0-5 Know How

In Ealing, we want to ensure children in their early years receive the services and support they need to reach their full potential and get the very best start in life; so we've made changes to the way services work together.

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Early Start Ealing is a service for families - pregnant mums, expectant dads, parents, babies and children up to the age of five; bringing together workers from children's centres, early years, health and other specialist services.

 

Early Start Ealing teams include:

• Health visitors and health visitor assistants

• Community nursery nurses

• Family support and family outreach workers

• Specialist workers including nurses from the Family Nurse Partnership, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and social workers.

 

Early Start Ealing teams work with GPs, midwives, schools, family support services and more.

 

Services offered include:

• Breastfeeding support groups

• Health visitor services (including pregnancy, newborn baby and child development checks).

• Baby and child health clinics

• Help with postnatal depression

• Speech and language support

• Parenting support and groups

• Support for teenage parents

• Play and activity based sessions for children

 

Some activities are drop-ins and other are by appointment or referral.

 

For more information ask your local children's centre, talk to an Early Start Ealing team, or contact Ealing's Family Information Service.

 

Every child will undergo a check at two years old to look at their development and general health.

There are five areas we look at:

 

Gross Motor Skills

• Walking & Running without falling

• Able to walk upstairs & downstairs holding on and using two feet per step

• Able to throw ball forward without falling over

• Walks into ball to kick it

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Fine Motor Skills

• Builds a tower of 5-6 bricks

• Imitates a circular scribble and straight line 

• Able to turn the single pages of a book

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Vision 

• Recognises pictures of animals and everyday objects e.g. cup, apple, banana in picture books

• No squint seen

 

Communication & Hearing

• Able to name 3-5 pictures or objects 

• May have about fifty understandable words and understands more

• Beginning to make little sentences of two words e.g. “mummy’s keys”

• Able to tell you what he needs

• Able to carry out simple instructions

 

Social Skills & Behaviour

• Plays with toys meaningfully and in make believe play

• Has little idea of sharing but may be beginning to take turns

• Plays alongside other children rather than with them

• Very possessive of own toys

• Drinks from a cup and able to feed self with spoon

• Very curious and tries to investigate everything and has no concept of danger

• Temper tantrums when frustrated but easily distracted

• May have toilet awareness e.g. know when wet or soiled

 

Also to consider:

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Safety

This is a very exciting time for your child so it is important to be aware of safety.
Particularly running away when outside and dangers of choking because they still like to put things in their mouths and drink anything that looks interesting so it is important to keep medicines and household cleaning liquids out of reach

 

Questions to ask at the check:

• Is my child talking as they should for their age?

• What can I do to support my child’s speech and language?

• What should my child be able to do by themselves?

• How much mixing with other children is needed at this age?

• Can my child get a free childcare/nursery place?

• Mealtimes are sometimes difficult. Can you give me ideas about what food and drink to give my child and making mealtimes work better?

• What advice can you give me about taking care of my child’s teeth? Is a trip to the dentist necessary if my child is not complaining of any pain?

• What injections/vaccinations should my child have had and what is left for them to have?

• What can I do if my child is not sleeping well or going to bed easily?

• What can I do if my child finds it difficult to play with other children?

• Should I be playing with my child or is it best for them to play with other children?

• How much exercise should my child be getting?

• When should I start toilet training? Is it too soon to start now?

• Will a nursery take my child if they are still wearing nappies?