As the expanded childcare offer continues to roll out, nurseries and childminders can expect to meet more new parents, all with very different expectations.
With many parents often short on time, some having language barriers, and some a lack of confidence in using technology, it can be difficult to communicate information from nursery to parent and vice versa. But some pre-school environments are finding innovative ways to support parents’ understanding of their child’s learning and development and the important part they play in improving their child’s life chances.
LISTENING TO FAMILIES’ NEEDS
Roisin Deville is family support co-ordinator at the double Nursery World Award-winning Indigo Childcare Group, a social enterprise that provides care and support for children (six weeks to 16 years) and their families, within some of the most deprived areas of Glasgow.
Roisin sees the benefits of a close parent/carer relationship through the delivery of its four types of service: Early Learning and Childcare, Out of School Care, Youth Services, and Mobile Crèche.
She says, ‘Our whole-family support service, Family Matters, which was started in 2020, came about as we understood families were struggling with complex circumstances, from socio-economic challenges to health and disability, and we wanted a structured way of working that ensures children do not grow in isolation. We identified the need for a whole-family and community, asset-based approach in order to support children to flourish.’
Roisin explains that Family Matters is available to any family who attends its services or lives in the community. ‘We were aware that many existing family support models are bound by strict eligibility criteria and wanted to make sure our service was a universal offering, available for those who needed it, when they needed it.’
Family Matters’ support includes:
- Signposting and support to access agencies that can assist with family challenges. This can range from carers services and counselling to money advice.
- Community Pantry – access to daily essentials when finances become too difficult.
- Affordable childcare.
- Language and inclusion support.
Roisin adds, ‘Loving Language is our specialist service, which supports parents and practitioners in developing children’s speech, language and communication. Our approach to supporting children with any kind of additional support needs (either diagnosed or undiagnosed) is one of inclusion, ensuring we create an inclusive environment where children and young people can participate equitably.’
Like Roisin, Indigo’s early years manager, Ashley Turner, believes that a tailored approach is most effective, especially when dealing with speech and language therapy.
Ashley says, ‘Post-Covid, we noticed a definite delay in speech and language within our children’s development due to the fact children were just not socialising as they should be. Kirsty, our speech and language therapist, along with our team takes an early intervention approach – if we see something early on, we can tackle it early on.
‘We follow a very open-door policy at Indigo, with parents able to contact Kirsty with any questions or concerns. We aim to create an environment where parents feel they can approach us as and when they feel the need.
‘Our language co-ordinator, Ruben, delivers Spanish lessonsto our children through games, play and the introduction of Spanish characters, and the children just love it and pick it up so quickly, it’s amazing!
‘Many of our parents work long hours so we are as flexible with times as we possibly can be, but parents’ lack of time is our biggest barrier.’
GIVING PARENTS THE WIDE-ANGLED VIEW
Babblebrooke Day Nursery in Loughborough also finds parents’ lack of availability can be a barrier to sharing information.
Leah Snowdon, deputy nursery manager, explains how the introduction of an online platform has helped tackle the problem of sharing a child’s day with family and friends. ‘At Babblebrooke, we are able to check the progress of each child’s learning using the online platform Famly, which enables us to create our own checklists of characteristics we want to include in an observation.
‘We can also see at a glance how many observations the child has had in each area of learning, helping us track what they may need to focus on. Meanwhile, instant messaging allows us to meet children’s needs immediately, and using the diary feature means we can follow parents’ wishes.’
Parents are updated when their child’s care routines have been completed, along with any added notes practitioners wish to share with them, and this immediate update builds on mutual trust.
Leah says, ‘Another great feature of the platform is that we can send pictures to parents at any time; for example, if a child has been unsettled on arrival, we can easily send a happy, smiling picture to the parent once they have settled to alleviate any anxiety the parents may have.
‘It also allows us to post a video and pictures of each child’s observation so the parents can see their learning progress. Parents can like and comment on these, which is extra-helpful if they don’t have time to discuss them at the end of the day.’
Leah adds, ‘An online platform allows parents to continue planning their day and evening even before their child is home from nursery.’
IN THE ‘PEN GREEN LOOP’
The Pen Green Centre for Children in Corby, Northamptonshire takes a more face-to-face approach to parent communication that often involves the extended family.
Working towards a vision of improving outcomes for all children – especially the most vulnerable children and their families – its aim is a framework of communication centred around the child.
