Management in Early Years Setting - Essay Example

Management in Early Years Setting Client Inserts His/her Name Client Inserts Grade Course Client Inserts Tutor’s Name 26/04/2012 INTRODUCTION When it comes to the question of early childhood education setting management, there emerges a number of factors to develop insight for every manager with such ambitions, the government and the concerned community. The key goal for everyone is to provide high quality child care and education (Howes et al., 2010). For each child, proper early years care and suitable education standard is a key step in life and this affects greatly the rest of his or her later life. It is easy to understand the importance of critical focus on early childhood education by just having a deep view of our previous trail in life. The role of the government is the beacon from which all childhood issues are addressed (Howes et al., 2010). But how does the government play the game? What are its policies regarding early age setting? For a good government for instance, life and well being of the local community should be among its first thinks. The government should also focus on promoting equality and valued diversity by basically offering children and their parents the best achievable services. And the manager of such an institution, what are his or her roles? For the manager, the work environment, for example, dictates working with parents. This is for sure inevitable. In other words a manager has to establish partnership-kind-of-work with the parents. In short, this study focuses on the strategies or practices of a good early age setting manager and also fathoms the suitability of the prevailing state policies regarding the well being of the children, including those below the statutory school age. Managerial activities that describe his or her partnership with the parents in a view to building a healthy early age nursery setting are inquired into and discussed below. PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PARENTS The Community and the Environment The role of the manager in the making of a typical early age nursery setting a success is more involving than a person may primarily think. There are many tasks to address especially when the setting is intended to work in a completely new environment. In such a case, learning about the immediate community traits is a crucial undertaking. The community’s importance is recognized and appreciated especially for the mere fact that it is the mother of the children that one is about to manage, it is the source of raw materials, it may challenge your undertakings and the fact that the goals of the overall running of the setting is to address the welfare of the local community. The typology of the community with which one is to newly mingle with becomes important. For example, what class of the community, in terms of financial capability, are you dealing with? The answer to this question helps a great deal determine the type of services the children will require at home and at the school. The channels of communication available must be assessed. This is because the manager will require one on one communication with the parents either collectively or individually. This comes hand in hand with assessing the accessibility of the community in terms of the distance travelled to the school by the children and so on. A committee for the community development strategies should deservingly include the local community. In fact, the local community acts a source of key informants who a manager may source information from. The community knows what aspects of its development need to be addressed first and can also suggest how. A psychological and social understanding of the local community is of paramount importance. Temperament parameters whatsoever must be assessed the results of which helps in taking precaution measures. For instance, a good understanding of the local community’s psychology will help one to predict the social needs of the children and the community (Denham, 2006). Families from a poor neighborhood will automatically be moved more inches by a donor funding aids than those from a rich neighborhood. In terms of setting the various amenities, the mental awareness of the children on the usability of such amenities helps in defining a framework on how these amenities will be introduced and handled (Denham, 2006). The local community social background, on critical analysis, will highly help a concerned manager in predicting the possible sources of different types of conflict among the school fraternity. This is of great value because every service that a manager is about to undertake will either become appreciated, just tolerated (which is rare) or highly rebuked (Payton et al., 2000). Setting of disciplinary actions against the wrong doers in a school does not occur by just saying ‘let it happen’. It requires understanding the community especially the parents and the children in a deeper way. Many a time this will necessitate an arrangement of meeting to agree on the kind of punishment that will be considered effective and yet communally acceptable. Here, the question of understanding children especially on individual basis, his or her strengths and weaknesses in terms of physical and mental capability and previous behavioral norms, pops in. The physical and the social environment matters a lot (Denham, 2006). The needs of the children and the arrangement of events in relation to the local climatic regimes must be appropriately set so as to correctly fit in terms of practicality. The social environment particularly at school is the determinant of what potential capabilities lay ahead of specific child’s life (Ramey & Ramey, 1998). It is important to know what we are molding a particular child into. This can be addressed by bringing in the staff that will closely control the children’s activities life (Ramey & Ramey, 1998) throughout their time at school arm in arm with setting the code of conduct expected of such the children. What they see or hear within the school and outside definitely determine what