Introduction
I am going to compose a report demonstrating high quality out of home provision. The report will be based upon research and theory and will look into the impacts that practise and provision have on a child’s development and well-being. I will evaluate the role of the practitioner and how it effects children’s learning experiences. The historical and current social policies that relate to the well-being, care and education of children will also be explored.
The setting in which I will research in relation to quality is a play based sessional preschool service located in a rural area, there are 21 children attending ages ranging from 2 ½ to 5 years. There is one main room divided up into areas such as reading corner, home corner, messy play area, work area, construction corner etc. There is a children’s bathroom and separate staff bathroom and a kitchen area. There is also a large pitch, a playground and a vegetable garden which the children also have access to. Pedagogical approaches used in this setting are based on Aistear, themes are chosen based on children’s interests. Their work and photos are on display in the room and a wall of photos of each child’s family. This enforces a sense of identity and belonging, and promoting positive self-awareness. Belsky (1990) states that “Early childhood is a time of rapid growth and development and the positive and/or negative consequences of care and education during this time can last well into adulthood” (Hanafin, 2014). The values and beliefs at the centre of this setting is to provide a holistic start for all the children in our care. It is a child lead setting and each child is encouraged and supported through their development at their own pace. Our role is to provide an environment which facilitates the development of confident, competent learners. My role in the setting is room leader.
What is quality? The Oxford dictionary defines it as “The standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the degree of excellence of something” (Oxford Dictionaries | English, 2017). In relation to an early years setting how do we know if it is good quality? According to the Insights on Quality paper there are three key perspectives that have influenced the quality of practise in Early Years Settings, these are legislation, practitioner/provider and education & training (Duignan and Walsh, 2004). However, Dahlberg and Moss argue that quality is subjective, difficult to define and dependent on your context and experiences.
History
Policies and regulations are continually changing and progressing in Ireland in favour of the child (French, 2007). However, there wasn’t always policies in place when it came to childcare as Irish policy encouraged women to work only inside the home. Women once married had to leave their jobs and become stay at home wives and have children (Flood and Hardy, 2013). In 1957, the ban was lifted for primary school teachers and due to Irelands entry i...
