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Being a teacher working with young children is not just about following protocol; it's challenging mindset, philosophy, and enthusiasm, according to research by  Moyles, J., (2001) with a group of early years educators. Early years practitioners are distinguished by their dedication to young children — when they address early years problems, their opinions are strong, and there is a wealth of knowledge and information. Nevertheless, in the early years, there have traditionally been specific challenges in identifying the essence of the technical experience , skills and values of its practitioners. Working professionally with young children,  is not only about expertise, practice, abilities, knowledge and experience, but also about standards and beliefs, philosophy and values, a code of conduct, a lack of recognition to understand best for children and families, engagement, pleasure and enthusiasm for working with children. . It is important that people working with young children are required to be dedicated, energetic, involved and enjoyable.
Job, as this is going to affect those for whom they job

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Knowledge - Professional information, specific skills and experience;
Education and Training higher education - preparation, skills, technical skills and the agreement to participate in their Continuing professional development
Skills - Competence and effectiveness, difficulty of assignments, interaction and  judgement
Autonomy - self-regulation and expectations, government policy voice and making flexible decisions
Values - Ideology, altruistic, commitment, customer support
Ethics - Codes of conduct, ethical honesty, privacy, truthfulness and  accountability
Reward - Authority, Socioeconomic Position, Money and career choice.
This description of professionalism was developed from a two-phase analysis and seeks to add to contemporary debates about what determines professional practise throughout the early years .  Accoridng to Brock, A., (2013).
Phase 1 consisted of a study of 12 early education professionals from a variety of educational experiences in England, and Phase 2 returned to nine of this group for further consideration, six years later. We spoke about their finest work with children and their families, and how much it evolved over time. Our views of child's welfare were at the core of our expertise, and they formulated legislation and instruction in forms that we felt served their requirements.

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How the Current Situation Has Affected Me 

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How the Current Situation Has Affected Me 

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Before the country was put into lockdown I was volunteering in a nursery setting, but when we were putting into lockdown I was asked to not come into do my volunteering to limit the number of people going into the setting. Also before we were put into lockdown I was meant to of started a number job in a nursery but this had to be postponed due to the pandemic so because of this I have lost time with been with my key children and been able to plan and observe them.

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David Kolb

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Graham Gibbs

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Bruce Tuckman, Professor of Psychology, defined four stages of development — forming, storming, normaing and performing  that every team encounter, and proposed that all groups go through a relatively unproductive process. The early phase before becoming a self-contained unit. The 'Group productivity growth' also indicates that when the problems of procedures and emotions have been adequately resolved, it is impossible that the group can achieve the most efficient final level. Any group that remains together for a duration of time will develop and evolve. Tuckman mentioned that there are three main things that decide how well the teams perform: Components, Phase and Emotions. According to Sinha (2020)  the components corresponds to what the group is doing, the phase relates to how the group is working towards its goals and emotions refer to how group members respond to each other. Tuckman's research suggests that most teams focus almost exclusively on content, to the hindrance of procedure and emotion, which explains why teams that are strong on paper can underachieve.

Step 1: Forming: Team members are trying to decide their place in the team. At this stage, the team, together with the procedures and rules of the Team.The most crucial thing about this phase is to make the group 's objectives very understandable and the standards to be promised upon by all participants.

Phase 2: Storming: The group at this point has a higher level of representative tolerance. This is the phase at which the question of the priorities, obstacle mechanisms and direction of the project starts. There may be some tension between members, but integrity and transparency can be introduced at this stage with the ability to lead and handle diverse opinions and disputes, and to create trust among its members.

Phase 3: Norming: The team is finding new ways to do this at this point.Work together and set expectations, promote unity and positive cooperation among members. Conflicts get in this stage Determined when members are permitted to share their views and the opinions of the community are open.

Step 4: Performance: the team gains productivity in achieving the goals and in seeing the performance of the joint work. The members of the team are more versatile and relaxed with each other. Daily updates and discussions at this point should make the team more proactive and concentrated on achieving the objectives.

Step 5: After another phase of study, Wilson (2010) highlighted that Tuckman had created a fifth stage labelled 'adjournment.' This final phase includes the separation of the collaboration between the members of the group and a brief moment of appreciation for the accomplishments of the group. The conclusion of team operations is often unsettling for members, particularly if they have collaborated together for a lengthy amount of time.

The stages listed above have been described by Tuckman in his theory is not easy to accomplish and the group will not comply to the sequence as described above. Some of them will steadily go back and have back and forth movement  and even it doesn't always happen in this process and it's tricky to do, but the concept is that the team is going through the life cycle of various phases of, in reality, the team really isn't formed in a day.

