Nvq Unit 303 Supporting Children Through Transitions

Unit 303 Supporting children through transitions Transitions occur when a child moves from one care situation to another. Children of all ages experience transitions. 0-3 years Children attend a setting for the first time – a nursery, pre-school, creche, and childminder’s home. Move within a setting – from the baby room to the toddler room, or change childminders. To help and support the children through the transition you could: †¢Ensure all registration information has been received before the child attends, so that practitioners are prepared to meet the child’s needs. Have a key worker allocated to the child †¢Combine visits with parents, shorter stays before longer ones. †¢Tell children and adults that a new child is coming and encourages them to make the child welcome. †¢Give the child a warm welcome. †¢Encourage children and parents to say goodbye to one another. †¢Show the child around and explain the routine, where to hang up coats etc. †¢Remain supportive. †¢Provide ways to involve families in the child’s experience, to assist the transition from the setting to home. 3-7 yearsTransitions are periods of change which generally involve a loss of familiar people in a child’s life. Different children respond differently to transitions, children attending pre-school or juniors, a child moving within a setting. Children have new living arrangement or maybe even a stay in hospital. To help and prepare for change you could: †¢Communicate with the children about the transition. Talking about what will happen as well as listening to the child’s concerns. †¢Arrange a visit to a new setting prior to the transition with parental supervision. Ensure all documentation about the child is organised in advance. †¢Communicate with the children continuously to see and monitor their progress. 7-12 years Children and babies are naturally motivated to lean until the age of seven or eight. At this age school work may become taxing and the eagerness to discover may fade. To promote development of self- motivation in children you could: †¢Encourage children to be optimistic †¢Encourage children to value persistent effort and to expect success when they try †¢Teach children the value of overcoming failure Encourage children to celebrate and enjoy achievement †¢Give children opportunities to master their world †¢Make learning relevant to the individual child’s interest †¢Teach children in ways that appeal to their styles and learning. 12-16 years Some children experience multiple transitions. This may be due to frequent family breakdowns or perhaps the nature of the parents work. You should allow relationships to form gradually with friends and peers with such children, taking care not to overwhelm them.Social services recognise the problems of multiple transitions. As a child develops they still need support and encour agement with change. Children either changing school or class my still need guidance. Sometimes children enjoy solving their own problems and should be allowed to do this. The move to secondary school can be a quite big change for children. Children often have common anxieties about transitions, such as will I make friends, will I like my teacher, and will I get much homework, what happens at lunch time. Parents and carers should be aware of the child’s new surroundings †¢Get involved in the move by talking and communicating both with the child and teachers. †¢Encourage time to chat with the child to keep a good understanding of what is going on and how the child feels about the change. †¢Allow for emotional change as the child develops. †¢Support the child as they make physical and emotional changes. †¢Support and give good guidance to the rules and disciplines of both the home life and school.