Support children’s play and learning
Overview
Who is this unit for?
This unit is for those who work in a setting or service whose main purpose is to
support the care, learning and development of children. The unit is suitable if you work as an assistant supporting children's play and learning in a school.
What is this unit about?
This unit is about supporting children's learning through play. Although the unit was developed for work with young children in their pre-school years and in play-based early education it is also applicable to working with children in the early years of formal education in schools.
This unit contains five elements:
1. Participate in activities to encourage communication and language
2. Provide opportunities for children’s drama and imaginative play
3. Encourage children to be creative
4. Support physical play
5. Encourage children to explore and investigate
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
Participate in activities to encourage communication and language
P1 take time to communicate with children during everyday activity and routines
P2 use music, movement, rhythm and games to encourage communication
P3 use eye contact, body movement and voice effectively to encourage children's attention and participation
P4 use appropriate language to enhance children's communication skills and learning
P5 use role play effectively to encourage, support and model language and communication
P6 make sure what you do is suitable for the children's age, needs and abilities
Provide opportunities for children's drama and imaginative play
P7 contribute to providing a range of materials, equipment and props to support drama and imaginative play
P8 select equipment and materials in collaboration with children that extends awareness of their own and other cultures
P9 encourage children to avoid stereotyping within their drama and imaginative play
P10 encourage children to explore the feelings and roles of others through drama and imagination
P11 support opportunities for children's drama and imaginative play to flow freely without adult intervention unless requested by the children or when additional props or ideas are required
P12 make sure what you do is suitable for the children's age, needs and abilities
Encourage children to be creative
P13 provide a range of materials, equipment and props to support creativity following the children's interests and setting requirements
P14 encourage children's involvement in creative activity and play with sand, water and other basic materials P15 encourage participation in:
P15.1 mark making
P15.2 painting
P15.3 drawing
P15.4 modelling
P15.5 printing
P16 make sure what you do is suitable for the children's age, needs and abilities
P17 help display children's work in ways that encourage them and support their self-esteem
Support physical play
P18 encourage and support all children to participate in physical play enabling an appropriate element of risk and challenge within their play, according to their age, needs and abilities
P19 enable children to assess own risk in their physical play
P20 encourage children to take part in physical play using their whole bodies by providing interesting and stimulating opportunities
P21 use available space effectively
P22 give children opportunities to develop their fine motor skills by providing appropriate activities and experiences
P23 safely supervise children's physical play without over- or underprotecting them
P24 encourage children to take turns and consider others
Encourage children to explore and investigate
P25 examine and display objects of interest with children taking the opportunities offered to enhance children's learning
P26 help children to use indoor and outdoor areas
P27 find out about community resources to encourage children to explore and investigate
P28 engage children's curiosity by providing interesting and stimulating activities and experiences and by showing your own interest in exploring and investigating
P29 help children to use ICT as part of their exploration and investigation
P30 use activities to engage children's curiosity, making sure that activities are carefully prepared, safe, and that children are supported appropriately
P31 make sure the environment is safe and organised in ways that are child friendly and enable children to explore and investigate freely
P32 make sure what you do is suitable for the children's age, needs and abilities
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
K1 how to support children's communication, intellectual development and learning in your setting
K2 how to support children's play and communication development in bilingual and multilingual settings and where children learn through an additional language
K3 a basic outline of the expected pattern of children's physical, communication and intellectual, social, emotional and behavioural development for the age group with which you are working
K4 how the activities and experiences for children and babies and children under three years relates to formal curriculum frameworks and frameworks for babies and young children in your home country
K5 the importance of play in children's learning and development
K6 types of music, movement, songs and games to encourage
communication that are appropriate for the children with whom you work
K7 how to use ICT to support play and learning
K8 appropriate language to use to encourage children's communication and learning to include: benefits of open-ended questions, the use of language to extend learning such as use of mathematical language or encouraging children to question
K9 the scope and benefits of play where children use their imagination to make one thing stand for another and to play out different roles
K10 how drama and imaginative play can be used to encourage children's learning, including the types of materials, equipment and props that support this area of play
K11 recognising that children will play out roles they see at home and in the world around them and the need for sensitivity in dealing with stereotypes
K12 why it is necessary for children's imaginative play to flow freely and with minimal adult intervention, whilst recognising that sometimes sensitive intervention may be necessary to move the play along
K13 the importance of encouraging creativity and the scope of activities involved
K14 how you would display children's work to its best effect
K15 how to support children's confidence and self-esteem when they make and create things, making sure that the emphasis is on the process of creating something rather than the end product
K16 suitable activities for the development of children's fine and gross motor skills
K17 how physical play can help children to assess risk in a safe and controlled environment
K18 the benefits to children of physical play and exercise and the need for sensitivity in dealing with those who find it more difficult to participate
K19 the kind of objects that engage children's interest at different ages and with different needs and abilities
K20 the benefits to children's learning of grouping together objects with similar characteristics and learning to sort and classify
K21 the benefits to children's learning of knowing about their own background and community
K22 how to provide a stimulating environment and not stifle children's curiosity, problem solving and exploration
K23 the importance and scope of practical daily activities such as cooking and gardening to enhance children's learning
K24 how you set up activities to help children learn and the most effective types of activities, toys, equipment and experiences
K25 how to lay out furniture and equipment to make the best use of space and help children gain access to play and learning activities
K26 the use of everyday routines to support play and learning
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
Skills
Glossary
Appropriate activities for fine motor skills
Appropriate activities for the children concerned: these could include sewing, threading, use of scissors, small construction
Appropriate language (to enhance children's communication skills and learning)
Questions that give children opportunities for a range of different responses; modelling correct use of language; using opportunities for specific types of
language to enhance areas of learning such as mathematical, exploration/investigation or children's personal development
Community resources
Resources found in the local community, such as parks, allotments, libraries, people and organisations
Children
The children you work with, except where otherwise stated
Play
Play is activity children are motivated to do from within themselves:
1. it is freely chosen
2. children play in their own chosen way
Creativity and creative play
This is where children develop and communicate their own ideas using art, design, making things, music, dance and movement. Children can express their creativity in every area of play and learning
ICT
Information and communication technology
Imaginative play/drama/ role play
Pretending, includes role play, ie. acting the role of another person either alone or in groups, acting out difficult scenarios, can be drama activities with or without adult support
Objects of interest
Any objects that interest children and can extend their learning, eg. fossils or stones, living things such as insects, food items
Physical play
Play focusing on movement of the body
Props
Objects and materials children use to support their imaginative play or drama, e.g. dressing-up clothes, dolls, puppets, masks
Themes
A idea or subject that is continued through a range of activities
Links To Other NOS
TDASTL2 Support children's development
TDASTL15 Support children and young people's play
TDASTL27 Support implementation of the early years curriculum
TDASTL28 Support teaching and learning in a curriculum area
TDASTL54 Plan for and support self-directed play
Origin of this unit
This unit is taken from the National Occupational Standards in Children’s Care, Learning and Development where it appears as CCLD 206.
This unit is underpinned by the principles and values for the National Occupational Standards in Children’s Care Learning and Development.