‘You are the bows from which your children as
living arrows are sent forth’.
‘The Prophet’ by Khalil Gibran
Nowadays, FES is synonymous with
providing childcare services, after-school programmes and summer school. These
three services are playing a major role in the Maltese economy in that parents,
partners and guardians are able to engage in full time employment and or a full-time
course of study. At the same time, these services, besides providing a safe
environment to these children, offer non-formal and informal education
opportunities to children aged zero to sixteen. Currently, FES has fourteen
childcare centres in operation. In addition, Klabb 3-16, the after-school
service is provided in twenty-eight centres, whilst this figure rises to about
sixty centres during Skolasajf.
A Key Player
A key player in both Klabb 3-16
and Skolasajf is the ‘Playworker’. The playworker can be described as that
individual who literally works with children through play. This implies that
the playworker likes being around with children and is able to immerse him /
herself in their imaginative world. However, besides possessing these personal
qualities, the playworker must be equipped with the knowledge and skills so as to
be in a better position to understand the needs of those children entrusted in
his or her care. Consequently, a course of studies was designed to complement
the playworker’s abilities to work with children.
The Playworker Course
The course was designed in
collaboration with the Institute for Education (IfE). It primarily targets
those individuals who like to be with and communicate with children whilst at
the same time, would like to return to employment but without the commitment of
a ‘full-time’ job. Experience has shown that a category of individuals aspiring
to become playworkers are in fact mothers. After having raised their own children, they now have sufficient time on their
hands to commit themselves to ‘part-time’ employment whilst doing something
they love, which is being
with children.
Course Content
Personal experiences of raising
one’s own children, can never be found in any kind of textbook. On the other
hand, the knowledge and skills needed to handle children hailing from diverse
social and multi-cultural backgrounds, must be taught and learnt. This course
ensures that the aspiring playworker gets in touch with the reality that s/he
will encounter in a typical Maltese classroom setting.
The course is divided into five
phases. Phase one consists of an Induction Meeting at FES Head Office. Here
applicants are given information about Klabb 3-16 and Skolasajf and the role of
the playworker in these services. Applicants are then assigned the centre where
they would be performing their duties. FES tries, where possible, to assign
centres which are in the vicinity of the applicant’s residence.
Phase two consists of a Job
Shadowing experience. Applicants will have forty hours of shadowing a
playworker who is already working in a centre. This will provide applicants
with some insight of the children attending the centre, the playworker’s
interaction with the children and the Centre Coordinator’s vision for the
centre s/he is in charge of.
Phase three consists of the five
taught lectures. Lecture one provides applicants insights into how to deal with
challenging behaviour and knowledge of disabilities, with special emphasis on
autism. Lecture two highlights the importance of effective communication and
teamwork with all stakeholders. Classroom management is the subject of lecture
three. Applicants are taught how to manage a class whilst at the same time
meeting children’s needs. Lecture four concentrates on ‘Activity design,
implementation and evaluation’. Whilst FES provides programmes of activities to
Klabb 3-16 and Skolasajf, applicants are also encouraged to be creative and to
come up with their own activities and or those activities which complement the
ones in the programme provided. FES acknowledges that applicants bring with
them their own talents and so are encouraged to utilise them when providing
activities to children. Lecture five deals with diversity and inclusion.
Applicants learn about the diverse learners they would encounter in the centre
and, how to create an inclusive culture in their classroom by recognising and
eliminating exclusion practises.
Phase four ensures that applicants
are also given a course in First Aid. This is carried out in collaboration with
Jobsplus. Providing a safe environment to children is a key element in all FES
services. However, one can never say that accidents may not happen, and so the
playworker as the first-aider, would be present in such an eventuality.
Finally, during phase five, applicants are called at FES Head Office and an
evaluation session of the knowledge, skills and experience gained from working
in the centre is carried out.
Interested?
It must be pointed out that the
course is free of charge and that applicants would start getting paid once they
start their job shadowing experience. Applications for this course are ongoing
and one may apply by clicking here.