Child Development
Intent
On the Child Development course, students will develop essential knowledge and understanding in key areas including reproduction, parental responsibility, children's equipment, nutrition, hygiene, antenatal care, birth, postnatal checks, childhood illnesses, and child safety.
Knowledge and Skills
This unit provides an overview of the roles and responsibilities of parenthood, from pre-conception through antenatal to postnatal care. Students develop an appreciation of the importance of creating the best conditions for a child to thrive. They learn about the range of equipment, and the nutritional and hygiene requirements for children from birth to five years. Students will demonstrate, through practical activities, how these needs are met to promote a child's development and well-being.
Students investigate the developmental norms of children from birth to five years, gaining an understanding of the impact of play on these norms. They acquire an understanding of key concepts, how they develop, and the factors that may affect their development, including strengths and limitations.
Students will plan and carry out investigative tasks, critically evaluating their own data and that obtained from other sources, using ICT where appropriate. They will utilize electronic resources (internet, CD ROMs, databases, simulations) and traditional sources (books, magazines, leaflets) to research and plan investigations, and interpret and evaluate child development-related data.
Curriculum Overview
Key Stage 4
The Cambridge National in Child Development covers all aspects of child development and parental responsibility from conception to five years. Students develop essential theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to create the best conditions for a child's development and well-being.
The course comprises three mandatory units:
- R018: Health and Well-being for Child Development (1 hour 15 minutes exam)
- R019: Understand the Equipment and Nutritional Needs of Children from Birth to Five Years (coursework)
- R020: Understand the Development of a Child from Birth to Five Years (coursework)
Career Opportunities in Child Development
Year 10 Curriculum Overview
| What are we learning? | What knowledge, understanding and skills will we gain? | What will excellence look like? | How will this be assessed? |
| R057 Health and Well-being for Child Development | In this unit, students will learn about the importance of being healthy before and during pregnancy and creating conditions in which a child can thrive, including the prevention and management of childhood illnesses and creating a safe environment. Students will begin gaining their knowledge from the preconception stage. They will understand the key factors that impact becoming pregnant, having a healthy pregnancy, and creating a safe and healthy environment for the baby when it is born. | Students will know what factors affect preconception health for men and women. They will know the types of contraception methods and their advantages and disadvantages, the structure and function of the reproductive systems, and the purpose and importance of antenatal clinics and classes, including screening and diagnostic tests. Students will know the choices available for delivery, the methods of assisted birth, and the methods of pain relief when in labour. They will know the signs and stages of labour. Students will know the postnatal checks carried out immediately after birth and the checks within one to five days of birth and can give reasons why. They will know the postnatal care of the mother and baby and the developmental needs of children from birth to five years. Students can recognise signs and symptoms of illness and how to meet the needs of an ill child. They will know how to ensure a child-friendly, safe environment. | Students will answer mock/practice exam questions and papers to gain confidence for the external exam paper in Year 11. They will use teacher and peer assessment comments to independently strengthen their knowledge. The exam is 1 hour and 15 minutes long and has 70 marks. There are 2 sections, comprising short answer and extended response questions. |
Year 11 Curriculum Overview
| What are we learning? | What knowledge, understanding and skills will we gain? | What will excellence look like? | How will this be assessed? |
| R057 Health and Well-being for Child Development. Topic Areas 3 and 4. |
In this unit, students will learn about postnatal checks, postnatal care, and the conditions for development. They will also learn about childhood illnesses and creating a child-safe environment. | Students will know the postnatal checks immediately after birth and within one to five days of birth. They will know the role of the health visitor and the mother's six-week postnatal check. They will know the developmental needs of children from zero to five years. Students will learn to recognise the signs and symptoms of childhood illnesses and how to meet their needs. They will know how to ensure a child-friendly, safe environment. |
Students will answer mock/practice exam questions and papers to gain confidence for the external exam in their final exam in May 2025. They will use teacher and peer assessment comments to independently strengthen their knowledge. The exam is 1 hour and 15 minutes long and has 70 marks. There are 2 sections, comprising short answer and extended response questions. |
| R058 NEA Creating a Safe Environment and Understanding the Nutritional Needs of Children from Birth to 5 Years. |
Students will learn how to create a safe environment for children from birth to five years in childcare settings. They will investigate and choose equipment that is both suitable and safe for use and will learn about their nutrition and dietary needs. |
Students will be able to explain the suitability of each piece of equipment chosen, considering the three factors evaluated, including why equipment is selected and others are rejected. They will understand the potential accidents and why they happen in the area of the childcare setting and can justify how to prevent accidents and create a safe environment in the childcare setting.
Students will be able to describe how the two milk formulas meet the nutritional needs of babies from birth to six months. They can describe how the meal choices meet the nutritional needs of children of the relevant age and explain how the meal choices meet the government dietary recommendations.
Students can plan and prepare a meal and demonstrate an understanding of the equipment and ingredients. They will follow safety and hygiene practices. Students will evaluate the preparation and planning of their meal and suggest improvements. |
This is one of the two NEA units students complete, comprising a portfolio of evidence to meet the topic area for the unit. All NEA units are internally marked by the teacher using the OCR marking criteria. The marks for both NEAs are added to the exam mark to give an overall mark for the qualification. Each NEA is marked out of 60, and combined, they make up 60% of the overall grade. |