Implications:

Tuckman highlighted a number of significant findings from his studies on teamwork and collaboration that are still have a poignancy today. The group will not be completely successful until it enters the stage of performance / interconnectedness. Many groups accept storming as a normal way of operating, while a number of teams may never get beyond forming until the normalisation process is normally accomplished, teams can degenerate into storming. The amount of time taken to complete the process can vary significantly between the groups.

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Early learning is, extremely essentially, important to all children, because it lays the groundwork for everything that is to come. Research experiments conducted by Shonkoff and Phillips (2000) demonstrate that the formation of psychologically and physiologically receptors in the brain takes place mainly before the age of three, and that it is throughout early childhood when the brain is most willing to learn. Thus it is important that children in their early years be given the opportunities for social , physical , emotional and intellectual growth through high-quality early years provision which, in effect, creates the opportunities for not only educational but also social benefits.It is important to note that encouragement and assistance or power are two distinct elements that adults can consider when it comes to their child's play, but only one of them is detrimental to the child. When adults control, lead or start taking over a child's play, they violate the core concepts of self-chosen and self-directed play by the child. When children lose their right to experiment freely, experience loses its meaning. Instead, if we facilitate children's development by being active and participate, but not controlling over, we encourage them to build up, participate in learning and discovery, and we can provide resources to help them explore and develop their perspectives. Adults have the sole control over the child's environment. You will help them develop by ensuring that you have a positive and relaxing atmosphere for your child to thrive in. You will help prepare your child's play by paying close attention to the setting and layout. When you build an atmosphere (either indoors or outdoors) based on the strengths, interests and abilities of your child, you will improve their regular play and enable them to be productive and confident. Establishing and enlarging. Inspire the child's current awareness or perception by incentives or resources that contribute beyond their existing experience or knowledge. Providing a choice. Providing children the freedom to make decisions is not only inspiring, but also helping them to contribute to their own educational experiences on the basis of their interests and talents. Murray, (2018) states to help a child learn and develop you need to learn to know what your child can do by supporting their play. You can help the play of children by talking about the game. Adults can expand and encourage children's development simply by communicating with children throughout play. Adults should speak to children about their games. By playing, children understand that adults are interested in them and value their play preferences. Validating their efforts. It's fun to play with your child and show them you respect what they're doing. Your involvement and accessibility to children will convey a great deal to them. adding to the children's games. By directly engaging in play, when asked, adults will build on the child ’s educational awareness and allow them to make new connections. This can be achieved by modelling constructive attitudes or connections. Preventing the problems. By being heavily engaged in the play phase, parents are in a solid position to interfere if a scenario happens where a child might need assistance, whether it is an interpersonal dispute, a issue or a serious hazard. The adult provides encouragement, resources, time , and space for children to improve their play. This position incorporates a range of measurements, such as when to interfere and when to sit back. The adult takes time to observe, discuss, organise and play. He / she is aware of the great knowledge and experience gained that play provides to improve abilities and expertise, to provide opportunities to collaborate, to build partnerships, to turn around, to overcome disputes and challenges, and to gain awareness and perception of the issue. The adult recognises the importance of play to all children.In addition to making the most of the advantages that play, the adult helps to prepare, assistance and review play

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Specific: I received low marks on my last essay on my ability to take a more analytical approach. So I need to improve my skills by thinking of a reasonable method to split a problem down into the smaller components needed to address it, so then every element becomes reduced and simpler issue to resolve and get my point across. I would like to be more competent to take an analytical approach in time with my next review in six months.

Measurable: By the time of my next review I should be able to produce pieces of writing that that incorporates my journals and books to receive a better mark on my work.

Achievable: I can set time aside every week to read journals and books to be able to think analytical to be able to produce work that takes a more analytical approach. Enhancing my analytical skills is integral in progressing further in my profession and in obtaining higher marks in my assignments. I can look up different way and techniques I can use to be able to take a more analytical approach

Relevant: Improving my analytical skills is very important for me to be able to progress further towards my goal .

Time Bound:  In six months, I should be proficient in thinking analytical and writing analytical as well.

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Concrete Experience -  I got asked to support a child that has autism and communicates by using makaton, i already knew some makaton from when my younger brother went to play and development and occasionally i went with him and learnt some.

Reflective Observation -  To reflect on this experience i will need to learn more makaton in order to communicate more effectively.

