LO 1: Understand the pattern of development that would normally be expected for children and Young People from birth to 19 years.
1:1 Explain the sequence and rate of each aspect of development that would normally be expected in children and young people from birth – 19 years.
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1:2 Analyse the difference between sequence of development and rate of development and why the distinction is important.
All children will develop, learn and mature at their own rate and this is normal. all types of factors can influence this.
• General health
• Genes
• Environment
• Attachment issues (lack of a care giver or neglect)
• Nutrition
• Culture
• Disability
As all children do develop in their own ways its important to know that these are guidelines on what milestones a child should reach at a certain as well as the sequence in which they happen as all can be different. i.e. a baby can roll over, sit up, crawl then learn to walk as this is what the normal expected sequence of hat a baby should do, but a baby may miss crawling altogether and go straight in to walking. This is the sequence of events, the rate is how quick a child does this, again all children differ in how quick they learn these skills, as a child can walk at 11 months or another make not start walking until they nearly 2 years old and different factors may be the reason, by knowing the sequence and the rate at which a child develops by having this guidance we will have a good understanding of how far along a child should be in their development so if a child drops to far behind in this we ca then start to notice and get professional help in form of speech therapy or doctors looking to see if there is anything medically wrong or if have a disability, as it is always better to diagnose early if a child has problems to give them the best chance to successes and get help and as above there are many factors that can influence in how a child’s sequence or rate of development happens.
These are the areas in which child development is based on
• Physical development
• Communication development
• Intellectual / cognitive development
• Social, emotional and behavioural development
• Moral development
Before birth
A Pregnant woman would be classed as having a full-term pregnancy if they give birth around 40 weeks, but if a baby is born 3 or more weeks before they would be classed as premature so would be expected to take longer in their developmental stages and milestones.
0 to 6 months
at first babies will sleep a lot during the first few weeks, but as time goes on will be far more alert and will settle into a routine and will try and communicate through sounds, as time goes on they will be more engaging and interact with care givers. But will need a lot of close contact as they are unable to do much unaided.
Physical development: babies should be able to turn head and lift head of floor if laying on floor, will be able to hold objects and place them in their mouth, will try and bite or suck the objects and be able to touch their feet with their hands as well as smile. Will be able to gaze into people’s faces and make sound when spoken to or fed, may possible be able to sit up aided.
Communication development: will communicate their needs through different sounds as well as crying and can gurgle when spoken to in a response.
Social, emotional and behavioural development: will be engaged by other people and respond to them with sounds and will smile at familiar faces, they may get upset when the primary care giver leaves the room as they may think they won’t come back. Will react positively if someone is kind to them.
6 to 12 months
As their gross and fine motor skills advance they will try and explore their surrounding and will be physical stronger, they will express their joys with smiling and laughing which will make the care giver want to interact more with them playfully. They should also be able to understand a little of what is being said to them
Physical development: this is a big stage during a babe’s life as they will start to rollover if they haven’t already, will be able to sit unaided then try to crawl or another way to try and move around, and possible walk with help, will point at items they are interested in and will pick up items in both hands, should be able to see a lot better and clearer.
Communication development: will understand a few or more words and will use different sounds and pitches to vocalize their needs as well as babbling and trying to hold a conversation with noises. They will listen and know when their name is being called.
Intellectual / cognitive development: will be alert to everything around the and will try and start to explore and will take interest in bright and shiny objects and will the will put in their mouth to explore the item. They will also be able to look for hidden object, as well as play with objects and will try and put them into boxes and then take them back out again and like to repeat certain activities and behaviours.
Social, emotional and behavioural development: will start to play simple games with care giver such as beek a boo and will start to enjoy the company of other people, if playing with objects they may not want to share it and will want to keep it for themselves. they will show their affection by wanting to be cuddled or will cuddle a care giver and if they are crying will want this and will stop crying if cuddled. They will laugh if there are happy and will cry if they don’t recognise someone. They will start to learn to have more feelings and will show this with happiness or crying. They will through learning imitate other people if they can.
1 to 2 years
Physical development: will start to walk unaided or will walk confidently and may be able to run, be able to climb up stairs or pull them self-up onto furniture, be able to squat down and pick items up of the floor will throw items, will try and eat food themselves using cutlery, will be able to use fine motor skills by building blocks and turning pages of a book, hold pencils and draw on paper be able to push and pull toys, as well as try and put on or take of their own clothes.
