Children’s physical development

Recognise and describe the development, observing the following criteria: weight, length, and head size, nutritional requirements, renal function, hormonal influences on development, response to stress, and infection.

child’s physical development
description of children’s size and weight development
description of physical development characteristics of children
physical development of children

knowledge

cross-sector

Children’s physical development is an essential knowledge of the following occupations:

Special educational needs teacher secondary school: Special educational needs teachers at secondary schools provide specially-designed instruction to students on with a variety of disabilities on a secondary school level and ensure they reach their learning potential. Some special educational needs teachers at secondary schools work with children who have mild to moderate disabilities, implementing a modified curriculum to fit each student’s specific needs. Other special educational needs teachers at secondary schools assist and instruct students with intellectual disabilities and autism, focusing on teaching them basic and advanced literacy, life and social skills. All teachers assess the students’ progress, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses, and communicate their findings to parents, counselors, administrators and other parties involved.
Teacher of talented and gifted students: Talented and gifted students co-ordinators ensure suitable education is provided to talented and gifted students, commonly children and young adults, on various levels. They oversee the implementation of the school’s gifted policy, monitor the students’ progress, and suggest extra activities to stretch and stimulate.
Special educational needs assistant: Special educational needs assistants assist special education teachers in their classroom duties. They tend to the physical needs of students with a variety of disabilities and help out with tasks such as bathroom breaks, bus rides, eating and classroom switches. They also provide instructional support to students, teachers and parents and prepare lesson programmes. Special educational needs assistants supply support for students tailored to their specific needs, help out with challenging assignments and monitor students’ progress and classroom behaviour.
Child day care worker: Child day care workers provide social services to children and their families in order to improve their social and psychological functioning. They aim to maximise family’s well-being by caring of children during the day.
Early years teaching assistant: Early years teaching assistants support the early years teacher in an early years or nursery school. They assist in class instruction, in classroom supervision in absence of the head teacher, and in organising, developing and putting into practice of the daily schedule. Early years teaching assistants monitor and help students in group as well as individually, and tend to focus on the students in need of extra care and attention the early years teacher cannot provide.
Child care coordinator: Child care coordinators organise child care services, activities and events after the school hours and during school hoildays. They assist in the development of children by implementing care programmes. Child care coordinators also entertain children and maintain a safe environment for the children.
Early years teacher: Early years teachers instruct students, primarily young children, in basic subjects and creative play with the aim of developing their social and intellectual skills in an informal way in preparation for future formal learning. They create lesson plans, possibly in accordance with a fixed curriculum, for an entire class or smaller groups and test the students on the content. These lesson plans, based on basic subjects, can include the instruction of number, letter, and colour recognition, days of the week, categorisation of animals and transport vehicles etc. Early years teachers also supervise students outside the classroom on school grounds and enforce rules of behaviour there as well.
Montessori school teacher: Montessori school teachers educate students using approaches that reflect the Montessori philosophy and principles. They focus on constructivist and “learning through discovery” teaching models, through which they encourage students to learn from first-hand experience rather than through direct instruction and thus provide the students with a relatively high level of freedom. They adhere to a specific curriculum that respects the students’ natural, physical, social and psychological development. Montessori school teachers also teach classes with students differing up to three years in age in rather large groups, manage, and evaluate all the students separately according to the Montessori school philosophy.
Freinet school teacher: Freinet school teachers educate students using approaches that reflect the Freinet philosophy and principles. They focus on enquiry-based, democracy-implementing and cooperative learning methods. They adhere to a specific curriculum that incorporates these learning methods through which students use trial and error practices in order to develop their own interests in a democratic, self-government context. Freinet school teachers also encourage students to practically create products and provide services in and outside of class, usually handcrafted or personally initiated, implementing the ‘pedagogy of work’ theory. They manage and evaluate all the students separately according to the Freinet school philosophy.
Special educational needs teacher: Special educational needs teachers work with and teach children, young people, and adults with an intellectual or physical disability. They use a range of specialised concepts, strategies and tools to optimise learners’ communication, mobility, autonomy, and social integration. They select teaching methods and support resources to enable individual learners to maximise their potential for independent living.
Early years special educational needs teacher: Early years special educational needs teachers provide specially-designed instruction to students with a variety of disabilities on a kindergarten level and ensure they reach their learning potential. Some early years special educational needs teachers work with children who have mild to moderate disabilities, implementing a modified curriculum to fit each student’s specific needs. Other early years special educational needs teachers assist and instruct students with intellectual disabilities and autism, focusing on teaching them basic literacy and life skills. All teachers assess the students’ progress, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses, and communicate their findings to parents, counselors, administrators and other parties involved.
Special educational needs teacher primary school: Special educational needs teachers at primary schools provide specially-designed instruction to students with a variety of disabilities on a primary school level and ensure they reach their learning potential. Some special educational needs teachers at primary schools work with children who have mild to moderate disabilities, implementing a modified curriculum to fit each student’s specific needs. Other special educational needs teachers at primary schools assist and instruct students with intellectual disabilities and autism, focusing on teaching them basic and advanced literacy, life and social skills. All teachers assess the students’ progress, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses, and communicate their findings to parents, counselors, administrators and other parties involved.