Felicity Dewsbery, deputy head of centre, says, ‘Our work with parents starts with our home-visiting process, which lets us get to know children in their home environment. We can get a feel of their home life – for example, do they own a cat, dog, or fish? – and this is all part of our two-week settling-in period, which includes parents, grandmothers, granddads and extended family coming in to settle their child and to get to know the rhythm of Pen Green, and for us to get to know the family better.
‘It also enables us to replicate their methods of comforting their child, while families get to know staff and all the other children their child will be socialising with, over a cup of tea.
‘We also invite parents to a key concept session, where we share and explain the theories we use. Parents often ask about these during home visits, so we make sure we explain them and the theory behind the Pen Green Loop, which puts the child at the centre of everything we do.
‘We explain concepts such as schemas – to make sure we’re talking the same language. Once parents tap into these ideas, things can become much clearer for them. By recognising this connection between everyday behaviour and learning, things start to make sense, and they can go on to make informed decisions regarding home provision.’
At Pen Green, observations play a vital role. ‘Parents make observations at home and share these with us, and we in turn share our own observations with parents. It’s a loop that’s constantly evolving, with the information we receive being invaluable in making informed decisions around the provision we supply on an individual basis,’ says Felicity.
She adds, ‘When you focus on home-based observations together with the observations made at nursery, always keeping the child at the centre of everything you do, you build a unique picture of the best way to help both children and their families.’
Suppliers’ view
Creating a two-way street – ‘If you want to work with parents effectively, it hasto be a two-way street,’ says Stuart Thomas, content manager at Blossom Educational. ‘Nursery management systems are often great for getting messages out there, but they’re at their best when parents can send their messages and observations in too.
‘Blossom’s Parent App, for example, includes a two-way communication system in addition to home and nursery observations, meaning parents feel connected to their child’s nursery life and the staff at the setting.
‘Not only can they send and receive messages with their child’s key person or even everyone at the nursery, but nursery-wide newsletters can go straight to their phone. Far better than languishing in a rarely checked email inbox.
‘And it doesn’t hurt that parents can pay their invoices through the Blossom Parent App too!’
Harnessing the power of technology – ‘With children spending a lot of time in nursery, there’s a real shared responsibility between nurseries and parents when it comes to bringing up children – they have to collaborate,’ says Matt Arnerich, director of brands and comms at Famly.
‘Nursery software can enable nurseries to use the power of new technology to help them reach families. For example, Family’s in-app tool, Live Translation, allows practitioners to write fluently with a multilingual community of 133 languages.
‘We’ve also introduced our Sidekick writing assistant tool. It’s estimated up to one in every ten people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia, and many more have English as a second language, which can become a barrier if practitioners feel reluctant to pass on their professional knowledge througha lack of confidence in literacy skills. Sidekick helps give practitioners more of the confidence they’re looking for.’
Staying connected to children’s experiences – ‘Many settings rely on online platforms, like Tapestry, to support a wide range of their communications and work with parents and carers,’ says Dr Helen Edwards, co-founder of Tapestry and former nursery owner. ‘Our users value having everything in one place.
‘There’s huge potential for online platforms to help support greater dialogue with families and to understand more about a child’s development at home.
‘By providing a way to stay connected to their child’s experiences at nursery, online platforms give parents and carers welcomed reassurance. They are part of a range of tools that educators can use to support parental engagement.
‘Tapestry also now has a nursery management system, including messaging, as well as a popular online journal.’
Latest key features
Nursery Story
Nursery Story encourages parents to follow learning at home by sending updates and instant messages to the Parent App, and its Daily Story app sends a complete insight into each child’s day straight to the parent’s smartphone, allowing parents to follow their children’s activities. Meanwhile, its Media Shares and Learning Apps allow for the sharing of photos and videos, as well as observations between the nursery and home.
Connect Childcare
Connect’s software includes a Development Updates feature allowing parents to access photos and video from nursery, plus links to the early years framework, and its Share Updates app is a way for parents to easily share their own observations with their nursery. Connect also includes a Parent Hub app with resources, information and activity ideas for parents to use at home.
Nursery in a box
Nursery in a box enables parents to download their child’s learning journey as a PDF keepsake, and provides an All About Me app so parents can help practitioners get to know their child better under headings including ‘likes’, ‘dislikes’, ‘favourite toys’, ‘sleep and feed routines’, etc.
