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Professional Love – observation clip 1

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?