Welcome
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Everybody needs additional support in their lives at one time or another. The level of support that we need depends on the situation or difficulties that we face. Obviously babies need a great deal of support from the adults in their lives to meet their physical, social and emotional needs. The amount of support decreases as the baby grows and develops, they become more able to meet their own needs and depend less on the adults around them. This is not the same for all children, though: some may require additional support from adults for longer, more permanently or at different times in their lives.
As a practitioner it can be a challenging knowing when a child requires support, knowing when to intervene or not, or judging what the is ‘right’ amount of support to offer. This course is designed to help you develop confidence in your knowledge about practice and legislation, and also how to work with parents and other professionals to identify effective ways of providing additional support to children.
This module was commissioned by the Scottish Government.
This is the March 2020 presentation.
Transcript: Introduction
SARAH BURTON: Welcome to the course. I'm Sarah Burton. I'm one of the course writers and I'm also an early years practitioner. I work outside in the wind, rain, and sun, and plenty of mud. No two days are the same for me and I'm sure if you're working with young children already, that will be your experience, too.
Being in the company of young children is about being flexible, curious, and ready for anything. And that can be especially true when you're with children who have additional support needs. There is always so much to learn, because every child is unique.
You are unique too. The experiences, stories, and case studies gathered in this online course encourage you to think about your own experiences and attitudes. If you can reflect upon the work that you do, you're going to be better able to improve the support that you give to young children in your care, wherever you work. During the six weeks ahead, you'll hear from other early years practitioners, parents, a play worker, and a project worker in the voluntary sector. And you'll have the chance to contribute your ideas and share your thoughts and questions in a live, online discussion with other learners.
In week one, you'll think about what we mean when we talk about additional support for learning. You'll hear from experienced practitioner and writer Elizabeth Henderson, who talks about the importance of reflecting on your learning. And in week two, you'll also hear from a parent and practitioner talking about getting children outside to play.
PAMELA ANDERSON: I think I noticed her love of the outdoors so early on.
LIZ AULD: And I think because it was part of our ethos to be outside all day, regardless of what the weather was going to be like.
SARAH BURTON: In week three, it's over to you and we look forward to chatting with you on our online discussion. In week four, it's time to think about the many different professionals who support our work with young children and we hear about the experience of a child joining a nursery in Scotland who is a refugee.
In week five, we think about the experience of supporting children with complex needs. Finally, in week six, Elizabeth Henderson helps us make sense of the demands of policy and legislation in the everyday experiences we have with children and she helps us think about how to put children at the centre of everything we do. We hope you enjoy the course. We believe it gives you the confidence you need to keep you questioning, reflecting, and learning.