Partnership with Parents
We believe that children benefit most from early years education and care when parents and settings work together in partnership. Our aim is to respect that parents are children’s first and most important educators and we will support this by involving them in their children’s education and in the full life of the setting. The health and wellbeing of each child is of paramount importance and we can only achieve excellent welfare standards for each one if parents help us to understand their needs.
We have an ‘open door’ policy which means that all parents and carers will be made to feel welcome to come in and will be valued by us. Opportunities for parents to contribute to their children’s education and to be involved in the setting will be given freely, equally and without exception to all members of our Pre-school. Where parents find it difficult to communicate with us, for example, English is not their first language, we will do all we can to help and find ways for effective communication.
Children’s emotional health has an effect on how well they do in education and later life. Where children face particular challenges it is important that parents make us aware of these so we can offer appropriate support to the child and help them to deal with the effects in a way which is appropriate to their age and stage of development. Such challenges may include financial difficulties, disruptions within the family or with friends or neighbours, children experiencing loss, children who have witnessed violence and social exclusion.
We expect parents to contribute to the Pre-school in whatever way they can and this is made clear on our initial application form.
We will work in partnership with parents in the following ways:
· We are committed to on-going dialogue with parents to improve our knowledge of the needs of their children and to support their families. We will expect you to provide us with information when we ask you and to keep us informed about important things in your child’s life.
· We inform all parents about how the setting is run and its policies through access to written information and through regular communication.
· We inform all parents on a regular basis about their child’s progress. We will hold parent’s evenings or invite you to come in to the setting. You can view your child’s ‘learning and development story’ whenever you wish to or chat to your child’s Key Person face-to-face or by telephone.
· We ensure that parents’ wishes are respected and taken into consideration. If parents’ wishes are in conflict with other Pre-school policies, especially where these relate to the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, or if we believe that the wishes are not in the best interests of the child then we will discuss this with parents and suggest alternative arrangements. Where an agreed arrangement does not seem to be working well for the child there will be discussions to review the decision.
· We provide opportunities for parents to contribute their own skills, knowledge and interests to the activities of the setting. For example, we ask parents and relative to come in and chat to the children about their jobs or interests or share skills such as music, art and sports skills.
· We provide opportunities for parents to learn about the curriculum offered in the setting and the children’s learning in the setting and at home.
· We actively encourage feedback from parents and carers in order that we can continue to improve and meet the needs of all families. We inform parents about the various ways that can provide feedback or make complaints. We keep parents up-to-date with improvements we have made to the setting.
· We encourage and support parents to play an active role in the management of the setting through our management committee. Where parents do not wish to join the committee we will ask for help in other ways, for example maintenance, washing, cleaning toys, helping at fetes and events, providing donations.
· We welcome parents who are willing to come and help during a session at Pre-school and spend time with your child. Any time you spend helping out at Pre-school will benefit both you and your child. It is well known, and supported by much research, that children whose parents are involved in their early years setting do better educationally, enjoy closer relationships and benefit from a high quality of care.