My name's Alex and this is my website all about East Dulwich in Greater London in the UK. Register now for free to talk about General East Dulwich discussion and much more!
Are you the parent of a baby under 9 months?
I am a mental health nurse, doing a postgraduate Under 5s course with the Anna Freud Centre. As part of our learning, we are looking for families who are willing to volunteer for 4 parent-infant observation sessions (in the home) to support our learning about child development over September-October 2021. If you are interested, please contact me on [email protected].
Please see below for further information:
Why do students observe?
As part of the programme, students undertake four one hour-long observation of a baby at home; this is to familiarise our students with the abilities, growth and changes that occur in the early months of life and to enable them to learn first-hand about this fascinating developmental period. The approach is observational and respectful. Through observation students develop the capacity to remember sequences of behaviours, learn to see details of and think about non-verbal communication, and learn how to reflect on the feelings evoked in themselves and the family members. The student will not take notes during the observation, but will write up what they can remember later, and discuss their observations in small seminar groups, led by a child or adult psychotherapist. They will begin to make links to the developmental theories they are also learning. Please also note that all observations will be anonymised, so you will not be referred to by your real name and no identifying information about you will be given in either the seminars or the reflective paper the students write about their experience of undertaking these observations. As the observation is being carried out for the students’ learning it is not possible to share the observational material with you.
What is involved for my family?
Visits are organised at a time that is mutually convenient and take place approximately fortnightly between September-November 2021. You should just continue your ordinary life as if the student was not present; whatever your baby is doing is important for our student to observe – sleeping or awake.
Who are the students?
Our students all have enhanced DBS checks and are employed in a professional capacity to work with children aged 0-5 alongside completing this course. Students will follow Safeguarding and Child Protection policies, so whilst the observations are confidential students would be obliged to speak to their Programme Director if they had concerns that a child was at risk of serious harm.
