BA (Hons)/Foundation Degree in Early Years
The Open University Early Years
Work-based Learning Handbook
Introduction 5
2
1
Introduction work-based and practice
3
1.1
1.2
3
3
2
Work-based learning: roles and responsibilities
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
3
4
Integrating theory and practice
Developing a ‘reﬂective practitioner’ approach
3
The ‘student’
Supporting students on E105 and E210
Quality assurance
The ‘employer’ and the Permission Agreement Form
The ‘conﬁrmer’ and providing conﬁrmation
What to do if the evidence presented cannot be veriﬁed
4
4
4
4
5
6
Work-based learning: contexts and support
7
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
7
7
8
8
Prior expectations of the setting
Hours needed in practice
Using the setting for work-based learning
Working with young children
Further Information
8
4.1
4.2
8
8
University contact details
Thanks
Appendices
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Copyright © 2012, 2013, 2014 The Open University
SUP 04301 5
4.1
*SUP043015*
The Open University Early Years Work-based Learning Handbook
Introduction
Welcome to the Early Years Work-based Learning Handbook. This handbook
is used by The Open University’s BA (Hons) Early Years, Foundation
Degree in Early Years (FDEY) and the Diploma of Higher Education in
Childhood Practice (DipHE CP, the FDEY equivalent for Scotland).* The
handbook is for students working towards one of these qualiﬁcations, and for
employers with volunteers or paid employees about to start on either the
E105 or E210 work-based learning modules. It is also for ‘conﬁrmers’, who
verify the evidence that work-based learning students discuss in their
assignments.
* Note: the FDEY and DipHE CP are, in essence, the same qualiﬁcation:
the FDEY is the Early Years Foundation Degree for students in England,
Wales and Northern Ireland; and the DipHE CP is the equivalent study
programme for students in Scotland.
The handbook provides an introduction to E105 Professional practice in the
early years and E210 Extending professional practice in the early years, the
compulsory work-based modules in the BA (Hons) and FDEY/DipHE CP.
All students registered on these modules are sent the handbook in printed
form, which they are then encouraged to share and discuss with their
employers. The handbook is also available online on the Childhood and
Youth website www.open.ac.uk/cys.
Students of E105 or E210 must satisfy certain requirements and must have
the support of their employer. The handbook describes the role of the
employer in assisting students throughout E105 and E210, and outlines the
key role of the conﬁrmer in meeting with students and verifying their
practice evidence. It outlines the different forms that have to be completed
for quality assurance purposes: these permit students to carry out work-based
learning and enable them to progress through the modules. Finally, the
handbook includes information on the different sources of support available
both to students and to employers from the University.
Useful appendices at the back of the handbook include the types of forms
that the student, employer and conﬁrmer are required to complete.
Appendix 1 provides examples of a Permission Agreement Form and an
Agreement with Conﬁrmer Form; Appendix 2 contains instructions for
conﬁrmers and an example of a PP recording form, and Appendix 3 the
details of The Open University’s guidance on safeguarding children.
This handbook is a reference document for E105 and E210 students and for
the employer and conﬁrmer in an appropriate early years setting. Whichever
role you are taking, please do not feel obliged to read the handbook from
start to ﬁnish – it is intended more as a document that can be dipped into
when required. The bulleted lists at the start of each section will help you to
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easily identify the content that follows, and then to decide whether to read
the section in full right away or to return to it later.
1 Introducing work-based learning
This section provides information on:
.
integrating theory and practice
.
developing a ‘reﬂective practitioner’ approach.
1.1 Integrating theory and practice
The particular role of work-based learning in the degree focuses on the
integration of theory and practice. Here, students develop and extend the
knowledge and understanding they have gained from earlier studies.
Throughout E105 and E210, students will focus on examples of their own
work with young children. They will work with the knowledge and
understanding they develop – for example, from their reading/discussions
with colleagues and other students, or from observations in their setting or in
the video clips on the module website – both to understand their practice
more fully and to enhance it. Students’ deepening understanding and
professional capability may help them to adopt new approaches, monitor
children’s needs better, spot opportunities for working in partnership or
explore ways to reﬁne and develop practice.
1.2 Developing a ‘reﬂective practitioner’ approach
We encourage students to develop the approach of relating knowledge and
understanding to practice. This requires an active approach which recognises
that such knowledge can rarely be ‘applied’ in an easy way to real situations
of working with young children. The learning process is therefore one that
seeks to develop students as ‘reﬂective practitioners’. This is where the
practitioner attends to the unique factors in the situation they are working
with and draws creatively on a repertoire of responses.
