1. Unit OP 1 Support children with additional needs

2. Learning Outcomes
LO1 Understand factors which may result in children needing additional support.
AC 1.1 Describe factors which may result in children needing additional support in the:
Short term
Long term.
LO2 Understand how personal experiences, values and beliefs impact on practice.
AC 2.1 Explain how personal experiences, values and beliefs impact on practice.

3. 1. Understand factors which may result in children needing additional support (1.1)
Time: 15 mins
Can you accept help if you need it or are you fiercely independent?
Consider:
You are stuck with a piece of written work
You have hurt your hand and need help with day-to-day tasks
You have been asked to do something and you do not understand what to do
You are feeling unwell and you have a long day ahead of you
You have tried to repeatedly do something and it keeps going wrong.

4. 1. Understand factors which may result in children needing additional support (1.1)
Every child may need some form of additional support in their life.
Some children may just need additional support for a very short time, while others may need support for a much longer period of time.
A child who has come into the setting upset because of an argument at home that morning may need support to settle that day.
A child who is experiencing a transition at home may need additional support in the setting during that time.

5. 1. Understand factors which may result in children needing additional support (1.1)
Practitioners will need to work closely with parents/carers in order to meet additional support needs.
If a child has a chronic long-term health condition such as epilepsy, practitioners will need to know how to support the child’s additional needs while at the setting.
This child will not need additional support on a day-to-day basis, but if they have been unwell or had seizures, they may need additional support on their return to the setting.

6. 1. Understand factors which may result in children needing additional support (1.1)
Time: 15 mins
Discuss a range of additional support children may need during their time at the setting.
Consider:
A 3-year-old child who is returning to the setting after 5 weeks off with a broken leg
A 6-year-old child who is asthmatic and needs to use their inhaler before any exercise or outdoor play
A 4-year-old child whose grandma has just died
A 2-year-old child who has just moved house.
Additional support could include:
3-year-old child – re-integration with friends, extra support during physical play, support with settling back in
6-year-old child – not making a fuss, independence of the child, record keeping, monitoring for signs of difficulty in breathing, adapting physical activity if necessary
4-year-old child – talking, listening, understanding how the emotions of others may impact on the child, role play, stories, giving them extra time if needed
2-year-old child – security in the setting, dealing with separation anxiety even if the child was previously settled, needing more time with key person.

7. We have all had a different range life experiences.
2. Understand how personal experiences, values and beliefs impact on practice (2.1)
Impact on own practice
We have all had a different range life experiences.
We all have our own set of values and beliefs.
This makes us who we are.

8. 2. Understand how personal experiences, values and beliefs impact on practice (2.1)
Time: 15 mins
Discuss how each of you feel about the following scenarios:
You have a broken arm. You can still get out and about and you are in no pain, but your family suggest you stay off school/college/work until it is fully healed.
A very close family member has died but you carry on with school/college/work and only have one day off.
You have a long-term health condition, but you do not want anyone to know because you do not want people to feel sorry for you.
Your parents have separated and you want everyone to know so that they understand what you are going through.
This activity will show that everyone deals with situations in different ways.
No one person is wrong or right. Everyone is different and this should be respected.
It should be discussed that everyone has their own coping mechanisms, and how their family have dealt with situations in the past will influence how they then deal with life experiences.

9. 2. Understand how personal experiences, values and beliefs impact on practice (2.1)
Impact on own practice
It is very important that practitioners do not judge others.
If a parent/carer chooses to keep their child at home because of a family situation, then practitioners must not judge them by what they would do in that same situation.
On the other hand, a child may be sent to the setting distraught and unsettled by a situation at home, and although the practitioner will speak to the parent/carer about their child, they must not judge the reasoning of the parent/carer.

10. 2. Understand how personal experiences, values and beliefs impact on practice (2.1)
Time: 15 mins
Reflect on your own ability to accept others’ personal experiences, values and beliefs.
Consider:
How do you cope with a friend who is dealing with a crisis when you think they are making a drama out of nothing?
A parent/carer is very protective about their asthmatic child and does not want them to run around outdoors at the setting.
A child is going through a major transition at home and the parent/carer drops their very upset child off every day and just leaves without talking to you.
Have you had any first-hand experiences of dealing with a situation where you did not agree with the actions of a parent/carer?
Learners should reflect on how they will remain professional while accepting that other people deal with situations differently.
Friend – learners’ personal opinion.
Asthmatic child – understand concerns, but explain the benefits of gentle, monitored exercise.
Major transition – understand that the parent/carer may find it very difficult to talk without getting emotional, and arrange a convenient time to meet and discuss the child.
Learners are entitled to their own views and opinions, but they must respect and accept the actions of others, unless a child is in danger of harm.

11. 2. Understand how personal experiences, values and beliefs impact on practice (2.1)
Impact on own practice
A practitioner may believe a child should stay at home for a certain amount of time after a particular family situation, such as a bereavement, but it is very important that they do not impose these thoughts on the family.
If a practitioner were to tell a parent/carer what they think in these situations, then the parent/carer may become very upset or angry.
If a parent/carer asks a practitioner what they would do in a certain situation, then they can share their views, but must reinforce that everyone is an individual and deals with things differently.

12. 2. Understand how personal experiences, values and beliefs impact on practice (2.1)
Time: 15 mins
Who or what has influenced you and the way you deal with situations?
Consider:
A family member
Your extended family
A tutor or teacher
A friend
No one
Are you able to understand life from another person’s point of view?
Learners should discuss where their views and opinions originate from.
It is important to discuss that everyone is entitled to their own views and opinions, and so it is important to respect the views and opinions of others, especially in a professional capacity.

13. 2. Understand how personal experiences, values and beliefs impact on practice (2.1)
Time: 15 mins
Create a poster to show the importance of respecting others’ personal experiences, values and beliefs within the setting.
Consider:
The benefits to the child
The benefits to the setting
The benefits to the parent/carer
The benefits to the individual practitioner.
These could be shared or displayed.
Learners could include pictures or diagrams/images.
This should focus on everyone having different views, values and beliefs.

14. Summary
There are a range of factors which may impact on a child’s individual needs.
Some children will require short-term additional support at the setting while others will require this over a longer period of time.
We are all different and have a range of life experiences, values and beliefs that make us who we are.

15. Plenary
Name two short-term factors which may mean a child needs additional support in the setting.
Describe one long-term factor which may mean a child needs additional support in the setting.
Give two reasons for accepting parents/carers’ decisions in the way they deal with a family situation.