6C21517: Evaluate a website used by an Early Learning and Care Setting: Advanced Professional Practice Placement in Early Learning & Care Assignment, UCC, Ireland

Introduction:

I am doing this for the purpose to evaluate a website used by an Early Learning and Care Setting. In this assignment I am going to be assessing a website for Early Years Setting. I am going to be researching the services they provide, the marketing materials they use, the layout of the website, the age range of both the staff and the children, the cultures protrayed in the setting and also if I think the setting is inclusive and accessible to all children in the area. The age range of both the staff and the children. I will also state if I think the setting is inclusive or accessible.

Research and critically evaluate a website or alternative marketing materials used by an ELC setting:

The name of the setting I have researched is Buttercups Childcare. It is based in Ballylanders. The settings they provide is a Breakfast Club, Preschool room and an Afterschool room. They are also setting up a creche room which should be opening in September 2023. (O’ Brien, Buttercup childcare 2014)

The Marketing materials I used during this assignment was there website, facebook and instagram. When I was first looking at the website I saw that it was colourful, had lots of images of each room in the setting and also there outdoor areas. The website is very eyecatching and has up to date information on staff and the facilities in the setting.

It is easy to navigate with all the information regarding services, policies and forms, about the setting, meeting the team and also the different rooms in the setting. It is informative and goes in to detail about the different sections in the website. It is appealing and fun with the pictures of animals, the different colours and also pictures of the setting and also the staff themselves.

I believe it is an inclusive setting because it has lots of staff with experience being Special Needs Assistants in both primary and secondary settings which is great for children that may attend with an additional need. I also noticed that in the setting they won the National award in 2021 for Transitions for Children.

Audit the information through a democratic and anti-bias lens:

Age range of staff and children:

From the website I noticed that all the children are ranging from the ages two to twelve years old from the preschool to the after school room. I also noticed that they will be adding a creche into the setting within the next year which will make the age range six months to twelve years. I also noticed that the staff are ranging in age from twenty to sixty years old.

Gender:

The setting is a mixed gender setting with both boy and girl children in the setting. The staff are all female in the setting.

Cultures portrayed:

The cultures portrayed in the setting allow children from all diverse backgrounds for example they have a child that is hindu and a children that are not originally from Ireland.

Inclusivity and Accessibility:

They are inclusive setting because they have children from different cultures, countries and also children who have additional needs for example a boy in the setting has down syndrome. They also have a child that is original from Bangladesh.

They are accessible to a variety of people because it is in the main street of Ballylanders which is a village in Limerick. It also does discounts for children that in the setting all week and also part of the National Childcare Scheme which is money a parent can be approved based on their wage and also how many children are in childcare settings.

Overall interception of the ELC service based on the images and text provided:

In my opinion I think this setting would be a great place to send your child if they wanted childcare as they have won a National Award for Transitions for Children in 2021. It also has a low adult to child ratio which makes your child have a better experience in Childcare as they can give your child more attention while in the setting.

I think based on their images on both the facebook and the instagram for the setting it looks as if all the children in the setting enjoy there time there and also the staff seem friendly and approachable to all the children in the setting.

Evaluate the findings, draw conclusions and make recommendations:

The findings I made during this assignment is that it is a great setting to send your child to and it also has a low adult to child ratio which is good for giving one to one time with children in the setting.

The conclusion is that all the children in the setting are aged between two to twelve years old. I also noted that the staff range from twenty to sixty years old in the setting. In this assignment I found out that the setting is on the Main Street of a village in Limerick. I also saw that the setting had one the National Award in 2021 for Transitions for Children. I also saw that the setting is opening a Creche room in September 2023.