Communication development: they will start off by slowly understanding simple sentences by care giver and through this will try and babble in the form of speech and may lead then to forming words such as no or bye bye and will know what certain objects are and understand what words go with them.
Intellectual / cognitive development: will like to listen to rhymes and songs and learn from these if they are education such as head shoulders knees and toes and will try and copy it. If they got toys they will try and poke and put fingers in them to try and explore more as well as use them for what they are intended such as putting blocks into holes or playing with cups and teapot, or a baby in pram, and can also know where the toys are kept and also put them back if familiar as their memory will develop, and from this will learn their own sequence of events such as if they get put I high chair they can become happy or sad depending on their mood and will know its dinner time, or if take clothes of its bath time or bed time if getting changed.
Social, emotional and behavioural development: they will become abit more independent and demanding and will have temper tantrums if they don’t get their needs meet as well as respond to being told off by a care giver. They will try an imitate other people an babies their same age, but may become possessive of their items and not share still. They will want to explore more and more and will try and be busy doing everything they can, and at first will need a care giver near and may cry or be upset if a care giver leaves (drops of at playgroup) but over time will learn they will come back, if a person looks upset they may show sympathy towards them by giving a hug.
2 to 3 years
Physical development: at this age, they would be running around with confidence and will be able to climb onto most things that are low down, they will be able to jump, push, pull and kick will like to play playfully with others. they would be able to make a tower of 6 blocks and can manipulate objects and pens and pencils by being able to draw circles and lines. They would start to take control of their bowel movements with potty training. Can easily feed them self with a fork or spoon, can start to put on shoes without laces, may start to learn to ride a bike. Will start to walk confidently up and down stairs while holding on to the hand rail.
Communication development: will learn more words which will lead to stringing together a few words to make sentences and be able to name objects they are familiar with, i.e. a cat or body parts. Will understand some questions and commands.
Intellectual / cognitive development: they have short attention spans, will be able to complete certain puzzles like jigsaws on their own, will be curious about most things and if able to talk will ask why, or what’s this or that.
Social, emotional and behavioural development: will know by peoples faces if they are sad, happy, angry, and will react to this for example if see someone sad they will give them a cuddle, as well as have more stronger feelings them self’s, as they are young will get frustrated with their peer group easily and may bite kick or push. Will try and imitate peers and parents i.e. washing up or doing make up or what other children around them are doing such as play. They will like listening to story’s and being read to. May have over the top reactions to something simple as not having their tv program on and having tantrums.
3 to 4 years
Physical development: will run, jump very confidently without falling over much, will be able to climb ladders. Will have more control in riding a bike (with stabilizers) by steering, will be able to use toilet on their own, should be able to kick a moving ball, will be able to properly turn a page in a book. Can start to dress themselves and put a coat on and fasten easy zipper, will be able to draw faces on paper and will start to have a preferred hand.
Communication development: will be able to say their own name., will enjoy stories and be able to sing along to a song or rhyme, will start to use sentences and be able to describe things.
Intellectual / cognitive development: will be very curious about everything they see or hear and constantly asking why and what, will be able to name colours and match the name to the colour, may be able to count up to ten and can start to recognise their own name if written, when playing they will have a more imaginative mind and be creative in their play.
Social, emotional and behavioural development: will want to start and play with children their own age and will enjoy creative play, they may start to be affected by how others around them are feeling by learning to empathise with how they are feeling, they will also want the approval of the care giver and will be able to verbalise what they needs are, so they will have less temper tantrums due to being able to verbalize.
Moral development: will understand more about their behaviour from what is right and wrong and in knows if they are getting themselves in trouble. They will be able to understand about being sorry for their actions and will want the approval of a care giver.
4 to 5 years
Physical development: will run and walk in straight lines successfully and can use agility to change their direction when running, they are more confident about their ability to climb stairs, ladders and slides I a park, will be able to bounce and catch a ball and throw a little more accurately by aiming. Will start to learn to use scissors and cut out simple shapes.
Communication development: will have a large vocabulary of word and be able to understand what others are saying as well as knowing what they are saying and will be understood by other people. As they will understand more about language they will enjoy stories and rhymes better.
