30738/01 Written assessment
Part A – Case studies
Student instructions
·
Read the following case studies
and then answer the questions that follow.
·
To answer questions accurately
you may refer to applicable legislation including the National Quality Standard and Educationand Care Services National Regulations, along with the Early Childhood Australia Code
of Ethics, policies and procedures common to early childhood education and
care services, position descriptions detailing an educator’s duty of care
responsibilities, and/or other sources such as professional readings along with
the course textbook and identified key resources.
·
Ensure you acknowledge and cite your sources accordingly. This is
important whether you use your own words or quote the author’s words. For more
information on referencing and plagiarism, refer to the ‘Academic reference
guide’ in the Student Handbook.
·
When referring to workplace
policies and procedures or position descriptions please submit with your
assessment to support your answer.
Case studies
Case Study 1
Rebecca is a four-year-old
child who is about to enrol in the pre-school room. She has a physical
condition known as an ‘imperforate anus’. Imperforate anus is when there is no
opening at the end of the digestive track where the anus normally is. This
condition affects about 1 in every 5000 babies, and is a defect that occurs
during the fifth to seventh weeks of fetal development. As a consequence,
Rebecca experiences trouble with bowel control and continuously leaks fluid
from her anus that can be quite strong smelling.
She has attended the
service twice with her parents as part of the service’s orientation process and
has spent time in the room with the other children. She has had bowel accidents
on both occasions, which has been noticed and commented on by the other
children. With one child saying ‘Does the smelly girl have to be in our room?’
This was asked in front of both Rebecca and her parents.
Complete the following:
1.
Identify two strategies you
would use with the children to promote understanding and acceptance of Rebecca
and her medical condition?
2.
Briefly describe three actions educators
can take to help Rebecca manage her toileting needs in a way that both promotes
her independence and also protects her self-esteem?
3.
State how the Early Childhood
Australia Code of Ethics relate and can
be used to guide your interactions with this child?
4.
Identify the policies and procedures,
under the National Quality Framework,
an education and care service must have in place that will help guide your
actions in this situation.
5.
Briefly explain how involving
Rebecca’s parents in the management of her condition at the service will reduce
their anxiety about leaving her in the mornings?
Case Study 2
A family with two children attending
the service send their children each day without a hat on an ongoing basis.
The parents have advised the service that they cannot get their children to
wear them so cannot see the point in sending one. On most days both children
also attend in singlet tops with small spaghetti straps.
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Complete the following:
1.
Write a short script detailing
how you would address the issue presented with the family to ensure children
are dressed in a way that protects them from the sun, and respects the parent’s
views.
2.
Identify which sections of the Regulations and National Quality Standard could be referred to when explaining your
responsibilities to children with regards to sun safety.
3.
Identify three strategies you
could use to encourage the children’s cooperation with the service’s sun safe policy?
4.
Identify four information resources
that you could make available to all families at your service regarding sun
safety. In your
answer, include the full title of each information resource, and/or website including the web
address to clearly identify the resources you would direct the parent to.
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Case
Study 3
You have recently commenced work in
the two to three-year-old room at an early childhood education and care
service. This service provides progressive meal times so that children can
choose to eat when they are hungry, rather than according to a timetable. As
part of this mealtime procedure, educators simply place food on a table and move
away from the area. Children approach the table at their own leisure when
they notice the snack or meal has been served. However you notice at times,
not all children eat throughout the day, and they are not encouraged to eat
by the educators.
You also notice during mealtimes
educators stand to one side discussing personal matters until the children
have finished eating. Yesterday, a two-year-old choked on a piece of meat and
you were the only educator in the room who noticed.
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Complete the following:
1.
Which part
of the Regulations is being breached?
2.
Who should
you consult in regards to the breaches in Regulations, and the lack of
supervision provided by educators when children are eating and drinking at the
service?
3.
Give two examples
of how children could be transitioned from their activities to meal times.
4.
Outline
two ways that you could include the children in the creation of a new
transition within their daily routine.
Case
Study 4
Ahmed is a three-year-old boy who
has attended the education and care service where you work since he was 18
months old. He recently moved into the pre-school room on his birthday. The
last two times his mother has dropped him off at the service in the mornings
he has become inconsolable; grabbing at his mother, sobbing and pleading with
her to not leave him.
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Complete the following:
1.
Identify
two possible reasons for Ahmed’s recent change in behaviour.
2.
