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Early Years Residential Trip to Budapest

 

Eighteen early years students from Weston College and University College Weston (UCW) travelled to Budapest in February for a four-day study visit. 

The main aim of the residential was to experience childcare and education provision in another European country. We visited a special needs kindergarten, a primary school and an orphanage.

Kindergarten in Hungary is compulsory from the age of three and is provided by the government. In the kindergarten we split into small groups to observe three different classes for children with Autism or Downs Syndrome. We then joined together with all the children to learn a Hungarian folk song which included singing, instruments and dance. At the end we taught the children Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes before we had to say goodbye to go to our next visit.

“I enjoyed the special needs kindergarten because that is not a career I’d thought of before and I really enjoyed it. It gave us lots of ideas for routines and resources to support children’s individual needs. It’s made me think more about this option.” Jess, Children’s Play Learning and Development, BTEC Extended Diploma.

Children start primary school at 6 or 7, which is when they start formal education such as reading and writing. The school was founded in the early 1900s and has developed to be a dual language school with lessons taught in both Hungarian and English. In the primary school we had a talk about the school and the education system in Hungary, after which we were privileged to observe a PE lesson which was taught in English to 7 years-olds.  

“I found it really interesting to see how different the school system is in another country. It was interesting to see how the children took risks in the PE lesson and the adult trusted the children to know what they were doing in managing their own risks.” Kaitlin, Children’s Play Learning and Development, BTEC Extended Diploma.

The orphanage caters for children from the age of 3 right up until young adulthood, young people can stay on until they are 25 if they are employed or in education. Children live in family homes of mixed ages and/or siblings living together with house parents who look after them. The focus is on caring for children’s educational, emotional and physical needs and where possible, helping them to integrate back into their own families or foster families.

There was a variety of reasonably priced food in Budapest, both to eat in or take away. In our spare time we could choose from a variety of activities which included: Ice skating on a frozen lake; A boat trip down the Danube; Self-guided walks around the sights of Budapest; A visit to a spa; A segway tour of Budapest or a visit to a local marketplace.

“It was great we were given some free time to explore the city in a more relaxed way. I built up my confidence by making new friends and meeting the students from UCW” said Shannon, Children’s Play Learning and Development, BTEC Extended Diploma.

We stayed in a youth hostel which was very well placed in the centre of Budapest. It was clean, quiet and welcoming. Breakfast each morning was included and was delicious, with a wide selection to suit all tastes.  

Liz, current studying at UCW said: “It was fascinating to see how different countries deal with behaviour, curriculum, special needs children and children who are in the care system. The visits opened up many group discussions about what happens in England and more locally in North Somerset and the different areas of early years we may want to go into at the end of our degrees/qualifications."

Karen, Early Years Subject Area Manager, said: “The learners had lots of opportunities to show their independence and resilience on this trip. They took away so many ideas from the visits to early years settings, which I hope they will go on to use in their placements and workplaces. We are currently planning our next trip to Reggio Emilia for February 2021.” 


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