Intellectual / cognitive development: their attention span will increase, and their memory will develop better and will memorise stories and songs, due to their creativity and imaginative play / mind increasing, they may get confused between was is real and fantasy. Will be able to answer problems that are asked of them such as what will happen next. And will be able to complete some harder puzzles and sort objects into categories i.e. colours or shapes.
Social, emotional and behavioural development: will want to and also enjoy while playing in groups and will value friendship groups, with this will learn to share and will learn together through play and learn behaviours by cooperating and also arguing with peer group and will gain self-esteem and responds well to being praised for good behaviour and being encouraged to do things. With having an imaginative mind, they may get scared of the dark and monsters. Will start to have more control over their emotions and will be confident around other people socially.
Moral development: will understand the process of blaming and also being blamed for an action and may want to blame someone else for their wrongdoing as not to be told of by a care giver, and will understand the rules given to them by care giver or school. If they know swear words if angry they may use these when talking.
5 to 6 years
Physical development: will start to gain a more development in writing skills and be able to write simple words, will be able to ride a bike with stabilizers confidently and play ball games with other and have good balance, and will get a sense of rhythm and want to dance and enjoy movement in games and play, will be able to dress self as go to the toilet on own with no help
Communication development: will start learning to read sentences and will recognise words, will have a good amount of vocabulary
Intellectual / cognitive development: will be able to learn from experiences they have I they day to day life and school and will be able to engage longer in each activity, but will try and only do what they know they can do and avoid other activities they don’t like as they have a preferred way of doing their own thing, they will enjoy reading as they begin to learn to read, and their memory will increase more and will learn from past experiences. Will know most colours and be able to count money
Social, emotional and behavioural development: will have a good understanding of rules and boundaries in games and social settings but may want to show of in front of peers to gain approval as well as wanting to win and be right, will know about their sense of personality and gender. Friends will be important to them and will want to fit in and enjoys group activities.
Moral development: will feel ashamed or guilty for their actions and may blame other so they can get approval from adults and will want to be right and win.
6 to 7 years
Physical development: may be able to tie their own shoe laces, will be able to catch a ball one handed as will have better hand eye co-ordination, very confident in climbing most obstacles as they will refine their motor skills to be better at running, jumping and hopping, will have better control of writing skills.
Communication development: they skills in speaking will become more formed and will use more correct grammar and become like an adult and will understand more sophisticated forms of speech, as their understanding gets better they will also want to express them self’s better in conversation.
Intellectual / cognitive development: will be able to understand that most actions will have a cause and effect, will be able to understand umbers better and can-do calculations that are simple. Their memory is constantly growing and can plan and predicted outcomes for themselves based on experiences.
Social, emotional and behavioural development: will have formed good peer groups in school and have best friends which will be important to them but can also be influenced by peer pressure and the need to fit in with the group. They will know how to act in certain situations as in going out shopping, school or a friend’s house. They may at this age not know or doubt their own ability to learn as they may say they are unable to do something ”I can’t do it” and will get angry or frustrated easily.
Moral development: will know that their behaviour can impact other people and will have a good sense of what is right from wrong
8 to 12 years
Physical development: at this age growth will start to slow down but puberty may start to being, any time form age 11 to 13, their muscles and bones will develop stronger and will have more increased in strength and have a lot better hand eye co ordination and agility, during this age they may be interested more in computer or DVDs so will be less likely to take part in activities outdoors, will be able to write using joined up handwriting.
Communication development: will enjoy talking to other people and will also be able to speak with correct grammar more fluently and be able to communicate in written form
Intellectual / cognitive development: as they will head into comprehensive school, they will learn a wider variety of subjects and will know what they will or don’t like to learn and may then follow this outside of school like music classes or sports groups or science clubs. They may like to read on their own for enjoyment
Social, emotional and behavioural development: will want to be with friends more than their parents and will have more friendship groups with people the same sex and will want to go to groups or clubs, it can be an unsettling time for them as they will go from primary school to comprehensive and may get mood swings if puberty has set in and be more rebellious to authority figures. they will make more decisions for themselves I where or what they want to do and will want to be unsupervised by a parent and have independence.
Moral development: will have their own moral code as they strive for independence, but this may lead to conflict with care giver as they will want more independence and will think that the rules and boundaries given to them are unfair and will refuse to go along with these.
