Parent evenings help me to Improve knowledge of the hill’s home life and personal care needs, as well as building bonds with parents so they feel they can further their trust In myself and my team. I also update the children’s learning Journeys which gives parents the opportunity to feed back and enhance their child’s learning. My practice Is reflective and this helps me to recognize my strengths and weaknesses. I make my team aware of this practice. So they can better themselves and support me also. The Manager also enables me to improve knowledge and practice verbally and through appraisals.
Knowledge and reactive can be improved by formal or informal training, education, e- learning or one- to – one support. 2. Analyses potential barriers to professional development Barriers happen daily within the childcare industry. This should be seen as a challenge, whereby there is a solution, and by liaising with my manager, team and parents, this can be resolved. A common barrier I face relates to finance. Especially as central training budgets have been affected in recent years, this means therefore, my company having to find additional funds, which are rarely available.
This then means only mandatory training is carried out. Talking to parents on an informal basis means I can uphold excellent bonds with parents; an example of this is so they can feel at ease with talking to me about personal issues. E. G. The child’s home situation, although this may have a negative outcome as parents may presume I am always available on an informal basis. In a managerial role, poor team motivation and negativity can result in low self esteem and poor outcomes. For example; If a dally routine isn’t followed, this can have a knock on effect, resulting in children’s deeds not being met.
If I am responsible for an apprentice or a new team member, I need to provide additional supervision to them and this may result In dally planning or observations being delayed. Development There are many means of support within the childcare industry and as the pre-school room lead, partnership working is essential as my main priority is transition, whether into the pre-school room from the 2-g’s room or on to school,. E. G. With the child’s future teacher or the 2-g’s room lead.
Verbal communication is the most common system that’s used between my self and my manager. This occurs on a day to day basis and involves a handover and discussion of upcoming events, related to the Nursery in general. I then cascade this onto my team so they are also aware. I often use the internet and books to support my professionalism. This enables me to utilities a wide range of resources to enhance learning activities and planning for my room. This may also provide reassurance if needing support to help a child with speech and language or a behavior barrier.
Appraisals (every 6 months) and staff meetings on a monthly basis develop my reflective practice, confidence and encourage team discussions on how to cope with further barriers and issues that may arise. 4. Explain factors to consider when selecting opportunities and activities for keeping knowledge and practice up to date I use various resources and methods to keep my knowledge and practice up to date such as; team meetings, legislation handouts, training, Journals, and internet. When using these resources, I have to bear in mind their relevance to my practice, published date, if legislation is up to date or been amended.
There are also other factors to consider such as time restrictions, access to resources, financial instructions and staff ratio levels. For example; resource restrictions may develop if the office is unavailable. Another example of time restrictions can arise if staff are absent and so children’s observations are Jeopardized- this then results in daily records not been kept up to date. 1.. How do you evaluate own knowledge and performance against standards and benchmarks? My performance is regulated by my Proprietor, Offset, Policies and procedures of the setting, and also legislation.
I am evaluated in two ways; by myself through reflective practice and by others through inspections, appraisals and quality assurance methods. Offset give clear guidelines on how the setting should run on a daily basis. This is evaluated by ongoing paperwork and meeting targets. Policies and procedures put into place guidelines on all care standards and regulations that all staff should adhere too. This is evaluated through appraisals and reflective practice. For example: When starting in the setting, I observed a staff member ‘doing for’ the children, rather than encouraging them.
This was regarding the children’s independence and found that rather than staff giving out the children’s cutlery and cups during lunch- the hillier help each other to hand it out. I enforced this by having an informal chat with my Manager after careful observation. During appraisals I also set myself personal targets and goals to meet career 2. How do you priorities development goals and targets to meet expected standards? In order to priorities my goals and targets, I need to have motivation within my self and my team. Expected standards can include; offset, parent meetings and within my role, transition to school.
If there is no motivation within myself and the team, these standards will not be met and this will then reflect back onto the setting, arenas and most importantly, the children I care for. Offset regulate children’s settings and are aware of how the setting is run. The regulations are then cascaded to my self and the other seniors within the team to make sure all children are safe for example. So if there are barriers I come across, these are then put into action straight away. In order to priorities these development goals and targets, I have informal chats with my manager and team and deadlines are then put into place.
I have the duty to train apprentices to high levels of care, so they can also complete their qualifications and training. I do this on a daily basis and throughout their time within the setting, they are given tasks to help plan, observe and give one to one care to the children, which then helps me to meet my goals and targets, such as preparing for a parent meeting. I have recently completed an appraisal form, so I am aware of my strengths and weaknesses and what are expected of me, within my role. This is discussed with my Manager on a formal basis.
