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Some of the skills I used in the nursery were the following: Empathy, patience , communication , self awareness and confidentiality. Louise Jackson(2022)Using good communication in the nursery was a big skill I endured within my placement hours, this was because it isn't just interacting with the children its communicating with verbal, non-verbal and written depending the child. Talking to the child in a soft manner allows them to express themselves more, for example when children aren't listening, instead of using harsh language and tones I asked them to use their listening ears politely making sure I spoke in the manner where they know to stop and not repeat it. As well as this, body language plays a big part in communication, in the little plums , the manager made sure she told me to be soft and polite with the children (especially the younger ones) and to move quite slowly and not too harsh. Communication can also boost emotional development in children as when you make them feel comfortable enough they start to express their feelings and thoughts and by doing this it makes them feel less overwhelmed as for children going to nursery can be tough for them. It also gives us staff a idea if anything is going on at home with the child.

Another skill i enhanced into my day to day experience at the nursery was self awareness. The staff all learned and worked differently at the nursery so making sure we was all comfortable and understanding what was going on and how i personally could find out more about the setting, the staff made sure I was up to date.

-Taking notes in lectures and seminars to help with my reading.

-Organisation plays a big part in success, having a organised set up allows you to work a lot better. I keep all files organised so I know where everything is, this helps me focus and I will continue this into my second year.

-Planning skills. Planning involves the consideration of different activities necessary to achieve a goal. It is a skill that requires other skills like communication skills, multitasking, project management skills, and problem-solving so this is vital to have in the next year of my university studies.

Weaknesses:

-Critical thinking. Going into my second year of university, id like to expand my knowledge and development of critical thinking.

For this skill, it involves the systematic analysis of evidence collected via experience, observation, reasoning, and reflection. Reflection should be a strength in studies so applying this too my plan, including reflection into my studies can become one of my strengths.

All of these strengths and weaknesses can be used in the child workforce. For example, planning is vital for activities in the settings. Knowing what activities the children will do that day if the setting was a nursery or which content the teacher has provided for them if they are in a primary or secondary school. Without planning skills, there would be nothing that can help a child's development through their early years. EYFS (2014) say that equipment should be used for activities in early years to help children progress with development.

Opportunities:

-Having a wide range of accessibility to technology. NTU now learning rooms , different policy documents, EYFS can all contribute to better my knowledge. I will continue to use all these websites and resources in my second year to expand my reading skills and put them into my work.

Threats:

-These opportunities may not apply in all circumstances depending on whether their is internet to access the resources, this could then limit the reading skills in my studies however going forward in my development plan i will make sure all resources and documents are saved to my one drive so i can access them at all time.

Social development is encouraged in outdoor activities as children have to work together as a team in certain situations also working as a team at a young age encourages leadership skills which will strengthen in teamwork.