13 to 19 years
Physical development: as they start to go through puberty, bodies will change for girls and boys differently as their physical shape will be shaped and defined for both girls and boys and may have a sudden growth in height and weight, they may want to participate more in sport due to this change and also increase in strength and will learn new talents based on what they like, they refine motor skills by being able to draw, woodwork or musical instruments depending n what they like or learn
Communication development: May not want to speak to adults about what’s affecting them and go to their peer group for help. Communication skill are now fully formed and will learn how to use grammar punctuation and other forms of speaking, as well as understand the meanings of written words.
Intellectual /cognitive development: will have a vast knowledge on certain subjects as will be taking exams in school and then after leaving school going to collage or job so will be planning for their future and comes with this stress as not really knowing what they may want or failure in a certain subject.
Social, emotional and behavioural development: during this age will get urges and will be attracted to others sexually and may want to act on these impulses and form sexual relationships. They will have their own identity but may also want to fit in with peer groups and express themselves through their clothing or hair styles, will get a lot of mood swings due to their body changing and stresses of everyday life and exams or work. Due to peer pressure may also want to experiment with alcohol and drugs.
Moral development: will know what is right from wrong and then have their own opinions on the matter and may want to act on these beliefs even if they contradict what family members may feel. They may not listen to the values of parents/ care givers if they are being peer pressured or want to fit into a group
1.3 Analyse the reasons why children and young people’s development may not follow the pattern normally expected.
This is answered in LO 2, 2.1 ; 2.2 ?
LO 2: Understand the factor that impact on children and Young People’s development.
2.1 Analyse how children and young people’s development is influenced by a range of personal factors.
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2.2 Analyse how children and young people’s development is influenced by a range of external factors.
As mention in 1.1 there are many factors that can influence a child’s development
• General Health
• Genes
• Environment
• Attachment issues (lack of a care giver or neglect)
• Nutrition
• Culture
• Disability
This can either be personal which will immediately affect the child, or external which are factors that can contribute to a child’s development whether it be good or bad
Personal to the Child
Health: this can start early as when a mother is carrying the child and is drinking excessively or taking drug, or not getting enough nutrients into their body to help support and grow a healthy child, this can affect how the child’s brain develops as well as physical features. This can then affect when they are born as then can go through withdrawal symptoms rom drugs or alcohol abuse and this can affect cognitive ability and physical disabilities in later life after birth.
other health problems could be having a low immune system which affects how much they get ill, asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes and many other health problems and in so may be unable to attend school or any sporting activities and playing with other children to help in their development. And by missing school may miss out on the opportunity to learn new skills as well as interact and play with other children’s learning new social skills.
Disability: With physical disabilities, it can affect their social, emotional, physical and mental / intellectual development this can be wide ranging from physical to mental disabilities and can be classified as congenital or acquired. Congenital is when a child has these disabilities when they are born or acquired if they get this through injury or disease after they are born. with physical it can be unable to walk or have use of other limbs, be blind or partiality blind, hearing difficulties or hearing loss or many others but these will impact on how a child is able to go about their daily lives and can affect how they learn and be treated by other people around them. Or mental can be ADHD, anxiety, depression these again can affect how they learn and will have an impact on how they develop and the rate they develop at.
Learning difficulties: This will affect how they will be able to learn new skill, also how they understand information as well as being able to communicate with other will be impaired. Learning difficulties such as APD Auditory processing disorder, Dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia can all affect how a child learning and depending on the disorder can have a major impact on their learning, but if diagnosed earlier enough preventative measure and new learning techniques can be put in place to help.
External factors:
Environment: this can play a major role in that there are many factors, it could be that the family live in poverty which studies show that people from low income houses / poor families will less likely to do well in school, this could be due to lack of amenities such as books or internet this may impact their learning compared to other, low income families wont be able to be fresh food or have good nutrition and this can impact how a child develops physically as they wont get the nutrition or also be able to heat a house and be warm as this can cause illness.
Parents: Parents will have a big impact on a child’s development, as in the early months of being born if a child suffers with neglect or does not have a primary care giver such as the mother, studies have shown that this can affect the brain and In later life can affect the cognitive and also behavioural behaviours of children. A child will learn through play as well as being cared for but if for some reason parents neglect to interact or play with their child this will affect how they learn, or physical growth due to nutrition. A parent may neglect due to may reasons such as drugs and alcohol abuse, low income as well, due to unemployed due to redundancy as this will affect the parents in how they provide care and give the child the care and attention they need to flourish.