This means that students will be developing a questioning approach to
practice, which will enable them to continue to improve the quality of their
work with young children during and after completing E105 or E210.
Students will use a number of frameworks introduced in the modules to
examine their practice, and particular emphasis will be placed on ethical
issues and examining their own values.
2 Work-based learning: roles and responsibilities
This section provides information on:
.
the ‘student’ and what they need support to do
.
the ‘employer’ and the Permission Agreement Form
.
the ‘conﬁrmer’ and who can be a conﬁrmer
.
providing and verifying evidence.
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The Open University Early Years Work-based Learning Handbook
2.1 The ‘student’
The term ‘student’ refers to the volunteer/employee who is about to begin
studying E105 or E210. Employees or volunteers who wish to become
students on E105 or E210 must be ‘employed’ in a role in which they are
‘in practice’ directly with young children for at least ﬁve hours a week on a
regular basis. This can be paid or unpaid work.
As a student, you must show this handbook to your employer and your
conﬁrmer, and discuss the module’s requirements with them before
embarking on the module. Note that, as part of their work-based learning,
students must provide documentation which demonstrates that they have met
their module outcomes in practice.
Note: from this point forward, the handbook is addressed to the
employer and/or conﬁrmer. However, if you are a student, you should
make yourself familiar with its content so that you understand the
module’s requirements and can discuss these with your employer.
2.2 Supporting students on E105 and E210
Students of E105 and E210 need support to:
.
ensure that the relevant Permission Agreement Form is signed and
submitted (see Section 2.4 and Appendix 1)
.
ensure that the relevant Agreement with Conﬁrmer Form is signed and
submitted (see Section 2.5 and Appendix 1)
.
ensure that the student works face-to-face with groups of children (from
birth to 7 years) for a minimum of ﬁve hours each week (and an
additional 3–5 hours in the case of nannies/foster carers)
.
enable the student to complete the setting-based activities
.
enable the student to document evidence from day-to-day practice, and to
look at and authenticate evidence from practice.
2.3 Quality assurance
It is imperative that the University is able to verify that every student meets
the prerequisites in terms of obtaining the necessary permissions
(Section 2.4) and conﬁrmation (Section 2.5) throughout their work-based
study. Contact with employers will be made at some point during the module
as part of the University’s quality assurance (QA) procedures. The
University may also contact people named on the Agreement with Conﬁrmer
Form, to ensure the accuracy of the information provided.
2.4 The ‘employer’ and the Permission Agreement Form (PAF)
The setting or workplace is a major source of learning on both E105 and
E210. The University therefore needs to ensure that the student has the
4
support of their employer or organisation while studying, and that they can
satisfy certain module requirements.
By ‘employer’, we mean the person who has responsibility for the work or
practice of the student in an early years setting (e.g. a day-care setting or a
school), who is expected to have public liability insurance and who gives the
student beneﬁts in accordance with a contract of employment or volunteer
agreement. Throughout this document, when we refer to ‘employer’ we
mean the person with that overall responsibility. Self-employed practitioners
(such as registered childminders or owners/managers of settings), as
‘employers’ themselves, must comply with the same conditions.
Nannies/foster carers of children (birth to 6 years) are required to undertake
an additional 3–5 hours (i.e. a minimum of one session) of paid or voluntary
work each week in a registered early years setting, in order to have access to
groups of children and support from experienced professional colleagues
working in that context.
All employers sign the PAF before the student registers for each work-based
learning module (an example of the form is included in Appendix 1). If a
student is carrying out activities in more than one early years setting or
school, each employer needs to sign a form. Nannies/foster carers will need
an additional signed/completed PAF from their registered early years setting
placement.
If a student changes setting at any time, a new PAF should be signed by the
new employer; further details are available, including how to submit a new
PAF, in the ‘Quality Assurance’ document in Workplace resources on the
module website. Students will also ﬁnd new forms to download on the
module website in the Workplace resources area. The PAF should be signed
and submitted before a student starts any work-based activity or immediately
after a change of employer.
2.5 The ‘conﬁrmer’ and providing conﬁrmation
Students will also need a ‘conﬁrmer’ to conﬁrm that the evidence they
describe in assignments exists and derives from their own practice and is
based on their own work with young children. In some cases, the conﬁrmer
can be the same person as the one giving permission for the student to carry
out work-based learning activities in the setting (i.e. the employer). The
conﬁrmer will usually be someone more experienced and qualiﬁed than the
student, and he or she must be familiar with the student’s day-to-day
practice. The conﬁrmer must also be someone independent of the student
(i.e. not the student or someone related to the student, and not another E105
or E210 student).
