1. Unit 2 Children’s health and well-being
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2. LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being.
AC 1.1 Explain the process of:
attachment
developing secure relationships.
AC 1.2 Summarise the role of the key person in promoting emotional well-being in relation to current frameworks.
AC 1.3 Analyse the impact of secure relationships on a child’s well-being.
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3. LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being [AC 1.1]
Time: 10 mins
How important are friendships and attachments to you?
Consider:
Close family
Extended family
Peers
Friends
Partners
How would you feel if you did not have these relationships?
Why?
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4. Attachment and developing secure relationships
LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being [AC 1.1]
Attachment and developing secure relationships
Bonding with a baby is vitally important, as it supports their physiological and safety needs. A bond can be created through day-to-day routines such as bathing, feeding etc.
The senses are important in developing a relationship with a baby through touch, eye contact and use of voice.
A secure relationship is developed through more emotional connections. This can still be through the regular routines involved in bonding, but the tie is built through non-verbal cues. The quality of these cues will determine the quality of the secure relationship.
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5. Attachment and developing secure relationships
LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being [AC 1.1]
Attachment and developing secure relationships
Attachment theorists
John Bowlby recognised the importance of the child’s first relationships and developed the theory of attachment. He identified four characteristics of attachment: proximity maintenance, safe haven, secure base and separation distress.
Mary Ainsworth developed Bowlby’s theories further. She focused on the distress of the child and developed the ‘strange situation’ procedure to identify a child’s reactions to a parent after being left with a stranger.
Harry Harlow experimented with monkeys and stated that they must form their attachments during the first year of life.
James Robertson studied the psychological effects on children who were separated from their mothers – for example, through hospital stays.
Useful resources:
Article on Mary Ainsworth – includes a video
Information about Bowlby and Harlow – includes a video of the Harlow experiment
James Robertson – synopsis of five films about separation from mother
Youtube video ‘Attachment – Robertson, Bowlby and Ainsworth’ (23 mins)
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6. Choose one attachment theorist to research.
LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being [AC 1.1]
Time: 15 mins
Choose one attachment theorist to research.
Prepare a PowerPoint presentation to explain their theory and its relevance to children developing attachments and secure relationships.
How has it impacted on practice in settings?
Consider any criticisms of the theory.
Give your presentation to the rest of the class.
Teacher notes:
Ensure that all four theorists are covered.
You could possibly include some research on Freud.
Useful resources:
Information about Bowlby and Harlow – includes a video of the Harlow experiment
James Robertson – synopsis of five films about separation from mother
YouTube video ‘Attachment – Robertson, Bowlby and Ainsworth’ (23 mins)
Attachment styles
Analysis of attachment theorists Harlow, Bowlby and Ainsworth
Mary Ainsworth and Attachment Theory – includes video of the ‘Strange Situation’
Detailed and easy-to-read website with evaluations of attachment theories – recommended
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7. The role of the key person
LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being [AC 1.2]
The role of the key person
The revised EYFS recognises the importance of the key person when it states that ‘Each child must be assigned a key person’ (Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage DfE 2012).
Early Years Matters acknowledges the role of the key person and the importance of attachment.
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8. The role of the key person
LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being [AC 1.2]
The role of the key person
Theorists on social development
Albert Bandura developed the social learning theory, which suggested that children learn their behaviours from adults around them.
He believed that social behaviour was learned through observation and imitation, and designed the ‘Bobo doll’ experiment to try to prove his theories.
Lev Vygotsky believed that children learn through social interaction and developed the theory of the ‘zone of proximal development’.
Erik Erikson believed that people continually develop socially from birth throughout their life. He identified 12 stages in the development of personality. The role of the adult is vital in ensuring that the child gains confidence in order to go through each stage.
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9. LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being [AC 1.2]
Time: 20 mins
Research the three theorists on the previous slide – Bandura, Vygotsky and Erikson.
Consider:
The social learning theory
The zone of proximal development
The stages of development.
What impact do their theories have on the role of the key person?
Give practical examples.
Teacher notes:
Learners should be able to relate these theorists to practice and explain their impact.
