Choosing a place for your child - what to look for and how does it feel for families and practitioners

Here the Beckies talk about what can help you when you are looking for an early years space for your child.  The family are the first educator of the child and you are the advocate for the child. Would you like to stay and spend a lot of time in the setting you are looking at?What is your instinct telling you? What does your child like to do, where do they like to play ? What environment are they most happy in. You are the expert in your own child...Settling children is very important never rush them, understand for the child that they need to feel safe, don't leave a child with people they don't know, create relationships for life. Listen to and observe what the child is telling you.You need to choose the environment that suits your child and family. These are some things you might hear : Key Person - They will keep your child in mind, it takes time to build relationships but this person will be able to start helping you to do this straight away.Google : Early Years Development Matters and have a look, this has some great information on what your child may be doing at their early years providers.Think of starting a new job and how we want to be settled and get to know our colleagues, well its no different for a child, except that they don't always get a say in where they play. Observe how your child acts in different environments what are they trying to tell you?Head to  www.thrivinglanguage.co.uk to discover more with The Beckies.Training for educators, key note speakers and workshops, one to one sessions for speech language and communication  play sessions for children and families.Publications Routledge:Speech Language and Communication in the Early YearsSpeech Language and Communication for Healthy Little MindsEmail [email protected] you for listening and being part of this awesome Thriving community who empower all children to be understood. Love The Beckies