You, the conﬁrmer, play a very important role in work-based learning in
ensuring that the evidence a student presents for assessment is:
.
ﬁled in their Practice Evidence File (PEF)
.
based on the student's own practice with children aged 0–7 years.
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The Open University Early Years Work-based Learning Handbook
Note: conﬁrmers are not asked to assess or make any judgements
about the quality of the evidence.
The OU BA (Hons)/Foundation Degree/Diploma consists of a carefully
designed set of linked modules, each of which builds on previous modules in
a number of ways. The ﬁrst compulsory work-based learning module of the
degree is E105. E210 is the second work-based learning module, and is
normally the ﬁnal module studied for the Foundation degree/diploma. In
each of the work-based learning modules, evidence from the students’ day
to-day practice in the setting contributes to the assessment. Students will be
required to provide documentation which demonstrates that they have met
the professional practice (PP) learning outcomes in practice (a full list of
these are provided in Appendix 2). Much of this will be documentary
evidence that they include with assignments. This evidence is listed on
PP recording forms (see the example in Appendix 2) which are used
throughout E105 and E210.
Conﬁrmers may wish to see the student’s study materials, but this is not a
requirement; rather, they are required to meet regularly with the student to
view practice evidence and to indicate whether or not the evidence really is
the student’s own work.
Students are required to keep a record of each meeting with their conﬁrmer.
For the ﬁnal assignment, the conﬁrmer supports the student by completing
the Conﬁrmer Declaration Form and writing some brief comments (no more
than 100 words).
Students will be provided with a timetable of assignment cut-off dates at the
start of the module and should, as part of the negotiation with their
conﬁrmer, make it clear when their input will be required throughout the
module. Students should allow sufﬁcient time to arrange meetings with their
conﬁrmer to verify the evidence they have listed on relevant recording forms
and ﬁled in their Practice Evidence File. It is the student’s responsibility to
be prepared for these meetings and to provide their conﬁrmer with the
relevant documentation.
2.6 What to do if the evidence presented cannot be veriﬁed
In most cases, we expect that the workplace evidence will be sufﬁciently
familiar to you, the conﬁrmer, so that you will be able to authenticate it
without hesitation. Occasionally, however, you may ﬁnd a piece of evidence
that you are unsure about. In these circumstances, your ﬁrst step would be to
discuss this evidence with the student and ask them to explain how it was
generated and its role in the practice that it illustrates. If you are reassured
by the explanation that the student provides, then you can sign off the
evidence as authentic.
In the rare event that a conﬁrmer has concerns about the authenticity of
evidence presented, or the student experiences difﬁculties in gaining access
to appropriate work activities, they should contact the Early Years team
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(email: [email protected]). To assist the University in
following up any concerns, please ensure that the following information is
provided:
.
the name of the student
.
the module code (i.e. E105 or E210)
.
your name and contact details (telephone or email)
.
a brief description of the concern.
3 Work-based learning: contexts and support
This section provides information on:
.
the requirements that the setting should have in place
.
the hours needed in practice
.
the nature of the work with young children required by E105 and E210.
3.1 Prior expectations of the setting
Your setting is expected to have public liability insurance which covers the
student’s roles while they are studying for the degree. It should normally
have policies in place on equal opportunities, inclusion, child protection, and
health and safety, which comply with the legislation relevant to the student’s
nation and which meet relevant employment and equality legislation, such as
the Equality Act (2010) or Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act.
Your student should have a current Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
check or equivalent.
The above requirements also apply to self-employed practitioners.
The Open University has a ‘duty of care’ to create a safe environment for
children in line with current policy, legislation and practice. This means that
if a concern is raised regarding a child’s safety, either in discussion or in an
assignment, the University has a responsibility to address such concerns (see
Section 3.4 and Appendix 3).
3.2 Hours needed in practice
All students (including childminders) should be working (paid or voluntary)
in a registered early years setting, for a minimum of ﬁve hours each week of
direct face-to-face work with groups of children aged from birth to 7 years.
Note that nannies/foster carers are required to undertake an additional 3–5
hours’ placement in a registered early years setting (see Sections 2.2
and 2.4)
In that time, students will:
.
build on their learning in the workplace, and relate theory to practice and
practice to theory by carrying out work-based investigations in relation to
the module themes
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The Open University Early Years Work-based Learning Handbook
.
evaluate their practice and provide evidence of the development of their
knowledge, understanding, skills and expertise against each professional
practice (PP) learning outcome.
(A full list of the seven areas of practice covered by the PP learning
outcomes is provided in Appendix 2.)
