Child Development and Care
Child Development and Care in the Early Years provides pupils with the knowledge and experience of working with children aged 0-5 years. Pupils will develop the skills of decision making, problem solving, being resourceful, planning, reflecting and evaluating, learning how to behave in a professional environment and most importantly, respecting and appreciating others. Pupils are taught the value of celebrating individuality, whilst recognising the need for equality, diversity and inclusive practice.
The course also allows pupils to reflect on their own learning and how best they can prepare for assessments and examinations. Pupils will look at different learning styles and consider different revision techniques, which will help them throughout their school life and as they go on to further education.
The content of the curriculum will provide pupils with the foundation knowledge of caring for children aged 0-5 years, which can then be further studied at higher education, allowing pupils to pursue a career in the early years sector or progress on to further study. Successful completion of the course will enable pupils to progress to Level 2 or 3 qualifications in related subjects, such as Early Years, Childcare and Health and Social Care and/or A-Levels or T-Levels. The understanding and skills gained could also allow pupils to progress on to an apprenticeship in the early years sector through a variety of occupations that are available within the sector, such as early years practitioners, early years educators and teaching assistants.
The Level 1/2 Technical Award in Child Development and Care in the Early Years has been designed to meet the needs of learners aged 14-16 in schools. It is a vocational qualification equivalent to GCSE grades 8.5 to 1. Learners will develop the following knowledge which will inform future training and work in the early years sector:
- different aspects of holistic child development
- short term and long term effects of biological and environmental factors on the healthy growth and development of the child
- ways in which the early years practitioner supports the wellbeing and basic care needs of the child through expected and unexpected transitions
- child’s care needs and the importance of play and activities to support the child’s independence, health, safety and well-being
- purpose, role, and function of different types of early years provision
- legislation that governs early years settings and the relationship between legislation, frameworks, policies and procedures
- expectations with regard to appearance, behaviour, timekeeping and attitude when working in an early years setting
- roles and responsibilities of those working with children in early years settings and the purpose of partnership working within early years provision
- how observations are used in early years settings, the different methods used and the components of recording observations
- the child-centred approach to planning and the importance of planning to meet the child’s need
- reinforcement of the importance of continuing professional and personal development
Aims
This qualification aims to:
- focus on the study of child development and care in the early years
- offer a breadth and depth of study, incorporating a key core of knowledge
- provide opportunities to acquire a number of practical and technical skills.
It provides the opportunity to gain a vocational qualification that gives a basic introduction to the sector. It has been designed to meet the needs of learners from the age of 14 years. It includes the knowledge and understanding of child development and well-being necessary for working with children in a variety of settings. It is aimed at a range of learners who wish to be introduced to childcare and development of children aged 0-5 years. Learners will develop the following skills that will inform future training and work in the early years sector:
- decision making
- observation
- resourcefulness
- problem solving
- interpersonal skills
- planning
- evaluation
- reflection
- professional behaviours
- respect and appreciation of others
- an ability to reflect upon their preferred learning style and identify relevant study skills
The Level 2 Technical Award in Child Development and Care has been designed to meet the needs of learners from the age of 14 years. This qualification will enable learners to develop significant transferable knowledge and study skills that will support progression including:
- an awareness of learning styles
- a basic introduction in to working with children in a variety of settings
- an understanding of roles and responsibilities when working in a setting
- an understanding of equality and diversity within a childcare setting
- a basic understanding of the stages and sequence of child development
- an introduction to observing children and how it supports development
- an introduction to the influences that affect holistic development
- an introduction to everyday care routines and the types of activities that can support the development of independence an introduction to supporting children through transition.
This qualification provides the opportunity to gain a vocational qualification that gives a basic introduction to the sector.
| Year 10 | Unit 1: An introduction to working with children aged 0-5 years | Unit 2: Development and well-being 0-5 years |
| Year 11 | Unit 2: Development and well-being 0-5 years | Unit 3: Childcare and Development 0-5 years |
Subject content Key stage 4
This qualification consists of 3 units:
- Units 1 and 2 graded A*– D, assessed by an externally set, internally marked assessment task. Mandatory assessments for each unit will be subject to internal and external quality assurance
- Unit 3 graded A*-D, assessed by an externally set and externally marked synoptic Scenario Based Short Answer Examination (component TACDC).
