Listening to Children
Within recent times research & government policies have established the importance of listening to children.
Through all this new legislation we have hopefully diminished the belief and opinions that children should be seen and not heard and that children’s views are perceived as unreliable and inaccurate. Truly listening to children will promote real opportunities for them to communicate their experiences, views, concerns and aspirations in turn practitioners will understand and be able to meet the needs of each child.
Practical ways of listening to children
- Observations
- Visual arts
- Discussions / Interviews
- Stories/Role play
- Questionnaire
- Using IT equipment
Northamptonshire County Council have worked with other agencies, including NCA, to produce a toolkit for practitioners
Information about a child's preferences can be gained through a questionnaire
- Listening to children impacts on the children’s sense of well being.
- There are many ways in which children can be listened to – truly listened to and not just heard.
- Really listening to young children can be a self-reflective tool and bring about change in your practice.
There is a training course available.If you are interested please call 01604 655109 and ask for listening to children.
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
