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Carshalton High School for Girls

Carshalton High School for Girls

Carshalton High School for Girls is a highly successful school, judged by Ofsted in January 2023 as ‘Good’ in all categories.

Child Development KS4

What is the course students study in Child Development?

OCR Level 1/2 Cambridge National Certificate in Child Development – Key stage 4

What will students study in Child Development this year?

Year 9 will focus on studying Unit R057: Health and well-being for child development.

Students will develop the essential knowledge and understanding in child development, covering reproduction, parental responsibility, antenatal care, birth, postnatal checks, postnatal provision, conditions for development, childhood illnesses and child safety. The exam for this unit will be taken at the end of Year 11.

In year 10 students focus on Unit R058: Create a safe environment and understand the nutritional needs of children from birth to five years.

Within this unit students will gain knowledge of different child care settings available to children from birth to five years, the equipment needs of babies and young children and an understanding of the factors to be considered when choosing appropriate equipment and the safety requirements for child care settings. This topic will also cover nutrition and hygiene practices and students will be given the opportunity to investigate feeding solutions, comparing these to nutritional requirements and evaluating the outcomes. In Year 10, students will embed the knowledge and understanding from Unit RO57 (studied in year 9) into their coursework. There is a practical element to this unit, which involves planning and preparing a feed or meal for an infant or child.

In the third unit of study, Unit R059: Understand the development of a child from one to five years will completed in Year 11.

Students will gain an understanding of the developmental norms from one to five years and the stages and benefits of play. Students will gain knowledge of, and skills in, developing activities to observe developmental norms in children up to the age of five. This unit requires students to observe a child to make judgements about their development, to plan an activity to promote development and to evaluate their planning process.

What are the major assessments this year?

Students will complete summative assessments at the end of each term. These assessments will test knowledge and understanding of the learning they have undertaken through each year, based on the RO57 content they have studied.

The mandatory qualification assessments for the OCR Child Development qualification are:

R057: Health and well-being for child development  Written exam - 1 hour and 15 mins, OCR-set and marked. 40% of qualification grade. Year 10.

R058: Create a safe environment and understand the nutritional needs of children from birth to five years – Coursework. Centre-assessed tasks, OCR moderated. Year 11. This is an assignment set by OCR, which has a childcare setting scenario.

R059: Understand the development of a child from one to five years – Coursework. Centre-assessed tasks, OCR moderated. End of Year 11. This is an assignment set by OCR, which has a childcare setting scenario.

What do assessments test?

The assessments in Child Development test student’s knowledge of the core learning objectives in each unit of work. Assessments also test students’ ability to apply the knowledge to childcare scenarios.

What are the expectations of my daughter in Child Development?

Students are given regular independent homework to complete. In Year 9, this will consist of learning key subject terminology. In Years 10 and 11, much of this homework will be coursework-based. Students are expected to develop independence in the completion of this coursework.

Students will also receive coursework deadlines. It is extremely important that your daughter adheres to these deadlines as work has to be assessed and moderated at set points during the year.

What should my daughter do if she feels she is struggling in Child Development?

In the first instance, students should speak to their subject teacher. It is important that students try to identify specific areas of the subject which they are finding a challenge so that we can offer targeted support. Targeted support may be focused during lesson time or in the Vocational Clinic after school.

How can I best support my daughter in Child Development?

The best way to provide support is to talk to your daughter about the work: ensure she is regularly completing homework and keeping on top of coursework deadlines. Your daughter will benefit from having access to a computer in order to complete coursework. If you do not have a computer she can use at home, please speak to daughter’s subject teacher or her Head of Year.

Whom should I contact for further advice or information?

Please contact your daughter’s class teacher, form tutor, or Miss N. Kenny (Head of Department) at nkenny@carshaltongirls.org.uk.