Early Years Stage 10 Professional Development Plan Report Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive professional development plan (PDP) for early years practitioners, focusing on the importance of continuous professional development to ensure child health and welfare. It addresses potential barriers to professional growth and explores various sources of support, including external courses, reading, and mentorship. The report emphasizes the need for self-evaluation, setting development goals, and reflecting on personal learning experiences. It also incorporates reflective analysis models, such as Gibbs' reflective cycle, to facilitate self-assessment and identify areas for improvement. The plan includes a structured approach to goal setting, action planning, and evaluating progress, ensuring that the practitioner's skills and knowledge remain relevant and contribute positively to the development of young children. The report highlights the significance of lifelong learning and offers a detailed, practical framework for professional growth in the early years sector.

Running head: EARLY YEARS STAGE 1
Early Years Stage
Name
Institution

EARLY YEARS STAGE 2
1.1
It is important for practitioners like me to undertake continuous professional development
in order to be able to account for a child’s health and welfare. In essence, the development
enables me to offer children with a safe, secure and favorable learning environment which plays
a critical role in becoming well-rounded (Bicehouse & Faieta, 2017).
Another significance for continuous professional development stems from the need to
grow individually (Kohnen & Saul, 2018). This allows practitioners to be considered for
promotions among other benefits such as being a person of value in the society. A good example
of continuous professional development is attending childcare conferences with an aim of
qualifying for first aid exercise.
1.2
Potential barriers to professional development occurs when the practitioner tends to
separate personal lives and work (Koonce, 2018). This is often attributed to lack of string work-
life balance, anxiety and unnecessary pressure. In other instances practitioners may choose to
leave a demanding course in order to take a brake which often becomes a way of life. Some
practitioners may develop the perception that attaining high professionalism would not guarantee
them better pay for their services (Ryan & Bhattacharyya, 2016). A typical example is when the
development fails to include various aspects of professionals profile as well as insignificant
realism between expectation and real capabilities both in the present and in the future Mohr-
(Schroeder, Cavalcanti & Blyman, 2015).
1.3

EARLY YEARS STAGE 3
The use of different sources and system of support for professional development requires
careful consideration of the needs in the employment sector. External courses are often relied
upon in the event that an institution is incapable of providing standards that are offered better in
another institution. Besides, reading as a source of support is often significant for purposes of
personal development regarding an individual’s evaluation. Shadowing a senior staff is often
encouraged for purposes of mimicking various attributes. An example of shadowing is when a
practitioner follows a senior staff procedures of practice. Some professional development sources
may be attributed to mentoring where a senior staff member guides newly recruited staff.
1.4
There are several factors that should be considered when evaluating opportunities for
professional development. For instance, it is significant for one to consider all forms of training
and developments such as face-to-face conversations, online courses, mentorship, personal
reading among many others (Bubb & Earley, 2009).
As a practitioner I must be able to express honesty with respect to shortcoming in order to
be able to improve as a result of one’s development. It is advisable for practitioners to evaluate
their understanding and ability in various areas of practice. An example of how to realize this is
by highlighting where ones skills are best as well as highlighting areas of weakness for purposes
of improvement.
2.1
In order to evaluate my knowledge based on performance against standards and
benchmarks, I need to be able to understand my code of conduct which will guide my practice.
The code of conduct will be governed by the regulation that social care employee adheres to.

EARLY YEARS STAGE 4
Therefore, the benchmark and standards that I will adhere to include regulations that governs
behavior, education and competence that must be met. The national occupation standard has best
practices in enhancing skills, knowledge and values. I will be required to adhere to procedures
that govern record keeping and have minimum and essential standards for personal care services.
2.2
To prioritize development goals and targets to meet the expected standards, I am
expected to get feedback from my workmates among other professionals who include speech
therapist, children and parents. Besides, I am required to understand my current level of
qualification including weakness and knowledge gap.
These are the requirements that will help me to decide my targets and development
efforts. In doing so, it is expected that I also understand where I want to be in the short and long-
run (Department of Education and Skills, 2005). In terms of roles, I need to be able to work with
different groups. With regards to professional skills, I need to be conversant with behavior
management and personal skills should help me to develop tolerance to criticism. After which, I
need to decide on what to since professional development is not pegged on the ability to pass
exams.
In other cases, it may involve reading various journals, reports, research articles,
shadowing other colleagues, embarking on research project, visiting another setting and enrolling
in online classes. To be effective in prioritizing areas of development, I require a plan that will
have deadlines for purposes of review. This will assist me to avoid distractions and be able to
commit to my professionalism.