Useful resources:
Vygotsky’s theory of social development
Social Development Theory (Vygotsky)
Lev Vygotsky
Diagram of the social development theory by Vygotsky
Diagram of the Zone of Proximal Development
Bandura – Social Learning Theory
YouTube video: ‘Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment’ (4 mins)
Bandura’s Bobo Doll experiment
Erikson’s psychosocial stages summary chart
The developmental stages of Erik Erikson
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10. The role of the key person
LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being [AC 1.2]
The role of the key person
The theories of Bandura, Vygotsky and Erikson all recognise the importance of a significant other.
Bandura focuses on the adult as a role model, Vygotsky identifies the more knowledgeable other (MKO) and Erikson recognises that the adult is important in providing confidence for the child to move through the stages.
The importance of the adult role has implications for the practitioner in that they have to ensure that they always provide a good role model.
Useful resources:
Daily Mirror article on Daniel Bartlam: ‘Video nastiness: Kids as young as four act out violence they see in computer games, teachers reveal’ – an example of Bandura’s social learning theory in action
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11. What makes a good role model?
LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being [AC 1.2]
Time: 15 mins
What makes a good role model?
Discuss the role of the key person – list all
the roles and responsibilities.
Design a poster to illustrate the ideal key
person.
Annotate your illustration.
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12. The impact of secure relationships
LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being [AC 1.3]
The impact of secure relationships
There are a number of cases of ‘feral’ children. These are children who have not had the opportunity to form attachments or develop the accepted social skills.
The impact of secure relationships on a child’s emotional well-being can be evaluated by studying cases where children have lacked those initial early attachments.
First relationships usually last for life and form the basis for their later life. Early attachments provide security and stability, which provide the child with the confidence to develop and explore the world.
Useful resources:
Secret life of the wild child part 1 – the story of Genie (8 mins)
Genie Wiley TLC Documentary (2003) – (12 mins)
Genie (Secret of the Wild Child) (55 mins)
Ten cases of feral children
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13. Research the case of Genie, the ‘wild child’.
LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being [AC 1.3]
Time: 15 mins
Research the case of Genie, the ‘wild child’.
Make notes on how this case relates to the process of bonding and attachment and the child’s well-being.
What can be learnt from this case about the importance of developing secure relationships?
Reference her development to Bandura’s, Vygotsky’s and Erikson’s theories.
If she had had a key person, might it have made a difference?
Teacher notes:
Learners need to consider how the lack of a secure relationship affected Genie’s well-being.
They could also research other ‘feral’ children who had little chance of developing secure relationships.
Useful resources:
Secret life of the wild child part 1 – the story of Genie (8 mins)
Genie Wiley TLC Documentary (2003) (12 mins)
Genie (Secret of the Wild Child) (55 mins)
Ten cases of feral children
Vygotsky’s theory of social development
Social Development Theory (Vygotsky)
Lev Vygotsky
Diagram of the social development theory by Vygotsky
Diagram of the Zone of Proximal Development
Bandura – Social Learning Theory
Youtube video: ‘Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment’ (4 mins)
 Bandura’s Bobo Doll experiment
Erikson’s psychosocial stages summary chart
The developmental stages of Erik Erikson
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14. How do you console her and explain this to her?
LO1 Understand children’s needs in relation to emotional well-being [AC 1.1, 1.2, 1.3]
Time: 15 mins
Scenario:
You have been working in your setting for three years and you know all the children and the families very well. However, you are about to move to a new job in a setting in the same town.
In your role as a key person, how do you prepare the children for your departure?
One little girl from your old setting sees you in town, taking some of your new children to the local shops to buy ingredients for a cooking activity. She is upset to see you with other children.
How do you console her and explain this to her?
Teacher notes:
Learners should be able to discuss the practical issues of being a key person.
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15. In this lesson we:
Have learnt about the importance of attachment and developing secure relationships.
Have identified how the role of the key person is highlighted in different frameworks.
Have learnt about the importance of being a good role model and described what this entails.
Have researched the case of Genie and how the lack of a key person impacted on her development.
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16. What could the practitioner do to avoid this?
What are the dangers of the key person becoming more important to the child than their own parent/carer?
What could the practitioner do to avoid this?
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