Parents as partners

Each unique family should be valued, welcomed and heard. A warm, inclusive that encourages families to engage and participate should be evident from the moment an enquiry is made to a setting, and it is essential that all families feel that they belong.  This is expressed through the attitude of the educators and methods of communication and language used, as well as the resources and environment of the setting. The key person’s role includes establishing relationships with families as soon as the setting has been chosen and confirmed. Working with families will often entail developing relationships with the extended family as well as the child’s parents. This is not only a responsibility but also a great privilege. Each child and family is unique and this needs to be respected and celebrated, as each brings aspects of their own personal and cultural knowledge and values which enrich the whole setting.

 

Time is needed to listen to parents’ concerns and value what they say about the way in which children learn and behave at home. Only through listening attentively to parents can educators build the trusting and respectful relationships needed to achieve the best outcomes for children. Educators who show they are listening, understanding and valuing what parents say empower them to make effective choices for their children and wider family. Listening helps educators become aware of parents’ beliefs, their aspirations and their concerns. When educators look at situations from a parent’s unique perspective, they gain new insights and avoid preconceptions which can lead to misunderstandings. These insights can be used to improve practice.

 

Listening attentively involves listening to what parents say but also recognising non-verbal messages and actions communicated by parents, as they can be even more powerful than words, particularly where English may not be the home language. Parents may wish to share information about:

• • significant events in the lives of their child and family, adding to the picture educators have of the child

• • key aspects of the individual care of their child, such as the way they like to be held, changed or soothed

• • how they could contribute to the setting, e.g. with offers of time, skills, knowledge or resources.

Parents may also seek reassurance and support regarding their own wellbeing alongside their child’s welfare, learning and development.

 

Parents differ in the frequency and ways they prefer to communicate with educators. Creative management of the environment and educators’ work schedules is needed to provide sufficient time and opportunity for parents to feel comfortable about sharing information and for educators to listen attentively without compromising the needs of the children in their care. Home visits help to develop relationships and build trust in a more relaxed environment. The use of phone calls or online platforms can be useful additions to daily face-to-face opportunities. It is important to ensure that all families can access information through non-digital means such as newsletters or posters, to promote equality in communication.  

 

Reflect on approaches to enhance relationships with parents. A setting’s policies may outline an aim to work alongside parents, and describe a range of opportunities such as everyday conversations at the start or end of sessions, parent meetings or workshops. Just offering opportunities, however, does not necessarily mean that those opportunities will be taken up by all parents equally. Sometimes there is a perceived imbalance of power between educators and parents, so it is up to educators to take responsibility for developing those relationships.

Thinking about approaches to working with parents means reflecting on the quantity and quality of joint engagement:

• • With which parents are there relationships? Which relationships need attention?

• • Where relationships are not strong, why might that be and what could be done differently to encourage participation? 

• • Considering each unique relationship, what is the communication about? Is it simply about organisational issues, such as reminders to parents about setting events or parents informing the setting about pick-up arrangements? Or do some conversations include discussions about children’s wellbeing, their learning and their personal interests?  Are those discussions two-way? If parents are finding partnership difficult, what could be done?

Educators have a responsibility to work with all families. Educators work closely with many different families who continually support and encourage their children in what they do at home, within partnerships based on reciprocal engagements. Leaders and educators should identify and challenge areas where unconscious bias may be damaging relationships between the parents and families and educators. Identified factors might include:

• • social attitudes towards religious groups, cultures, classes or sexual orientation

• • the need to make reasonable adjustments to support inclusive access, where factors might include disability, illness or location, or communication barriers such as EAL, deafness or lack of access to digital information

• • parents’ own previous experiences of education and relationships with authority.

Educators should develop a shared language with parents and a joint understanding about how children develop and learn, both at home and in the setting. Sensitive communication, where educators understand parents’ own theories about the development of their child, requires skill and continuous professional reflection and dialogue. Embracing diverse family contexts can enrich practice and offer new insights. Educators need to get to know the families and understand the challenges that they face, and then be prepared to adapt the way they work in order to accommodate diverse families’ needs. Working in this way has the potential to transform children’s life chances.

 

Clear leadership regarding working together with parents will provide the right foundation. Leaders should show commitment to developing a genuine interest in each family. Regularly reviewing the experience of families is essential for settings to develop their vision and practice. This should extend to parental participation in policy making, and collaboration with parents on practical issues such as the timings of meetings in order to develop a more inclusive environment. Early years leaders require current, research-led practice that enables them to support their teams in high quality pedagogical practice when collaborating with parents.