Building on Intermediate Care Skills, this course is designed to equip nannies with the expertise needed to manage complex care situations with confidence and competence. This course delves into the intricacies of pediatric health management, including the precise methods for monitoring vital signs such as temperature, and the nuanced approaches required for responding to various childhood illnesses. Students will gain proficiency in the safe storage, accurate administration, and meticulous documentation of medications, and will become adept at responding swiftly and effectively to accidents. Critical to this course is the emphasis on maintaining open and sensitive communication with parents, ensuring that they are kept fully informed about their child’s health and well-being. In the latter part of the course, students will be introduced to advanced household management techniques. This includes establishing deep-cleaning routines to ensure a hygienic play and living environment, implementing systematic toy rotation to support developmental needs, and integrating these tasks into a structured weekly plan. The curriculum is designed to mirror the real-life responsibilities of a professional nanny, preparing students to execute their duties with an emphasis on preventive health care, environmental safety, and organizational efficiency. Furthermore, this course will guide students through the development of a proactive wellness strategy that includes recognizing early signs of distress or illness in children, engaging in preventative health measures, and fostering an environment conducive to healing and comfort. Through a combination of practical skill application, scenario-based learning, and evidence-based practices, students will emerge from this course fully equipped to enhance the well-being of children under their care and to manage the complexities of a household efficiently as they step into their vital roles as professional nannies.

Learning Objectives:

1. Master Pediatric Health Management: To master the skills necessary for monitoring and managing pediatric health, including the measurement of vital signs and recognizing symptoms of childhood illnesses.
2. Medication Administration: To learn the protocols for safely storing, administering, and documenting medication in a childcare setting.
3. Effective Communication: To develop effective strategies for maintaining open, sensitive communication with parents about their child’s health and wellness.
4. Emergency Responsiveness: To prepare to respond to accidents or emergencies quickly, efficiently, and with the appropriate care measures.
5. Implement Health Documentation: To accurately document health-related incidents and care provided, ensuring clear records for parents and healthcare providers.
6. Develop Deep-Cleaning Routines: To establish and maintain deep-cleaning routines that ensure a sanitary and safe environment for children.
7. Organize Toy Rotation Systems: To implement toy rotation systems that support a child’s developmental needs and manage clutter.
8. Plan Household Management: To create and follow a comprehensive household management plan, including cleaning, organizing, and scheduling.
9. Practice Preventative Health Care: To understand and apply preventative health care measures to minimize illness and promote overall well-being in children.
10. Prepare for Professional Nanny Role: To synthesize care skills in preparation for the comprehensive role of a professional nanny, with a focus on wellness, safety, and effective household management.

This course entirely focuses on the progression from student to professional nanny and the documentation necessary to prepare for employment. Students will prepare a CV, accumulate references and put together an interview portfolio as they explore what their role is as professional nanny and how they can maintain their physical and mental health. The aims of this course are for students to accumulate the necessary paperwork to prepare for interviews and employment. Students will be guided through the steps that shape a CV and learn how to create an interesting and engaging portfolio. Importantly, students will reflect on their practice and create targets for their first year. In addition, a professional nanny needs to develop a robust pedagogical philosophy about their practice and professional self, drawn from research-informed best practice. A nanny philosophy will be derived from the evidence-based learning they have undertaken, from placements and their own childhood. This course will encourage students to look inwards as they establish the interpersonal skills and professional attributes they bring to working with families. They will synthesize their experiences and learning to conceptualize their own professional philosophy, have a clear rationale for its application and identify how this can be articulated to potential employers. Building on learning from MD102, this course establishes how students can form and promote mutually respectful relationships with parents and carers in the home environment. This course will highlight potential concerns for parents when employing a nanny and ask students to use their own experiences to establish the key considerations parents use when making that decision. Professional love and communication in this context will be considered in detail, and students will reflect on the necessity of feedback and how this can be used for constructive professional development, whilst considering how conflict resolution techniques can be used to resolve differing opinions. These skills will be reflected upon within the research context as students apply these to interview skills and reflection. The home presents many opportunities as a living, working, and learning environment for nannies and children. This course takes a holistic practical approach to caring for children in the home environment. The taught aspects of this course will link with second year placement experience to establish the complex role of the nanny: from meeting children’s physiological needs, to keeping them safe while promoting autonomy, to analyzing how children’s preferences and abilities can be respected when providing play and learning experiences. In addition, this course will explore the professional practical documentation skills required for a nanny in the home environment. Documentation of routine and daily events will be explored as well as documenting learning in a way that values a child’s individuality and engages their families. Menu planning, accounting, and recording accidents and medication will also be covered so that students going into their first family placement will have the knowledge and skills to communicate this information effectively. Conflict resolution will also be considered as part of this and how responding to feedback can be achieved constructively and professionally.

