Child Development

Child Development is an interesting and exciting subject; during the first 5 years of a child’s life, there is almost unimaginable physical, social, cognitive and emotional change and growth which takes place.  Growth and development continue throughout the child’s early life until maturity at adulthood, however that growth is not as rapid as we see in the early years. In these early years, children work out their place in world. They are part of a family, a community, a social system. They are also an individual being and their foundations of personality are well and truly formed.

This course enables you to develop applied knowledge and practical skills in child development. It is designed with both coursework and examined elements, which will prepare you for further qualifications in Child Care, Health and Social Care, Psychology, Sociology and Biology. During this course you will learn to think critically, make informed choices and manage resources.

GCSE structure – OCR Cambridge National

R018:Health and well-being for child development – 50% of the qualification. The first topic of study underpins all of the other learning in this qualification. You will develop the essential knowledge and understanding in child development, covering reproduction, parental responsibility, antenatal care, birth, postnatal checks, postnatal provision, conditions for development, childhood illnesses and child safety. You will develop an appreciation of the importance of creating the best conditions for a child to thrive.

R019:Understand the equipment and nutritional needs of children from birth to five years – 25% of the qualification. This unit will enable you to learn about the range of equipment and nutritional and hygiene requirements of children from birth to five years, and you will demonstrate in a practical activity how these needs are met to promote a child’s development and well-being.

R020:Understand the development of a child from birth to five years -25% of the qualification. In this final unit you will gain knowledge of, and skills in, developing activities to observe development norms in children up to the age of five. This means that you will be researching, planning and carrying out activities with a child and observing and evaluating these activities, as well as comparing the child to the expected development norms. Researching, planning, observing and evaluating skills would be useful in further studies as these are transferable skills and could be applied to many subject areas.