Forth Child Development Centre Student Nurse Information Booklet

1. Index Philosophy of the Child Development Centre Aims of the Child Development Centre History, Who provides the service, Other students and Health and Safety Staffing The Children ‘Play’ is our ‘Work’ What is Play Different types of play Links with other Agencies, No Smoking Forth Child Development Centre Student Nurse Information Booklet Forth CDC, 1 Bighty Road, Glentrothes KY7 5AS Telephone Number: 01592 612417

2. Aims of the Child DevelopmentCentre • To provide a Community based service for infants and pre-nursery children with additional support needs in order to promote development and provide the best possible start to life. • To provide a service which promotes equality, values diversity and respects the culture, religion and language of all children and their families. • To provide rich learning experiences for each child through play and other developmentally appropriate activities suited to each individual child and as appropriate provide nursing and therapy input. • To provide support for children and their families whilst attending the centre and during the transition period on to playgroup and nursery. • To work alongside families to help the child by establishing and maintaining open and ongoing communication. • To work flexibly to meet the needs of each individual child and family. • To facilitate parents to meet other families with children with additional support needs to offer mutual support. • To provide information, support and resources as appropriate to children and families referred through the PSCT irrespective of whether the child accesses group sessions or not. Philosophy of the Child Development Centre We welcome each child and their family into a happy, safe and caring environment where parents and professionals work together to encourage each child to reach their maximum potential. Everyone will have an awareness of each other’s roles, sharing knowledge and respecting the individual skills of all concerned. Parents and professionals work as a team in the assessment and realistic plan of care, which will be evaluated on an ongoing basis. We encourage parent’s active involvement in the centre as this allows them to work alongside the staff and carry on any ideas/suggestions in the home setting. We aim to support and empower them to be an advocate for their child. Parents are welcome in the centre at all times. We recognise the importance of play and daily routines and use these in our assessment and intervention to promote development. 1

3. Gordon Cottage Child Assessment Unit was opened in 1965 to provide a service for pre-school children with additional support needs and their families in Fife. A further two Assessment Units were later developed. Leven Child Assessment Unit was opened in November 1967 followed by High Valleyfield Child Assessment Unit in 1974. Some years later a further centre the Forth Child Development Centre was opened in Kirkcaldy. In March 2004, the units also changed their names to Child Development Centres and a fifth centre ‘Westfield’ was opened in Cupar in 2006. Initially referrals for the centres came from the Community Paediatric Consultants but recently a new multi-agency referral system has been introduced. Families with a pre-school child with additional support needs are now referred to a ‘Pre-school Community Team’ (PSCT). This allows a co-ordinated approach for children with additional support needs and their families. For some children, part of that co-ordinated approach may include a period of assessment and/or intervention at a Child Development Centre. At the centres, all staff liaise together and with others in the community, such as Health Visitors, Education staff and Social Work staff to offer support and an integrated service. Families benefit from a base of care, empowering them to identify their specific needs and acts as advocate for their child. Who provides the service? The service is provided by NHS Fife, Primary Care division.. There is no cost to parents for the service. Other Students The centres take Nursing students, Social Work students and occasionally other students studying childcare or supporting additional needs. Health and Safety All staff undergo a thorough screening and recruitment process and are subject to enhanced disclosure checks. A nurse is present at all times when children are in attendance. The centre has a designated risk assessor and risk assessments have been done throughout the centre and are reviewed regularly. The Health and Safety guideline outlines measures taken to ensure the Health and Safety of everyone within the centre. Please discuss any concerns you have over Health and Safety issues immediately with the Nurse in charge. History of Centres

