Professional Practice in Early Years Settings Essay

1.1 Explain how the range of early years settings reflects the scope and purpose of the sector The range of Early Years Settings reflects on the requirements of parents and families for their children. Some parents want care for their children so that they can return to work, some may want to stay with their children while they socialise, some may want their children in a setting which offer services aimed at learning, whilst some may want their children to be in a home based environment and some families cannot afford to pay fees for provision. This is why the |Early Year’s sector has various forms of provision to meet the needs of families. Provision include Nurseries, child minders, pre-schools, crà ¨ches, children’s centres and parent and toddler groups. 2.1 Identify current policies, frameworks and influences on the early years There are various policies in place which each setting is required to follow. There are five basic policies of good practice, Equality and Diversity Rights and responsibilities Confidentiality Promote anti discrimination, effective communication. There is also the Childcare Act 2006 were Child minders and childcare providers registered on the Early Years Register must meet the legal requirements set out by this act. The legal requirements you must meet for the safeguarding and welfare and the learning and development of young children are set out in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. There is the EYFS Framework which was put into place to ensure every child is given the best possible start in life and to ensure every effort is made ensure a child has equal opportunities to learn in a safe and secure environment. There is also the Foundation Stage, The Birth to Three Matters Framewor k and the National Standards for Under 8s Daycare and Childminding, to which are replaced by the EYFS. There is also the Every Child Matters Framework. The education act introduced free childcare provisions for under-fives and since September 1st 2010 this rose from 12 and a half hours a week to 15 hours a week. 2.2 Explain the impact of current policies, frameworks and influences on the early years sector The purpose and impact of current policies, frameworks and influences on the Early Years sector is about connecting everyone  together as a whole. By having policies and frameworks in place it ensures the safety and welfare of the children. Children are now able to play, engage in and express themselves freely and are being heard. With all groups linked together, working with the same child will mean that the child will learn more effectively. Information is encouraged to be shared with the children and families. Whatever their backgrounds, all children and families are now given the access to affordable quality childcare. 2.3 Describe what is meant by evidence-based practice and give examples of how this has influenced work with children in their early years Evidence based practise is a setting which is influenced by objective evidence gained from research. Professional practices require you to keep up to date with researched findings and to consider how these can be applied to your own setting. An example of how research has influenced work with children is The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) which is a comprehensive report which investigated the effects of pre-school provision, its findings found that children who had attended early years provision were more likely to have better cognitive, social and behaviour skills when they started formal education than those who had no early years provision. EPPE also confirmed the value of early learning through ‘play’ especially from low-income families. Key Elements of effective practice (KEEP) is another example. This documen t emphasises that effective learning in children is dependent on secure relationships. Learning through play and forming secure relationships are both key elements to the EYFS. 4.1 Explain the importance of reviewing own practice as part of being an effective practitioner It is important to review your own practice to enable opportunities to evaluate and reflect on your own work. Reflecting on practice will help to see where changes need to be made and also note if errors have been made and how to rectify them and ensure the same errors are not repeated. To reflect on practice, as a setting you need to be able to provide constructive criticism, question actions and see whether what you are doing is working or whether there is room for improvement. Reflecting on your practise will help you to have a clearer picture of what you actually do within your work role and what is expected of you, and to ensure you are  meeting the required standards. 4.2 Undertake a reflective analysis of own practice Through working with 0-2 year olds it has provided me with opportunities and experience to acknowledge children’s needs by finding ways to communicate through body language. By having opportunities to extend by knowledge via different courses has allowed me to extend my knowledge. Although I have gained a great deal of experience with deal with behaviour and leaning to different forms of discipline, I would like to learn more and extend my knowledge and experience. 4.3 Develop strategies to deal with areas of difficulty and challenge encountered in professional practice in early years setting One of the main difficulties a setting comes across is how to deal with a child that may have difficulties with their behaviour, and how to approach the child’s parents. The first strategy would be to follow the setting’s policy on behaviour and monitor the situation. It may be necessary to approach the parent’s and try and work together. It may be useful to explain the settings policies and strategies to the child’s parents to enable them to carry out the same strategies at home.