Child Development

‌Child Development at KS4 provides transferable skills that allow students a smooth transition from an educational environment to a work environment. At Faringdon Community College, students studying Child Development will develop a range of life skills including; enhancing team working, problem solving, independent learning and communication skills whilst instilling confidence in our students to make themselves stand out in a competitive working environment. They also have the opportunity to do work experience in a real life childcare environment such as a nursery or early years provider. Areas they will cover but are not limited to: 

Health and well-being for child development
The Knowledge and Understanding taught in R057 will underpin the qualification and some will be applied in the NEA units. Knowledge and understanding will be taught alongside practical activities and skills developed for the two NEA units. This provides an excellent opportunity to combine the theory and principles of child development alongside practice to prepare students for the terminal assessment.  

Pre-conception health and reproduction, foetal development, methods of delivery, birth plans inc pain relief and interventions, childhood illnesses and a child safe environment will be taught as an introduction to the three units which will set the overall scene of the qualification.  

Antenatal care and preparation for birth, postnatal checks and postnatal care will be taught theoretically in conjunction with the developmental needs of children from birth to five years where students can analyse and evaluate activities.  

By integrating theory with practical activities required in the NEA units, and using mock and practice assessments, students will be well prepared for the terminal examination in R057.  

How to create a safe child-friendly environment  

Students will be able to develop a deeper understanding of how to create a child-friendly, safe environment through recognising common hazards and reasons why accidents happen, the importance of safety labelling, and why they are used on specific products. Through practice they will become confident in applying their knowledge to different childcare settings. 

Essential nutrients and their functions for children from birth to five years 

Students will investigate why nutrients are important to meet the needs of babies and children for healthy growth and development. They will look at food sources and produce suitable examples for different age ranges, birth to 6 months, different formula milks, 6-12 months weaning stages, and 1 to 5 years main food groups.  

The developmental needs of children from one to five years 

Students will be able to focus in detail on the importance of a range of developmental needs and how these needs can be met; to include feeding, socialisation, play, opportunities for listening and talking and acceptable patterns of behaviour. It will allow them to investigate and consider a variety of needs, and how to evaluate and present their findings effectively.