Unit 6

• Expected appearance of an early years practitioner

  • Professional appearance at all times
  • Personal hygiene, body art, piercings and clothing and accessories
• Personal hygiene expectations


  • Clean hair, tied back if long
  • Short and clean nails
  • Fresh smelling and clean skin
• Body art, piercings, tattoos expectations


  • Cover or remove piercings if a potential safety hazard
  • Cover body art or tattoos if they could cause offence or are unsuitable in style or content
• Clothing expectations


  • Clean, frequently washed and fresh smelling
  • Safe without tassels or hazardous embellishment
  • Practical to allow for movement and wearing indoors or outdoors
  • Respectful, without offensive slogans or too much skin revealed
  • Meet uniform requirements and the setting's policies
• Why are these appearance expectations in place?

  • To support health and safety within early years settings
  • To support the early years practitioner to look professional
• Inappropriate appearances


  • Tattoo of someone holding a blood covered dagger with someone lying next to them bleeding
  • Long hair not tied up
  • Long, acrylic nails
  • Hoop earrings or nose hoops
  • Scooped neck top
  • Top decorated with sequins or studs
  • Flip flops
  • T shirt with a slogan saying "Jesus is our saviour"
  • Not using deodorant
  • Wearing the same clothes two days in a row in the early years setting without washing them
• Long hair not tied up


  • Can pull your hair
  • Hair could contaminate their food
  • You are more at risk from head lice
  • Hair could fall in your face and restrict your sight
• Tattoo of someone holding a blood covered dagger with someone lying next to them bleeding


  • This image is too violent for children to see
  • Children may ask difficult questions about topics that are not appropriate to be discussing
  • Some parents may interpret the tattoo negatively as a reflection on the type of person you are
• Long acrylic nails


  • These could injure a child, particularly if they have a pointed tip
  • They could have a build up of germs under the tip
  • It is much more challenging to do tasks such as fastening a Velcro nappy
• Hoop earrings or nose hoops


  • Children could pull these and cause injury
  • Jewellery could fall out and children might then put it in their mouth and choke
• Scooped neck top


  • This is not practical for bending over as it would expose too much skin
  • What looks respectable when you are stood up may not be the same when you are bending over or playing on the floor
• Top decorated with studs or sequins


  • The sequins or studs could fall off and cause a choking hazard or contaminate food
  • The children could get scratched by the sequins or studs
• Flip flops


  • These are a tripping hazard as there is no support
  • These are not seen as professional footwear as they are associated with the beach or a pool
• T shirt with a slogan saying "Jesus is our saviour"

  • This does not demonstrate inclusive practice as it is referring to a specific religion
  • Although children will not be able to read the slogan, they might ask what it says
• Not using deodorant


  • You are likely to be active in an early years setting so you will perspire and without deodorant on, you will smell unpleasant
  • Children are likely to tell you that you smell
• Wearing the same clothes two days in a row in the early years setting without washing them

  • Your clothes will carry germs from the children and the environment and this can spread infection
  • Your clothes are very likely to get food or bodily fluids on them which does not look professional if they are worn again without washing
• The importance of appearance

  • Maintain a professional persona so that families trust you with their children
  • Maintain high standards of hygiene so that it limits the spread of infection
  • Follow health and safety policies and procedures by ensuring hazards and risks are reduced
  • Prevent difficult questions from children about your body, hygiene or personal choices
• Maintaining professional boundaries - Relationships

  • Not being over familiar with the child's family
  • Only use the name they have introduced themselves as
  • Not asking personal questions
  • Not socialising with the family outside of the early years setting
  • Do not invite them to leave the child with you outside of the hours of the working day
  • Do not accept a date from a family member of the child
  • You should not accept expensive gifts or gifts that are of a personal nature such as underwear
• Maintaining professional boundaries - Confidentiality


  • Do not share information that you know is confidential even if you don't think they will share it with anyone
  • Do not provide hints about confidential information
  • Do not leave confidential information lying around where others can see it
  • Do not share confidential information about yourself, such as where you live
• Maintaining professional boundaries - Mobile phones

  • Mobiles should be turned off and left in the staff room or somewhere else that is secure
  • Never take photos or videos of children on your phone
  • Do not show parents photos of anything from your mobile phone
  • Do not give families your private number. Do not use theirs unless it is for a valid reason
  • Do not record information about a child or the setting on your phone
• Maintaining professional boundaries - Social media


  • Do not accept families of the children in your setting onto your social media platform
  • Do not post personal information on your social media that might be seen by families of the children
  • Use a different version of your name so that you are difficult to find
  • Ensure you have privacy settings on your social media so that only accepted friends can see what you post
  • Do not post anything on social media about the early years settings, work colleagues, children or families
  • Think about whether the content of your social media sites portrays a professional image
• Professional boundaries


  • Enable you to: Build trust and respect with the child and their family
  • Act as a role model to the child
  • Comply with legislation through policies and procedures
  • Demonstrate self-respect
  • Maintain good working relationships with other professionals
  • Keep your job
• Positive attitudes


  • Caring
  • Enthusiastic
  • Patient
  • Using initiative
  • Motivated
  • Respectful
  • A positive role model
• Verbal communication


  When people communicate through vocal sounds such as words
• Non-verbal communication


  When people communicate without using vocal sounds
• Ways to communicate


  • Speaking
  • Listening
  • Facial expressions
  • Making noises
  • Gestures
  • Writing
  • Sending emails
  • Photographs
  • Paralinguistics
• Effective communication


  • Communication is only effective if people fully understand what is being communicated
  • Being a flexible communicator by being able to speak another language or to be able to use a signed language like British sign language (BSL) or Makaton
• Examples of effective communication

  • Telling a parent when their child had their most recent dose of antibiotics
  • Recording the child's early years foundation stage profile and emailing it to their Reception teacher before they start school
  • Telling the staff member who is covering your lunch break which babies need a bottle or a nap and which have already had them
  • Uploading a child's daily activities to the parent portal
  • Saying thank you to another staff member who passes you the ketchup at the dinner table
  • Shaking your head and waving your finger at a toddler who is about to climb on a chair which might cause them harm if they fall off
• Why is it important to adapt communication styles for different people?

  So that everyone can understand what is being communicated
• Examples of adapting communication styles

  • Do not assume everyone knows the technical terminology
  • Use simple phrases and words for children and people who speak English as a second language
  • Do not use slang language
• Why is attendance at an early years setting important?

  • It ensures that the adult to child ratios are met to adhere to the EYFS requirements
  • It keeps children safe
  • Parents and carers can rely on settings to care for their child
  • Children's needs can be met
  • Relationships between children and their key person can be strengthened
• The importance of punctuality


  Not only turning up on time, but also arriving in time to be in the room with the children at the expected time and returning from breaks on time
• How to maintain punctuality

  • Being organised - Get everything you need ready the night before work
  • Setting off in plenty of time - Allow some extra time in case of delays
  • Having a support network to help deal with unexpected events