The needs of young children in care : a memorandum / prepared by the Home Office ; in consultation with the Advisory Council on Child Care.

  • Great Britain. Children's Department
Date:
1964
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The needs of young children in care : a memorandum / prepared by the Home Office ; in consultation with the Advisory Council on Child Care. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    34 ber of young children who can satisfactorily constitute a group is a matter for continuing observation, but it is often found that five or six children is a suitable number. It is also found helpful for there to be some possibility of variation in the size of groups, so as to allow for brothers and sisters to be placed in the same group. Whatever the size of the group and whatever the nature of the accommodation, the principle on which the grouping is based remains the same—the care of individual] children by partic- ular members of staff. When it seems to be in the child’s interest to remain beyond the age of five in a familiar group, he stays in the same household and goes out from it to schoo]. Brothers and sisters are enabled in this way to be together, perhaps until aJl of them are ready for a move. Children who have suffered breakdowns in foster placement, and those whose experience before being received into care were of such severity that they have remained backward or unusually disturbed are also greatly helped by not having to be moved merely for reasons of age. The same is often true of handicapped children. Although a child may continue to need what is familiar, he is none the less growing up and must take his place in school as do children coming from their own family. Care is taken to ensure that a child is dressed in a similar way to other children who are starting at school, and that Jike other children he can make his payments for meals and contributions to such matters as saving schemes. Members of staff make contact with the staff of the school as a parent would, and attend school functions open to parents. Such contacts between those who care for him at home and those whom he meets at school strengthen the child’s feelings of self-respect and his sense of security. In order to safeguard his development and to protect him from feeling that he belongs to a household of babies, some adjustment in his bedtime, and fresh provision for his developing interests has to be made. For example, he enjoys bringing friends home from school with him and going out to play with them. Daily life in nurseries knowledge of the circumstances of the children to enable her to care for them with understanding and to comfort them when they are distressed. She helps to receive children on arrival, and to