Culture: A child may be born into a family that have certain religious or different ethnic group to other people in their area, this can impact a child’s development if they are subject to bullying, abuse, racial abuse, because of their background and ethnicity and will affect how they will interact with other people and can cause them to have low self-esteem or social problems as well as the parents having a affect on what they eat and learn depending on their religion and the child may not want to be part of this so may end up isolated from their family and friends. Language could also be a barrier as some families speak different languages, so the child may be unable to interact with anyone apart from their families due to this and will affect their learning.
2.3 Explain how theories of development and frameworks to support development influence current practice.
LO 3: Understand the benefits of early intervention to support the development of children and Yong People.
3.1 Analyse the importance of early indication of development delay.
As there can be many factors
3.2 Explain the potential risks of late recognition of development delay.
3.3 Evaluate how multi-agency teams work together to support all aspects of development in children and young people.
3.4 Explain how play and leisure activities can be used to support all aspects of development of children and young people.
LO 4: Understand the potential effects of Transition on Children and Young People’s development.
4.1 Explain how different types of transitions can affect children and young people’s development.
There are different types of transitions YP’s can go through
Emotional / intellectual: moving in and out of care, a bereavement, parents splitting up, moving schools, or a type of problem or disaster that is personal to the YP that affects them.
Physical: this can be anything from going through puberty, medical problems or disabilities, moving to a new place or environment.
Growing up a YP will naturally have transition periods during their life time, the major transitions will be developmentally whereas babies they will start to develop new skill such as walking, talking and cognitive skills, so at this stage it is important that parents / carer givers nurture their child and look out for any signs of development that may not be progression such as speech, if a child is neglected at this age or has a disability it can affect them later on in life with behaviour issues, social skills or emotional attachment.
When a child goes through school they will have different transition periods such as nursery to primary from primary to comprehensive, this is big changes for children but something they will naturally go through and be expected to cope with, but for each individual everything will be different as each can be going through different transitions in their life such as puberty and affects each person differently as well as their sexuality as if someone feels they are different to everyone else, they think people won’t understand what they are going through and this can cause emotional distress and depression and this can affect their learning and development. If someone has gone through a bereavement this can again make them depressed and have behaviour issues and act out. Other transitions can be personal to the YP and will affect them differently, adoption, parents mental health, peer groups / peer pressure, illness / disability, moving home and new schools, it is important that parents/ carers, teachers, and any other professionals that work or care for the YP can recognise these transitions to give, care, reassurance, guidance and support through these different types of transitions for the YP to develop the best they can.
A major transition for a YP can be, being placed into care. It is important to build up their self esteem and confidence for them to be able to build positive relationships. As this is a major impact on their life as they could possibly, lose friends, parents, move schools, move far away from where they live, having a constant change of face and never knowing someone long enough to form some sort of relationship.
If a YP is going through these types of transitions it depends on how resilient they are to deal with it, if not these are the common things YP’s can experience.
• Depression
• Becoming withdrawn and socially isolated
• Lack of motivation
• Low self-esteem and confidence
• Lack of independent skills
• Difficulties building friendships and relationships
• Anxiety
• Anti-social behaviour
• Loss of appetite,
• Sleep problems
• Anger and behaviour problems
• Self-harming.
4.2 Explain the importance of children and young people having positive relationships through periods of transitions.
Children and young people go through many transitions through their young life as they start to become an adult and will learn life skills as they start to grow and through these young years will have guidance and support from families, friends and teachers, which they will know they will have people who they can rely on who can help them through any difficult times and help teach them new life skills ready to deal with adult life as we learn most of what we know as adults through our parents, teachers and peers.
Children in residential care, before they come to us often have been moved to numerous homes, and will never feel they can rely on any one as they will think everyone will leave them at some point so will not form any attachments to anyone. In landsker we try to have a low turnover of staff so that we can have a consistent approach throughout the company and try to engage in activities play and therapeutics to gain a strong and positive relationship, which will then help engage the young person more in their transition periods as they know they can turn to and rely on for support
4.3 Evaluate the effectiveness of positive relationships on children and young people’s development.
Children and young people go through many transitions through their young life as they start to become an adult and will learn life skills as they start to grow and through these young years will have guidance and support from families, friends and teachers, which they will know they will have people who they can rely on who can help them through any difficult times and help teach them new life skills ready to deal with adult life as we learn most of what we know as adults through our parents, teachers and peers.
