Working in Partnership with Parents

To listen to children/young people and offer support, information and advice in response to their needs.

Every Child Matters Framework which is currently in the process to be changed is part of the Children Act 2004; it is a piece of legislation which has and influences planning and provisions of learning opportunities. The Every Child Matters ensures that settings provide quality of children’s and young people’s play and learning.This supports children from birth to 19 years. When practitioners plan, they should relate their work to the five outcomes for children; be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve though learning, make a positive contribution to society and achieve economic

Communication is constantly happening within the day care centre and in my job role I have a responsibility to communicate with staff, service users and other professionals. I use various forms of communication but I also seek to make sure that it is understood. Communication has got to be understood before it can be effective and so I try to ensure comprehension when I am verbally speaking by getting staff to repeat what I have asked them to do. I also write simply worded memos and emails to ensure ease of comprehension. When communicating with other professionals I speak clearly and seek affirmation when organising meetings or planning events. I also

This details how we must work in partnership with parents and carers, promote the areas of learning preparing them for school. It ensures we support families that has English as an additional language and highlights the need for key workers.

All members of the staff must act as professionals while at work, especially with young children. The administrative and teaching staff must work together to ensure their practices are developmentally appropriate, and share new and/or creative ideas with one another. It is also the responsibility of a teacher to establish an open, trusting relationship with the parents of each children in their care. Thus, parents can freely communicate their thoughts, concerns, and/or suggestions about their child or the program. Parent satisfaction is something that every child care or development center should strive for.

The role and responsibilities of an early year’s practitioner follow a number of codes. When working with children there are many care needs of children, such as special needs, safeguarding children, children’s learning, behaviour, and working with parents. Early years practitioners have set responsibilities when working with children, like meeting the learning needs of a child, providing an environment which is welcoming and also they have to work together as part of a team to provide good service for both children and parents.

However, with children and young people it is important to remember your relationship to them as a professional care giver. For children and young people an essential part of communication is praise and encouragement, and this helps to build self-esteem and confidence. There are four methods that can be used –

Ensuring children and young people’s safety and welfare in the work setting is an essential part of safeguarding. While children are at school, practitioners act in ‘loco parentis’ while their parents are away. As part of their legal and professional obligations, practitioners hold positions of trust and a duty of care to the children in their school, and therefore should always act in their best interests and ensure their safety – the welfare of the child is paramount (Children Act 1989). The Children Act 2004 came in with the Every Child Matters (ECM) guidelines and greatly impacted the way schools look at the care and welfare of pupils. Children and young people should be helped to learn and thrive and be given the opportunity to

Explain the roles and responsibilities of two members of the children’s workforce in relation to looked after children and young people.

It is important to ensure children and young people are protected from harm within the setting, as the parents are leaving their children in your care with the expectation that they can trust you and your colleagues to keep their children from harm. It is difficult for parents to leave their children in an education or care setting and then go to work; they need to be confident that their children will be in safe supportive hands with people that will help them develop.

By following good practise I proved appropriate care, and I fi didn’t individuals would suffer. Communication is very important when working with young children as they need to be able to understand simple instructions and want to be able to listen and communicate back to you. Communication does not involve just speaking but also listening,

Working within this approach can also avoid confusion between practitioners or provision being duplicated or missed out and parents being asked the same questions over and over which could get irritating for the parents. Sharing information gives an overall better service provided. The SEN code of practice 2001 stresses the importance of working within a multi-agency team ‘All agencies should recognize the need for effective collaboration of services involved with the child and with parents. Consultative responsibilities and effective communication systems and management and practitioner levels should be clearly identified.’ (Special Educational Needs Code of Practice 2001 pg. 70)

Information should be shared on a day to day basis between the practioner and the parent/ career abpout everything that happens in the nursery.

The responsibility of the practitioner is to work as part of a team with other professionals and staff members effectively to bring children and parents the best possible service i.e. working with social workers, speech and language therapists, and family support workers. Practitioners must also have a working partnership with parents, to work effectively with the child as the parents are the primary carers and they will know what the child is like at home and what the child’s interests are. For example they would have a policy called ”parents as partners”.

Parents can be a source of support or they can be problematic. Learning each parent as well as the child is the biggest challenge of teaching.