Explain How To Develop And Maintain An Effective Relationship With Children And Young People

In order to build and maintain an effective relationship with children/young people I need to consider the following methods.

• Effective communication – this is the key area for developing relationships with others and also covers many different forms of communication. The different forms are mentioned below. o Find opportunities to speak: I need to make sure that pupils are given sufficient opportunities to talk. Some children have very little chance to put their own thoughts forward and express themselves with adults. They may lack confidence and need to be given a chance to ‘warm up’ first so that they feel able to do so. o Give eye contact and actively listen: If I say that I am listening, but looking away and busy doing something else, this gives the child the message that I am not really interested in what they are saying. I need to make sure that if a pupil is talking, I am giving them my complete attention. o Use body language and facial expressions, and be approachable: I should make sure that I show my interest by the way in which I act when speaking to pupils. For example, with very young children, I need to get down to

I will always need to be mindful of this and adapt my verbal communication accordingly. If I am working on a learning activity, it is important that the children are focused and that I deal with any distractions before they interrupt what I am doing. However, if talking to pupils in more social situations, such as the playground or dining hall, I should use this as an opportunity to develop positive relationships with pupils, although I should always speak to them in a way which maintains the relationship of professional carer to child. Pupils will open question me, for example, about how old I am or what your ‘real name’ is. It is sometimes best to answer these kinds of questions with humor – for example, ‘But Miss Glenn IS my real