Areas of learning and development essay sample

1. 1 Explain each of the areas of learning and development and how these are interdependent.

It is important to remember that these six areas of learning do not work in isolation but are in fact interlinked. Good quality activities will cover more than one area of development. For example, allowing children to access the outdoors will not only support their physical development, but encourage their communication and exploration of their environment. Where a child experiences a delay in one area, it is likely to limit their learning and development in the other five…a child with cerebral palsy who experiences hand-eye coordination difficulties is likely to find completing a puzzle difficult therefore hindering her problem solving, reasoning and numeracy. It is therefore vital that settings recognise each child’s individual needs and plan holistically in order to help children achieve their full potential across the six areas of learning.

Personal, social and Emotional Development

Children must be provided with experiences and support, which will help them to develop a positive sense of themselves and of others; respect for others; social skills; and a positive disposition to learn.

Providers must ensure support for children’s emotional well being to help them to know themselves and what they can do.

Communication, Language and Literacy

Children’s learning and competence in communicating, speaking and listening, being read to and beginning to read and write must be supported and extended.

They must be provided with opportunity and encouragement to use their skills in a range of situations and for a range of purposes, and be supported in developing the confidence and disposition to do so.

Problem solving, Reasoning and Numeracy

Children must be supported in developing their understanding of Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy in a broad range of contexts in which they can explore, enjoy, learn, practice and talk about their developing understanding.

They must be provided with opportunities to practice and extend their skills in these areas and to gain confidence and competence in their use.

Knowledge and understanding of the world
Children must be supported in developing the knowledge; skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world.

Their learning must be supported through offering opportunities for them to use a range of tools safely; encounter creatures, people, plants and objects in their natural environments and in real-life situations; undertake practical ‘ experiments’; and work with a range of materials.

Physical Development

The physical development of babies and young children must be encouraged through the provision of opportunities for them to be active and interactive and to improve their skills of coordination, control, manipulation and movement.

They must be supported in using all of their senses to learn about the world around them and to make connections between new information and what they already know.

They must be supported in developing an understanding of the importance of physical activity and making healthy choices in relation to food.

Creative Development

Children’s creativity must be extended by the provision of support for their curiosity, exploration and play.

They must be provided with opportunities to explore and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings, for example, through a variety of art, music, movement, dance, imaginative and role-play activities, mathematics, and design and technology.

1. 2 Describe the documented outcomes for children that form part of the relevant early years framework.

The overarching aim of the EYFS is to help young children achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes of staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution, and achieving economic well-being by

• Be Healthy
• Stay Safe
• Enjoy and Achieve
• Make a Positive Contribution
• Achieve Economic Well-being

1. 3 Explain how the documented outcomes are assessed and recorded.

The Foundation Phase’s child development assessment profile provides a description of performance which are assembled into six developmental areas, these describe the course between ‘ child development and ‘ learning outcomes’ these are: Personal, social and emotional.

Speaking and listening.
Reading and writing
Sort, order and numbers.
Approach to learning, thinking and reasoning.
Physical.

These description of performance, which contain each development area are made up of seven steps that cover an age range of 18 to 84 months. Although the child will be assessed between 36 months (age 3) and 60 months (age 5), it is necessary to include the performance details below and above this age. This is to cater for children who are at an early stage of development and children who are progressively more able in their development.

Planning for children’s development start’s with observations in order to find out the child’s previous knowledge, their interests and needs. There are many forms of observations that can be carried out to allow us to collate the evidence we need to plan appropriately for the individual child. Each method of observation has advantages and disadvantages of recording the child’s development, so it is important to use a variety of methods of observation for each child to gain holistic knowledge and understanding of the child’s development.

Outcome 3

3. 1 Explain how practitioners promote children’s learning within the relevant early years framework.

Organisation and management making sure that we provide opportunities to extend play for children, key worker system is in place for legal and responsibility of learning and development of each child, thinking about to the children use the space indoors/outdoors, observation and planning system which meets individual needs and interests. We have a very good balance of adult and child led play we try for a 50% we follow children’s interests by observations and asking the children what they would like in the planning and what activities they would like to do that day. Sensitive intervention is trying to intervene without disrupting or changing the focus on the play.

Watching to see if the child wants you to participate or not, so enhancing play but not taking ownership of the play away from the child. Supporting and facilitating when you have a positive relationship with the children they will seek your help doing something like building dens they might need materials and resources or helping them reach their aim. Modelling when children watch an adult they might try to model that action by repeating
actions, words or skills. Coaching children do and learn more when given encouragement and support of an adult by making a child feel confident they might try to do or develop something a little further this is linked to the Vygotsky theory of proximal development getting children to do something just outside their comfort range.

Outcome 4

4. 2 Explain the importance of engaging with a child to support sustained shared thinking.

Using a topic a child is really interested in can allow for sustained shared thinking it can be talking about something or doing something which encourages conversation like we have done planting with our children this has really captured their imagination the children are talking about what they think seeds are going to grow into what happens as the plants grows, what might the plant produce. We are getting the children to reach conclusions, and explore concepts at a deeper level. The children are thinking about processes and are making connections to things they have already learnt and new information. Processing the information we have given them making them think.

Outcome 5

5. 1 Reflect on own practice in supporting learning and development of children in their early years.