Page 72 - Course 1 Shifting Mindset: What is the best approach for supporting children and why?

Unit 1: Getting Started Answers

3. The puppet represents how some children become reliant on

support because the adult (or scaffold) ‘props them up’ and ‘helps them

to get through’ rather than helping them to build the skills to do better

over time – tiny steps at a time.

4. Adults should work with children to plan a ‘Pathway to

Independence’ – working out what the child can aim to do

independently in a specific time period and working backwards to plan

the tiny steps along the way. By having a Pathway to Independence and

focusing on continuous tiny step progress, children become empowered to

do better independently.

5. The Empowerment Approach is different to other approaches

in its focus on the child understanding how their brain ticks. It focuses on

the child learning about their brain and being empowered to communicate

needs well and feel motivated to build any missing skills. It has the core

principle that to take control and change things, we must first understand

them.