Working with children 0-3

Midlothian Childcare and Early Years Partnership provided training to a multi-agency group of practitioners working with children in the 0-3 age group as part of the implementation of the 0-3 strategy in Midlothian.

The aim of the training was to promote practitioners’ knowledge, skills and confidence in their work.

The overall aim was to build the capacity of practitioners working in 0-3 group care settings in Midlothian to improve the quality of service for children and parents by examining four key areas of theory and research, acknowledging that these are interlinked. The four key areas were:

1. Attachment and infant mental health
2. Brain development
3. Adult role
4. Developmentally appropriate experiences and environment.

Within each key area the aims were to:

• examine theory and research and look at how the messages from these can be embedded in practice
• develop practitioners’ skills in reflective practice to enable them to take their practice forward both during and beyond the training process.

Reflective questions

When planning your initiative you should consider the following questions:

1. What is your ultimate vision?
2. If training is involved, who is your training for?
3. What are the principles that will inform the initiative?
4. What will the impact of the initiative be in the short term? And in the long term (for example in five years time)?