Learning Objectives:

1. Cultivate Mutually Respectful Relationships: To learn how to establish and maintain mutually respectful relationships with parents and carers, based on trust and open communication.
2. Understand Parental Concerns: To identify and understand the concerns and considerations of parents when hiring a nanny, using personal insight to empathize and address these effectively.
3. Develop Professional Love and Communication: To explore the concept of 'professional love' and its application in nanny care, ensuring a balance of professional boundaries and warm, caring relationships.
4. Utilize Feedback for Growth: To develop strategies for seeking, receiving, and utilizing feedback from parents and professionals for constructive personal and professional development.
5. Apply Conflict Resolution Techniques: To learn and apply effective conflict resolution techniques in a home care setting to address and resolve differences respectfully and effectively.
6. Enhance Interview and Reflection Skills: To refine interview skills and reflective practices, applying these in research contexts and professional scenarios.
7. Promote Holistic Child Care: To adopt a holistic approach to child care that meets children’s physiological needs and promotes their autonomy, safety, and individual preferences in play and learning experiences.
8. Link Theory to Practice: To integrate theoretical knowledge with practical experience during second-year placements, understanding the multifaceted role of a nanny.
9. Master Documentation Skills: To acquire professional documentation skills, including recording routines, daily events, and learning experiences, in ways that respect and highlight a child’s individuality.
10. Prepare for First Family Placement: To equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills for their first family placement, including menu planning, financial accounting, accident and medication recording, and effective communication of this information to families.
11. Craft a Professional CV: To create a comprehensive and engaging curriculum vitae that reflects the student's qualifications and readiness for a professional nanny role.
12. Gather and Organize References: To accumulate a set of professional references that effectively endorse the student's capabilities and experiences in childcare.
13. Assemble an Interview Portfolio: To compile an interview portfolio that showcases the student's skills, achievements, and educational background in a compelling and organized manner.
14. Understand the Nanny Role: To understand the full scope of the professional nanny's role, including responsibilities, expectations, and strategies for health maintenance.
15. Set Professional Targets: To establish clear, actionable targets for the first year of professional practice, focusing on continuous development and goal attainment.
16. Develop a Pedagogical Philosophy: To develop and articulate a personal pedagogical philosophy based on research-informed best practices and personal childcare experiences.
17. Reflect on Professional Identity: To reflect on one’s professional identity and the attributes that contribute to effective and compassionate childcare.
18. Enhance Interpersonal Skills: To enhance interpersonal skills crucial for successful interactions with children and families, emphasizing communication, empathy, and professionalism.
19. Articulate Professional Philosophy: To clearly articulate one’s professional philosophy and its practical application in daily nanny work to potential employers.
20. Prepare for Employment Transition: To prepare for the transition from nanny education to professional practice, ensuring readiness for interviews, employment processes, and the first year in the field.

This course will focus on practical ways to support children’s literacy and phonics. Children are surrounded by language, and stories are the way many children are introduced to the written word. For some children, this will be a great joy that will lead them onto mark-making, then writing, but others might be a little more reluctant. This optional course will explore the mechanics of reading and writing and establish the strategies students can use to promote positive engagement with literacy. This course will support students to be creative and playful in their work by introducing other media to their practice, in this case, creative arts. Students will be encouraged to think about how music, dance, and drama can be employed to support children’s holistic development. Students will investigate, consider, and evaluate, the value of music, drama and theatre arts and their potential benefits for children. Students will then experiment with a range of practices that can promote creative expression.

Learning Objectives:

1. Promote Literacy Engagement: To identify strategies that encourage children's engagement with literacy, regardless of their initial interest or ability.
2. Understand Phonics and Reading Mechanics: To gain a comprehensive understanding of the mechanics of reading and writing, including phonics, to support children's learning processes.
3. Foster Joy in Literacy: To create a joyful, stimulating environment that cultivates an early love for mark-making and writing in children.
4. Integrate Creative Arts: To explore how various forms of creative arts, including music, dance, and drama, can be integrated into literacy practices to enhance learning.
5. Develop Holistic Development Strategies: To understand and implement practices that support the holistic development of children through creative arts.
6. Utilize Music in Literacy: To investigate the role of music in language development and devise methods to use it for enhancing literacy skills.
7. Apply Drama Techniques: To employ drama and theatre arts as dynamic tools for boosting children's expressive abilities and supporting literacy.
8. Encourage Creative Expression: To develop methods that promote creative expression among children, linking it to their literacy development.
9. Evaluate Arts' Educational Value: To critically evaluate the educational value of integrating music, drama, and theatre arts into early childhood literacy programs.
10. Experiment with Artistic Literacy Practices: To experiment with and assess a range of artistic practices that can be used to promote literacy and creative expression in children.

