Guest Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I am currently in my Year 2 of the Foundation Degree and I am collating information on what makes a Quality setting and would love your input and opinions on this. Those of you who have children in a preschool, nursery or with a childminder- would you mind answering a question for me? "What in your mind makes a Quality setting?" "What did you or do you look for when choosing a setting?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I can answer your question but I don't have children in pre-school anymore! Does your target group have to be parents of pre-school children? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 No thats fine - answer away please. Xxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 OK! The one thing I look for is how the staff and children chat together. Do the staff look like they're interested in what the children are saying? Do they ask questions that encourage children to extend their thinking and develop their language skills? Do staff give them enough time to answer without jumping in? Do the staff look happy to be there and that they love working with children? Are the babies and toddlers REALLY engaged or are they just being "looked after"? If you shut your eyes, does the sound of the room seem happy, busy and warm/secure? Hope this helps :1b 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I'd add that I'd be looking to see if routines in the setting are there for the benefit of the adults or the children? Are children encouraged to make their own decisions and are they supported to become independent? If a child wants to make a model of a rocket ship but everyone else is painting flowers in a vase, can that child easily find what he or she needs to turn their plans into reality? Also, I'd look at the artwork on the walls (but also look for evidence of children's mark making in other areas of the room). Can you see individuality in the displays or are there lots of pictures which look exactly the same? Is children's mark making given status and value within the setting - have they made their own role play signs for example? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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