ECERS-R Rating Scales Categories That Apply to Safety, Nutrition, and Health

• Indoor space and its arrangement

• Furniture for routine care

• Space for privacy

• Meals/snacks

• Diapering/toileting

• Health and safety practices

• Promoting acceptance of diversity

• General supervision of children

• Staff-child interaction

• Discipline

• Provisions for children with disabilities

• Provisions for parents

• Provisions for personal needs of staff

TABLE 1-1Some ECERS-R Items That Refl ect a Holistic Approach

For children, all teachers should:

• Respect the developmental needs, characteristics, and diversity of each child.

• Support a child’s development based on current knowledge of the general health and unique characteristics of the individual child. This includes emotional support as well as attention to physical needs.

• Provide and maintain healthy, safe, and nurturing environments.

• Reduce and prevent the transmission of infectious and communicable diseases.

• Understand the management of ill children, including exclusion policies.

• Use universal health procedures for toileting, diapering, maintaining toys, and handling and storing food.

• Utilize the health status of the staff as an important component of job performance.

• Ensure good nutrition and food safety by following the requirements of the USDA child care component, the Child Care Food Program, and the Code of Federal Regulations.

For families, all teachers should:

• Help families understand the importance of developing care routines that contribute to children’s sense of well-being.

• Develop relationships with families based on mutual trust.

• Utilize community health and nutrition professionals to create helpful linkages for children, families, and staff.

• Promote good health and nutrition through education for children, families, and staff.

• Build on the families’ strengths and provide support for any improvements that may be needed.

• Provide education and support to parents for the management of infectious illness and disease.

• Respect each family in regard to culture, language, customs, and beliefs.

For early childhood education programs, all teachers should:

• Provide a primary caregiver for each child.

• Provide someone to communicate in the children’s and parents’ fi rst language.

• Provide an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust, and cooperation for everyone involved.

TABLE 1-2Objectives for the Optimal Health and Well-Being of Children

Questions to Help Determine Whether Early Childhood Education Environment is Good Quality

• Does the environment look safe and sanitary?

• What health practices are used?

• Are developmentally appropriate practices used?

• Does the environment look child-friendly and stimulating?

• What is the quality of relationships between teachers and children?

• What are the teacher’s qualifi cations?

• Are there predictable routines for the children? Is there a daily schedule posted?

• What is the adult-to-child ratio and size of the group in the classrooms ?

• Is it licensed by local authorities?

• Is it accredited by the NAEYC?

• Can you drop in any time?

• What type of discipline, if any, is used?

TABLE 1-3Questions for Quality

All teachers should:

• Require proof of immunizations before admitting children to care.

• Meet immunization requirements personally.

• Follow health and safety licensing guidelines.

• Provide a safe staff-to-child ratio.

• Develop good observational skills.

• Use health appraisals and assessment as risk management tools.

• Follow sanitary guidelines for hygiene and food handling.

• Protect the facility from neighborhood violence.

• Recognize and manage mild childhood illnesses.

• Provide backup or substitute teachers to replace ill teachers.

• Develop an inclusion/exclusion policy for ill children.

• Communicate by written notice about exposure to communicable disease.

• Provide a hazard-free environment.

• Prevent accidents in the indoor environment by following safety guidelines and practices.

• Prevent accidents in the outdoor environment by selection and placement of equipment and by following safety guidelines and practices.

• Create a safety plan for the facility.

• Create a disaster preparedness plan for fi re and other dangers.

• Prevent fi re by following local fi re code standards and practices.

• Post and be ready to follow emergency procedures.

• Have knowledge of pediatric fi rst aid and be able to practice it in case of an emergency.

• Be able to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

• Detect, prevent, and report child maltreatment.

• Understand and utilize acceptable methods of discipline.

• Arrange the facility so there is no opportunity for isolation or privacy of individual teachers with children.

• Develop a written plan for nutritious meals and snacks.

• Provide nutritious foods.

• Provide relief time for all staff.

Family child care providers and nannies should:

• Organize the home for child care.

• Organize for mixed-age child care.

TABLE 1-4Risk Management for Early Childhood Education

A teacher should have knowledge of:

• Health promotion and the importance of modeling health promotion behavior

• Observational skills

• Immunizations and when they are to be given

• Health appraisals and use of assessment tools

• Mechanisms of communicable diseases and how they are spread

• Universal sanitary practices

• Common childhood illnesses, including management and exclusion policies

• Environmental health and safety hazards

• Safety standards and practices for both indoor and outdoor equipment

• Disaster preparedness

• Emergency response procedures

• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and fi rst aid

• Detection and reporting of child maltreatment

• Prevention of child maltreatment

• Nutritional needs of children

• Good feeding practices for children

• Any special health or nutritional needs of children in care

• Communication skills

• Diversity and how it can affect health, safety, and nutrition

• Advocacy for children

• Access to community resources

• Development of family and community coalitions for improved safety, nutrition, and health

TABLE 1-5Educational Tools for Teachers

• Does it provide for a holistic approach?

• Is it developmentally appropriate?

• Is the information presented in an antibiased manner?

• Is it fl exible?

• Does it promote positive feelings?

• Do children have choices?

• Can children explore and interact?

• Are a variety of activities or methods used for presenting ideas to children?

Curriculum Design Considerations

Additional Tables

Ways to Present Curriculum

• Investigation

• Collaboration

• Documentation

• Family involvement

• Dramatic play

• Arts and crafts

• Finger plays

• Tapes

• Stories

• Books

• Sensory experiences

• Bulletin boards

• Cooking experiences

• Gross and fi ne motor experiences

• Resource people such as a fi reman or dentist

• Field trips

• Worksheets (for elementary students only)