3.3 Using the setting for work-based learning
We ask the employer from the setting to conﬁrm that the student has
permission to use the work they are engaged in as a source of learning on
the module. This will involve the student in:
.
completing setting-based activities
.
writing about their practice
.
selecting evidence from practice
.
trying out new developments
.
investigating aspects of their practice relating to module themes
.
reporting on the outcomes, using evidence from their work
.
proposing suggestions for reﬁning and developing their practice.
Students will be guided on the ethics of writing about their work with young
children and colleagues – for example, in the area of protecting identity.
3.4 Working with young children: safeguarding
Throughout both of the work-based learning modules, students should have
the opportunity to work directly with young children in a context that
supports and promotes their care, learning and development. Students need
the opportunity to plan, implement and evaluate activities, and observe
individuals and groups of children. They need to meet children’s individual
needs, working with parents and other professionals.
While it is your responsibility, as the employer, to ensure that appropriate
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance (or equivalent) of the
student is in place, The Open University has a ‘duty of care’ to create a safe
environment for children, which is in line with current policy, legislation and
practice. This means that the University looks to safeguard children in the
care of students. Therefore, if a concern is raised either in discussion or in
an assignment, the University has a responsibility to address such concerns.
Speciﬁc guidance, policy and procedures have been put in place to deal with
such concerns (see Appendix 3).
4. Further information
4.1 University contact details
If you require clariﬁcation on any points made in this handbook, please
contact the Early Years Qualiﬁcations team, email: FELS-EYGeneral@open.
ac.uk
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4.2 Thanks
The University is aware that, as a qualiﬁed and experienced practitioner, you
are likely to face extreme pressures on your time. We would therefore like to
stress our appreciation for the contribution you are making both to the
student’s professional development and to the degree. In your role, you are
contributing not only to the development of an individual early years
practitioner but also, more widely, to the development of a more professional
and well-qualiﬁed workforce.
Appendices
Appendix 1 Permission Agreement Form and Agreement with
Conﬁrmer Form: examples
If students change setting, the new employer/conﬁrmer will need to sign new
forms (see Section 2.4). The forms should be completed by hand in black
ink by the appropriate person. Please ensure that handwriting is legible.
The following pages show an example each of the Permission Agreement
Form and the Agreement with Conﬁrmer Form.
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The Open University Early Years Work-based Learning Handbook
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The Open University Early Years Work-based Learning Handbook
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The Open University Early Years Work-based Learning Handbook
Appendix 2 Instructions for conﬁrmers
Agreement with Conﬁrmer Form (AwC)
The student will complete the top section of the AwC form at the start of the
module. They will then ask you to complete the bottom section of the form,
sign and date it. Full details on how to complete it are contained on the
reverse of side of the form. The student will supply you with this form.
The student will complete the AwC form as TMA 01 (their ﬁrst assignment
of the module). They will need to complete a new form if they have a
change of conﬁrmer at any time during the module. Full instructions
regarding change of settings and quality assurance (QA) processes are
provided in the student’s Guide to E105/E210 and on the module website.
Professional practice learning outcomes (PPs)
There are a total of seven PP learning outcomes for E105 and E210:
PP1 Inclusive practices
PP2 Supporting groups
PP3 Planning and assessment
PP4 Safeguarding
PP5 Partnerships
PP6 Leadership and change
PP7 ICT
Throughout their study, students are encouraged to gather potential evidence
(from E105/E210 module activities and their day-to-day practice) relating to
each of the areas of practice covered by these learning outcomes. They are
taught how to select and document their evidence, ensuring that they adhere
to strict ethical guidelines. The evidence they select is documented in their
Practice Evidence File (PEF).
For each of the PP learning outcomes, the student ﬁlls in one PP recording
form, on which they summarise the evidence they have to support their
practice, knowledge and skills in relation to the PP learning outcome. On
each PP recording form, the student must:
.
number, list and describe the evidence they have documented in their
Practice Evidence File (PEF) for that PP learning outcome
.
insert the date the evidence was generated
.
indicate any other PP learning outcomes the evidence cross-references to.
An example of the PP 5 recording form is included at the end of these
instructions.
Your role is to conﬁrm that you have seen the evidence listed, that it has
been documented in the student’s PEF, and that you can verify it is based on
the student’s own practice. To do this, you should:
.
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check that each item listed on the PP recording form is documented in
the student’s PEF
.
look at the documentation in the PEF for each item listed on the PP
recording form, to satisfy yourself that it is based on the student’s own
practice.
For example, if you were presented with the PP 5 recording form included at
the end of these instructions, you would look in the PEF for items 2, 5 and
8, and check that:
.
item 2 was jotted notes from a parent’s meeting
.
item 5 was a home-setting diary entry
.
item 8 showed team meeting planning notes.
