Sarah Ash, Subject Advisor for Health and Social Care and Child Development

Our Cambridge National in Child Development (J809) includes two non-exam assessment (NEA) units, R058 and R059. Both use set assignments that are built around a given scenario, providing the context for the evidence students produce. However, it can be easy for students to become distracted from this focus as they respond to the tasks and marking criteria. While the tasks are familiar each time, the scenario always changes and it is this that students should keep in mind. 

In this blog, I’ll explain how teachers can use the scenario to help candidates produce evidence focused on the assignment and to discourage generic evidence being written in response to the assignment tasks. 

The blog refers to Unit R058, Create a safe environment and understand the nutritional needs of children from birth to five years, but the same guidelines are also relevant to Unit R059, Understand the development of a child from one to five years.

Understanding the assignment scenario

The scenario for the assignment sets the scene and provides context to the work that students will do for their NEA assignments. The scenario is an integral part of the assignment and should be built into the evidence. 

In the scenario for R058, students are provided with the setting, such as a nursery, and an age range for the focus of the tasks, for example children aged one to two years. This helps students visualise the context. You could support this by sharing images of the different settings in the specification when teaching or displaying images in the classroom. 

The scenario also explains the student’s role in this setting: for example, they might be on a placement. Understanding what it means to be on placement can help students engage more fully with the scenario, particularly if they have limited experience of early years settings. You could invite a work experience coordinator to speak to students about what is expected on placement and how they might be supported by staff in the setting. 

Taking time to explore the initial details of the scenario provides an opportunity to clarify the context of the assignment. Many students will not have any experience of these settings, and it’s important not to assume they understand their purpose. 

The scenario then gives the student a hypothetical situation. For example, a nursery manager may want to make the environment safer for the children by buying new equipment, reviewing a specific area of the nursery and making sure the food is healthy. The student may be asked to support these improvements through the tasks.

Keeping focus on the scenario

It is important that students refer to the setting and don’t lose sight of this information when writing their evidence for the tasks. It can be helpful for some students to make a separate copy of the scenario to use as a reference point. 

Once they are confident that they understand the scenario they can begin their work on the tasks. Each task explains what the students ‘must’ do and for R058 the tasks refer to the age of the child. 

Where age is given in the task this should be referred to in the evidence that candidates produce. For example, in R058, by referring to the age of the child, candidates can demonstrate why their equipment choices or meal plans are appropriate. This helps them apply their knowledge to the specific context of the scenario rather than providing generalised responses. 

Give students opportunities to clarify their understanding by incorporating question and answer sessions. This is also an opportunity for you to reiterate the scenario, the setting and the age range.

Meeting the requirements of the criteria

As you talk through the assignment with your students, you will inevitably discuss the assessment criteria. The criteria do not refer to the detail in the scenario, such as ages, settings or names, because they remain the same each year. As a result, students can become focused on meeting the criteria and lose sight of the context for which they are producing evidence. 

Encourage students to note the name of the setting and the age range of the children alongside the assessment criteria. This way, when they are responding to the criteria, they will be reminded of the focus.

In conclusion 

We hope this blog has given you some useful suggestions about approaching the assignment and supporting candidates not to write generic evidence. 

Do get in touch if you have any further queries.

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About the author

Before joining Cambridge OCR in 2018, Sarah was a teacher and Subject Lead of Health and Social Care and worked in secondary schools and sixth forms in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. She was a sixth form tutor and moderated on a previous Level 3 HSC qualification. She has also worked as a teacher in a social care setting for young people aged 16-18 transitioning from living in care to becoming independent. At Cambridge OCR Sarah has been involved in the redevelopment of Cambridge Nationals in Health and Social Care and Child Development, and the development of the Cambridge Advanced National (AAQ) in Health and Social Care.