Children’s physical development is optional for these occupations. This means knowing this knowledge may be an asset for career advancement if you are in one of these occupations.

Primary school teacher: Primary school teachers instruct students on a primary school level. They develop lesson plans in line with curriculum objectives for the variety of subjects they teach, including mathematics, languages, nature studies and music. They monitor the students’ learning development and evaluate their knowledge and skills on the subjects taught through tests. They build their course content on the students’ knowledge of previous learnings and encourage them to deepen their understanding on the subjects they are interested in. They use class resources and teaching methods to create an inspiring learning environment. Primary school teachers also contribute to school events and communicate with parents and administrative staff.
Steiner school teacher: Steiner school teachers educate students using approaches that reflect the (Waldorf) Steiner philosophy and principles. They focus on practical, hands-on activities in the curriculum and instruct their classes in a manner that emphasises the development of the students’ social, creative and artistic capacities. Steiner school teachers instruct students in similar subjects to the ones in standardised education, although using a different approach, and with the exception of a higher amount of classes focused on creative and artistic practice and theory. They use teaching techniques that support the (Waldorf) Steiner school philosophy, evaluate students’ learning progress and communicate with other school staff.
Sports coach: Sports coaches provide instruction in the sport of their specialisation in a recreational context to non-age-specific and age specific participants. They identify already acquired skills and implement suitable training programmes for the groups or individuals they teach in order to develop participants’ physical and psychological fitness. They create the most optimal environment for the growth of participant skills and enable them to maximise their performance, while fostering good sportsmanship and character in all participants. Sports coaches also track the participant progress and provide personalised instruction where needed. They supervise sports facilities and changing rooms and maintain uniforms and equipment.
Secondary school teacher: Secondary school teachers provide education to students, commonly children and young adults, in a secondary school setting. They are usually specialist subject teachers, who instruct in their own field of study. They prepare lesson plans and materials, monitor the students’ progress, assist individually when necessary and evaluate their knowledge and performance through assignments, tests and examinations.
Dietitian: Dietitians assess specific nutritional requirements of populations or individuals throughout their lives and translate this into advice which will maintain, reduce risk to, or restore people’s health. Using evidence-based approaches, dietitians work to empower individuals, families and groups to provide or select food which is nutritionally adequate, safe, tasty and sustainable. Beyond healthcare, dietitians improve the nutritional environment for all through governments, industry, academia and research.
Social care worker: Social care workers provide support and help people with care services. They help people to live full and valued lives in the community. They assist babies, young children, adolescents, adults and older adults.They attend to the psychological, social, emotional and physical needs of service users. They work in a large variety of settings with individuals, families, groups, organisations and communities.
Physical education teacher secondary school: Physical education teachers at secondary schools provide education to students, commonly children and young adults, in a secondary school setting. They are usually subject teachers, specialised and instructing in their own field of study, physical education . They prepare lesson plans and materials, monitor the students’ progress, assist individually when necessary, and evaluate the students’ knowledge and performance on the subject of physical education through practical, usually physical, tests and examinations.
Physical education vocational teacher: Physical education vocational teachers instruct students in their specialised field of study, physical education, which is predominantly practical in nature. They provide theoretical instruction in service of the practical skills and techniques the students must subsequently master for a physical education-related profession, such as health specialist or outdoor activities organiser. They induce students in the convenient social frameworks of their field of study and teach the appropriate attitudes and values. Physical education vocational teachers monitor the students’ progress, assist individually when necessary, and evaluate their knowledge and performance on the subject of physical education through assignments, tests and examinations.
Personal trainer: Personal trainers design, implement and evaluate exercise or physical activity programmes for one or more individual clients by collecting and analysing client information. They strive to ensure the effectiveness of personal exercise programmes. A personal trainer should also actively encourage potential clients to participate in and adhere to regular programmes, employing appropriate motivational strategies.
Social pedagogue: Social pedagogues provide care, support, and education to children and young persons with different backgrounds or capabilities. They develop educational processes for young persons to be in charge of their own experiences, using a multi-disciplinary approach set to the learning experience. Social pedagogues contribute to the individuals’ learning, welfare, and societal inclusion, and put an emphasis on building self-reliance.

References

1. Children’s physical development – ESCO