UNIT 1 – An introduction to working with children aged 0-5 years:
Aim: This is an introductory unit designed to give an overview of the types of settings and local provision for children. Learners will consider how to prepare for working in settings and the responsibilities of early years workers. Learners will also gain an insight into their preferred learning style and develop their own ability to study.
The learner will be required to apply knowledge and understanding through an internally assessed assessment which will be subject to internal and external quality assurance. Areas that must be included are:
- types of provision: function and purpose
- job roles of early years workers
- strategies and techniques for preparing for placement
- responsibilities and limits of the role of the early years learner during work placement
- exploring and appreciating fair and inclusive practice
- learning styles and how to maximise own preferences for study.
UNIT 2 – Development and well-being 0-5 years:
Aim: This is an introductory unit designed to give an overview of holistic child development. Learners will be introduced to the purpose and function of observation for the planning cycle. Learning will also cover child care routines and activity planning integral to development, including effects and ways to support children to copy in particular circumstances such as transition.
The learner will be required to apply knowledge and understanding through an internally assessed assessment which will be subject to internal and external quality assurance. Areas that must be included are:
- stages and sequences of child development from 0-5 years
- methods and uses of observation for the planning cycle
- factors that may affect holistic development
- care routines
- activity planning for development and learning.
UNIT 3 – Childcare and Development 0-5 years:
Unit 3 is a unit that combines learning from Units 1 and 2 respectively in preparation for the external assessment. Revision and preparation should allow learners to explore each of the two units and discuss. They will need to be confident about everything they have learned in Units 1 and 2.
This qualification consists of 9 units. On completion of these units, learners will complete two formal assessments:
- The non-exam assessment (NEA) – this is an externally-set synoptic project which will be internally marked and then externally moderated. Learners will have 14 hours to complete the project, which will be supervised and assessed by the teacher. It has a 50% weighting and is worth 92 marks. This must be completed when all nine units have been covered. A different NEA brief will be released every December
- The examined assessment (EA) – this is an externally-set and externally moderated written exam worth 80 marks. The duration of the exam is 1 hour and 30 minutes and has a weighting of 50%. The exam is a mixture of multiple-choice, short-answer, and extended response questions and will take place in the May/June of Year 11.
- The overall qualification grades for the course are as follows:
- Level 1 Pass
- Level 1 Merit
- Level 1 Distinction
- Level 2 Pass
- Level 2 Merit
- Level 2 Distinction
- Level 2 Distinction *
| 10 | Unit 1: Child Development Unit 2: Factors that influence the child’s development Unit 3: Care routines, play and activities to support the child | Unit 3: Care routines, play and activities to support the child Unit 4: Early years provision Unit 5: Legislation, policies and procedures in the early years | Unit 5: Legislation, policies and procedures in the early years Unit 6: Expectations of the early years practitioner |
| 11 | Unit 7: Roles and responsibilities within early years settings Unit 8 – The importance of observations in early years childcare | Unit 9: Planning in early years childcare Synoptic Project (NEA) Exam (EA) | N/A |
Unit 1 – Child Development:
Aim: The learner will understand holistic development in the early years which includes aspects of physical, cognitive, communication and language, social and emotional development covering birth-5 years.
Unit 2 – Factors that influence the child’s development:
Aim: The learner will understand that nature and nurture, alongside transitions, may affect the child’s development from birth to 5 years.
Unit 3 – Care routines, play and activities to support the child:
Aim: The learner will understand the child’s care needs and the importance of play and activities to support the child’s independence, health, safety and wellbeing from birth to 5 years.
Unit 4 – Early years provision:
Aim: The learner will understand the purpose, role, and function of different types of early years provision.
Unit 5 – Legislation, policies and procedures in the early years:
Aim: The learner will understand that early years settings are regulated and standardised The learner will know what regulation means and the name of the regulatory authority.
Unit 6 – Expectations of the early years practitioner:
Aim: The learner will understand expectations with regards to appearance, behaviour, timekeeping, and attitude when working in an early years setting.
