Course work on Assessment of Child in Childcare

Introduction

One of the main aims of this paper is to analyze and assess a childcare under personal care. The child being assessed is 10 years of age and has been living in the childcare since 4 years. There are certain aims based on which the assessments will be carried out. One of the main aims of the assessment is to make sure that the curriculum is designed in a way that the needs of the children in childcare are fulfilled. There is a need that the child is learning and developmental needs of the children are understood. The second main aim is to make sure that there is consistent monitoring of the children by the teachers. The third main aim is that the children are screened and all the needs of disabled children are properly fulfilled. There is a need that a specific program is designed based on which the children and their needs are analyzed. The fourth main aim is to make sure that the effectiveness of the program is improved on the daily basis.

Assessment

Educational assessment

The first area of the childcare assessment includes the detailed assessment of the curriculum that is being followed in the childcare setting. The assessment will analyze in detail the curriculum framework that I being followed and how the instructions are to be given to the children. After proper analysis, any changes that are needed would be informed to the teacher. With the help of these assessments, the teachers inform and record some of the main areas in which the changes are needed.  The learning and development areas of the children are addressed in the assessments in all domains of development. These are the levels of assessments that let the teachers revisit the learning aims and goals that have been designed in the curriculum. These include short as well as long-term plans for the development of child and the learning circumstances that are provided to the children (Holland, 2010).

In these cases, the child under assessment is observed as compared to the other children in the class. There is a need that the child responds more positively to the parts of the curriculum. One of the main needs is that the development of the child is understood in accordance to the expectations of the curriculum. Some of the main areas of assessment of the child include analyzing the main areas of understand of the child in major areas that include benchmark, objectives and standards. The information that would be collected from the assessments would help   in learning about the main areas on which more attention needs to be given to the child.

Health based assessment

In the case of the health-based assessment, one of the main steps that will be taken includes talking to the parents of the child. The health-based issues, of any being faced by the child would be more known by the parents and the family of the child. Some of the other resources that would be contacted for having a detailed assessment on the health status of the child include contacting the family physician.

Other than, the resources that have been mentioned, one of the main nursing assessments that have been used for the health assessment of the child include checking for any mental health based issues. In these cases, cards were shown to the child with pictures on it and the child was asked to explain and link the pictures.  Other than these, the physical development of the child was assessed by analyzing the levels of physical growth and development.  It was seen that the child was normal and healthy mentally as well as physically. There were no health-based issues with the child (Bower, Hales, Tate, Rubin, Benjamin,  & Ward, 2008, p. 24).

Elements significant in conducting an assessment

Some of the main elements that are important in the conduction of assessment include having proper communication with the parents and family members of the child. Other than the family members, there is a need that increased communication is carried out with the teachers. These are the two inclusive parties with the help of which the development and health status of the child can be assessed (Emery, Otto,  & O’Donohue, 2005, p. 20).

The other main element that needs to be included in the assessment includes an assessment of the family bond, which has been known to have an increased impact on the development of the child. Thereby when the parents and families are being met, their focus and attention towards the child would be assessed (Kerr, Lunkenheimer,  & Olson, 2007, p. 970).

Conclusions and comparison

One of the main facts that need to be mentioned here is that the child who ahs been assessed has not been found to have any health based issues,  both developmental as well as mental. The level of concentration and focus that needs to be given by the child to the studies and curriculum is appropriate, which also indicates that the level of understanding of the child for the curriculum is also appropriate. However, in these cases there are certain improvements that can be made that can help in further improvement of the program of assessment.

There is a need that all the results from the classes in teaching programs are compared with the results of the other students, as these are some of the main results that will define the main areas of deficiency in the child. The second main area of assessment includes a detailed health assessment in which the overall levels of physical and mental development of the child are assessed (Connell, & Prinz, 2002, p. 180).

Holistic approach to child and family as a unit

The holistic approach refers to the overall lifestyle of the child, his diet and the level of involvement of hid or her family in the activities and various solutions of the child. In the cases of the child of subject, it has been seen that there are no specific problems and issues with the health of the child. However, there is a need to analyze in detail the level of involvement of the family and the child as a unit. It needs to be mentioned here that this is one of the main level of involvement that can help the child grow even better. If the level of involvement is lower, the consequences can be later on seen in the future that can be detrimental to the overall level of growth and development of the child. When the child of subject is taken into account, it is seen that although there are no specific and obvious development or health based issues with the child, but there has been an issue of involvement from the family. This became more obvious as the results of the assessment were to be shared with the family. It was thought to better that the results were shared with the family in a face-to-face manner. This was the thought of strategy as this was one of the main steps with the help of which the level of involvement and unity in the family for the child could be known in a better manner. However, the only issue that was found in this case was that the family did not show much involvement giving out reasons for being busy to attend the meeting. This was also one of the main reasons given for having the child in childcare. As for this reason, one of the main facts that can be concluded from here is that although the child is perfectly normal has an adequate speed in learning and the mental growth and development of the child is also normal but the only element that is missing in his life is the adequate level of involvement of his family. In these cases, it needs to be mentioned here that for the proper growth of the child, the proper involvement of the family is necessary. When the child was asked about the last meeting he had with his family of three elder brothers and sisters, the child mentioned that it was almost a month ago. From the observations, it was learned that the social setup and linking with the peers seems a bit disturbed when the meeting of the child with his family spans great deal of time. From this, it can be concluded here that the child starts to miss the absence of his family and started to cut himself from the social circle. Thereby from here, it can be seen that this is one of the main areas that need to be improved in the overall life of the child. There is a need that the family is made aware of the fact that if they desire more improvement and a burst in the development and growth of their child, there is a need that they give more focus to the child on a more personal level. This would make sure that the development, growth of the child is on the best level, and there are no negative consequences for the child in the future.

