Work Placement 

I am completing my work placement at an infants school in a reception class. 

One to one communication

I had a one to one communication with a 4 year old boy, we were discussing how he struggled to complete his work. To make sure my communication to him was successful I made sure to crouch down so I was at his level so he will not be intimidated by me. I also made sure to keep a calm tone of voice and asked him questions so he knew that I was listening to what he was saying. Also, I made sure to use language that he would understand to make things easier. I could have improved on my body language - for instance, I was getting distracted by the other children and so sometimes I was looking away form him. I also did not always maintain eye contact with him due to other children distracting me.  

Group communication

An example of a group communication that I took part in was leading a group of reception children in writing sentences. I made sure to keep a level tone of voice so they could all hear me clearly over the noise that was coming from the other side of the room. I also made sure to walk around the group while they were writing their sentences so if anyone needed any help I was there. I also made sure that when I was helping them I was sitting next to them as opposed to standing over them so they feel less discouraged. Also, if there were two children who were disruptive I separated them so they would not distract the other children. I could have improved on my time, for instance I helped more students than others because they were more willing to learn. I also kept getting distracted due to the noise causing the children to become distracted also. 

Anti-discriminatory practice

Within the class there are teachers of different ethnicities which promotes anti-discriminatory practice as it sets an example for the ethnic students that they can follow this career path - it also means that the school does not discriminate when it comes to employing people. Also, in the class there are students of different ethnicities - there is also a student who has down syndrome; this promotes anti-disciplinary practice as do not isolate her from the other children - she takes part in the same activities as they do. All the students have placed in different groups (set by their ability) when it comes to lessons, this promotes anti-discriminatory practice because even though they are in different groups, they are all given the same opportunities.

Hazards

One hazard in the classroom area is a big whiteboard they have leant against a wall. It is a hazard because a few times it has fallen and hit a child on the head. They could avoid this by moving the whiteboard so it is away from the children as they are not using it anyway. The impact this has on the children is that those who sit next to it know that there is a chance it will fall and so will not pay attention to the teacher as they are worried they might get hurt.

Another hazard they have is whenever children are playing in the wet play area the floor gets really wet which can cause service users and providers to trip and injure themselves. The children are not really aware of their actions and so they are careless when it comes to safety. Also, as the teachers are not teaching them to be careful, the children have fun making a mess.

Risk assessment

NO:	HAZARDS:	CURRENT CONTROL MEASURES IN PLACE	PERSONS AT RISK	SEVERITY RATING         1-5	LIKELIHOOD RATING         1-5	RISK RATING	FURTHER CONTROL MEASURES REQUIRED	ACTIONEE/DUE DATE
1.	Area around wet play is wet	N/A	S, E, V	3	4	12	Wet floor sign and a person responsible for mopping the area throughout the day.
2.	Costumes left on the floor causing people to trip up	N/A	S	1	3	3	Teach the children to pick the costumes off the floor so it is not likely they will trip.
3.	Bits of playdough and arts and craft materials are left on the floor and the children eat them.	Teachers ask the students to clean up and check after them.	S	3	4	12	Have a teacher do a thorough check over the areas to make sure the floor is clean.

I identified the risks currently in place in the classroom and came up with methods that will reduce injuries from occurring. I also said how they might impact on the students. For instance, having a wet floor can cause the students to slip and hurt their back; eating something off the floor can cause them to become ill. The reccommendations I made are pratical and very simple and they wil decrease the risk of the students harming themselves.