Note that students do not have to list six pieces of evidence for each PP
learning outcome, so some of the rows may be blank.
You are not asked to make any judgement about the quality of the evidence
that the student has documented. You are simply asked to ensure that the
student has documented the evidence described on the PP recording form,
and to verify that this evidence is based on the student’s own practice.
If you are satisﬁed that the information on the PP recording form is accurate
(i.e. that each item of evidence listed on the PP recording form is
documented in the student’s PEF and is based on the student’s own practice),
then you should make a note of the date, add any comments and sign the
Conﬁrmer Meeting Log.*
If you are not satisﬁed that the evidence presented is based on the student’s
own practice, or if the student is unable to produce a piece of evidence listed
on the PP recording form, it is the student’s responsibility to address the
omission or validity of their evidence. When any issues have been
addressed, the student should arrange a further meeting with you to present
their evidence and obtain your signature on the Conﬁrmer Meeting Log.
Please note that The Open University will make checks that may involve:
.
asking the student to submit their PEF
.
contacting you to check that you did indeed sign a particular PP
recording form.
Your student cannot pass these modules unless they have had the evidence
documented on their PP recording forms conﬁrmed.
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The Open University Early Years Work-based Learning Handbook
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Conﬁrmer Declaration Form
The student will complete this form towards the end of the module, as their
penultimate assignment on the module (TMA 06 in E105, TMA 07 in E210).
It should reach you in time for the relevant TMA cut-off date in April or
May. The student will ask you to complete the conﬁrmer details and the
conﬁrmer declaration, and then to sign and date the form. An authentic
signature is required for the University’s QA processes, to verify currency of
practice towards the end of the module.
It is essential, for reasons of currency of practice, that the form is not signed
and dated prior to the month of submission of the TMA.
* Note: there is also space on the Conﬁrmer Declaration Form for you to
enter the dates of meetings when you check the student’s evidence.
Appendix 3 Safeguarding children guidance for Early Years
students and tutors
Safeguarding young people and vulnerable adults
The Open University has a policy for safeguarding which tutors should
ensure they are familiar with. See the ‘Guidance for Associate Lecturers’ at
http://www2.open.ac.uk/safeguarding/guidance-for-associate-lecturers.php
All students on the BA (Hons)/Foundation Degree in Early Years or (in
Scotland) the DipHE in Childhood Practice are working directly with
children. As part of their studies, they will be discussing practice and
providing evidence of their own or a setting’s practice in assignments, either
verbally in tutorials or as part of online communication and activities.
It is crucial to promote safe working practices. If an issue is raised, either in
discussion or in an assignment, which suggests a concern about a student
failing to promote safe working practice or a concern relating to practice
within a student’s setting, the University has a responsibility to address this.
Process of managing expressions of concern
Where a concern has been indicated in a written assessment, the student
should be contacted by the tutor to clarify the practice issues identiﬁed and
any concerns relating to the safeguarding of a child in the student’s care or
the more general promotion of the child’s welfare. If, after discussions with
the student, the University feels that further action needs to be taken, then
the student will be advised as appropriate. If necessary, avenues of support
will be explored in discussion with the SST/nation.
The tutor, in their role, will be expected to model awareness and the
promotion of safe working practice. Tutors should follow the ‘Safeguarding
referral guidelines’ given in ‘Dealing with disclosures of abuse or reporting
concerns’ at http://www2.open.ac.uk/safeguarding/guidance-for-associate
lecturers.php
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The Open University Early Years Work-based Learning Handbook
It is not up to the tutor to investigate practice.
At the start of the module, tutors must alert students in their tutor group to
issues surrounding the safeguarding of children, and must outline the
University’s responsibilities to promote safe working practice and to
safeguard children. Students should also be reassured that if any concerns
are raised through practice, documentation or discussions about practice,
they will be advised and supported.
It is recognised that, while students are developing their academic writing
skills, there can sometimes be a lack of clarity in the reporting of
observations or events linked to their setting. It is, therefore, very important
to check the accuracy of what has been written before deciding on any
action. If you feel unsure of how to manage this, a discussion with your staff
tutor would be your ﬁrst step.
Timescale
Any concerns should be dealt with quickly and if the matter is one that
suggests a concern related to safeguarding or the protection of a child, this
must be reported within 24 hours and must follow the guidance given in the
University’s ‘Safeguarding and protecting children and young people’ policy.
Once a concern about safe working practice has been raised, the procedure
outlined on the ﬂowchart for Associate Lecturers should be carried out fully
within two weeks.
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