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There are many different theories that relate to development and the attachment theory.

One theoretical perspective that studied the development is Vygotsky's theory of development. Vygotsky had a major impact on current thinking.

Vygotsky thought said that children learnt through social interaction and their relationships, this was through the social skills that are language. Vygotsky's theory is known as the theory of 'social constructivist theory'. Vygotsky was very interested in children's play; he thought of the idea that play had an imaginative element, which is then beneficial for the children. Vygotsky developed an idea which is known as the 'Zone of Proximal development' which focuses on the idea that adults are able to help children and babies learn and that children and babies will be able to help one another with their learning and development. This concept has been named as the 'Vygotsky tutorial'. Vygotsky used the term 'the zone of actual development to express the tasks that children and babies can do without any help and support from adults, then the term 'zone of proximal development' to show the tasks that children and babies may be able to do but with support and help from adults which means eventually the children and babies will be able to do these tasks on their own. Vygotsky always thought that children and babies should be challenged to do some activates that are more difficult for them, he said this because he thought that this would stimulate them and develop their learning to the next stage and move forward. "The process of offering activities that will slightly stretch children in this way is referred to as 'scaffolding learning" (Thornes, 2008, Page 56).  In conclusion Vygotsky said that through scaffolding learning and with challenging activities that is beyond what children and babies can do will mean that children and babies will be able to move on from their actual zone of development to their proximal zone of development. This links to Piaget’s theory and his view that children and babies should get the opportunity to pass through the different stages of their development logically with modest interference. 

I have seen that Vygotsky theory is used in setting today. It is being used in planning when practitioners are planning to meet the care and learning needs of all babies and children. Scaffolding is used when practitioners are looking at where babies are with their development, this links to planning because once practitioners have found out what the babies can already do they can then they can look at the next stage which is looking on what practitioners can do to improve their development and challenging babies with challenging activities to move them on to the next stage in their development. Practitioners will then support the babies to help them succeed in their challenging activity in order to help them to be able to do the task on their own to move on to the next stage in their development. Practitioners will help to support babies learning and development by supporting the babies own efforts, helping to enable the babies to gain a variety of skills, the knowledge and the understanding and confidence to be able to move onto the next stage in their development and be able to do different tasks on their own. 

It is important that babies are being given the best quality care standards when their in day care because it is to help ensure that they are being given the right care and learning needs in order for them to develop. It is important that practitioners to make sure they are focused on the outcome for the babies that practitioners are caring for and focusing on their interests. It's important that practitioners are ensuring that they are meeting all babies needs like changing their nappies but making sure they are being changed on a regular basis to avoid the baby getting nappy rash, it important that babies are getting the right amount of food in their day e.g. breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner in order to help them grow and develop in the right way. It's also important that babies get their sleep so they refresh their energy to be able to explore their environment and learning and development through their play. Providing quality care standards for babies is not just about their care and development it’s also a massive part of making sure that the babies are safe in the setting and that they are not going to be put in any danger. It's important that the right safety measures are in the setting to keep babies healthy and safe e.g. locks on doors, cupboards and windows, sharp edges are covered up, plug socket covers etc. It's also important to ensure that practitioners always do a risk assessment before the babies enter the setting to ensure that the setting is safe for the baby to explore and be in. It is important that practitioners are also providing babies with the appropriate learning opportunities and the right toys and equipment that helps provide the right activities that will help babies to learn and develop at the right stage of their development and making sure they are learning new skills, the right knowledge and helping to improve their social, emotional, physical, intellectual and communication skills in order for them to develop. It is also a place where babies will be learning to crawl, walk and talk which will contribute to their development for their rest of their life and to ensure that the babies will grow up to be healthy, safe and secure in their life.

I think Bowlby’s theory is used in practice today when planning.  Bowlby’s theory is the theory of attachment. “Children show a marked preference for closeness to a small number of adults and these attachments are a normal and universal part of human development” (Pound, 2006). His theory looks at attachment between a child and their parents/carers. (Meggitt, 2006).

