Nursery childcare question?

Question

how could we meet the needs of all the children in the setting including those with disabilities and special educational needs?

Answer 1

More funding - for more teachers to children ratio, so children can be fully supported and included within an early childhood setting.

Proffessional developement - to improove training for the specific skills needed to create an inclusive environment that caters for all children.

And an open heart and mind.

Good question :)

Answer 2

jsut look at them and play with them

Answer 3

This is a GREAT question- and one that more Child Development professionals should be asking...

What I do (when working with any age group) is to use a checklist I have created that asks me questions so that I can be sure I am looking at all the necessary areas of development and the children's (in your case, infant's) needs to be sure they are being met.

For infants important things to remember are: the growth of fine and gross motor skills is key, a feeling of security from both staff and environment, discovery opportunities in all directions will make them want to explore

Some more tangible important things about infants and complete care is keeping communication lines open with parents- working with them, recording events that happen during the way (and capturing important and fun moments, try including a disposable camera in each infant's cubby)...

The BEST advice I can give you is to create a "goal sheet" for each infant in regards to their care and development- include the parents on this, asking for their input along with using Developmentally appropriate practices.  For instance, on each goal plan be sure to record the child's age, any developmental delays they may have, how you can work together to help the child grow, things they need to work on, things they are already great at or prefer...And also Keeping great records of how they are progressing and new goals that come up!

Let me know if you would like me to attach my "checklist" to an e-mail and send it to you!  It's what I use when planning curriculum and theme goals for the kids in my class...(preschoolers) Hope that helps!

Answer 4

I, too, was going to suggest Professional Development.  See if you can find some trainings that discuss this topic.  Not only will you learn how to meet the needs of these kids from your trainer, but you may also be able to network with other folks in your class.  They may have some new ideas and they may be able to suggest some resources - books, websites, lesson plans, materials, etc.

Do any of these children have an IEP (Individual Education Plan) or an IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan)?  If so, it would be to the child's benefit to ask the parents to provide you with a copy of it.  These plans outline specific goals meant to help that child's growth.

I also typed "children with disabilities" into a search engine.  I found a couple of sites that looked very promising, but didn't have time to read them thoroughly.  You might find some ideas there, as well.