Abstract Conceptualisation -  I have been learning more signs for different things in order to help the children.

Active Experimentation -  After i have look up and learnt more signs i can them try them out the next time the child is at the setting.

By doing this continuing professional development it is going to benefit the child as we will be able to communicate more effectively with each other.

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Description – While I was volunteering I was approached by my supervisor and she asked me to be a one to one with a boy that has autism and uses PECS to communicate, she showed me briefly how they worked  and asked me to use them when he needed to communicate with me., he was climbing on me then sat on my knee got to my hands an put them on his tummy to moved my hands up and down as if he wanted tickling to i tickled him for a little bit and he started giggling, then a little bit later he got of my knee and started climbing in the furniture to try and reach his PECS folder so i stood up and got it of the side and asked the child to put their feet down.  I was then looking through the PECS folder with him until it got to the correct picture that he was looking for and he got it out of the folder and passed it to me.

Feelings -  I was feeling very nervous when i first got asked to do it as i didn't know what to do as i had come across them before, but i was curious to find out how they worked and the background behind them. As I was getting use to them I felt happy that I was getting them right.

Evaluation - When the child started climbing up on the furniture to get the PEC'S book so I got it down for him and started to turn the pages untill the child saw what they wanted which was good, but what i think wasn't very good about it was about this experience was that i didn't know what to do next as i wasn't familiar with PECS as i never used them before so didn't understand what they was all about.

Analysis - I can ask other members of staff around me to help me so i can watch what they do so i can do it right next time.

Conclusion - I could of gone up to my supervisor and asked her to help me and explain it to me in more detail as i don't quite understand.

Action Plan -  If it rose again then i would go home and do some research around them. this will benefit the children as i will know what i'm doing so i will be able to help them with their interests and individual needs.

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In 1988 Gibbs published his reflective cycle,  Gibbs Reflective Cycle

helps people to consciously think through their experiences in a specific circumstance, experience or operation( Toolshero n.d). According to Forrest,(2008) she says that his process is there to make people think about an experience that they have had, what they feel and what they can do to build the next time.Gibbs cycle is composed of six separate cycles. Those include explanation, thoughts, appraisal, review, conclusion and plan of action.  This includes the explanation of the situation in detail in the overview section of the cycle. So the questions that you might ask oneself is what occurred, when it took place, where it transpired and who was included. Ensure you don't miss crucial pieces of evidence out. Phase 2 is about emotions that you experienced during the experience, so you can respond to questions about what you experienced prior to the actual event and afterwards.You should also ask oneself how the other people were feeling during and after the case. Helyer (2015) sates that the next phase in the reflective process of Gibbs is assessment throughout this phase you ask yourself about your event performance, so you can ask yourself questions like what went very well that you wish you could do again and did something incorrect that you will not be trying again or would to try and do it in another way. Toolshero (ND) agrees with everything said as they say that you could ask yourself the following points: did anything work well during the experience why did you think it went well , what did not go too well and why do you think this was, what was your commitment to the experience / task and did anyone else that you work with contribute to it. It's good you are reviewing your experiences because you can learn something about your errors and play with various approaches before it's correct.Next stage to the process is evaluating what you've already learned about the scenario throughout this phase of the process, mostly because of your experience, you are already going to learn what to do when the scenario was to arise later. You will speak about the positives and negatives you've encountered in this segment.  This is usually achieved at section three. The penultimate step is to compose a little bit of a thesis because you're going to step back a bit and reflect back at the event again and see what you might do in that circumstance. So the details you wrote previously will enable you to conclude this cycle segment. So in this section it talks about what you're going to do better in the section if the incident, circumstance or occurrence were to occur again in the future and what skills have you learn  to be able to put into place in a similar incident, circumstance or occurrence. The last step of the process is to do an action plan when you get to this point, it's about writing down what you're going to do to change, so if it went well, next time you'd do it the same. But make sure you don't make the same mistakes again in the parts where it didn't go well, by making it more useful and successful.

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According to Akella (2010)John Dewey and Jean Piaget first discussed the idea of experiential learning, but it was made famous by the author David Kolb because he believes that participants need to have an interaction exposure before they think about it. David Kolb talks about education as an important function, and connects each phase with each other. At any point it's possible to join the phase and follow it along its sequential chain. Dennison (2012) highlights that there are four separate process phases, the first part of the process is called concrete experience, and you have to have an educational experience to do this part. Kolb's approach speaks that one can't know by only watching or reading about it, they must know effectively. The second stage of the process is called reflective assessment, which is about evaluation, and reflection is the stage where  learners will reflect about what they have learned if their experience can be changed, and it is called self-reflection. You should express yourself in hundreds of different forms and that will be for teachers and peers. The third phase of the process is called abstract conceptualisation and is about taking views, opinions and suggestions from other people and using this as a guide. This stage also deals with the process of making sense of what happened and includes analysing the events and understanding their relationships. The fourth stage of the process is called active learning this phase of the process is about when the children think about and put into action what they have learned. At this point of the process the child will have to bring their information into action as to how they will make their next learning experience more valuable with what they have learnt before and how they can develop it.

