Ethan is upset and Rose, his key person, works hard to try and work out what is wrong.
Good for looking at
- Professional love
- Unconditional positive regard
- Supporting upset, crying child
- Supporting unwell child
- Attunement (Tuning in)
“The work of early childhood professionals involves not only ‘care and education’ but ‘love, care and education'”
(Page and Nutbrown 2008:183)
Keep this quote in mind while you watch the clip and also think about the following question:
Notice
- What evidence do you see of professional love and unconditional positive regard for children and parents?
Reflect
What are your thoughts about:
- What Ethan was communicating about how he was feeling – think about his body language, gestures and verbal communication?
- What is Ethan learning from this interaction – about being loveable and about somebody being there for him when he needs it?
- The role of the adult in this interaction – how did she support Ethan?
Further reflection
(you may want to watch more observation clips before moving on to further reflection)
- Being in a warm loving environment is beneficial for us all. What impact does it have on your emotional well-being when you watch or are around children and adults who display loving relationships?
- What have you felt when your key children have left or moved on?
- Are there times when you’ve found it more difficult to treat all of your key children with unconditional positive regard? Why do you think this was?
- What access do you have to professional supervision and reflection on your role as a key person?
- What further support would help you – to safeguard your wellbeing as well as improve your practice?
- How do you support parents to understand the particular nature of the key person role?
- If you are a manager, how do you handle the complexities of the key person approach in your setting?
- How do you ensure that you are providing a warm, nurturing environment for children and adults alike?
Respond
- What provision/support system could be put in place to support the complexities of relationships between you, the child and their family?
- Could these kinds of issues be discussed in personal supervision sessions?
