Contents. Before you begin

Transcription

1 Contents Contents Before you begin What you will learn Competency standard What is expected of a Certificate III learner Assessment Employability skills How to work through this unit Resources v v vi x x x xii xiii Introduction: Providing care for children 1 Chapter 1: Providing physical care Understanding routines Using transitions that flow Reading and responding to cues Providing for rest and sleep Providing for toileting Providing food and drink Meeting clothing needs 24 Discussion topics 25 Chapter summary 26 Checklist for Chapter 1 26 Assessment activity 1: Providing physical care 27 Record your employability skills 28 Chapter 2: Creating opportunities for children to 29 develop their understanding of physical needs 2.1 Developing infants understanding Developing toddlers understanding Developing preschoolers understanding Developing school-aged children s understanding 36 Discussion topics 38 Chapter summary 38 Checklist for Chapter 2 38 Assessment activity 2: Creating opportunities for children to develop 39 their understanding of physical needs Record your employability skills 39 iii

2 Chapter 3: Establishing an environment that encourages 41 children to complete tasks themselves 3.1 Providing access to materials Allowing time to complete tasks Encouraging respectful interactions and attitudes 46 Discussion topics 46 Chapter summary 47 Checklist for Chapter 3 47 Assessment activity 3: Establishing an environment that encourages 48 children to complete tasks themselves Record your employability skills 49 Chapter 4: Responding to the emotional needs of children Understanding the impact of emotions and feelings Providing opportunities for expressing feelings Preparing for change 59 Discussion topics 62 Chapter summary 62 Checklist for Chapter 4 63 Assessment activity 4: Responding to the emotional needs of children 64 Record your employability skills 65 Chapter 5: Settling new arrivals Conducting an orientation Managing arrival and departure Using handles for attachment 75 Discussion topics 77 Chapter summary 77 Checklist for Chapter 5 77 Assessment activity 5: Settling new arrivals 78 Record your employability skills 78 Final assessment: CHCCN302A Provide care for children 79 Employability skills 83 iv

3 1.4 Providing for rest and sleep Rest and sleep are an important part of a child s routine, both in a childcare environment and also at home. Therefore, care needs to be taken to adequately provide for individual children s rest needs and to provide healthy rest environments Meeting individual rest needs Every family has their own way of doing things regarding their child s care, rest and sleep routines. For example, you may care for children who: sleep in their own bed sleep in a shared bed or a shared room sleep with their parents sleep with many blankets or no blankets sleep with clothing on or with no clothing sleep many times a day or have no sleep in the day are cold when they rest or sleep are hot when they rest or sleep. Your centre s policy and the way you demonstrate respect for family values influences how these things are incorporated into your service routine and how the family are supported if their needs can t be met. Be aware that each choice a family makes is usually influenced by their beliefs, cultural values and their own life experiences. When you seek information about the needs of individuals, there are particular things you need to know about the child s sleep and rest that allow you to consider an appropriate environment and actions to assist a child to settle. For example, you need to know the answers to the following questions: What times does the child usually sleep or rest? Is it straight after school, in the morning and afternoon, just in the afternoon or only at night? What does the child do before they sleep or rest? Do they eat, drink, play, read a book or want a cuddle? 10