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SMART is an acronym for guiding your target aims. To make sure your goals are clear and reachable, each one should be: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound.
So by specific your targets need to be Easy, logical, meaningful,

By measurable it means  your targets need to be accessible and significant

By achievable it means the targets you are setting yourself need to be Acknowledged, attainable

By relevant it means when you are setting yourself targets make sure they are Rational, practical and resourceful

By time bound it means that every target needs a time limit, so you have to concentrate on a time limit and strive towards it to be able to achieve it.

Your target should be simple and precise, otherwise you're not going to be able to increase your productivity or even feel inspired to accomplish that. Seek to address the five "W" questions while drafting your target: What do I want to achieve, Why is that target significant, Who participates, Where is it from and Which facilities are implicated, or what restrictions are there. Measurable targets are valuable to have, because you can monitor your progress and remain focused. Assessing progress helps you stay focused, reach your goals and experience the joy of moving closer to your target.A realistic goal would respond to questions like: How much, How many people and How do I know when this is fulfilled. To be effective your target also needs to be practical and achievable. In other words, it is supposed to elongate your skills but still remain  possible. According to Ogbeiwi (2017) you may be able to recognise previously wasted opportunities or tools that can get you nearer to it when you set an attainable target.An achievable target normally responds to questions like: How can I achieve this target, How reasonable is the target based on other limitations like economic position. This phase is to ensure your target appeals to you, and to connect it to other related goals as well. We all need help and guidance in fulfilling our targets but retaining control towards them is crucial. So, make sure your dreams move everybody forward, but you also have a duty to accomplish your own target. To these questions a valid target should answer "yes": Does this seem worthwhile, Is that the right moment, Does that match in with our other attempts / requires, Am I the appropriate individual to achieve that aim and Does this matter in the present socio-economic environment. Any target needs a completion date, so you have to concentrate on a timetable and work towards it. This part of the SMART target criteria helps avoid daily tasks from taking precedence over your longer-term targets.Typically, a time-bound target would address this issue what can I do six weeks from now, what can I do six months from now and what is it I will do today.

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According to Dr Meredith Belbin, identifying the function of the team means that the ability to conduct, participate and communicate with others in a specific manner. An person can recognise his or her position as a team and be aware of his or her emotional strength and personality weaknesses. We should strengthen our power and control our vulnerabilities. We can recognise the function of the team that we play in enhancing productivity while we're on a team. According to Prichard and Stanton (1999) there are nine team role forms of Belbin Team Roles Theory such as plant, resource investigator, coordinator, shaper, monitor evaluator, team worker, implementer, finisher and specialist.

Plants are very imaginative and excellent at resolving unusual problems in unconventional methods. The Plant is a visionary pioneer who has come up with new concepts and solutions. They flourish on recognition, but scrutiny is particularly difficult for them to cope with. Plants are mostly self absorbed and tend to work outside the group. Since their proposals are so new, they can often be unrealistic. They can also be bad communicators and can appear to disregard other criteria and limitations.

The Resource Investigators have inside information of the opponents and make sure the team's idea goes to the outside world of the team. Resource investigators are imaginative and ambitious. They discuss the options applicable, develop contacts and allocate services on behalf of the team. They are committed team leaders who define and collaborate with various parties to help the team achieve its target. They are friendly and often enthusiastic, which means that people are often open to them and their proposals.On the drawback, they can easily lose their excitement and are sometimes excessively optimistic.

Coordinators are required to concentrate on the goals of the project, train members of the team and divide the task accordingly when the team is at risk of being too much inward-looking and alienated. Coordinators are those that have taken on the common position of team leader and have often been alluded to as chairpersons. They 're guiding the team to what they consider as the goals. They are sometimes great listeners, and they are generally able to see the benefits that each team member brings to the table. They are pleasant and good-natured, and they are very successful in assigning responsibility. Their potential drawbacks are that they can assign too much individual responsibility and may appear to be deceptive.