Strategies for improvement

There are three main areas that have been identified in the paper. These issues include the overall assessment of the child based on his mental health and development based issues. The assessments found that there are no specific and obvious issues with the mental and development of the child (Benjamin, Neelon, Ball, Bangdiwala,  Ammerman, & Ward, 2007). The mind of the child is sharp and the level of learning in the child is better. The one main issue that has been noticed in the child is in relation to the family unity (Marston, & Cleland, 2003, p. 80). One of the main reasons that have been seen based, on which the child was admitted in the childcare is that the family, which includes the elder brothers and sisters, are too busy to look after the child. Based on this it has been seen that the overall number of meetings of the child with the family is very less. This has been seen to have a negative effect on the overall socialization of the child (Platt, 2006, p. 270). The average time that spans between the meetings of the child with the family is a month. After this time, it is seen that the level of socialization of the child reduces with the other children. Some levels of sadness are being seen in the child, which can become even more aggravated as the situation is not handled in a proper manner. Thereby there are certain strategies that need to be implemented for the improvement of the overall situation (Howes, & Shivers, 2006, p. 580).

The first main step will include making contacts with the family. There is a need that the current situation is made known to the family in order to make sure that the family is aware of the situation. They need to be made aware of the fact that as the time passes on, the level of sadness in the child may increase (Krane, & Davies, 2000, p. 37). This is the level of sadness that can prove tor be dangerous. On the other hand, the family needs to be made aware of the fact that of they want their child to be healthy and to develop in a healthy and a normal manner; there is a need that the family gives more focus on the child and meet more often with him (Wolery, Brashers, & Neitzel, 2002, p. 132). This is one of the main strategies that will help in having a better solution to the current situation of the child. The other main strategy can be to make sure that the family arranges longer trips with the child. With the help of these strategies, it can be made sure that the overall development and growth of the child is under proper check. One of the main facts that can thereby be added here is that there is a great role that is to be played by the family of the child in the proper growth and development of the child (Holland, 2000, p. 150).

References

Benjamin, S. E., Neelon, B., Ball, S. C., Bangdiwala, S. I., Ammerman, A. S., & Ward, D. S. (2007). Reliability and validity of a nutrition and physical activity environmental self-assessment for child care. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 4(1), 29.

Bower, J. K., Hales, D. P., Tate, D. F., Rubin, D. A., Benjamin, S. E., & Ward, D. S. (2008). The childcare environment and children’s physical activity.American journal of preventive medicine, 34(1), 23-29.

Connell, C. M., & Prinz, R. J. (2002). The impact of childcare and parent–child interactions on school readiness and social skills development for low-income African American children. Journal of School Psychology, 40(2), 177-193.

Emery, R. E., Otto, R. K., & O’Donohue, W. T. (2005). A critical assessment of child custody evaluations limited science and a flawed system. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 6(1), 1-29.

Holland, S. (2000). The assessment relationship: Interactions between social workers and parents in child protection assessments. British Journal of Social Work, 30(2), 149-163.

Holland, S. (2010). Child and family assessment in social work practice. Sage.

Howes, C., & Shivers, E. M. (2006). New child–caregiver attachment relationships: Entering childcare when the caregiver is and is not an ethnic match. Social Development, 15(4), 574-590.

Kerr, D. C., Lunkenheimer, E. S., & Olson, S. L. (2007). Assessment of child problem behaviors by multiple informants: A longitudinal study from preschool to school entry. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(10), 967-975.

Krane, J., & Davies, L. (2000). Mothering and child protection practice: rethinking risk assessment. Child and Family Social Work, 5(1), 35-46.

Marston, C., & Cleland, J. (2003). Do unintended pregnancies carried to term lead to adverse outcomes for mother and child? An assessment in five developing countries. Population studies, 57(1), 77-93.

Platt, D. (2006). Investigation or initial assessment of child concerns? The impact of the refocusing initiative on social work practice. British Journal of Social Work, 36(2), 267-281.

 Wolery, M., Brashers, M. S., & Neitzel, J. C. (2002). Ecological Congruence Assessment for Classroom Activities and Routines Identifying Goals and Intervention Practices in Childcare. Topics in early childhood special education,22(3), 131-142.