EARLY YEARS STAGE 5
In my review, I should be able to know whether the goal has been attained as well as
whether it can be measured among other things such as availability of evidence, peer review
from other colleagues and whether my professional development has a positive impact on
children. This implies that the ability to learn and develop professionally does not stop when one
leaves education but considered as a life-long process. Essentially, the key to identify and
prioritize depends on learning needs, professional interests and opportunities for development.
Such may include understanding a particular region for ease of movement.
3.1
Learning opportunities for purposes of meeting development and reflecting on personal
learning include engaging in lessons that share the common objective of improving employment
capabilities and coaching experience which plays a crucial role in helping individuals enhance
their skills. Through mentorship programs, practitioners will be able assist individuals to become
aware of their inefficiencies to be able to develop through reflection as well as observations.
Also skills training and short courses are significant in providing me with a platform to reflect on
my personal learning style.
3.2
My plan for professional development involves careful consideration of various factors
which include the understanding of how I can be able to improve my work performance and the
key area that I need to focus to remain relevant in my professional field. Besides, I need to know
which specific skills and knowledge will be marketable in the future. Once I am able to concisely
determine the specific areas, I will proceed to set goals that I will be able to achieve. In doing so,
my action plan will be based on SMART objective with respect to all the action in order to

EARLY YEARS STAGE 6
ensure that they are specific to the needs, measurable in terms of standards, easy to attain the
goals and most importantly realistic and fall within a specific time frame (Ofsted, 2015).
3.3
The goal is to make sure that I am able to grow in my communication. This goal will help
me in my daily routine as a professional. Nonetheless, this goal will assist me to understand
people better to be able to address their concerns. I will also consider the strategies that I will
take with respect to realistic timeframe. In this regard, I will take a workshop and ensure that I
complete the workshop within a period of six months before I am able to evaluate my knowledge
and skills (First year as a manager: practice guidance, n.d.). Once the workshop is completed, I
will begin reading a few books on communication skills and evaluate my progress by meeting
with my senior periodically as well as interacting with other colleagues. Through this process, I
will have established my areas of weaknesses and make a SMART objective on how I am going
to achieve my goals so that I improve on my service delivery to the young children.
4.1
In comparing models of reflective analysis, I will first consider Gibbs model which
consists of description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. The description
part involves taking note of the situation without necessarily drawing conclusions. Examples
include questioning what happened in a situation. Feelings on the other hand constitutes the
emotional aspect attributed to the event. Evaluation is concerned with whether the feelings
attributed to the situation were negative or positive.
Analysis part of Gibbs reflective cycle focuses on the experiences that are drawn from the
activity. Conclusion is concerned with whether the information gathered from the event is

EARLY YEARS STAGE 7
meaningful. Action plan is the last phase which develops measures that are going to be
considered in the future whenever a similar event occurs. Taylor proposes a similar model to
Gibbs which includes a number of practical example surrounding the reflective process. The first
approach includes thinking which majority of practitioners employ such as reminiscing about
past experiences and memories, asking difficult and technical questions as well as
comprehending on both social and economic factors.
4.2
The significance of reflection is attributed to the need to assist learners internalize
experiences. In this context, it is considered to be more than just thought process. This is because
it plays a significant role in forming basis for addressing problem in many circumstances of
professional performance. This process also contributes in encouraging learning, growth and
development through practice (Continuing professional development toolkit for social care, early
years and childcare, n.d.). Moreover, the reflective practice allows me to have constant
opportunity for development because my knowledge and skills relies on other individuals and
professional practice. It is also significant in enabling me to think about and evaluate activities
that I can undertake to change some aspects in my profession.
4.3
Reflection by extension implies watching my activities and thinking about my state in
order to be able to decide what steps to take (Schneider, 2015). It is also a significant aspect for
evaluating the outcome of other individuals in relation to my professionalism. Healthcare
professionals who embrace life-long learning contribute immensely in the field.
4.4

EARLY YEARS STAGE 8
Practice has been improved through reflection of best practices by ensuring that
practitioners adhere to accepted standards of professionalism in order to guarantee a particular
level. Thorough benchmarking, majority of practitioners have improved on their areas of
weaknesses. On the other hand, reflection of failures and mistakes is the first step in highlighting
the areas of a practitioner that requires development (Continuing Professional Development
Principles for the early years and childcare workforce in Wales, n.d.). Through failures and
mistakes, practitioners become self-aware and begin to change their attitude towards ensuring
that their practice is in tandem with the accepted approach of handling the children.

EARLY YEARS STAGE 9
References
Bicehouse, V., & Faieta, J. (2017). IDEA at Age Forty: Weathering Common Core Standards
and Data Driven Decision Making. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 10(1),
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development-principles-for-the-early-years-and-childcare-workforce-in-wales.
Continuing professional development toolkit for social care, early years and childcare. (n.d.).
Retrieved from https://socialcare.wales/resources/continuing-professional-development-
toolkit-for-social-care-early-years-and-childcare.
Department of Education and Skills (2005) Common core of skills and knowledge for the
children’s and young people’s workforce. Nottingham: DfES. Available online at
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%201189%202005
First year as a manager: practice guidance. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://socialcare.wales/resources/first-year-as-a-manager-practice-guidance.
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for Students' Intentional and Incidental Knowledge. Journal of Adolescent & Adult
Literacy, 61(6), 671-679.

EARLY YEARS STAGE 10
Koonce, M. J. (2018). Principal Engagement in the Professional Development Process: The
Identification of Barriers, Resources, and Supports.
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