I’ve seen various examples of how Bowlby’s theory of attachment is used by practitioners in settings when they’re creating their planning. In my placement I’ve witnessed some of the children/ babies were upset when their parents dropped them off.  The key worker knew what to do to comfort the child making them feel happy, they reassure the child  their mummy would be back later, practitioners linked this to planning by thinking about activities they could provide the child with activities that distract and interest them so they wouldn’t be upset when their loved ones left. Another example of how John Bowlby’s theory is used in placement when planning is the attachment between the key worker and the child. I’ve seen this in my placement because I’ve watched and observed the children with their key workers, how the children are happy and they feel safe and cared for by their key worker. This shows that the child/baby has an attachment with their key worker and a trustworthy relationship. A key worker is important for children’s learning that it’s a requirement in the EYFS stating how important it is for children to have a key worker. “Each child must be assigned a key person. Their role is to help ensure that every child’s care is tailored to meet their individual needs to help the child become familiar with the setting, offer a settled relationship for the child and build a relationship with their parents” (Department for Education, 2012).

Mary Ainsworth followed of the work from John Bowlby's attachment theory. Anisworth or worked together with Bowlby developed a procedure for assessing and observing the excellence of attachment in the relationships between an adult and a child.

Mary comes up with a procedure which she called the 'Strange Situation'. She carried out this investigation to see whether the baby had an attachment with their parent but also to see if the baby had an attachment with the stranger. From the investigation it shows that the baby defiantly had a attachment with her mother and she was distressed when she left the room but she only had an attachment with the stranger when her mother was in the room but once the baby was left on their own with the stranger they got distressed and they didn’t want to play with the stranger because they wanted their mother. I have seen the attachment theory being used in my baby placement. A baby in my placement only had an attachment with certain staff members in the setting. She had an attachment with all the staff members in the baby room but when a different staff member from another room came into the setting she would become distressed and she would cry until they would leave the room. When I started in the baby room the baby staff were not sure how she would react with me because the baby didn’t normally like new people. But luckily she was fine with me and over the period of time when I was in the baby room I created a strong attachment with this baby and she loved to be around me. When I was in a room with the baby and a different member of staff was in the room that the baby didn’t like the baby would always want to be attention and she wanted me to comfort her and pick her up, once I did this she was usually alright but when I left the room to go and do a job for the staff member or to have my lunch the baby would cry when there was a different staff member she didn’t like in the room but once me or one of  baby staff members would come back she would be alright but she would need us to comfort her before she felt safe and happy in the setting.

Key workers will play an important role in supporting and helping babies with their development, learning and care needs. Key workers have a role to care for the babies and to ensure that they are developing at the right rate and ensuring that the babies are being provided with the care they need e.g. having nappies, changed, food- balanced diet, bottles and sleep. Babies will have an attachment with their key worker because their key worker is the person that is giving them everything they need; they are providing them with the appropriate learning and the opportunities that will help them to develop. Babies will have an attachment with their key worker because the key worker is the person that is the person that is keeping them safe and making sure that they are not being put in a danger and protecting them from any harm. The role of a key worker is to provide a healthy and emotional attachment with their key children providing them with a trusting and secure relationship. A key worker will "follow your child's pattern, tone and rhythm to develop a deep understanding of their needs" (Gold Crest Day Nurseries, 2012).  Key workers will work with parents to have a meeting to discuss a baby's emotional and individual needs, this will help key workers to plan within the nursery and to encourage healthy communication to look at the babies needs to work together to help the baby develop and to ensure that their care and learning needs are being met.

It is important that the setting you put your baby into is going to help provide the right care and learning needs that will help your baby to develop and reach their full potential. It is important that settings are providing learning opportunities for babies in order for them to progress and move into the next stage in their development. It's important for settings to be safe and secure for babies but they also need to be challenging for babies so that they are learning how to take risks to improve their confidence and self esteem and to encourage them to do tasks and activities on their own so that they are improving their development and reach their full potential. Settings are also environments where babies will form attachments with both key workers and other babies this will help with babies confidence and to encourage them to form friendships and it will also help and support babies when they are learning to talk because the more they are interacting with other babies and key workers and other adults the more they will be using different language and different sounds.

Emily Reeves

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