This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of the key psychological concepts and stages of emotional development from birth through the early years of life. Students will delve into the pioneering work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth on attachment theory, examining how secure and insecure attachment patterns are formed and their long-term effects on individual behavior and relationships. The course will also cover the various factors influencing emotional development, including genetics, parenting styles, and social and cultural dynamics. Throughout the semester, students will engage with a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical insights, enabling them to recognize emotional development milestones and understand their significance in early childhood education and intervention. The course will incorporate case studies, current research findings, and opportunities for observational learning. In this comprehensive course on self-regulation, we will delve into the fascinating journey of how children learn to master their emotions, actions, and responses to the world around them. Self-regulation is not just a cornerstone of child development; it is the bedrock upon which resilience, well-being, and overall mental health are built. It governs our ability to manage our feelings, behaviors, sleep patterns, eating habits, and even thought processes. Understanding the intricate tapestry of self-regulation is crucial for anyone in a caregiving role. This course is meticulously designed to impart knowledge on the theories and research underpinning the development of self-regulation in children, supported by compelling neuroscientific evidence. More importantly, it emphasizes the adult's role as a co-regulator within a child's ecosystem. As we unpack the concept of self-regulation, students will gain a nuanced appreciation of how it interweaves with all facets of development. By the culmination of this course, you will not only recognize that children's behaviors are a language in themselves, signaling their needs, but also grasp that self-regulation is an evolving attribute, built up over time. We will explore self-regulation through a holistic lens, considering the influence of the ecological system on development. Students will garner insights into the neuroscience that underpins self-regulation, learning the crucial role of a child feeling safe and secure in their environment and relationships. Furthermore, the course will shine a light on the adult's role as a co-regulator, equipping students with effective strategies to support children in their journey towards self-regulation, while also reflecting on their own self-regulatory practices and how these influence their effectiveness as a caregiver. Curiosity about children's behaviors will serve as our starting point. Behavior is a complex form of communication, and as children navigate the labyrinth of self-regulation across their formative years, it is our responsibility to guide them through the emotional maze. Participants will learn to discern the effects of different educational approaches, like behaviorism and relational practice, on children, honing their ability to aid children in behavior regulation and examining how their own self-regulatory capacities influence their interactions with children. Enhancing our understanding of self-regulation, the course will concentrate on social and emotional aspects, encouraging a deep dive into the broader ecological context that shapes these processes. Students will have the chance to critically assess learning theories related to behavior and deepen their comprehension of the neuroscientific processes involved in self-regulation. A pivotal component of this learning experience is the exploration of sensory integration, which is vital for both typical and atypical developmental paths. Participants will reflect on their personal values, attitudes, and beliefs, all of which are sculpted by individual experiences and the broader socio-cultural and eco-political milieu. By the end of the course, you will recognize how social, emotional, and sensory self-regulation form the groundwork for cognitive self-regulation and overall well-being. Finally, we will explore a variety of practical methods to support children in self-regulatory practices and ponder the influence of our self-regulation on our capacity to nurture self-regulation in children. This course is an invitation to embark on a transformative learning journey, one that will not only enhance your professional acumen as a nanny but also enrich your personal growth and understanding of human behavior.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the Foundations of Self-Regulation: To comprehend the basic principles of self-regulation and its role in child development, including its influence on emotional resilience and mental health.
2. Explore Neuroscientific Underpinnings: To examine the neurobiological evidence that supports the development of self-regulation in children, including brain structures and functions involved in the process.
3. Analyze the Adult's Role as Co-Regulator: To critically assess the role of caregivers in the co-regulation process and understand strategies for effective adult participation in fostering self-regulatory skills in children.
4. Reflect on Personal Self-Regulation: To engage in self-reflection regarding one’s own self-regulation practices and how they affect interactions with children and one's effectiveness as a caregiver.
5. Assess Sensory Integration in Development: To assess the role of sensory integration in both neurotypical and atypical development and its importance for self-regulation.
6. Develop Support Strategies for Children: To develop and plan effective strategies to support children in their journey towards self-regulation, considering individual differences and needs.
7. Grasp Emotional Development Concepts: To gain an in-depth understanding of the fundamental psychological concepts related to emotional development from birth through early childhood.
8. Study Attachment Theory: To study John Bowlby's and Mary Ainsworth's pioneering work on attachment theory, understanding how secure and insecure attachment patterns impact behavior and relationships.
9. Analyze Attachment Patterns: To analyze the formation of different attachment patterns and their potential long-term effects on children's development.
10. Identify Influences on Emotional Development: To identify and evaluate various factors that influence emotional development, including genetics, parenting styles, and social and cultural dynamics.
11. Recognize Developmental Milestones: To learn to recognize and understand emotional development milestones and their relevance to early childhood education and caregiving.
12. Apply Theory to Practice: To apply theoretical knowledge of emotional development to practical scenarios, enhancing professional practice in childcare and education.
13. Utilize Case Studies: To critically engage with case studies that demonstrate the principles of emotional development in real-world contexts.
14. Examine Current Research: To examine and interpret current research findings in the field of emotional development to inform evidence-based practices.
15. Conduct Observational Learning: To conduct and reflect upon observational learning experiences to enhance understanding of emotional development in children.
16. Develop Intervention Strategies: To develop strategies for early childhood education and intervention that support healthy emotional development.