4 The following example illustrates a child-centred nappy-change routine. Example There is no nappy-change routine established in Zoe s new centre so her coordinator asks her to research and develop a child-centred routine and then present it to the staff at a meeting. Zoe comes up with the following procedure, including explanations to the staff of what she has found and why she thinks it is important to include each point. 1. Collect all materials needed for the nappy change and have these within reach prior to placing the child on the bench. This ensures that you never need to leave the child unattended. 2. When collecting the child for changing, always approach them at their level and let them know what is going to happen; continue to talk with the child about what you are doing as you complete the nappy change. This ensures children are respected. 3. Place the child on the nappy-change bench or, if the child can walk, assist them to use the steps provided. Remember to use proper lifting techniques and have children use the steps whenever possible, to ensure care for your back. 4. Remove the child s clothes as required to change the nappy. If the clothes are soiled, put gloves on before commencing this stage. 5. Put on disposable gloves and remove any waterproof cover and nappy, ensuring you place the items safely away from the child s reach. Also make sure nappy pins are closed once removed or placed well away from the child s reach. Take universal precautions to make sure you are safe from bodily fluid infections. 6. Clean the child s bottom wipe away excess faeces with the soiled nappy, then thoroughly clean their bottom with wipes. Even bottoms that are wet need to be wiped to ensure skin is cared for. 7. Put on a clean nappy (ensuring pins are placed in a horizontal position with pin head facing outwards or use a snappy) and waterproof cover. 8. Remove gloves by peeling them back from your wrists, and dispose of them in the appropriate bin. 9. Dress the child. 10. Wash the child s hands using a wipe or the child sink. Infants spend a lot of the day on the floor sucking and handling materials and generally only have their hands washed when they eat. If you wash their hands during a nappy change you are assisting the infant to develop appropriate hygiene practices; there may be a reduction in infection, the infant is fresh and clean, and the positive process of washing after toileting is initiated. In this example, the carers were asked to consider their approach to a child during a nappy change in a way that shows respect to the infant. Whenever you need something from an infant, a respectful approach enables you to gain their trust in you and assists them to feel comfortable in the environment. The example also mentions to approach an infant at their level. This is the case whether you need to wipe a nose, change a nappy, move the infant to another area or put them in a highchair. It is also important to tell the child what you are going to do prior to commencing it and then perform the action. Just because an infant can t communicate in words, it doesn t mean they can t understand or that they shouldn t be prepared for a shift. From a child s perspective, it would be quite scary if people kept approaching you, moving you and fiddling with your body, with no explanation. 14

5 1.7 Meeting clothing needs Many factors determine the selection of children s clothing, each of which influences the choices made and outfits chosen. As children develop they should be encouraged to take more responsibility for their dress choices. To do this properly they must have some experience and knowledge of these factors. The following factors help determine clothing choice: Climate the weather conditions influence how you keep the body warm or cool. Body temperature some children are warm or cool whatever the climate. Materials the use of natural or synthetic materials may depend on how the skin reacts and how comfortable it feels on the body. Cost the cost of clothing can influence whether enough is provided by parents, whether it is well maintained or if it meets trends encouraged by peers. Practicality and style clothing should be suited to the activities carried out during the day. Painting, climbing, sand play, crawling and toilet learning are all examples of activities that need particular clothing choices. In the later years children may request a particular style because it is in fashion. Culture racial or ethnic background influences, as well as socioeconomic and life experiences all affect clothing choice and the type of materials selected. Requirements some clothing may be required as mandatory; for example, there may be a uniform or a hat may need to be worn at all times when outside. Storage in a centre environment it is practical to have enough clothing to meet needs but also as little as possible to avoid things being misplaced. The clothing used at the service should be labelled with the child s name or, if the service has spare clothing, the service s name. Safety children often overlook safety when choosing and wearing clothing, and they may need support to ensure shoelaces are tied and hats are left on their heads. Be aware that children may also select clothing influenced by peers or social situations rather than the activities they may be involved in. Practice task 8 1. Obtain a copy of your service s policy relating to dressing children and read the information about how children should be dressed adequately or what children are expected to wear. 2. Find a parent handbook and read any information that suggests what clothing parents should provide for their children. 3. Collect a copy of the Quality practices guide, which details the quality standards for each childcare service type, and read the section that applies to your service type. Pay particular attention to the information about health, nutrition, wellbeing, safety and hygiene. If your service is unable to provide a copy, you can access the Quality practices guide at the National Childcare Accreditation Council Inc. website at: professionals/child_care_professionals.asp#quality 24