becomes of them. Therefore, governing their behavior trails should be part of the overall curriculum planning, like in any other educational institution. But unlike older students who are expected to reason out mostly on their own children are delicate and will follow whatever behavior that appears on their way, whether bad or good (Tymms, Merrell & Henderson, 1997). Know the Rights of the Parents Parents are a major stakeholder in the overall running of a nursery setting. Mostly, the parents will be inquisitive about the daily performance of their children in both behaviors acquired and knowledge-wise. How to handle the parents is an issue of thought. A parent should be; 1. Valued and Respected Every parent is equally important. He or she as a result should be recognized as a stakeholder (Pianta et al., 2005). Like in any other organization, accountability to the stakeholder is a virtue that a manager should closely adhere to. However, some parents may have delicate temperament and disrespect to the school and it may not be easy to punish him or her to your best. At this point, a skilled manager will delegate such issues to the respective committee. 2. Kept Informed. A manager must devise a way of keeping specific parents informed about the progress of their respective children. A problem may be noted about the child that requires attention of the parent. For example, disobedience, health complications, academic failure and/or nutritional problems may occur away from home. It is the role and obligation of the manager to know in which context to contact the parent. 3. Consulted, Involved and Included at all Levels Before introducing a child to a particular program, it is necessary to consult the specific parent on the suitability of the program so as to gather the background information of the child in respect to the program. The profile of the child gives his or her likes and dislikes and should be filed as necessary including the medical reports or history of the child (Tymms et al., 1997). Most of this information rests with the parents. It is more professional for example to describe the kind of food the child obtains from the school if any. Most children at this age (3-5 years) show reduced appetite (Tymms et al., 1997). Any strange feeding habits should be communicated to the parent as it may gradually impact negatively on the child both academically and health-wise. Rights of the Children as a Parental Focus Every parent aims at the well being of his or her child. As a manager, there are a number of things that one has to ensure. Safety and the stimulation of the child becomes number one (Pianta et al., 2005). Safety of the child can be ensured by for example providing safe transport from home to school and back. Away from home, the children feel more or less in the wild. This is where the manager must intervene by analyzing his or her staff members conduct. There emerges a need to have staff members who literally understand the traits of the children and too, handles them well. Stimulation of the children requires more or less display of brotherly affection by the staff attending to their issues. Safety against acquiring of misguided behaviors should be ensured. Establishing extracurricular activities and good child-to-child relationships must be accomplished. The second thing is the kind of care and attention given to the children at school. The staff must respond to children needs with kindness beyond self concern (Pianta et al., 2005). Quality education as well must come from qualified staff. Every child may be signed a personal staff member who will guide the child academically to ensure success. Volunteer parents can also be included. In general, the nursery must be in setting in which parents are entitled to shaping of the services it is intended to offer (Pianta et al., 2005). Children Requiring Special Care It is the role of the manager to see to it that children with special needs are taken care of deservingly. Provision of special facilities for disabled for instance is a crucial start. Liaising with the parents with such children is virtually inevitable so as to involve the parent attention. The Manager and the Relevant Authorities There are some of rules and regulations by the local authorities and the government concerning the development of a nursery school setting that a manager must adhere to or ensure those who are answerable to him or her adhere to them. For example, there are rules to protect the welfare of the local community while ensuring its development. It is the role of the manager to consult local authorities or familiarizing himself or herself with the requirements. The manager is also answerable to a particular senior officer in the education sector. This requires that the manager be accountable to the various undertakings he or she might be interested to perform amidst the community. He is required to hand in reports of progress and on various surveys he or she has undertaken on the ground. He cannot just make a decision from his or her own making. As so, he or she is required to handover difficult matters to the experts above him. The policies set by the government concerning early childhood education standards or the children rights in general must be followed. Such rules, regulations and policies are common in many countries and any competent manager must be conversant with them. Violations of these rules come with respective penalties and that is why they must be followed. The Government Policies Every government constitutes policies and guidelines to govern the various sectors. Among these sectors is the Education sector. Further, these policies are differentiated to those that govern education at different levels (Pianta et al., 2005). In this regard, there are policies and guidelines that are introduced to the overall running of a pre-school. The main idea is to ensure that the education provided or the services provided meet a certain level of set standards. Various areas of importance are underscored in these policies and all these aim at increase opportunities for the children