Describe
three strategies that should have been put in place prior to Ahmed’s transition
to the pre-school room to reduce his anxiety.
3.
Describe how
you would react to Ahmed’s change in behaviour to reduce his distress?
4.
Outline
two strategies you could use to support Ahmed’s mother during this time of
transition.
Case Study 5
Josh is four and a half
years old and lives in an apartment. You have noticed that Josh does not
actively involve himself in ball games that his peers are playing during
outdoor play. During discussions with Josh’s mother, she tells you that Josh
does not get to play outdoors much because both his parents work long hours and
he is with an elderly grandparent during the weekend. You set up an activity
with balls and hoops and encourage Josh to participate in the game. He attempts
to kick the ball twice but misses both times. Josh’s peers laugh at him which
causes Josh to pick up a ball and throw it at his peers. He yells at them to
‘go away’, bursts into tears and runs away. Josh’s peers yell back that ‘he is
a cry baby’ and then they continue with the game.
Complete the following:
1.
List five activities that you
could participate in with Josh that would help you determine what developmental
level he is at with his fundamental movement skills and which physical
activities interest him.
2.
Describe how you can involve
Josh in setting up the outdoor learning environment.
3.
List three resources that you
could make available in the outdoor play environment that might encourage Josh
to participate in spontaneous physical activity.
4.
Outline how you can embed
physical experiences in a daily program to improve gross motor skills of all
children. Refer to the National Physical Activity
Guidelines for Australians and the Get
up and Grow: Healthy eating and physical activity for early childhood resources
to ensure that you are meeting all the necessary requirements.
5.
List three indoor activities
that you could use to teach Josh and his peers about the benefits of physical
activity for their bodies.
6.
Give an example of how you can
use intentional teaching to scaffold the fundamental movement skill of ‘jumping’.
7.
When setting up outdoor
activities for children, what considerations need to be made in regards to
weather? Identify two considerations.
8.
How would you respond to Josh’s
reaction to his peers’ taunts? Explain what tools you could give him to deal
with this situation differently if it occurs in the future and describe two
coping strategies Josh could use.
9.
How will you begin a
conversation with Josh’s peers’ to make them understand the effects of their
behaviour?
10. What intentional teaching strategies could you use in the program to
highlight the need to treat others with respect? Give five examples.
Case Study 6
Sparked by some comments
that the children had made earlier in the year about their outdoor environment
being ‘boring’ and that there was ‘nothing to do’, you had a critical look at
the service’s outdoor play area and decided that the children were right.
Everything was artificial and plastic. So, in consultation with the children
and families, you embark on a project to improve your outdoor environment. Once
finished, your play area will have a ‘fairy garden’ complete with bridge, a
wooden jetty and boat, as well as a dry river bed for the children to play in.
A week after your environment ‘makeover’ is finished, a few families (who gave
no input in the planning phase), approach you to express concern about how
dangerous they feel the new features are, and that they would like you to
remove them before a serious accident occurs.
Complete the following:
1.
What would
be the most constructive way to respond to these families’ concerns?
2.
Identify
five information resources that relate to risk taking, natural environments and
active physical play that you could share with families within the service to
justify the changes you have made. In your answer, include the full title of each information resource, and/or website including the web
address to clearly identify the resources you would direct the parent to.
3.
Which
clause in the Regulations relates to the provision of natural environments?
4.
Outline three
ways you can engage young children in constructing their own play environments.
Part
B – Design Project
Student
instructions
You have been asked to
provide an architect with a description of the requirements that apply to
indoor and outdoor space for children aged 0-2 years so that they can design
new premises for an education and care service.
Consult the Education and Care Services Regulations 2011
as well as the Guide to the National
Quality Standard to see what legal requirements there are in relation to
facilities for children. Pay particular attention to Quality Areas 2 and 3 of
the Guide to the National Quality
Standard. Your description must include information that relates to the
following:
- Unencumbered floor space indoors (requirements per age group).
- Unencumbered floor space outdoors (requirements per age group).
- Softfall.
- Lighting both natural and artificial.
- Shading.
- Fencing.
- Access to toilet facilities.
- Laundry and Hygiene facilities.
- Ventilation.
- Administrative space.
- Nappy Change facilities.
- Premises design to facilitate supervision.
Sleeping facilities for
children under two years old.
In your own words,
summarise the requirements for each of the above components and present the
information in a report for the architect. You may either set your report out
in an essay format, or in a table. The report should be approximately 500 words
in total.
