but Caroline Vollans has discovered the benefits of an emotional
focus.
Supervision has been a legal requirement in the Early Years Foundation Stage since 2012. Yet many early years settings are not providing it, and the ones that do have different interpretations of what it entails.
The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage states that 'providers must put appropriate arrangements in place for the supervision of staff who have contact with children and families. Effective supervision provides support, coaching and training for the practitioner and promotes the interests of children'.
However, Dr Peter Elfer, principal lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Roehampton, London, considers that supervision is 'to support the practitioner to be more effective by helping her or him think about the emotions that are evoked in working closely with young children and how they affect our work'. This puts much more emphasis on recognising the emotional aspects, and much less on management, coaching and training.
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