Social policy and youth studies- Written personal statement,

Having completed a period of work experience within a childcare environment, I have gained a wide variety of experience and developed my own personal attributes, which I feel will ultimately enable me to become a valuable and responsible member of a childcare team, focusing on youth studies and social policy (Farrell & Travers, 2005).

This personal statement aims to chart the journey which I have undergone in the last year, including looking at those attributes and skills that I have either developed or improved, as a result of applying the learning which I have obtained during my time operating within a work experience environment. Crucially, I also had the opportunity to speak with far more experienced individuals than myself and this gave me an insight into how my career was likely to develop, from this point onwards. I am currently coming to the end of my second year of studies and therefore, whilst I gained considerable knowledge during this work experience, there are still certain aspects of my own personal development which I need to focus on and further areas of development that will enable me to become even more efficient, in the future (Sanderson & Percy-Smith, 1995).

My work experience took place within a childcare environment, dealing with eight year old children. I worked alongside several different professionals, including those who dealt with the day-to-day care of the younger children, as well as those involved more in the policy development of new skills among the older children, such as preparing them for formal education and supporting those who were already in formal education (Callender, 2000). I worked primarily alongside the lead individuals dealing with children of school age, i.e. those who were six to eight years old and this involved looking at the types of activities and work they were undertaking during the school day, in order to ensure that childcare activities outside of the school day, at the very least, did not contradict the work being undertaken within the school environment. A greater emphasis was also placed on social and emotional skills which were seen to be developing at a rapid rate during this age category, particularly when children entered formal education for the first time (Pettit et al 1999).

During my work experience within a childcare environment several skills attributes and values were gained. Many of these were gained as a result of shadowing a very experienced member of the team, as it enables me to identify ways in which I could potentially operate, in the future. The main skills which I gained during this work experience included the ability to think in a much more rounded way about situations being presented to me. During my first year of education, a large proportion of the activities were based on developing the ability to complete worksheets that would be appropriate for the children in my care, as well as much of the administrative activity that I perceived to be central to the childcare environment (Training and Employment Agency 1999). Whilst it remained important to follow educational policies, particularly with those children who were already of compulsory school age, I became much more aware of my need to adapt and to be flexible to the needs of the children, rather than simply shoehorning the day-to-day activities within the childcare environment into my chosen plan or policy.

I also gained a much greater value when it came to the discussions with children and recognising the importance of social interaction and giving children the opportunity to express themselves (UEA, 2002).

My own ability to identify potential social and psychological problems, as well as identifying children who were possibly having issues outside the immediate childcare environment increased dramatically, as a result of shadowing my mentor and spending time simply observing activities within the childcare environment (Smith & Barker, 2000).

Many of the skills and attributes which I developed in myself were those that I identified in the more experienced member of the staff and I felt would be good as transferable skills within my future studies. However, although the focus here was on children between the ages of six and eight, these skills could potentially be applied across a broad range of different ages and this is therefore something that will be useful for me in my future work experience and employment. The ability to identify key policy issues and then apply them in a wide variety of different situations is incredibly useful and a central aspect of my studies. Understanding underlying social policies is also critical, as anyone involved in a childcare environment needs to be able to look at the broader social implications, so that the day-to-day work that is undertaken with the children supports these social policies (Munton, et al 2001).

I also feel that I have developed additional skills in terms of identifying the various different needs of children, depending on their demographic situation. This type of understanding, again, will be useful in a wide variety of different situations. Moreover, the ability to apply policies and practices in a sensitive and appropriate manner will provide useful opportunities for me, in the future, particularly when it comes to leading change within a childcare environment (SQW and NOP, 2002).

Following on from this period of work experience and when combined with the skills and knowledge which I achieved during my first two years at university, I feel that I am now ready to look towards applying these skills in a practical sense (Alderson, 1995). Furthermore, I am looking for opportunities to work within an environment that will enable me to lead change and develop new working approaches that were potentially allow the childcare environment to adapt to different situations, rather than following strict lesson plans or care plans. By placing a heavy emphasis on dealing with general social policies, I feel that I shall be much better placed for establishing ways of working which are not currently being used and this is where I intend to focus my work, in the future.

Alderson, P, (1995), Listening to Children: Children, Ethics and Social Research London: Barnardos

Callender, C, (2000), The Barriers to Childcare Provision Department for Education and Employment Research Report 231 London: Stationery Office

Farrell, P., & Travers, T. (2005). A healthy start: Mental health promotion in early childhood settings.Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, 4(2), 1–10.

Munton, A, McCullum, B, Rivers, K, (2001), Childcare Quality Improvement and Assurance Practices Department for Education and Employment, Research Report 266

Pettit, G, Bates, J, Dodge, K, Meece, D, (1999), ‘The Impact of After School Peer Contact on Early Adolescent Externalising Problems in Moderated by parental Monitoring, Perceived Neighbourhood Safety and Prior Adjustment’, Child Development, 70, p768-778

Sanderson, I, & Percy-Smith, J, (1995), The Out of School Childcare Grant Initiative: An Interim Evaluation Department for Education and Employment, Research Series no 44

Smith, F, & Barker, J, (2000), The Childcare Revolution: A Decade of Kids’ Clubs London: Kids’ Clubs Network

SQW and NOP, (2002) The 2001 Childcare Workforce Surveys Department for Education and Skills

Training and Employment Agency (1999), An Evaluation of Playcare Report by Policy Research Institute for Training and Employment Agency, Belfast

UEA, (2002), A National Evaluation of Breakfast Clubs Department of Health