6 Chapter summary It is important that the sleep, rest, hygiene and toileting routines of children match their needs, are child-centred and flexible. Linking or moving from one activity to another is called a transition. Smooth transitions are important to ensure children feel secure and respected. The childcare environment should be organised in a way that communicates to children how their needs are catered for and how they may participate. The patterns of communication children use to express their feelings are called cues. Each child is different and their routines and needs, including the food they eat, their rest and sleep times, and the clothing they wear, must be identified so that these needs can be met as closely as possible in the care environment. The rest and sleep environments provided for children should be healthy, hygienic, safe, quiet and free from distractions. When assisting children with toilet learning, be aware that all children learn and develop at different rates and that they may still have accidents, though fewer, when they reach school age. The age and stage of a child determines how you should react when certain situations occur. Children of different ages have different nutritional requirements, so to ensure that children in your care are having their nutrition needs met, follow the parents instructions and the policies and procedures of your service. Children in your care should be dressed in a manner appropriate to many factors, including the climate, culture and safety. Checklist for Chapter 1 Tick the box when you can do the following. q Organise opportunities and types of rest according to the children s needs and context q Create an environment conducive to rest q Provide quiet areas for children to access as needed q Assist children with hygiene according to the child s needs q Deal with toileting accidents in a manner that protects the child s self-esteem and privacy q Provide appropriate food and drink to children in a hygienic manner and supervise children in eating and drinking q Dress children according to the need and prevailing weather conditions, and acknowledge their clothing preferences whenever possible q Ensure children s nutritional needs are addressed by food provided meeting children s nutrition requirements 26

7 Chapter 2: Creating opportunities for children to develop their understanding of physical needs respect the privacy of each child in regard to their health and abilities; for example, by supporting a child as inconspicuously as possible or by providing written directions or a briefing before commencing a task encourage children to investigate the community and how it affects them physically; for example, access to buildings, laws, the expectation that children in primary school should be in the care of adults at all times etc. allow them to take responsibility for setting up and altering their environment discuss age-appropriate topics and issues such as body image, cultural expectations and changes that occur naturally with physical age; for example, menstruation and sexual development be ready to explain and give reasoning for your decisions so that children can learn from your experiences. Practice task 13 Complete the following table by providing at least one example of how you could assist a school-aged child to develop their understanding of their physical needs in each of the areas listed. Areas of physical need Explaining nutritional needs in suitable language Example Explaining hygiene practices including demonstrations Explaining safety issues and demonstrating procedures Supporting children to understand the relationship between physical activity and good health Offering opportunities for children to participate in food preparation and procurement Tip You can find more information about nutrition and health in the workbook CHCCN303A Contribute to provision of nutritionally balanced food in a safe and hygienic manner. 37

8 Final assessment: CHCCN302A Provide care for children Final assessment CHCCN302A Provide care for children To be assessed as competent in CHCCN302A Provide care for children, you must provide evidence of the specified essential knowledge and skills. Details of the essential knowledge and skills can be found in the Before you begin section of this workbook. Assessment mapping The following table maps this final assessment activity against the elements and performance criteria of CHCCN302A Provide care for children. Part Element Performance criteria A All All B All All C All All Detailed mapping of this workbook against the methods of assessment, the elements, the performance criteria and essential skills and knowledge is available in the Aspire Trainer s and assessor s guide for this unit. The following activity forms part of your assessment of competence. You may also need to provide various workplace documents or third-party reports. Your trainer will give you guidance in this area. The following activity has been designed for all learners to complete. Part A: Essential skills Your trainer needs to observe you demonstrating the following essential skills in your workplace or in a simulated environment. Demonstrate how you: Essential skills provide quality physical care for children including ensuring adequate rest, food and drink, and using and promoting hygienic practices. Demonstrate how you: provide food according to nutrition adequacy guidelines. Example Show your trainer/assessor how you follow your service s routines to ensure you provide adequate rest, food and drink, and promote hygienic practices to the children in your care. Show your trainer/assessor the food you provide children in your care and explain how you ensure children s food and drink is nutritional. continued 79