Child Development

Head of Department: Miss L Wood 

Years 10 & 11

Course Content 

Child Development is a Level 1/2 BTEC Tech course that is split into 3 inter-related units. In Year 10 we cover Unit 1 (Children’s Growth and Development) and Unit 2 (Learning through Play), and both are assessed through internal, extended writing coursework pieces which makes up 60% of the grade. In Year 11 we cover Unit 3 (Supporting Children to Play, Learn and Develop) and this is assessed via an external exam in the February, which makes up 40% of the grade.  

During the two-year course, you will develop your knowledge and technical skills in: 

• the characteristics of children’s development from birth up to five years  
• factors that affect growth and development  
• the importance of play  
• how play promotes children’s learning and development  
• reasons why children may need support  
• child-friendly environments to support play, learning and development in children from birth to five years old 
• supporting all children to learn and develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially, and adapting activities to support children’s play, learning and development 

Homework 

The majority of homework set will be coursework based, allowing the student to work independently and manage their time to meet a deadline. There are sometimes other homework tasks such as creating leaflets/poster and completing research on your own experiences of Child Development! 

Equipment 

Having a computer at home is helpful for homework and coursework but the iPad is more than suitable. We have a limited collection of textbooks to use in school which the students can borrow, but the students are free to purchase one of their own if they wish. 

Visits/Extra-curricular 

We are looking forward to taking trips to local parks to assess play environments and even local pre-schools to observe how they support the learning and development in young children.