The Shapers, are providing the adequate drive to guarantee that the team keeps running and doesn't lose focus or dynamism. Shapers are people who question the group to make improvements. They are charismatic and typically gregarious individuals who like to inspire others, throw into questioning expectations and come up with solutions to situations. The Shaper is also the one who moves things so the team does not get to content and takes into account all choices. Shapers also view barriers as thrilling challenges and seem to have the confidence to move on while some want to leave. Their possible disadvantages can be arguing and hurting people's feelings.

The Monitor Evaluator is expected to provide a critical eye, to make objective decisions where appropriate, and to evaluate the team's choices in an impartial manner. Monitor-Evaluators are best at interpreting and assessing the concepts that most other people (often Plants) have come up with. These individuals are clever and factual, and carefully consider the consequences of all possibilities before they reach a verdict. Monitor-Evaluators are problem solvers and are very pragmatic in their method. They are also viewed as distant or sentimental. Often they are weak motivators who respond to situations rather than instigate them.

Team workers help the team to bond, to define the job by their flexibility to pinpoint the duties needed and completed the on behalf of the team. Team workers are the people who provide assistance to ensure that members of the team work collaboratively. They fulfil the role of group members and are versatile, sensitive and perspicacious. They seem to be popular people who are very competent on their own, but who give priority to group unity and help people get along. We may have a propensity to be impatient and to hold undecided roles during debates and decision-making.

Implementers are required to prepare and execute a concrete, strategic plan and carry it out as efficiently as possible. Implementers are the people who do things. o They turn the ideas and strategies of the group into formal structures and proposals. They are generally traditionalist, diligent people who work efficient and systematic and are well organised. These would be the people you can depend on to get the project completed. On the drawback, Implementers may be unyielding and could be slightly opposed to change.

Completer Finishers are most constructive used to 'polish' at the end of a task and scrutinise the work for inconsistencies, exposing it to the highest standards of quality assurance. Completer-Finishers are the individuals who see that the tasks have been finished adequately. They guarantee that there are no mistakes or inaccuracies and pay heed to the slightest details. They are very worried about time constraints but will propel the plan to achieve that the projects are finished on time. They are described as perfectionists, organised, attentive and nervous. That being said, the Completer-Finisher may needlessly fret, but may make it challenging to allocate.

The Specialist has an in-depth understanding of the key field. Specialists are people with specialised knowledge that is needed to get the task done. They value themselves in their talents and abilities and strive to retain their professional qualifications. Their role within the group is to be an expert on the subject and to dedicate themselves entirely to their area of interest. This can restrict their participation and contribute to a concern for technical details at the cost of the broader picture.

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Akella, D., (2010). Learning together: Kolb's experiential theory and its application. Journal of Management & Organization, 16(1), pp.100-112.

Brock, A., (2013). Building a model of early years professionalism from practitioners’ perspectives. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 11(1), pp.27-44.

Dennison, P., (2012). Reflective practice: The enduring influence of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory. Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching, 1(1).

Forrest, M., (2008). On becoming a critically reflective practitioner. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 25(3), pp.229-232.

Hallet, E., (2013). The Reflective Early Years Practitioner. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Happykids-childcare.co.uk. (n.d). Job Description for Early Years Practitioner. [online] Available at: <http://www.happykids-childcare.co.uk/content/uploads/2014/08/Early-Years-Practitioner-job-role.pdf> [Accessed  8 January 2020].

Prospects (2019) Health play therapist (online) available at https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/health-play-specialist (Accessed 29/11/2019)

Toolshero (ND) Gibbs Reflective Cycle by Graham Gibbs (online) Available at https://www.toolshero.com/management/gibbs-reflective-cycle-graham-gibbs/ (Accessed 13/01/2019)

Helyer, R., (2015). Learning through reflection: the critical role of reflection in work-based learning (WBL). Journal of Work-Applied Management, 7(1), pp.15-27.

Moyles, J., (2001). Passion, Paradox and Professionalism in Early Years Education. Early Years, 21(2), pp.81-95

Mountain, V., (2016). Play Therapy – respecting the spirit of the child. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 21(3-4), pp.191-200.

Murray, J., (2018). The play’s the thing. 26(4), pp.335-339.

Nalavany, B., Ryan, S., Gomory, T. and Lacasse, J., (2005). Mapping the Characteristics of a 'Good' Play Therapist. International Journal of Play Therapy, 14(1), pp.27-50.

Ogbeiwi, O., (2017). Why written objectives need to be SMART. British Journal of Healthcare Management, 23(7), pp.324-336.

