Making the right decisions for the very youngest children ensures they have the best start in life. I’ve supported nearly 200 hundred of the youngest children over the years, which have been from 4 months old to 2 years old. The strong partnerships built with babies and their families, and our open lines of communication, have meant I could plan my curriculum content to support what they should be learning and doing next. Whilst some think babies do not need to taught, I believe high quality care is educational , and high-quality education is caring. As I care for your baby their learning and development is being supported. I know my role as your baby/toddler’s (0 - 2 years old) key person is vital, as both their career and educator. The trusting and loving bond I will build with your baby in this role will support their social and emotional wellbeing. I will be there for comfort, emotional refuelling, to help them self regulate, to learn about themselves, their emotions and others. Our strong partnership, the conversations we have at pickup/drop off, or information either of us share on your child’s Tapestry journal, ensure I have first hand information about your baby, including what they are doing currently and their home routines. I can then plan and share supporting activities from setting and some game ideas to play at home to support an area of learning. Having key information, for example around stages of weaning, will also protect your baby’s safety and is essential to their care.Highly qualified staff are key to ensuring children have the best start in life, especially the youngest children who can be more at risk of having needs missed. Prioritising my training has always been key to my understanding of child development. I know the roots to future success and wellbeing are laid through high quality interactions with babies and toddlers. With a strong understanding of children’s development and milestones they reach at each stage, I can recognise when milestones are not met and can implement a support plan to be used in setting and at home, and engage with outside agencies. A coordinated approach is hugely beneficial. Communication and language makes a big difference to overall learning. I look to have high-quality interactions by being attuned and responsive to your baby and cues they give; by ensuring they get to hear lots of varied vocabulary; by giving them the time they need to think about what they are hearing and to formulate their response; by being attentive to their response and building on it and by encouraging your baby to communicate their needs using language. I chose words to use with your baby based on their existing vocabulary and next steps identified for them. Initiating play with toys that can be used to directly teach new words, your baby will be able to make links between words and what is happening. Hearing language repeated in varied contexts, will help your baby make links with what they already know. Your baby will hear me narrate their play, which helps them learn new words, language structures and play around with sounds (ppp pat, prick, pummel the play dough - alliteration). These early back-and-forth interactions will help your baby learn important communication skills like how to initiate communication and when and how to respond to others. Your baby will be developing their physical skills during playtime and in everyday routines and activities. I will provide your baby with continuous activities to promote their motor skills as they do not happen by chance. These will be sequenced and may include providing toys for a young baby to swipe at and hold, giving a baby who can sit a range of textures to explore; by putting toys around a baby who can roll and crawl so they can move to reach their toys, or by putting toys in their respective boxes around them to encourage tidying away. At all stages, activities will be offered to your baby that build on what they already know and can do ,and the next milestones and skills I want them to master.