Assessment Task – TDA 2. 1 Child and Young Person Development Task 2 2. 1. Describe with examples the kinds of influences that affect children and young people’s development, including: * Background * Health * Environment Background Children will come from a diverse range of backgrounds including family environments, cultures and circumstances.

A child is at school from a very young age to late teens and during this time many families will go through significant changes, such as: divorce, new sibling, losing a parent/grandparent, illness, moving house or school or even moving country – sometimes however schools may not always be aware of these changes. Any one of these happenings may affect their emotional and or intellectual development, this in turn can affect their behaviour in school and therefore their ability to learn. Health

Feeling included is hugely important to every school child, if an illness or medical condition starts to affect a child’s ability to join in at school this may have a huge effect on that child and how they develop. Often children who are suffering health issues may be less able to participate in some activities than other children – whilst this initially might affect their physical development in turn it may damage their social activities, for example on the playground or in team sports.

This can also affect the emotional development of the child as they may feel pushed out and excluded as well as feeling different, this is where teachers and adults in school can be supportive and make sure that they are included as much as possible. Environment Pupils who come from a deprived state or who live in poverty are more likely to have significant difficulties in school as statistics show that they are less likely to thrive and achieve well.

This is because parents will find it more difficult to manage their needs, which will then have an impact on areas of their development, for example, they may not be able to afford equipment they need for school, or may not be able to fund a trip that the school have planned – these issues may make the child feel sad and excluded which can in turn make them withdrawn and/or have behavioural issues. Assessment Task – TDA 2. 1 Child and Young Person Development Task 2 2. 2. Describe with examples the importance of recognizing and responding to concerns about children and young people’s development.

It is essential that anyone working with children can identify if a child is having problems and might need extra support, this can be achieved through careful observation in the classroom and playground. If, a teaching assistant or adult in school, were to have any concerns about a particular child they should initially go to the class teacher and share their thoughts but it is important that they maintain as much confidentiality as possible and would need to find an appropriate time to discuss this.

This should then be brought up with the pupil’s parents in a sensitive way and at an appropriate time, e. g. parent’s evening. Assessment Task – TDA 2. 1 Child and Young Person Development Task 3 3. 1. Identify the transitions experienced by most children and young people. All children go through phases of transition i. e. periods of significant change that can affect development or behaviour. School education is an obvious example of this, transitions include starting pre-school followed by the transfer to primary school, then secondary school and possibly onto further education.

Some may experience changes in their school education, moving school or even a break in their education. Early or timely planning is required to ensure continuity and progression between stages or breaks in education. Other transitions children will experience are puberty and changes in personal circumstances, in these times it is vital that children are given every chance to talk about their concerns so they may be as prepared as possible. Assessment Task – TDA 2. 1 Child and Young Person Development Task 3 3. 2.

Identify transitions that only some children and young people may experience, e. g. bereavement. These are generally the type of transitions that are not planned, or that happen with little or no warning and that can be damaging if not dealt with in the correct manner, whether at home or at school. They will also however affect different children in different ways. They include: * Bereavement: This can be extremely traumatic for everyone concerned, schools should have procedures in place and they should be implemented with care and concern. Parental Separation: Teachers and adults in schools are more than likely to come across this type of transition at some point with a pupil, this is a sensitive matter for the child and parents alike and will need to be dealt with accordingly. * Parental change of partner: This again will affect children in very different ways, some children will welcome this new addition to their family and it will not become a problem, others my suffer extreme damage and their behaviour will change dramatically. Sensitivity will also be needed when dealing with the parents involved. New Sibling: often it is very young children that will find this a challenging transition period; they may think they can change their behaviour in order to get some of the attention that is being given to their new sibling. Older children may also be affected by the arrival of a new baby. * Moving House: This is seen to be a happy and exciting event most of the time. If a child is not moving area or schools at the same time it shouldn’t be too unsettling for them. However, if the move is of greater distance additional support maybe needed. * Change of Carer: Pupils who are in care will find this transition difficult.

This is where the school and social services need to work together to make it happen as smoothly as possible * Illness or Injury: Pupils maybe directly affected by this or it may happen to a close family member, which ever way, they may need help coming to terms with the change in circumstances and deal with it appropriately. Assessment Task – TDA 2. 1 Child and Young Person Development Task 3 3. 3. Describe with examples how transitions may affect children and young people’s behaviour and development. All children face transitions, some will be positive and some negative but they will nearly always be a worrying time.

When they are faced with an unexpected transition like divorce or bereavement, they may feel rejected, guilty, angry and extremely sad. This is when teachers and adults need to be acutely aware of the experience that they are going through and deal with it sensitively and with great care, this should help to bring them through so that the transition leads to a stronger and more confident individual. Other ways that children may be affected by transitions might show in their behaviour i. e. becoming quiet and withdrawn, seeking attention, having problems with their friendships/peers or demonstrating uncharacteristic habits.