Prichard, J. and Stanton, N., (1999). Testing Belbin’s team role theory of effective groups. Journal of Management Development, 18(8), pp.652-665.

Shonkoff, J. P., Phillips, D. (Eds) (2000) From Neurons to Neighbourhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press

Sinha, A., (2020). The Role of Team Effectiveness in Quality of Health Care. Integrative Journal of Global Health, 1(1).

Wilson, C., (2010). BRUCE TUCKMAN’S FORMING, STORMING, NORMING & PERFORMING TEAM DEVELOPMENT MODEL. [ebook] Culture at Work. Available at: <http://sst7.org/media/BruceTuckman_Team_Development_Model.pdf> [Accessed 10 May 2020].

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Skills and Qualities of a Health Play Therapist 

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Skills and Qualities of a Health Play Therapist 

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According to Nalavany et al (2005) there are different skills and qualities that you will need in order to become a health play therapist some of there are sensitivity and understanding you will need to have these skills to be able to give the children a better understanding of what might happen to them while their are in hospital as they might have lots of questions that they might ask you as they do not want to ask the doctor, and because of this you will need excellent verbal communication skills to be able to explain to the children they are different ways you can explain to the children so this can be by using role play so with teddies and dolly's so for example you can use a stethoscope to listen to the teddy bears heartbeat so another quality is to not be shy and have plenty of initiative so it is easier to explain to the child what is happening.  Another few skills and qualities are you need are to be good at building up a relationship of trust with children and their parents/carers as some children can be hospitalised for a very long time and it is nice to have a familiar face for the child and parent/carer to speak to. you will also need to be able to planned play opportunities for the child whether this be taking a game to their bed if they can not move around or if their is a playroom on the ward they will have different opportunities to keep the children motivated.

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Summary of the role of a Health Play Therapist 

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Summary of the role of a Health Play Therapist 

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The role of a health play therapist is to plan different activities to comfort children who are coming into hospital whether this is just as an out patient or if they are having to stay in hospital for a few days as they are having an operation. A play therapist uses play as a therapeutic tool to help children understand their illness and treatment this can take place at their bed or in a designated area on the ward.  Your work as stated by Prospects (2019) this will be underpinned by a fusion of analytical experience and conclusive proof-based practise which will help you to prepare, introduce, assess and analyse holistic play activities that benefit children and young people on a psychological and developmental basis. Mountain (2016) highlights that as well as making the children feel comfortable while they are in hospital you are also providing family members advice on how to support they child when they can home by using different play techniques as this will help they children to understand what has happened or what is going to happen to them. Your role isn't just playing with children but to help them with fear and anxiety they may have but also how to deal with the pain and also helping children retain skills that they may have lost through the effects of illness or hospitalisation.

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BC Children's Hospital's Child Life Specialists: Healing children through play

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If you enjoy working with children and have excellent communication and teamwork skills, consider a career as a health play specialist

As a health play specialist, you'll use therapeutic play techniques to help children - from birth to their transition into adulthood - understand their medical condition, treatment and its impact on their daily life.

Working mainly in hospitals, hospices and clinics, you'll organise play activities to help them prepare for operations and other clinical procedures and to work through their concerns and worries.

Your work will be underpinned by a combination of theoretical knowledge and evidence-based practice, enabling you to plan, implement, review and evaluate therapeutic play programmes that support children and young people emotionally and developmentally.

You'll also provide support to parents, carers and the wider family, including siblings, and will offer advice on how they can use play to help their children make sense of what's happening to them.

Responsibilities

As a health play specialist you'll need to:

create a welcoming, safe and caring environment that encourages children to take part in play activities

act as an advocate for children and young people in their interactions with the healthcare team

plan and implement a range of age-appropriate play, drama, art and craft activities for children and young people, both individually and in groups

use play to help children and young people settle into life in hospital, to help them prepare for medical procedures and to help calm and distract them during these procedures, facilitating their consent and compliance

use play to help children reach developmental targets, learn new skills and relearn skills they may have lost during their illness

facilitate social interaction to help patients and their families to make friends and find support from others in the wards

observe children playing either in a dedicated playroom, in the ward or at their bedside

take individual referrals for children and families who are having difficulty coping with hospital admission and procedures or with transition to home-care or hospice

carry out and document therapeutic assessments and monitor each child's progress or regression

evaluate the effectiveness of the play interventions and review their programme of care accordingly

share your assessments and observations with other members of the health team, including speech therapists, doctors, nurses and physiotherapists, to support their long-term care plan

liaise with health play specialists in the community and in hospices to ensure continuity of play interventions

support families under stress and advise them on how they can use play with their children to help them cope with their diagnosis and treatment

promote the importance of play and awareness of children's emotional needs during their illness

ensure all toys and other play facilities are cleaned, maintained and stored safely.

