1. SHC 22

2. Our own attitudes and beliefs shape us as individuals and make us ‘unique’. Attitude: a feeling about someone or something Belief: opinion firmly held

3. These come from: Childhood Prior experiences Attitudes of people close to us Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Important to ensure that your own opinions do not have a negative impact on your work.

4. How do you think your personal views or opinions could affect the children in your care?

5. Attitudes and opinions can change over time. Life experiences have a big impact on this. Managing children’s behaviour – opinion changes when you have your own.

6. Case Study Sophia is a practitioner at pre-school. One of her tasks is to supervise the children at snack time. She insists that they sit quietly until their snack is served, and asks that they do not start until everyone has been served. What do you think Sophia’s own experience of mealtimes has been like?____________________________________________________________________ Do you think this has a positive or negative impact on her practice?____________________________________________________________________

7. You need to ensure your own attitudes and beliefs do not obstruct the quality of your work. Read the checklist for ideas on how you can do this:

8. Be an effective contributor Be an effective contributor – discussions with colleagues gives you the opportunity to present your thoughts and ideas and enable you to listen to their contributions. This will make you understand the viewpoints of others that differ from your own. Keep an open mind Keep an open mind – be receptive to the way other people do things. Just because it’s not your way, it doesn’t mean it’s an unacceptable way of doing things. Take a step back Take a step back – If someone else is carrying out a task, stand back and let them do so even if their method is different to yours. You will find the outcome is the same. Listen to other people’s points of view Listen to other people’s points of view – this will help you to see things from another angle and can often give you an alternative solution to a problem. Don’t be confrontational Don’t be confrontational – challenging other people’s opinions negatively will not only create conflict in the setting but can also make them feel worthless, which can have devastating consequences for effective team working.

11. ‘I hate apples’ ‘I don’t like football, it’s rubbish!’ ‘I love pink, it’s my favourite colour’ ‘I can’t stand Monday mornings’ ‘I can’t stand the taste of mushrooms, they’re horrible’

12. 1.3 Describe ways to ensure that personal attitudes or beliefs do not obstruct the quality of work.