Education and Care Inquiry - Case Study Example

Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Date Task 2: Scenario A- Education & Care Inquiry Parents and guardians are very weary when it comes to taking their children to care centers. They need to be satisfied that indeed the welfare of the child will be adequately taken care of. This is normal considering the relationship and the bond between the child and the parents. In this regard, Emily’s parents also require that assurance that their 18-month old child will be in safe custody. Therefore, as a children care center, there is some information that is provided to guide the parents make a decision in bringing their child. The following is a list of some information required in this regard: Educator to child ratio: the ratio of the educator to the number of children is quite significant. The parent must be convinced that adequate attention shall be accorded to his or her child. In essence, the lower the ratio, the better it is for the child. Qualifications of the care givers: those providing care to the children must be educated and very informed on the core responsibilities. Such qualifications must be provided for the parents to be assured that the best services will be offered to the child. Facilities and resources available: the care center requires sufficient resources to ensure the needs of the children are adequately serviced. National register: this will enable the parents to assess the quality of education and care services Center Policies and Procedures In overall, the staff ought to be acquainted with all necessary information in order to provide the required direction to the parents with the intention of enrolling their children in the care center. There are different things that the staff members ought to be informed. For instance, they must know the period within which the child will be under their care during the day. This is to guide parents on the time they are supposed to drop their child and also pick him/her at the evening. Another area is in line with infant feeding. The feeding program of all the children in different ages must be explained to the parents. This may include the special arrangements for toddlers which may include breastfeeding plans. In addition, the medical attention program must be communicated to the parent by the staff. Emily’s Food Needs Good nutrition is essential for healthy living. This enables children to be actively involved in the affairs of the care center. The dietary needs of children are met based on the information provided by the family. This is based on the understanding that children at such ages are quite sensitive to various meals. This center is committed to ensuring that the food eaten by children like Emily is consistent with their likes and dislikes as well as medical complications. In this area, Karen ought to understand that there are many provisions that have been put in place to specifically ensure that the nutritional needs of the child are met. This goes to the extent of providing some children with food even at times other than the routine meals. In real sense, the care center must be in constant communication with the family in order to understand the constantly changing habits among children in relation to eating. Having highlighted the commitment of the care center in providing healthy and nutritious food to the children including Emily, it is important to acknowledge the fact that limitations exist. Considering the number of children in the care center with their unique needs to be met, sometimes it becomes difficult to meet such needs. It is difficult to prepare and serve special meals to a large population like a quarter of the children. Therefore, when it gets to this point, it is advisable for the parent to understand and alternative means sought. Such means could include the parent carrying cooked food for Emily. Facilities and Resources Outdoor and indoor spaces Buildings Furniture Equipment Toilet and hand-washing facilities There are very many facilities that are in a children’s care center. They are meant to support service delivery to the children. Some of them have been listed above. These facilities work together to ensure that learning and overall development is achieved appropriately. Appropriate facilities in this center are meant to ensure that accidents are minimized. This therefore works to guarantee the safety of all the children. It will be important for Karen to understand how the safety of her child is guaranteed. Such an environment ensures that inasmuch as the children will take diverse risks in their development, their safety is not compromised. The spacious playing fields represent another facility that is meant to ensure growth and development goals amongst the children are addressed. The outdoor objects and resources are meant to complement the child’s overall needs. Karen must understand the measures that have been put in place to ensure that Emily’s safety is not compromised in the name of essential resources. Another important facility that Karen ought to be shown is the toilets and hand-washing facilities. This is meant to indicate that the hygienic condition of the institution is up-to-date. Such is meant to reduce the worries and anxieties that accompany parents when they leave their children for the first time. In case of issues arising in relation to health, the parents will not think of the care center to have contributed. This is very important in ensuring that the relationship between parents and educators is kept healthy. Emily’s Transition and Settling Emily is attending day care for the first time. This can be very challenging indeed. There is need to ensure that Emily is able to adjust smoothly to the new environment. The educators and care givers have been trained on the need to create relationships right from the first day with the children. This is fundamental in a learning environment. In order to help Emily settle very easily in this day care center, it is important to seek to understand her properly. This will begin with understanding the tastes, likes and preferences of the child. Being able to meet the needs of the child will make her feel like she is not missing anything in the first place. The care givers must seek adequate information from Karen to ensure that the needs of the kid are appropriately catered for. In addition, the environment must be designed in a manner that is most suitable to the children. For instance, the drawings and designs on the wall must be able to suit the needs of the children. Childlike stuff is very important all over the walls of buildings and other structures. By all means, avoid scary images like snakes, lizards, etc. Similarly, children