Children in residential care, before they come to us often have been moved to numerous homes and will never feel they can rely on any one as they will think everyone will leave them at some point so will not form any attachments to anyone. In landsker we try to have a low turnover of staff so that we can have a consistent approach throughout the company and try to engage in activities play and therapeutics to gain a strong and positive relationship, which will then help engage the young person more in their transition periods as they know they can turn to and rely on for support.
LO 5: Understand how assessing, Monitoring and recording the development of children and Young people informs the use of interventions.
5.1 Explain different methods of assessing, recording and monitoring children and Young People’s development. ; 5.2 Explain how and in what circumstances different methods for assessing, recording and monitoring children and Young People’s development in the work setting.
By assessing and monitoring the needs of the YP’s on a daily basis, we are able to notice if there are any developmental issues and if they are not progressing to what should be expected of them, whether it be educational, health or behavioural. And over time build up a bigger picture of the YP’ development. There are many ways in which we do this.
Observation: this is done daily by gathering all information about a YP’ and is recorded, this can be done either formally or informally by either just watching how they react or do in certain situation or by engaging with them and seeing how they perform behaviourally or developmentally.
Assessment: with all information gathered, it is analysed against expected patterns for the YP’s development and what they should be achieving.
Planning: from observations and assessments, care plans and other plans and objectives are put in place to best suit the needs for a YP to develop or help change their behaviours.
Evaluation: this is based on the planning objectives to see if they were successful or not and to then go through the process again and set new goals for the YP’s to achieve.
Assessment framework: From every child matters, there is a national framework in UK put in place called the, National assessment framework (CAF) this is an aid in which to help frontline services, which is put in place to identify early the main and any additional needs a child or YP needs.
Standard Measurements: are done by professionals and based on their professional opinions, observations and assessment of the YP, this could be in how they behaviour is or their developmental stages i.e. phycologists, GP, opticians or teachers. Al this information will then be passed on to individual agencies and the carers or parental guardians. To put in place action plans, objectives or any medical needs the YP may need.
In my work setting of Landkser care Greenmeadow house, we have lots of ways we assess record and monitor YP’s development. In a locked cabinet in the office are numerous files where we will record all aspects of a YP’s life depending on what they do that day.
Daily File: The main recording system we use as carers is the daily log, what this is, is questions on a piece of paper with headings of Emotional, health, relationship with staff, relationship with YPs from the house as well as relationship with peers outside house, care plan issues, behaviour management issues, community contact, family contact and therapeutics. We then assess what a YP has been like or done that day and will record all the information onto these daily’s. These are numbered and filed away and ready to be inspected or to be looked at by any other professionals or inspecting body’s. At the end of the month all these daily’s are used to form what is called a Monthly report, where all data is put in, and then given to social worker and family. From this monthly report after 6 months, usually a LAC review will be held for the YP and these monthly reports will be what all the LAC reviews members will go off, and then come up with a plan of action for the next 6 months.
Medical File: This is an important file as it has all the medical needs of a YP, In this file are sub headings for many different aspects of a YP medical needs. Medication, GP, dentist, opticians, CAHMS, monthly Height & weight and a few others depending on what professionals are seen. When a YP sees a professional, a log needs to be filled in with all the correct information of what happened and if any plan of action is needed as well as any prescribed medication, these will be filled under the correct sub heading to easily recorded and find for future reference and will be used in a monthly report. From all this we can build up a picture of the YP medical needs and if over time there is some pattern, or a health profession thinks there could be something wrong we have logged everything to give as evidence and action plans can be made to best suit the YP. For example, the height and weight chart, we can see from this if any dietary needs are being meet and if we need to change something in diet or meal plans if they are obese or is starting to get obese.
