Management Queries - What parents think

Q. I’m new to management and am keen to encourage more parental feedback. How do other nursery leaders go about this? And then how do they act on it?

Hannah Busby, acting nursery manager, Longstanton Pre-school

‘I can relate to this question, as I am also new to management. When I started my role in April 2021, we hosted a coffee morning so parents could meet me. It gave me a chance to tell them my aims for the nursery moving forward.

‘We had it outside because of Covid, and it really helped to meet parents at the same time and begin that relationship. I also sent out an email introducing myself for parents who could not come.

‘I make myself available at drop-off and pick-up and am always around if parents want to talk. But I also find nursery management apps (we use Famly) are a great way to open up communication between staff and parents. Members of my team update the app during the day, and parents use that platform as a way of letting us know if something has happened at home, or if they want to make us aware of something about their child.

‘It’s easier for parents to be able to drop us a line whenever suits them, rather than having to remember to say things when they’re in the setting. There’s always so much to remember at the end of the day.

‘One way we show parents we are listening to feedback is to deliver their suggestions. For example, after we celebrated Lunar New Year this year, some Brazilian parents asked if we could also do a celebration to mark Mardi Gras. So we organised activities based on this festival for the children.’

Simon Evans, senior nursery manager, Tops Day Nursery Plymouth

‘We encourage parental feedback by sending out a yearly online parent survey. Our head office does that centrally as we are a chain of nurseries. We ask parents for feedback about the staff, resources, garden, food, management – everything. Once the results are in, it helps us decide what we can improve. For example, at our setting in Winchester where I previously worked, we knew our garden needed improving but the survey helped us realise this was also a priority for parents. We responded by upgrading the garden and holding an open day once it was finished.

‘We also do a “question of the month”. In our foyer we have a small board where I write the question, and next to it two boxes: one for ‘yes’ and one for ‘no’. Parents can pop a small wooden token into one of the boxes, or leave a note with comments. For example, I asked: “Do you know who your child’s key person is?” As a result, some parents came to us saying they did not know, so we were able to address that problem. We talked to those parents directly, but also put photos of key workers on all the children’s learning journeys. I also post the results of questions on our nursery Facebook page.

‘Parents know I have an open-door policy. We also open communication through our Facebook and Instagram accounts. We use eyLog to send out information and updates. I send out a challenge every weekend, such as: can you go on a walk and see what shapes you can spot in your local environment? Parents upload photos and we make sure we respond to them.’

Emma Wohl, head teacher, FRS Kindergarten

‘When a family joins us, we make it clear that parent partnerships are a fundamental aspect of our ethos and pedagogy. I have an open-door policy, and parents know they can speak to us in the setting or on the phone. We also do home visits to learn about families’ needs.

‘Every six months, key workers meet with parents for a more in-depth conversation about their child’s progress. This is a good opportunity for feedback. We also used to have a coffee morning every term. When the pandemic began, it became trickier to do this, so we switched to evening catch-ups on Zoom. We actually found there was suddenly more attendance, particularly from dads. So we have continued that, doing alternating face-to-face and Zoom catch-ups.

‘These are an opportunity for me to talk about the term ahead and hear parents’ thoughts. For example, we asked parents for suggestions for outings, which we have taken up. Parents also fed back that they wanted us to extend our opening hours, which we have done.

‘We also have an anonymous suggestions box by our front door, in case a parent feels more comfortable sharing their thoughts this way.’