Unit 7 – Roles and responsibilities within early years settings:
Aim: The learner will understand roles and responsibilities of those working with children from birth to 5 years in early years settings and the purpose of partnership working early years provision.
Unit 8 – The importance of observations in early years childcare:
Aim: The learner will understand how observations are used in early years settings, the different methods used and the components of recording observations. The learner will understand terms connected to accurate recording of observations and the benefits of observation and sharing observations with others.
Unit 9 – Planning in early years childcare:
Aim: The learner will understand the child-centred approach to planning and the importance of planning to meet the child’s needs.
At Corpus Christi we believe that all pupils should be equipped with and supported in developing a high level of reading and literacy capability, as is required by each subject discipline. To achieve this, Heads of Department should agree clear expectations for how subject knowledge and understanding will be demonstrated through oracy and literacy. This will allow all teachers to ensure that pupils show a deep understanding of their subjects using appropriate subject vocabulary. This is modelled by teachers and explained to pupils to continually reinforce the expected standard.
Heads of Department must ensure that appropriate reading strategies are implemented to meet the demands of their subjects. The strategies adopted must be informed by the demands of the intended scheme of work, pupils’ reading ages, and the key principles of the Corpus Christi approach to ensure pupils are supported in developing their reading, literacy, and oracy across the curriculum. Reading is differentiated across the curriculum to meet the needs of individual pupils, not only to support access to the curriculum but to also develop fluency and deepen understanding.
Assessment in Child Development is ongoing throughout Key Stage 4. Formative and summative assessments are both utilised to allow pupils to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the scheme of work, as well as being able to accurately measure the progress that pupils are making. In this way, teachers are able to identify any gaps in learning, to inform future teaching and to plan any necessary interventions.
Assessments in Child Development are suitably challenging whilst meeting the needs of all pupils. Where possible, assessments are differentiated to ensure that all pupils have the opportunity to make outstanding progress through the curriculum. It is the responsibility of the curriculum lead and the class teacher to ensure pupils are suitably ready for assessments and that all content has been covered thoroughly prior to the assessments. All Year 10 pupils will sit a summative end of year assessment in the summer term that will test knowledge from across the year, whereas the Year 11 pupils will sit a summative assessment testing the knowledge of the previous two years of learning. Overall judgements on progress will consider both formative and summative assessments and will be supported by internal moderation.
The curriculum lead has a clear, shared rationale and ensures that assessments are checked and verified, and that grades are awarded fairly and in line with the mark scheme. This will incorporate the use of formative assessment, enabling teachers to use their daily feedback through questioning and marking, to inform decisions related to progress grades.
Exam results across the DT faculty have been excellent and the impact of the design and technology curriculum is evident in the depth of secure knowledge acquired by pupils across both key stages.
Our best ever set of results was achieved across the department in 2023, exceeding national averages across all subject areas.
| Subject | National Average 9-4 | 9-4 | 9-5 | 9-7 |
| Graphics Vocational | n/a | 100% | 74% | 16% |
| Food Prep and Nutrition | 64.6% | 90% | 58% | 13% |
| Design Technology | 65.6% | 70% | 50% | 5% |
| Childcare Vocational | n/a | 94% | 88% | 47% |
We are a consistently popular option choice for year 9 pupils and have over 120 pupils studying a design technology course across year 10 and year 11. This is a result of the impact of our well planned, sequenced and stimulating curriculum that serves to inspire pupils to study our subject at GCSE.
The design technology department also offers a variety of extra-curricular clubs to all pupils. These are consistently well-attended and gives pupils the opportunity to experience aspects of the subject they may not encounter whilst studying the National Curriculum during lessons.
The impact of our curriculum is also seen in pupils choosing to continue professionally in this industry. We have past alumni that have progressed into careers within technology, including Dale Collier who is a senior engineer at Rolls Royce and Henry Edwards who works in design and engineering at British Aerospace (BAE).
Many of our pupils continue to study industry related courses at Preston College, such as, construction and joinery, or progress onto training apprenticeships gaining valuable hands-on experience in a real work environment.
For further information regarding the Childcare and Development curriculum please contact: Mrs Barnes, email: rbarn@ccc.lancs.sch.uk or telephone school reception: (01772) 716912.
