Session 1/13

How to work with this material

This training program has been developed and tested in reality by people like yourself: professionals from 5 countries who work with young children placed outside home – in child care institutions and foster families. Furthermore, an international network of child researchers has gathered and analyzed scientific results of child psychology and transformed into practical knowledge, advice and video demonstrations of good childcare, suggestions and practices.

Between each session, the caregiver staff decides on exercising in practice what they learn during a session.
All this learning is only useful if it is used in your everyday work, so staff and instructor plan together how to change the care practices as you go through the program. The instructor is responsible for presenting the material and conduct the discussions, but only the staff can make it reality in their daily professional practice. That is why work between sessions is so important.
In the start of each session, you choose a secretary or referee who writes down in short phrases what has been discussed and decided , and what the practical tasks are before the next session.

The people who made this program do not know everything, and particularly they don’t know you and your workplace. So this is not something you just learn and do. Caregivers and the instructor must make their own choices and find their own models for practice along the way. We hope this responsibility will make you feel that your job is more interesting.

As a staff member, you are expected to:

• Help each other understand the material. Ask the instructor to stop and discuss if there is something you need to discuss in order to understand it better.
• Participate actively in the activities in each session – say what you think, your opinion is important!
• Be active between sessions in trying new practices, and new ways of seeing children and caring for them.
• Support each other, your instructor and your leader in getting the most out of the training process.

In this session you will make a little experiment with a first interview and plan a simple task between sessions 1 and 2.