In senior roles, you may need to:

oversee the planning, evaluation and audit of practice

manage junior staff, such as health play assistants

manage the department's budget, selecting and purchasing a range of appropriate toys for the ward/department

supervise health play specialist students on placements.

Salary

Salaries for health play assistants working in the NHS range from £17,787 to £20,448 (band 3 of the NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) Pay Rates).

Once qualified as a health play specialist, you can earn between £20,150 and £23,363 (band 4), rising to between £23,023 and £29,608 for more senior roles (band 5).

Team leads and professional leads can earn between £28,050 and £36,644 (band 6). Salaries for play service managers and clinical specialists can be in excess of this.

Salaries and conditions for jobs outside the NHS may vary.

Figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

You'll usually work a 37.5 hour week. Some posts include weekend and bank holiday working.

Part-time jobs are available.

What to expect

You'll form part of a multidisciplinary team that includes doctors, nurses, psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists.

Health play specialism is a relatively small profession compared with other allied health professions and the job market reflects this. The majority of job opportunities are available in large towns and cities in the UK where there are children's hospitals or larger teaching hospitals with teams of more than 20 health play specialists. In smaller towns and rural areas, there may just be one or two posts in local hospitals.

You'll need to be emotionally resilient as you'll be dealing with children in great distress and often great pain, as well as their families who may also be finding it difficult to cope. However, the job can be rewarding, as you'll use your knowledge, skills and creativity to create a safe and caring atmosphere for children and their families in hospital.

The work can be quite physical as you'll need to arrange, move and put away play equipment.

You're unlikely to travel as part of the job unless it's to attend conferences and other training.

Qualifications

You'll need a foundation degree in health play specialism and registration with the Healthcare Play Specialist Education Trust (HPSET) to work as a health play specialist. This part-time, two-year course, validated by the University of London, is available at:

Courses combine theory with practice and you'll attend college one day a week, whilst developing the practical skills and knowledge in your workplace for the rest of the week.

To get a place on a course, you'll need:

a level 3 qualification (minimum) in childcare or a related field

a minimum of two years' post-qualification experience working with children

GCSE maths and English at grade 4 or above, or equivalent Level 2 in literacy and numeracy

evidence of current, regular and relevant employment in the sector - either paid or voluntary.

If you're not already working in health play, you'll need to complete a 200-hour hospital placement during the course, which you'll need to arrange before it starts.

You'll also need an experienced registered play specialist who is willing to act as your work-based mentor. Contact course providers for full details on entry requirements.

It's possible to become a health play specialist as a second career, moving from areas such as education, nursing and social work.

Currently there is no fast-track route for graduates with relevant degree subjects, so you'll need to do the foundation degree regardless of your previous qualifications and experience.

HPSET registration is an essential requirement for most health play specialist jobs. In some areas of the UK there is competition for jobs, whilst in others there are low numbers of registered practitioners and employers struggle to recruit suitably qualified staff. Most graduates do, however, find employment in a hospital or other relevant setting.

Skills

You'll need to have:

the ability to build a rapport and develop relationships with children and their families

empathy, patience and tact

verbal and written communication skills, including skills in listening, observing, taking notes and record keeping

teamworking skills and the ability to work as part of a large multidisciplinary team

the ability to work independently and to prioritise your workload

organisation skills to plan and deliver play activities

general IT skills, including use of Word

creativity, energy and enthusiasm

cultural awareness and respect for the religious and cultural diversity of children and their families

a flexible approach to work in order to adapt to children's different needs

an understanding of confidentiality and safeguarding issues

health, safety and risk awareness.

You'll also need to undertake an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Work experience

Relevant work experience in childcare is essential. You'll need two years' experience working with children at level 3, before you can apply to train as a health play specialist. This can be either voluntary or paid. You could get employment as a health play assistant in a hospital or clinic with a relevant childcare qualification at level 3. Experience as a nursery nurse, teaching assistant, learning mentor or youth worker may also be useful.

A background in social work, teaching or children's nursing is helpful in developing your skills. Experience of working with children and young people in art, drama music or occupational therapy is also relevant.