4. Staffing Philosophy for Providing a Positive Learning Environment for Students Gordon cottage aims to provide a positive learning environment for students, as it is for the core team and the multidisciplinary/agency team, which operate within the centre. We acknowledge and respect that knowledge, skills and value base that each professional brings to the team and reflective practice is encouraged so that the team is constantly growing and learning , which happens through working in genuine partnership with families. To ensure students are well supported within the placement, the following will happen: Prior to placement starting: • Students will be allocated a mentor prior to the placement starting and this will be stated on the welcome letter. • Mentors will ensure that a welcome letter and information pack is sent out to students prior to the commencement of the placement. • The mentor will ensure that an initial programme of learning is in place. This will include access to learning through the multidisciplinary/agency team and identified visits outwith the centre. This can be re negotiated depending on the individual students learning needs. There is a core team of staff based at the centre, who work both as key workers for children and also as a team providing a happy, safe and stimulating environment in the centre. The staff are Michelle aitken, Team Leader, Laura Finlayson, Staff nurse and Caroline Smith and Dawn Dibben, who are Nursery Nurses. Dawn Farrell is Nurse Team Manager for the 4 CDC’s in Fife. There are a number of other professionals who visit the centre on a regular session basis. These are: Fiona Berry and Hiliary Munroe, Speech and Language Therapists, Caroline Reith, Occupational Therapist. Joyce Cummings, Claire McInally, Judith Hutson and Gilly Carter, Physiotherapists. There is medical input from Dr Aysel Crocket, Consultant Community Paediatrician The centre has a high ratio of adults to children with 1 to 1 or at most 1 to 2. 3 3 3 3

5. During the placement: • Mentors will be responsible for the student’s induction/orientation. • Students are welcomed to the placement and encouraged to give feedback on how the learning environment or the student experience within the placement can be improved. • Mentors will meet with the student in the first week to discuss the placement, students learning needs and develop the learning contract. • Mentors will provide support, teaching, supervision and assessment activities. • Mentors will have allocated time to assess the students developing competencies/achievements of learning outcomes. • Mentors will provide ongoing guidance and feedback to the student. • Mentors will conduct a fair and objective assessment of student performance and complete the relevant documentation. • Should any issues arise, mentors will discuss with the student in the first instance and when required, seek advice and support through the student’s personal tutor and /or the link lecturer. • Mentors will seek feedback from the core and multidisciplinary/agency team regarding the student’s performance. • Mentors will meet with the student for a midway placement meeting. • Mentors will meet with the student for the final assessment. • Students should bring with them their log in details for the NHS, this will enable you to have access to the computer to undertake research and/or complete projects. On Completion of the Placement • The student will be asked to complete a student evaluation form, which is submitted to the practice educational facilitator. • The mentor or coordinator will discuss the placement with the student and ask for any suggestions which could improve learning experience for a future student. • Mentors will reflect on any comments/suggestions from the student evaluation form or discussion and take action if appropriate.

6. The Children The Children are the most important people. Children attending the Centre may have any additional support need including the following: CEREBRAL PALSY EPILEPSY VISUAL IMPAIRMENT HEARING IMPAIRMENT COMMUNICATION DIFFICULTIES DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY GENETIC DISORDERS CONGENITAL ABNORMALITIES CHRONIC MEDICAL CONDITIONS AUTSTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER Pre-school children of various ages between 0-3 attend the centre for 1,2 or 3 sessions per week. A maximum of 8 children can attend each day, dependent on their needs. Nursing staff and therapists plan care with the families and keep written records which are updated weekly. Children are provided with a daily passport. Children’s medication given when necessary CONFIDENTIALITY is assured at all times ‘PLAY’ IS OUR ‘WORK’ The Centre is run on similar lines to Nursery, with the emphasis on therapy through play. Play in the Centre at times is structured slightly differently in comparison to Nurseries/Playgroups, but activities are specially chosen to help the child develop skills, abilities and understanding, allowing them the opportunity to reach their maximum potential. The child with special needs may take longer to reach each subsequent milestone, but must be given the time and opportunity to do so. They need constant encouragement and stimulation during play to attain these milestones. Play is important for the all round development of the child. We use play to stimulate interest and curiosity, which result in learning. We all work together and plan appropriate types of play for each child. Therapy programmes are carried out through the play activities in the centre. Therapy through play can be in a group setting or individualised. The Centre provides a selection of activities to encompass the needs of the child. There are areas of cross-over and no activity is better than any other, but a balance provides the best opportunity for the child. The children can experiment, practise physical skills, imagine, create, solve problems, learn about and cope with feelings. 5

