Unit 3

• Maslow's hierarchy of needs


  A pyramid shaped chart which shows human needs to achieve fulfilment, starting with basic needs at the base and progressing up to psychological needs at the peak
• Abraham Maslow was a theorist who looked at what people need to be content with their lives and to reach their full potential. His work was introduced in 1943 but is still regarded as appropriate today.
• As an early years practitioner, you will be supporting children to reach their full potential, so it is important that you understand how to meet their needs to enable them to thrive and flourish.
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs

  • Physiological needs
  • Safety needs
  • Social needs
  • Esteem needs
  • Self-actualisation
• Physiological needs


  Basic needs that keep us alive and functioning
• Safety needs


  Help to keep us safe and secure
• Social needs


  Give us a sense of belonging
• Esteem needs


  Give us a sense of self purpose and help us achieve positive self-concept
• Self-actualisation


  When we have achieved all our goals and have reached our full potential
• The hierarchy might change as children grow older and have new experiences.
• People may move up and down depending on their circumstances at a particular time in their lives.
• Every child is unique so the levels on the hierarchy of needs will look different for each child, although we do share many of the more basic needs.
• Physiological needs


  • Oxygen
  • Food
  • Water
  • Sleep
  • Shelter
• Safety needs


  • Physically safe
  • Mentally safe
  • Feel safe and secure
  • Safe environment
  • Safe resources to use
  • Safe from abuse and harm
• Social needs


  • Feeling of belonging
  • Love and care
  • Friends
  • Ability to play with others
  • Good interactions with adults and children
• Esteem needs


  • Positive self-image
  • Confidence
  • Self-regulation
  • Good self-concept
• Self-actualisation


  • Dreams
  • Goals
  • Self-satisfaction
  • Passion
  • Enthusiasm
  • Contentment
  • Real meaning to life
• We can survive without having our psychological needs met but it would limit our fulfilment.
• Children need their basic and psychological needs met to enable them to fulfil their full potential and meet or exceed their expected milestones.
• Basic needs


  Required to keep us alive and free from harm
• Psychological needs


  More psychological needs that relate to our emotions and fulfil an intrinsic desire
• Basic needs


  • Food and drink
  • Fresh air
  • Rest and sleep
  • Exercise
  • Physical safety
  • Emotional safety
  • Shelter
• Psychological needs


  • Sense of belonging
  • Affection
  • Sense of achievement
  • Feeling valued
  • Establishing emotional boundaries
• Supporting children's basic needs

  1. Provide healthy daily meals and snacks

  2. Give access to drinking water

  3. Plan regular opportunities for outdoor play

  4. Provide trips outside the setting

  5. Make quiet activities available

  6. Schedule nap times

  7. Provide access to climbing equipment

  8. Offer times for physical movement such as dancing

  9. Check equipment for faults

  10. Make sure doors and gates are locked

  11. Do not use physical punishment

  12. Provide a consistent key person

  13. Arrange small group play

  14. Be a caring practitioner

  15. Ensure bullying is not tolerated

  16. Provide a warm and welcoming environment

  17. Provide areas shaded from the sun
• Supporting children's psychological needs

  1. Respond to the child's interests

  2. Encourage the child to join in

  3. Provide opportunities to interact with others

  4. Comfort a child when distressed

  5. Show empathy

  6. Praise the child's efforts not just the end result

  7. Recognise positive behaviour

  8. Display the child's artwork

  9. Show an interest in the child's culture

  10. Listen attentively to the child

  11. Recognise their needs

  12. Provide consistency with rules

  13. Co-regulate
• Meeting the children's needs will support their levels of concentration so they can learn new things, help them to grow physically and mentally strong and healthy, increase their positive self-concept, make them more resilient and willing to try again if something is difficult, and enable them to interact with more people and develop their communication skills and their social skills.
• Routine


  An action or series of actions that a person does regularly
• Types of routines


  • Daily routines (getting dressed/changed, mealtimes, toileting/washing, rest and sleep, going to nursery)
  • Weekly routines (going to nursery, visiting grandparents, going to the park, going to a dance class)
• Establishing routines


  1. Working in partnership with the parents/carers

  2. Make it fun

  3. Provide resources to show the child the routine

  4. Be consistent so the child becomes familiar with the routine

  5. Ensure the routine is age and stage appropriate for the child
• The importance of routines

  • Promotes a sense of security
  • Promotes positive self-regulation
  • Promotes independence
  • Establishes healthy habits
  • Offers stability
  • Promotes a sense of belonging
  • Helps children to cope with transitions
• Routines are valuable but they need to have some flexibility to ensure they meet the basic or psychological needs of the child.
• How can each routine encourage independence

  1. Getting dressed/getting changed: Making independent decisions, thinking about which clothes to wear and which to put on first, increased self-esteem when they manage to do it by themselves, helping each other if they struggle so less reliance on adults

  2. Mealtimes: Making independent decisions about what to eat and drink, learning to use a knife, fork and spoon, building self-esteem if they manage to feed themselves or try something new

  3. Toileting/washing: Learning how to care for themselves, using fine motor skills, supporting each other with the routine

  4. Rest and sleep: Identifying their own needs, time for self-reflection, getting their own blankets and mats
• How to make routines more effective

  • More effective if: Adults have supported the establishment of the routine, adults allow children the freedom to interact with each other, children are praised for having a go, the routine is used consistently
  • Less effective if: Children have not been given guidance on how to do the routine, adults take over and direct the child, children are made to feel that mistakes are not allowed, the routine is only used occasionally or changed each time
• Play is a serious matter and should not be dismissed by adults as "just playing".
• Children learn through play.
• Play and learning can't be separated – they are interconnected.
• Play can help adults learn about the child in order to support them better.
• The importance of play

  • Allows children to have fun, interact with others, grow strong and healthy, explore their ideas, make choices, build confidence, be spontaneous, learn to share and take turns, develop language skills, try new things
• Child-initiated play


  Any play activity that has been started by the child and has little or no adult involvement
• Adult-led play


  Any play activity that has been planned by an adult and has adult involvement within the activity