[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 45 Volume 4]

[Revised as of October 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 45CFR1304.21]



[Page 124-125]

 

                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE

 

CHAPTER XIII--OFFICE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 

                           AND HUMAN SERVICES

 

PART 1304_PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR THE OPERATION OF HEAD START PROGRAMS BY GRANTEE AND DELEGATE AGENCIES--Table of Contents

 

        Subpart B_Early Childhood Development and Health Services

 

Sec.  1304.21  Education and early childhood development.



    (a) Child development and education approach for all children. (1) 

In order to help children gain the skills and confidence necessary to be 

prepared to succeed in their present environment and with later 

responsibilities in school and life, grantee and delegate agencies' 

approach to child development and education must:

    (i) Be developmentally and linguistically appropriate, recognizing 

that children have individual rates of development as well as individual 

interests, temperaments, languages, cultural backgrounds, and learning 

styles;

    (ii) Be inclusive of children with disabilities, consistent with 

their Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized 

Education Program (IEP) (see 45 CFR 1308.19);

    (iii) Provide an environment of acceptance that supports and 

respects gender, culture, language, ethnicity and family composition;

    (iv) Provide a balanced daily program of child-initiated and adult-

directed activities, including individual and small group activities; 

and

    (v) Allow and enable children to independently use toilet facilities 

when it is developmentally appropriate and when efforts to encourage 

toilet training are supported by the parents.

    (2) Parents must be:

    (i) Invited to become integrally involved in the development of the 

program's curriculum and approach to child development and education;

    (ii) Provided opportunities to increase their child observation 

skills and to share assessments with staff that will help plan the 

learning experiences; and

    (iii) Encouraged to participate in staff-parent conferences and home 

visits to discuss their child's development and education (see 45 CFR 

1304.40(e)(4) and 45 CFR 1304.40(i)(2)).

    (3) Grantee and delegate agencies must support social and emotional 

development by:

    (i) Encouraging development which enhances each child's strengths 

by:

    (A) Building trust;

    (B) Fostering independence;

    (C) Encouraging self-control by setting clear, consistent limits, 

and having realistic expectations;

    (D) Encouraging respect for the feelings and rights of others; and

    (E) Supporting and respecting the home language, culture, and family 

composition of each child in ways that support the child's health and 

well-being; and

    (ii) Planning for routines and transitions so that they occur in a 

timely, predictable and unrushed manner according to each child's needs.

    (4) Grantee and delegate agencies must provide for the development 

of each child's cognitive and language skills by:

    (i) Supporting each child's learning, using various strategies 

including experimentation, inquiry, observation, play and exploration;

    (ii) Ensuring opportunities for creative self-expression through 

activities such as art, music, movement, and dialogue;

    (iii) Promoting interaction and language use among children and 

between children and adults; and

    (iv) Supporting emerging literacy and numeracy development through 

materials and activities according to the developmental level of each 

child.

    (5) In center-based settings, grantee and delegate agencies must 

promote each child's physical development by:

    (i) Providing sufficient time, indoor and outdoor space, equipment, 

materials and adult guidance for active play and movement that support 

the development of gross motor skills;

    (ii) Providing appropriate time, space, equipment, materials and 

adult guidance for the development of fine motor skills according to 

each child's developmental level; and

    (iii) Providing an appropriate environment and adult guidance for 

the participation of children with special needs.



[[Page 125]]



    (6) In home-based settings, grantee and delegate agencies must 

encourage parents to appreciate the importance of physical development, 

provide opportunities for children's outdoor and indoor active play, and 

guide children in the safe use of equipment and materials.

    (b) Child development and education approach for infants and 

toddlers. (1) Grantee and delegate agencies' program of services for 

infants and toddlers must encourage (see 45 CFR 1304.3(a)(5) for a 

definition of curriculum):

    (i) The development of secure relationships in out-of-home care 

settings for infants and toddlers by having a limited number of 

consistent teachers over an extended period of time. Teachers must 

demonstrate an understanding of the child's family culture and, whenever 

possible, speak the child's language (see 45 CFR 1304.52(g)(2));

    (ii) Trust and emotional security so that each child can explore the 

environment according to his or her developmental level; and

    (iii) Opportunities for each child to explore a variety of sensory 

and motor experiences with support and stimulation from teachers and 

family members.

    (2) Grantee and delegate agencies must support the social and 

emotional development of infants and toddlers by promoting an 

environment that:

    (i) Encourages the development of self-awareness, autonomy, and 

self-expression; and

    (ii) Supports the emerging communication skills of infants and 

toddlers by providing daily opportunities for each child to interact 

with others and to express himself or herself freely.

    (3) Grantee and delegate agencies must promote the physical 

development of infants and toddlers by:

    (i) Supporting the development of the physical skills of infants and 

toddlers including gross motor skills, such as grasping, pulling, 

pushing, crawling, walking, and climbing; and

    (ii) Creating opportunities for fine motor development that 

encourage the control and coordination of small, specialized motions, 

using the eyes, mouth, hands, and feet.

    (c) Child development and education approach for preschoolers. (1) 

Grantee and delegate agencies, in collaboration with the parents, must 

implement a curriculum (see 45 CFR 1304.3(a)(5)) that:

    (i) Supports each child's individual pattern of development and 

learning;

    (ii) Provides for the development of cognitive skills by encouraging 

each child to organize his or her experiences, to understand concepts, 

and to develop age appropriate literacy, numeracy, reasoning, problem 

solving and decision-making skills which form a foundation for school 

readiness and later school success;

    (iii) Integrates all educational aspects of the health, nutrition, 

and mental health services into program activities;

    (iv) Ensures that the program environment helps children develop 

emotional security and facility in social relationships;

    (v) Enhances each child's understanding of self as an individual and 

as a member of a group;

    (vi) Provides each child with opportunities for success to help 

develop feelings of competence, self-esteem, and positive attitudes 

toward learning; and

    (vii) Provides individual and small group experiences both indoors 

and outdoors.

    (2) Staff must use a variety of strategies to promote and support 

children's learning and developmental progress based on the observations 

and ongoing assessment of each child (see 45 CFR 1304.20(b), 1304.20(d), 

and 1304.20(e)).



[61 FR 57210, Nov. 5, 1996, as amended at 63 FR 2313, Jan. 15, 1998]