7. What Is Play Play is fun. Everyone agrees about that. Some people think that play is just a nice way for children to use up their free time but that it can’t be important or useful. They are wrong. Just because you enjoy it, doesn’t mean it isn’t good for you. So what is play for? Why do children, of all ages, all over the world play whenever they have the chance? The simple answer is that play is how children learn and making it fun is nature’s way of ensuring that children get lots and lots of practice. Even tiny babies play, practising moving their hands or sucking their toes which helps them learn to control their bodies. The games children play are directly linked to the needs of the growing body and mind. Children’s play has been closely studied by child psychologists who have catalogued the pattern of development of skills and abilities from birth. It is not only young humans who play as a way to learn, young animals do too. A kitten will chase, pounce on and play-fight a ball of wool or a toy mouse. It will lie in wait for you and then attack your foot as you walk past. It is busy learning how to hunt and catch its diner. Children have much more to learn and it takes much longer to grow up. So many skills to learn: how to walk, talk, make things with your hands to name a few. Each one needs lots of time spent playing and practising to perfection. We can’t afford to begrudge the time children spend at play. It is how they learn. If play is a child’s work then they must also have the tools for their trade. Toys are tools that help a child to enjoy play. Different Types Of Play Children develop from tiny, helpless babies and need to practice lots of different activities to develop the skills and abilities they need as they grow. Exploratory play – to explore the world, to see, to hear, touch and taste new things. Construction play – to discover how things work. To take them apart and put them together again and learn what properties they have – size, weight, colour, shape, materials.Energetic play – to practise new physical skills to help the maturing body become more versatile and skilled e.g. running, climbing. Modelling – to learn from watching others and copying them. Pretend play – to act out a mixture of fact and fantasy in a safe context away from adult interference. This may be to explore new things a child finds difficult or frightening or it might be just to let off steam. Social play – to provide a pleasant opportunity to be with other children who are more important than the game itself. Different games may be tried then abandoned to avoid damaging disputes unlike pretend play where the game is more important. Skilful play – to practise skills involving finely controlled, small movements or complex sequences of activity. Some play activities will involve several of these elements. . 7

8. History of the Centres Students The centres take Nursing students, Social Work students and occasionally other students studying childcare or supporting additional needs. These placements form an important part of their learning, understanding and work with children. Students have all undergone necessary background checks and are supervised at all times. There may be opportunities for a student to observe during a review, meeting or home visit. Parents consent will be requested before this takes place. Gordon Cottage Child Assessment Unit was opened in 1965 to provide a service for pre-school children with additional support needs and their families in Fife. A further two Assessment Units were later developed. Leven Child Assessment Unit was opened in November 1967 followed by High Valleyfield Child Assessment Unit in 1974. Some years later a further centre the Forth Child Development Centre was opened in Kirkcaldy. In March 2004, the units also changed their names to Child Development Centres and a fifth centre ‘Westfield’ was opened in Cupar in 2006. Initially referrals for the centres came from the Community Paediatric Consultants but recently a new multi-agency referral system has been introduced. Families with a pre-school child with additional support needs are now referred to a ‘Pre-school Community Team’. This allows a co-ordinated approach for children with additional support needs and their families. For some children, part of that co-ordinated approach may include a period of assessment and/or intervention at a Child Development Centre. At the centres, all staff liaise together and with others in the community, such as Health Visitors, Education staff and Social Work staff to offer support and an integrated service. Families benefit from a base of care, empowering them to identify their specific needs and acts as advocate for their child.

9. Links with other agencies We have close links with the Pre school Educational Home Visiting Service, Social Work Services, Health Visitors, local Nurseries, Special schools, Sensory Support services and voluntary agencies. No Smoking Forth Child Development Centre is part of NHS Fife which operates a No smoking policy, therefore parents/carers are requested not to smoke on the premises.