ought to be allowed to be in possession of transitional objects like toys. These will help reduce the anxiety of children attending for the first time like Emily. More so, parents for the children attending for the first time ought to be allowed to make contacts with the institution at their will. Karen must be allowed to call the center any time she feels she want to know the progress of the child. She can also be allowed to visit and check on Emily even at odd hours. This works to reduce the level of anxiety both to the parent as well as the child. Since it takes time for the child to fully adapt to such environment, Karen should be allowed to continue visiting or calling to check on Emily any time until she adapts fully. Communication between the Staff Emily’s transition is definitely an issue of all the members of staff. They work together to ensure that she transits gently and adapts to the new environment. Since this is an affair of all the staff in this day care center, it is of great significance to communicate with the educators and all care givers in the institution. This is to ensure that they all understand the unique needs of Emily in order to know how best they can be of help. Failure for the staff to understand the needs of Emily may turn out to be very disastrous. Therefore, communication to all members is very important. Similarly, there is need for proper induction process to the new educators and coordinators. This is meant to ensure that the institution manages to maintain a positive and professional culture. These educators and staff members ought to clearly understand their roles and duties in order to ensure they discharge them appropriately. It is therefore important to ensure that all the service providers who will be interacting with Emily fully understand who she is and how to extend help to her. Scenario B Orientation Process for New Children and Families In dealing with the issues to do with orientation of new children and families into the day care centers, it is important to highlight the fact that training of staff is very important. As I pointed out earlier on, all staff members must undergo training and induction session that will enable them deliver the services appropriately. The orientation program ought to tackle key issues that affect children coming from outside Australia. In this case, the children, Helya and Tahareh are Iranians. They need proper orientation in relation to food offered, language issues, environment and facilities and many other issues. This must be done in consideration of the National Quality Framework. This framework emphasizes on the significance of quality of services offeredin child care institutions. These guidelines lay emphasis on health, safety and wellbeing of the children. Open-ended Questions What is the main reason for transferring from the Iranian school to Australia? What is the status of education in a day care institution in Iran? Kindly provide some information in relation to cultural orientation of the children Information to be gathered There is a lot of information that ought to be gathered in order to enable me help the children appropriately. The technical aspect in all these is the fact that these children have different background orientation from other children. The fact that they are of Iranian origin implies that I have to be given special attention in order to adapt well. One of the issues that will be my great concern is their preferences, likes and dislikes. Such preferences can be diverse indeed. These may begin with the type of food stuffs that these children are familiar with. This is based on the understanding of the significance of food. Another concern will be the kind of games they like playing or watching. Playing is a very critical activity in the life of the child. The nature of learning at such ages of 4 years is mostly encompassed with a lot of playing. At the same time, the children’s medical history must be provided in detail. This is meant to ensure that the institution is aware of necessary actions to be taken in the situation an emergence demands. Facilitating Children’s Transition The two children are aged 2 and 4 years old. This is a completely new service to them and therefore appropriate mechanisms have to be put in place to ensure that transition is very successful. The discussion with the parents will provide some grounds upon which transition may be necessitated. The basic of all the requirements is ensuring that the parents are able to maintain a closer watch over the children in the early days of the children into this day care center. Therefore, these parents will be allowed to pop in any time especially during breaks in order to check on the progress of the children. This will have to depend on the flexibility of the program of the parents especially with regards with their jobs. If their schedules won’t allow them, it is important to ensure they call the service provider in charge in order to know the progress of the children. Other activities that will be done to ensure smooth transition are actually determined by the child’s individual characteristics. Issue of Children Staying Indoors I appreciate the concern raised by the parents in relation to the new clothes and their desire that such clothes have to be maintained clean. Nevertheless, parents ought to understand a number of facts surrounding the development and growth of children. Playing is part of growth of all children. Denying the children the right to play is an infringement on their basic rights. It is one of remaining healthy and therefore children ought to play. The desire of the parents to ensure the clothes of the children are maintained clean must not override the desire for the children to play. Having pointed out this, it is important to let the parents know that a child cannot be denied the right to play especially under such circumstances. Ways of Providing Information to Parents Through telephone calls During their visits to the day care center Through emails Possible Ways of Responding Call the parent through a mobile or telephone Sending an email Waiting until day of visitation Message Hi Julia, I am writing to let you know that I received your note and your concern in overall. Your concern is a rather common one especially for children below the age of 6 years. I just want you to know that that has been noted and we are keeping an eye on him. In case of any behavior which may be interpreted as unusual, we shall let you know as well as the appropriate action taken. I assure you that the welfare of your son is our top priority and therefore we will do our best to ensure he is fine. Thanks for your continued cooperation. Yours [my name] Read More