There are many approaches in the childcare sector that can be used in childcare services. One of those approaches is the key worker system which I will be talking about in further detail within this blog post. In this post I will also be discussing the benefits of the key worker system and my experience of it in practice. I will be discussing attachment and how important it is in relation to the key worker system.

“Attachment is a lasting psychological connectedness between human beings”

(John Bowlby, 1969)

Picture from: https://images.app.goo.gl/9bJrNr7dQzHkgScUA

It is important for children to have a main attachment figure from an early age as this helps them to develop good and strong relationships when they are older. Therefore children will be able to form a good relationship with their key worker if they have a main attachment figure at home with either their mother or father or both. Having a good attachment with their main caregiver from when they are born will help children with forming future relationships.

A key worker system is where staff members in a preschool or a crèche are assigned a small number of children so that they can keep an eye on the child’s development. The most important role of the key worker is to develop a good relationship with the child’s family. The key worker would also be responsible for making sure the child feels safe in the service each day.

The benefits of this approach would be that the key worker can get to know the child’s personality, in turn this can help them to meet their needs on a daily basis. The key worker system would also benefit the parents as if they have an issue or if they want to know how their child is getting on in the service they will know which staff member to talk to.

As I have over four years experience within the childcare sector I have seen the key worker system in action and I believe it is a good system to have in any crèche or preschool room. The key worker system works well as when a child comes into the service they may be upset at seeing their parents or guardian leaving them but once they see their key worker they will feel safe and begin to calm down. The key worker system also works well for parents, as I have seen parents knowing who to talk to in relation to their child if they have a concern, issue or something they want to be kept an eye on. The key worker system also helps with small group activities, for example, when there is a special occasion or seasonal holiday like Halloween they can do these activities in their groups, therefore makes it more manageable rather than doing them in one big group at one table. The children would also sit in their small groups at lunch time with their key worker. This helps children that everyone eats together and at the same time. It would also help children argue less over where they are sitting as they would only have a choice of where to sit at their table rather than anywhere in the whole room, however, children may still get upset if there is no room for them to sit beside a particular friend at their table. I have seen the key worker working with the child and the parents to work on a scrapbook of all the activities the child has been doing throughout the day. This scrapbook is a good way for parents to see what their child likes to do during their time in the service and if they have any queries about what is in the scrapbook they will know which staff member to talk to about it. The key worker would also help parents who may new to the area to find services outside of the setting that they may need to avail of.

However if a key worker is sick and has to take a day off the children may revert back to when they first arrived in the service as they may not know the staff member who is filling in for the one who is absent. The children may get shy or upset as the key worker they are used to is suddenly not there. A good way to combat this would be maybe to have the person who would be covering someone to come in for a few days at the beginning of the year so the children would be familiar with them.

I believe that the key worker system is an overall good system/approach to use in any service. Not only does this system benefit the children in the service it also helps the staff to get to know the children really well. I feel it would help children settle in when they are first starting in a childcare setting especially when they see that the same people are there every day. This system would help children to feel safe and cared for in a setting. It would also help parents to be at ease when leaving their children in a setting especially when they have formed a good relationship with their children’s key worker. The key worker would also help the children in some areas of development. Having a key worker children would feel more confident and be encouraged to like going to a childcare setting. Children would also enjoy learning as it’s in a safe environment with familiar people.

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

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