“We aim to send all young people into an ever-changing world able and qualified to play their full part in it.”

Curriculum

Child Development

hmayfield social science

Mrs Mayfield

Head of Social Sciences

Subject Staff

Mrs Hawkridge

Exam Board

OCR Child Development Level 1/2 Certificate

Revision

The Subject Way

Our subject has a ‘Subject Way’ at the heart of it. Our Subject Way is designed to help students become young subject specialists. The Subject Way has two main purposes:

  • Firstly, to teach students the vital skills they need to achieve their full potential and gain the very best grades they can. Secondly, to teach students how each subject relates to the wider world, incorporating the life skills they will learn.
  • It is our belief that knowing how what you learn links to the wider world brings a subject to life and therefore improves overall understanding and engagement.
 
Our Intent

At Rawmarsh Community School we aim to ensure our Child Development curriculum is designed to sequence learning and embed the key skills that are required to develop curious students into competent individuals with a sound knowledge base of Child Development and Care from pre-conception through to the age of 5.

Child Development is a broad subject that allows pupils with an interest in areas such as an understanding in how children develop, roles and careers within the child care sector, how pregnancy develops or even simply how to be a parent to explore and understand the skills and attributes that you need for this. Within the Child Development curriculum pupils will start at preconception with understanding the roles and responsibilities of parenthood right the way though to a child being 5 and starting at school. Knowledge gained in childcare would be of use for further studies in PHSE, Biology, and other social science qualifications.

 

How we intend to remove barriers

In Child Development we remove barriers to learning and support students’ ability to access the curriculum through the development of literacy through writing up coursework using real life scenarios and the use of targeting questions to help pupils write up their work. Literacy misconceptions do not go unchallenged and work is regularly checked for literacy errors allowing pupils to grow in confidence within literacy and access the skills required. Within Oracy pupils are given the opportunity to read widely through researching a variety of information that they can include in their coursework such as the government white paper guidance on the eatwell plate and develops pupils oracy and vocabulary skills through group work. Students will be given key vocabulary to support their learning and there will be reciprocal reading based around Child Development topics.

 

How we develop skills for learning

Throughout the Child Development curriculum students will develop creative skills by applying knowledge to different scenarios. Students will also be learn to recall information and apply them to different situations. As part of Child Development pupils will create and take part in creating and evaluating activities. Pupils are encouraged to practice divergent thinking when applying knowledge to different scenarios. 

 

How we foster personal attributes

 Aspects of the Rawmarsh Way are built into the Child Development curriculum. Students will develop independence skills by undertaking and completing assignments. Independence and Resilience skills will also be developed by students learning how to develop their ideas. Overall, students will be able to develop fundamental Child Development skills which will allow them to be responsible citizens in and out of Rawmarsh Community School. 

 

How we intend to enrich student experiences and broaden the horizons of students

Childcare is a subject that naturally goes beyond the classroom. Students are given a range of opportunities to broaden their horizons in the Child Development curriculum. Students will get the opportunity to hear from real Early Years practitioners and other job roles who work with young children including midwives as part of the course to gain real life experiences. Students also will get practical experience through the use of demonstrations and practical activities. All students will also get the opportunity to visit a foundation stage classroom and work with children under 5.

A number of our students in the past have chosen to volunteer at various childcare providers and we work closely with the careers team within school to help students who want to find voluntary positions. A number or our students have also secured part time employment in vaiours childcare settings due to studying this course. Child Development is a popular subject to study at Level 3 with a number of our students leaving to study it at college level.

Our Curriculum

Department Staff

H Mayfield

A Hawkridge