so that they all children are accorded some rights and privileges so that they are be given quality education among other social necessities. This study will largely focus on the ‘Every Child Matters Policy’. Every Child Matters Policy This is a policy that was introduced in Britain by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair. It has later been adopted by many other countries and is rather regarded as a policy for every child (HM Government, 2004). The aim of the policy is to develop the children in a space that guarantees success academically socially, creatively, physically and emotionally and yet aiming at feeding the children with the correct code of conduct as they grow. The policy confirms that every management of early childhood affairs to ensure that every child is kept happy, safe, must enjoy education and subsequently achieve academically and innovatively. A typical nursery setting is required to indicate a positive contribution to the immediate society it is serving. This means that formation of such a nursery must be intended for achieving the above named functions. Mostly, this contribution has to include improving the economic well-being of the community rather than specializing only on profit maximization, a case that is observed with establishment of private institutions (HM Government, 2004). The welfare of the children, which reflects that of the community, must be kept in the first line of thought. Indiscriminate Tending Of the Children The policy outlines the need for every child to acquire the highest possible education without favoritism whatsoever. This forms the theme of the policy. The policy cuts across all children whether in school, at home or with disabilities (HM Government, 2004). Every child matters indeed and must be kept happy. For schooling children the policy requires that individual needs of the children must be noted in advance and that there should be ready hands to handle individual child at any time. The policy addresses healthy lifestyle for each child as its ultimatum. Here, a healthy lifestyle is stated to be a lifestyle that enhances physical and mental fitness of the child, ensures children eat balanced diet, acquire healthy eating habits, ensures that the child grows up while sticking to the correct code of conduct, ensures that the child is protected from harmful social effluents (HM Government, 2004), ensures proper physical and mental exercise and protect the child from dangers of drugs and sex. The policy further assures and guides that achievement of all these goals is possible just by working together as a team. Different management formations can organize collective lessons, for example, for teaching the pupils on the importance of proper nutrition. The exercise issue can be approached by coaxing each pupil to have at least one game of choice, preferably a game that will enhance physical fitness and refreshing of the mind. Access of clean water for every child is highly advocated for by the policy (HM Government, 2004). This must be provided throughout the day. Other important amenities that bring in a positive change are also invited. Parental Care and Guidance The policy as well challenges the parents. Healthy living should begin at home. The overall duty of catering should not entirely rest on the shoulder of external caretakers. It is clear that what the child displays outside is a translation of lessons of life learnt at home. Protection for the children at home is stated as vital. Protection here mainly is against harmful social environment and poor nutrition. The parents should play the greater role especially in guiding the child in terms of discipline, self awareness and sexuality. Conclusion In the verge of starting an early childhood education setting, there are key issues to consider including the typology of the social and physical environment, the community welfare and the government policy. The government policy sets out formal rulings that people must follow but these policies do not have a philosophical bearing. By this I mean that the mere following of the policy make us forget to take appropriate actions that we sometimes feel are better (Payton et al., 2000). For example, barely giving only what the policy asks to the children, that is, as per curriculum given by the policy, we might fail a great deal. The point is, the policy is not flexible enough to change with different lifestyles and their needs. However, what about lifestyles? Lifestyles change every now and then and therefore the concerned caterer should not wait for the policies to change. List of References HM Government -2004b. (2004). Every Child Matters: Next Steps. Nottingham: Department for Education and Skills. Howes, C., Burchinal, M., Pianta, R., Bryant, D., Early, D., Clifford, R., & Barbarin, O. (2010). Ready to learn? Children’s pre‐academic achievement in pre‐ kindergarten programs. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. Compendium of SEL and Associated Assessment Measures—October 2010 p. 27  Payton, J.W., Wardlaw, D.M., Graczyk, P.A., Bloodworth, M.R., Tompsett, C.J., & Weissberg, R.P. (2000). Social and emotional learning: A framework for promoting mental health and reducing risky behaviors in children and youth. Journal of School Health, 70(5), 179‐185.  Pianta, R, Howes, C, Burchinal, M, Bryant, D, Clifford, R, Early, D, & Barbarin, O. 2005. Features of pre‐kindergarten programs, classrooms, and teachers: Do they predict observed classroom quality and child‐teacher interactions? Applied Developmental Science, 9, 144‐159.   Ramey, C.T., & Ramey, S.L. (1998). Early Intervention and Early Experience. American Psychologist 53(2), 109-120. Tymms, P., Merrell, C., & Henderson, B. (1997). The First Year at School: A quantitative investigation of the attainment and progress of pupils. Educational Research and Evaluation 3(2), 101-118. Denham, S.A. (2006).  Social‐emotional competence as support for school readiness: What is it and how do we assess it? Early Education and Development, Special Issue: Measurement of School Readiness, 17, 57‐89. Read More