Careers Wales: Social care (early years) webinar and workbook

A Welsh adaptation of Level 2 Health and Social Care: Core (Qualifications Wales), that was developed by Hodder in partnership with City & Guilds.

This book is for post-16 learners in Wales who work, or want to work in, the health and social care sectors. It covers the seven core units of the qualification and will also prepare students for the MCQ exam which is assessed externally with the assessments assessed internally within the institution.

The textbook covers a basic knowledge and understanding of the All-Wales Founding Framework for Health and Social Care and reflects a variety of different roles and settings. It includes:
• Health and social care principles and values
• Health and well-being
• Professional practice as a health and social care worker
• Protecting individuals
• Health and safety in health and social care.

In collaboration with mXreality, and working with teams specialising in the subject from Cardiff and Vale College, the Welsh Government has developed an immersive, accessible and expansive 3D metaworld environment, comprising of five areas relating to different themes. They look forward to sharing their experiences, stories and anecdotes with you, and you are invited to engage in an immersive learning experience, which will enhance your understanding of the world. As you explore this world, you are asked to engage with the resources and reflect on their significance. This is an opportunity for you to learn about the cultures and traditions that make up part of our shared identity.

The Metaworld consists of the following sections:

• Experiences
  • The Metaworld of Experiences is situated on a street of representative semi-detached houses in Wales, with access to six houses (three on each side of the street). In each of the houses, you can learn more about the background and interests of the individuals who live there by watching the video playing on the TV and by clicking on some of the interactive items (identified by a three spot icon) in the living room.
• Immersive Studies
  • The Immersive Studies Metaworld consists of a main lower level area and three upper level areas. The main area has a variety of items of geometrical interest because of their shapes and patterns, which show the connection between mathematics, science and nature. You can learn more about these items by clicking on them. A QR Code is also visible on a panel near some items, which can be scanned with your mobile phone's camera to view a 3D or Augmented Reality (AR) version of the item on your device.
  • The higher level includes:
    •  Mathematics room – allows visitors to explore the importance and history of mathematical and geometrical numbers and shapes
    • Hair and Beauty Room – allows visitors to familiarise themselves with the history and origins of hair and beauty
    • Inventions Room – educates visitors about some significant inventions and early contributions to contemporary life
• World Timeline
  • The World Timeline Metaworld consists of a main central area and four geographic regions, all of which you can access via a tunnel from the central area. Each tunnel displays information that presents the background, identity and image of a representative individual from that region. Each of the four regions (detailed below), comprises four time periods, allowing visitors to experience architecture, images, and representational information in relation to ancient times, medieval times, early modern times, and the world today.
  • The four regions available in this Metaworld are:
    • Africa, Indian Subcontinent, Middle East and Northern Europe.
    • As you move around the world timeline, in the central area and in each of the regions, interactive items you can click on link to videos that present useful additional information. QR Codes are also available in some of the regions, which can be scanned with your mobile phone's camera to view a 3D or Augmented Reality (AR) version of the item on your device.
• Curriculum
  • This section allows you to engage with a wide range of carefully crafted topics in order to surmise that their plan will be anti-racist. The section consists of the following topics:
    • Sociology
    • Hair & Beauty
    • Health and Social Care
    • Black Feminism
    • Politics
    • Mathematics
    • Film Studies
    • African philosophy
    • English for speakers of other languages
    • Basic Education for Adults
    • Additional Learning Needs
    • Tutorial

A podcast that discusses aspects of education that help pupils along the road to becoming Welsh speakers, in the context of the target to reach a million Welsh speakers by 2050.  The podcast will appeal to anyone completing a teacher training course, newly qualified teachers, or anyone who’s already part of the education workforce. It’s also likely to be of interest to anyone who wants to know more about the role of the education system in reaching a million Welsh speakers. It is also an excellent resource to support the Welsh Language Competency Framework for Education Practitioners.

This resource has been prepared for learners studying for the Level 2 qualification Care, Play, Learning, and Child Development: Practice and Theory and Unit 001 Principles and Values of Care, Play, Learning and Child Development (ages 0-19).

Some of the major principles behind Unit 001 are introduced through case studies, that is 4 stories of young children attending early childhood provision, such as nursery or a cylch meithrin. Here they are:

• Deio who is 3 years old and has epilepsy.
• Hanna who is 4 years old and has diabetes.
• Eshaal who is 3 years old and has allergies.
• Caio who is three and a half years old and has autism.

The studies offer a view of the children through the lens of themes relevant to Deio, Hanna, Eshaal, and Caio – and to every child in fact. These themes – the big principles – are:

• Children's rights
• Inclusion
• Equality of opportunity

The most important thing, of course, in any provision is to ensure that all children are safe, but children's conditions should not interfere with their right to have fun, to learn, to enjoy the company of other children, to adventure in the open air...

These major principles are framed in legislation such as: the Children Act 1989 and 2004, the Equality Act 2010, the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. And there are policies and guidelines such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Welsh Government's Seven Core Aims. These will be a thread through the 4 case studies and they apply to Deio, Hanna, Eshaal, and Cai and yet, they are important to all children.