.

In Chapter 7, the final chapter in this part of the book, Linda Miller, Jane Devereux, Alice Paige-Smith and Janet Soler consider five approaches to early years curricula. Two of these examples consider what we have to learn from taking an historical perspective (Steiner and Montessori). More recent approaches (Schema, TeWhaariki and Reggio Emilia) offer a contrasting perspective on the more centralised models which are being developed in a number of countries, including England. The authors argue that a consideration of alternative approaches enables us to look at the work of others and have insights into our own practice.

Reference

Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (2003) Every Child Matters. Nottingham: DfES.

Chapter 1

The roles and responsibilities of leaders

Caroline Jones and Linda Pound

Caroline Jones and Linda Pound discuss the range of tasks, roles and responsibilities that all early years practitioners, whether designated leaders or not, undertake. The specific nature of leadership roles and the parameters of the responsibilities of a professional leader are examined. The authors argue that becoming an effective leader in the early years is a developmental process. Developing professionalism is central to this process and is supported by experience and reflective practice.

We are all parties to leadership. Although it helps to have a sympathetic position leader … we shouldn’t wait for the go-ahead. There can be acts of compassionate leadership in every step you take. You may collaborate with others as soon as you begin to value their interests. You can be a collective leader when you vow to serve others and your community …

(Raelin 2003: 252)

Introduction

As changes occur in the way in which schools and other early years settings are organized; childcare needs are addressed for children above and below statutory school age; as government priorities shift, the roles taken on by practitioners in all sectors of provision will need to change too. Those of you who have been designated leaders (or as Raelin terms it above, ‘position leaders’) will be well aware that what is expected of you changes all the time. Your title and salary may remain the same but your role frequently changes, as circumstances are altered by both national and local contexts. In this chapter we explore the changing roles and responsibilities of leaders. We consider the range of tasks, roles and responsibilities which early years practitioners have to assume and the relationship between them. We explore the specific nature of leadership roles and responsibilities in the ‘leaderful community’ (Raelin 2003) of early years settings and identify the different groups to whom leaders in this sector are accountable. Responsibilities to and for the team with whom you work are examined and the chapter concludes by considering the responsibilities a professional leader has in terms of self-development and reflection.

Tasks, roles and responsibilities

We begin by considering not only the roles and relationships which leaders (and indeed all early years practitioners) must undertake but also the tasks that everyone is involved in and how these relate to their roles and responsibilities.

Case Study

Claire is an assistant head in a children’s centre which was formerly a maintained nursery school. Claire’s role has changed and developed over several years. When her children were small and attending the nursery school she volunteered as a parent helper. Because she already had a qualification equivalent to NVQ3, Claire was able to take on a wider range of responsibilities than other parent helpers. She felt comfortable, for example, playing maths games with the children and was able to contribute ideas for art and for design technology activities. When a post in the nursery class became vacant, Claire applied for it and was appointed. Her roles in the centre inevitably broadened, and she began to take responsibility for ensuring that resources were well maintained, and that all areas of provision were inviting and stimulating. She took on areas of responsibility beyond the setting and was able to take a lead in community involvement and work with parents.

When it was decided to introduce an extended day scheme, Claire was very enthusiastic and sometimes helped out by covering for staff absence or other emergencies. She enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with children in a more relaxed atmosphere and found that this helped her to build a strong relationship with them. It also meant that she was able to meet parents that she would otherwise be unable to see on the regular and informal basis which she enjoyed with other parents. Working alongside the extended day team also gave Claire an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with staff there. Overall she was able to act as a bridge between home and school and between school staff and the extended day team.

When the nursery school was designated as a children’s centre, Claire applied for an assistant head’s post, with overall responsibility for children up to the age of 3. In this role she worked closely with other senior managers to set up and implement plans to provide full day care for a group of babies and toddlers. She was also given responsibility for the day-today wrap-around care for older children.

In spite of this high level of responsibility, Claire felt that some additional qualifications would help her to fulfil her roles more effectively and she enrolled initially for an early years foundation degree course. The successful completion of that course spurred her on further and she undertook the NPQICL course. She has found that her developing ability to reflect critically on her work has given her both new insights and increased confidence. These in turn have enabled her to gain support for aspects of provision which have sometimes been regarded among some team members and managers as peripheral to their work.

During her time at this centre, Claire has held a number of different roles. In those roles there may well be a high level of overlap in the tasks she undertakes – but her responsibility as she undertakes different tasks may vary. For example, in most of the roles which Claire has been in, she will have undertaken simple cleaning tasks.

• As a parent helper, her motive or sense of responsibility will have something to do with simply being the extra pair of hands, and something to do with demonstrating to her own child her commitment to the setting.

• As a member of staff, Claire may have decided to get involved out of a sense of responsibility to the team but may also have been driven by her sense of responsibility to children. She may have noticed that the child who was asked to mop up some spilt water is becoming frustrated and is on the verge of a tantrum, and clearly needs support to complete the task successfully. In her role as an educator she may have sought to promote a child’s self-esteem, acknowledging her responsibility for supporting all-round development.

• However, as an assistant head seeing water spilt in a corridor, Claire might mop it up in order to demonstrate her responsibility for the smooth running of the school as a whole; for the safety and well-being of children; or to act as a role model for staff and children. Alternatively, if as assistant head Claire were, for example, showing the centre to a councillor, it might be more appropriate for her to exercise responsibility as a senior manager and request that someone else do the task so that she can concentrate on acting as an advocate for the centre by bending the politician’s ear.

Claire has a large number of roles within the centre, contributing to the well-being or care of children throughout their time there. In collaboration with the qualified teacher she supports children’s learning and development across the curriculum. She liaises between different teams within the centre, and between parents and staff. She takes responsibility for developments within the setting and beyond. She demonstrates leadership in a number of important aspects of life in a children’s centre which is also a school – using both formal mechanisms where she has been given specific roles and responsibilities and informal ones where she must use influence to contribute to change within the institution.

Table 1.1 summarizes the varying roles and responsibilities assumed by Claire and her team as they undertake similar tasks.

Within differing roles, leaders undertake a wide variety of different tasks. The sense of responsibility involved in carrying out even apparently similar tasks may vary. Beth, for example, regularly works in a nursery alongside other members of her team. At different times she may see a simple task like reading a story as part of her role as officer in charge, maintaining day-to-day contact with children so that she can fulfil her responsibility to have a clear overview of the children’s needs and interests. Sometimes she is covering a staff leave or absence. Her ro...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• General introduction
• Part 1 Roles, provision and practices
• Part 2 Children's lives
• Part 3 Listening to children and adults
• Index