Horizon / Educators / Early Childhood Careers / Support Educator

Support Educator

The support educator works with children who encounter adaptation difficulties often linked with physical, affective, intellectual, social, or behavioral problems. They intervene by using and applying different prevention, education, and re-education techniques that favour better social integration and fulfillment for these children.

The educator observes the attitudes and behaviours of these persons; participates in the evaluation of their needs, elaborates an intervention plan which favours their adaptation, and also follows up.

The basic career path is early childhood educator. In Alberta, there is no recognized training for becoming a support educator. This is why the employee must take regular training that is specific to the challenges they encounter with the children in their care.

 

Job Description

  • Ensure that the equipment and space respond to the needs of children with special needs, and are renewed according to their interests
  • Favour communication with the child by having a positive, welcoming, open-hearted verbal and non-verbal attitude which favours listening, calm, by using democratic interventions that favour self-esteem, autonomy, and the development of children
  • Ensure the child’s basic needs are met (refer to the document on Maslow’s pyramid)
  • Take note of the child’s special needs
  • Support the child’s development in all areas by respecting their differences, helping them to learn to live in a spirit of cooperation and by favouring their self-esteem
  • Plan and offer daily stimulating and enriching activities that respect the stages of the child’s development and especially which take account for their interests, all while considering their rhythm
  • Work in collaboration with all staff members of the centre
  • Advise the coordinator of all difficulties and problematic observations regarding the child
  • Communicate to the parents all relevant information concerning their child by using the communication agenda
  • Devote themselves to their own personal professional development
  • Wear clean and appropriate clothing
  • Properly communicate the group’s daily schedule to the support educator substituting during an absence
  • Work in collaboration with the parents and other professionals to put in place strategies and objectives for the harmonious development of the child.
  • Write daily reports according to the observations of the child (interventions, actions, reactions, tools put in place, successes, objectives to work on)

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