Therapeutic file: When a YP comes to us they undertake therapeutic measures to help them have the tools and skills to cope with what ever it is that they need help with, I’ve had to help YP with anxiety issues so used the anxiety gremlin book to give them the skills in how to deal with anxiety, another YP has anger issues and so we used the Volcano in my tummy with gives activities to do regarding anger, and each YP will come with their own therapeutic needs so when their placement starts with us they are assessed by their social worker, daily records, a questionnaire and first few weeks and months to come up with a PCP (Priority Care Plan) which will outline any therapeutic work that should be done. There are several ways in which we carry out therapeutics from their daily reflectors in the night to ask them how their day has been and what could have been done differently, to BUMP in the road where if a given situation is coming up i.e. family contact, we will talk about different aspects of the contact and how we would like it to go and also what to expect, such as a family member cancelling contact and how they would react to this to give them the skills to be able to deal with this. All this therapeutic work is then written up and details such as how did they respond to this work as well as what was done and filled away, a lead person for therapeutics will look over any work done to make sure the correct work is being done, to also assess if the work being carried out is helping the YP or if it needs to be adapted or changed as well as give constructive criticism to the RCW (residential care workers) who carry it out to help them come up with ways In how to engage the YP’s in therapeutic work so as to get the best out of the session to give the YP’s the skills and tools they need to overcome a certain obstacle.
Personal Education Plan (PEP): This is done through the school in how to assess their reading writing and other educational needs, and plans put in place for YP’s to achieve certain outcomes, the YP’s will know this as well and have a board in the school to show their progress, as RCW we will have to implement this to give the YP’s the help they need to carry this out, at night times we will settle a YP and ask the to read a book during settling, we will then record this on a daily reading reflector and each week the teacher will look at this and asses on what action to take in their reading development.
Care Plan: These are put in place pre-placement when a child first arrives with us at Greenmeadows and are put in place by social workers and managers to help safeguard as well as promote the interests of different aspects of child’s life i.e. health, family, education needs and placement plans. In the care plans will be pre-placement information to give brief history on what the YP has been through, their current situation, and any action plans and objectives needed to implement the care plan. It is important as RCW, seniors and Managers to read up on this and to also as time goes by add to the care plan, as these will usually be re written every 6 months or sooner. So through our own observations on a daily basis can add any relevant information to the care plan as the needs of the Yp’s change. The care plans will then be assessed to see if we are carrying out the actions put in place.
BMS file (Behaviour Management Strategy): From the care plan, pre placement information and current behavioural issues, that are constantly being observed and assessed daily by each team member, senior and manager, a BMS plan is put in place to help manage and deal with different behavioural issues that arise, as every day can be different and a new behaviour emerges, so as RCW’s we need to be vigilant and spot any new signs of behaviours so as best to deal with them, we do this by writing in the BMS file any new updates, and action plans are then put in place on how best to deal with the behaviour. From constant observation we noticed with a YP in our house that when we told him of a upcoming family contact, he wold get hyper, excited and also his behaviour would drastically change as he would be anxious as well as excited to have family contact, even with BUMPS in the road therapeutics about if contact got cancelled, he couldn’t be able to deal with this and so would have behavioural problems for days. through this observation and recording, we came up with a plan not to tell him of any plans until last minute to best help him deal with this anxiety of contact. Through this we saw less behavioural issues and incidents.
Independent Living Skills file: based on previous and ongoing assessment of the YP this book is full of up to 90 individual skill sets that YP’s should try to reach and attain to best help them when they leave up and go on to be an adult. We are given a tasks each month to give the Yp’s and help them achieve through learning and development and then scored out of 5 on how they done and if more learning is needed or if they are competent enough, it could be from cooking a meal, to tying a shoe lace to how they are able to keep on top of their own hygiene without much help from anyone. We then log, record and file away, we will mark down what level is reached and from this new action plans for their development will be put in place.
Team & senior meeting / supervisions: these are when we talk about how our own work practise, and are given constructive criticism on how best to achieve certain action plans for the month as this will help us to be better in our work practices to help YP’s achieve their developmental stages, as well as talk about individual YP’s and how we can implement any changes to hep YP’s in an area we all think needs to be improved or if professional help is needed. This is all recorded down and sometimes depending on the information through team meeting and supervisions care plans and BMS are updated.
5.3 Explain how different types of interventions can promote positive outcomes for children and Young People where development is not following the pattern normally expected.
There are many types of interventions that are needed and available to YP’s who need the intervention when their pattern of development is not expected. Early intervention is critical at a YP’s young life as if not picked up can have a long-lasting effect on their mental and physical wellbeing, so it is of vital importance that all health professionals, carers, social workers and parental guardians pick up on any signs or developmental problems early on, so they can get the help they need. The types of intervention are.