If you're interested in the role and want to find out more, you could try and arrange some voluntary work in a hospital alongside a registered health play specialist or ask if you can work shadow them. This will help show your commitment to the work and give you an insight into the role.

Employers

Most health play specialists are employed by the NHS. You'll typically work in a hospital in any department that has children receiving treatment. You could be based in a large play department in a children's hospital, such as Great Ormond Street Hospital or Alder Hey. Here, there are opportunities to work on children's wards covering departments such as:

adolescent health

cardiac care

day and short stay units

general medicine

infection, cancer and immunity (ICI)

intensive care

neonates

outpatients

pre-admissions

radiology

respiratory care

surgery.

Alternatively, you could be based on the ward or department of a general hospital that admits children. In these cases you're likely to work in a smaller team in children's units, intensive care units, neonatal units or outpatient clinics.

There are also opportunities to work in private hospitals, hospices, community health teams and community paediatric teams, or even with children in their homes.

Look for job vacancies at:

You can also search for jobs on the websites of individual hospital trusts.

Professional development

Although registration with HPSET is currently voluntary, you're encouraged to register and renew your registration every two years. This shows that you adhere to a code of conduct and are committed to continuing professional development (CPD). HPSET and NAHPS have applied to join the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) to achieve professional recognition and mandatory registration.

As part of your continued registration you'll need to keep your knowledge and skills up to date. You can do this through a range of activities including:

getting involved with the activities of a professional body such as NAHPS

peer discussion

attending and presenting at conferences

undertaking research

attending events and seminars

reading journals and articles and reviewing books

doing related voluntary work.

NAHPS runs a range of conferences and events for members which provide the opportunity to network with other professionals and find regional networking groups.

Your skills and knowledge will be enhanced through practice and team working in all areas of specialist health, for example oncology. Each area will cover many different diseases and treatment plans and you'll need to learn about how they impact on the child or young person's life and how best to meet their needs. You'll work with the multidisciplinary team and senior health colleagues to develop these skills and knowledge.

Once you have two years' post-qualifying experience, you can act as a mentor or supervisor for students training to become health play specialists.

Career prospects

Career progression is typically based on gaining experience and carrying out CPD, although some health play specialists will choose to pursue management or leadership training.

With experience, you can progress to a senior health play specialist role and then on to more senior positions such as team leader and then play service manager. You'll need to be flexible in terms of where you work and prepared to change settings to take advantage of promotion opportunities.

As you gain seniority, you're likely to have more involvement in strategic planning for the whole department and have responsibility for managing staff and budgets.

With experience and further training, there are some opportunities to move into lecturing or teaching. You could also apply to train in a related role such as a nurse, occupational therapist or speech and language therapist.

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If you enjoy working with children and have excellent communication and teamwork skills, consider a career as a health play specialist As a health play specialist, you'll use therapeutic play techniques to help children - from birth to their transition into adulthood - understand their medical condition, treatment and its impact on their daily life.

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Skills and Qualities of a nursery practitioner

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Skills and Qualities of a nursery practitioner

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If you are wanting to become a nursery practitioner there are different skills and qualities that you will need to consider before you apply for a job in that area. According to Hallet (2013) you will need to have stamina and lots of energy as you will need to keep up with the children as they can be very lively. you will need to understanding of a child's physical, cognitive, language, emotional and social development as they will need to be taken into consideration when you are planning activities and observing them to determine their next steps. As well as having the understand of a child's development to plan activities you need to have the imagination and get creative as the children need to be engaged in order for them to learn. Some different skills and qualities that will be taken into consideration if you want to become a nursery practitioner are that you have a caring nature, you are reliable and that you work well in a team as it is a requirement as you will need to involve them and discuss with them what you are planning so they do not plan the same activity as you. its important that  we have quality interactions with children as it will help them to feel nurtured and build up a relationships with you as they trust you that you are going to look after them while they are at the setting

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Summary of the role of  a Nursery Practitioner 

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Summary of the role of  a Nursery Practitioner 

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The Role of a nursery practitioner is to ensure that all the children attending the setting received the highest quality of care, and that the children are kept safe at all times. It is your job to plan stimulating play experiences which meet their individual needs and support all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum. Within your job description you will be planning, observing and keeping records of children this could be a book that you write in so it lets that parents know what the child has done at the setting that day. You may also find that you will be assisting the children  in many aspects of their daily lives, through social, emotional, educational and practical interaction, nurturing and guidance. As a nursery practitioner you have to make sure that the environment is enabling as this will help children to build on their literacy, language and numeracy skills. (Happykids n.d)

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Nursery Practitioner Job Role