'It's Child's Play: An Interactive programme on early
years care and education'
B.C Consultants and Borders College
£175
Available from Pavillion Publishing
www.pavpub.com
Star Rating: 3/5
This 4 CD pack is a support tool for child care students
studying at NVQ levels 2 and 3. The programme is accessible to
users with basic computer skills, with clear instructions are
provided throughout.
The programme covers the following themes: Child Health, Play
Environment, Parents as Partners, Children's Behaviour, Child
Development, Children's Play, Planning and Observing and Child
Protection.
Each easy-to-use CD covers two themes, each is divided into four
sub-themes. Each sub-theme consists of simultaneous written and
spoken text covering the main points, linked activities, supporting
photographs, as well as help and information points.
Although not a stand-alone study guide, the programme gives a
good basic grounding in the underpinning knowledge needed at NVQ
levels 2 and 3. It provides ideal opportunities for independent
study and will appeal to a range of learning styles - for example
there is an audio on / audio off facility on all the text pages and
you can go straight to the activities without viewing the main
text.
The linked activities extend the main teaching points and many
are challenging and encourage the students to think beyond the
text. The photographs and short video clips reflect a range of
childcare situations, including home based childcare - these alone
are a valuable resource allowing students a peep into many
different settings.
The only minor concern is that the programme was produced in
Scotland and some information regarding legislation is misleading,
as it does not reflect Ofsted requirements for England.
Karen Hudson Head of Centre, Coquet Early Excellence
Centre.