Social workers: Social workers will work closely with the family of a YP that may be at risk to assess any needs of the YP or family may need, they then put in place plans for the family to follow in order to help keep the family together. They will also work closely with other professional to get the best help for the YP and will form a professional working relationship with the family so they can also turn to the social workers in times of need. If deemed that the child is at risk the social worker will then take the YP from the home an place in either adoptive, other family or care hoe setting in order to give the best outcome for that YP, even though this may be a hard decision to make taking YP from the family it will be a positive outcome as there would be ground for doing so, such as neglect or abuse which could affect ether physically or mentally the child’s ability to develop.
Health care professionals: Over the course of a young person’s life there are many people that a child will see that could identify any problems, the first people YP’s would see are the doctors/GP, Nurse and health visitors in the first few years of a YP’s life, they will have exams at every certain point in first few years to test their hearing sight and speech to make sure they are developing the way they should be, and these professionals will then make a report or refer to specialist doctors if they feel a YPs development is not what it should be, if it is undetected in these first few years and a child enters school the teachers can assess how their speech and communication is through lessons, they could then refer if they believe a child is behind in their speech language or communication to a specialist speech therapist who would then put a plan in place to help that YP.
A Parent could also go to the GP and ask for help if they believe their child is having problems with their speech or If the child comes under a social worker, a social worker could see if a child is having problems with speech or communication and then refer them to specialists, if a YP end up in a care home, that child will have what is called a LAC (looked after child) review in which would sit the house manager, social workers, teachers social workers and key workers every 6 months, where they would discuss all aspects of a child’s development including their speech and communication and a plan would then be drawn up to help that YP, using all these agencies and teams give a positive outcome for the YP and helps the YP’s as there are a lot of ways in which any form of speech or communication problems can be identified and plans put in place to help.
Behaviour support Team: These are Specialist teachers, teaching assistants welfare officers, councillors and psychologists with specialist training to give help to parents / carers to help children in school who experience social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. As there is usually a reason why a YP will have these problems through either speech delay, literacy difficulties or medical conditions, so these groups of people will give effective support and try to promote positive behaviour, they can also develop and review school polices to help support YP’s.
SENco: Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator are people who will assist YP’s who are SEN (Special Educational Needs) and will work closely with teachers, education psychologists or other professionals to try develop ways of overcoming barriers to a YP’s learning and that they receive effective teaching through assessing the child’s needs and setting targets for improvement. They will also make sure a school implements the SEN code policy within schools to make sure schools promote the inclusion of all pupils with disabilities or special needs.
Education Psychologists: They work in schools and will look closely at a child’s learning and carry out different strategies and tasks to enhance a YP learning, and through either directly working with a YP and giving guidance and assessing their progress and give counselling or work indirectly by engaging with the YP teachers, parents/carers or other professionals. They will write up reports to be given to individual specialists who will then help the YP based on these reports.
5.4 Evaluate the importance of accurate documentation regarding the development of children and Young People.
At Greenmeadows we have lots of paper work for each child from when they first arrive with us and information from social workers is past on, this information is then a reference on how we as carers in their first few weeks will try to work from, so it is important that the social worker has given us UpToDate information on a YP, as in past we had information saying a YP,s behaviour was a certain way and what they had recently done but then found out that the information was many months out of date so in first few days and weeks we were unaware of these changes and if we had known them sooner we could have prevented incidents occurring within the home so it is important that we get UpToDate information as soon as possible to best give the YP the care and support they need.
Record keeping is a key and very important role in my job role as it gives all the information about a YP behaviour and development, and through logging things such as medical notes, therapeutics, daily’s, life story work and independent living skills we can asses on a daily basis and plan for future activity and learning, as well as evaluate our own work practices to see what things work and don’t work. As a YP stays with us their behaviour and development changes almost daily, so it is important we track this progress to see if they are following the plans and strategies put in place as well as developing to where they should be. As mentioned a YP’s behaviour and development changes daily as well as their care plans and BMS (behaviour management strategy) so in my job role it is important to log all details accurately and as soon as possible, as we have 3 and sometimes more days off in a row as we work 24 hour shifts, and anything can change during this time, so with accurate logging, we can read up and make sure we are following the correct care plans and BMS.
It is also a legal requirement for accurate logging of any information to the YP such as daily’s which are numbered, medical notes, care plans, BMS, which will be inspected by local authorities and internal regs.
