Work Matters: Early Years Professionals - Case studies
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Liana Beattie is a senior lecturer in Early Years Education at Edge Hill University. Here she explains more about S31 Personal practice: Work in partnership with families and parents/carers, at home and in the setting, to nurture children, help them develop and to improve outcomes for them.
Common definitions describe partnership as a relationship between organisations and individuals based on mutual co-operation and responsibility for the achievement of specified, compatible goals.
Elements of good practice that EYPs have to consider in the process of building two-way relationships with children's families are:
- Recognising that the partnership has to embrace not only mothers and fathers, step-parents and carers, but also siblings, grandparents and the wider family.
- Understanding there is a variety of different family structures and avoiding making judgements about the nature of families when setting up partnerships with parents.
- Taking account of parents' point of view and considering their perspectives when planning activities for their children.
- Allowing and encouraging parents to take the lead in some of the aspects of their children's learning and development.
- Sharing information about a child's progress.
- Involving parents as much as possible in their children's learning and development.
The most effective strategies that EYPs employ in order to lead some of these elements of practice include arranging home visits, providing joint courses and workshops for parents and practitioners, recommending specific activities for parents to carry out with their children at home, and providing 'morning coffee' discussions during drop-off time.
One of the challenges for EYPs will be to reconsider the balance of power within these partnerships and to avoid the urge to dictate to parents the terms of the partnership and deciding the extent of parents' participation. EYPs need to acknowledge that all forms of parental partnerships are potentially valuable and most parents want to play an active role in their child's learning and development.
Developing genuine partnerships with parents is a vitally important aspect of the EYP's role. Effective collaboration between early years practitioners and parents creates a fundamental base that empowers every child to thrive and develop to the best of their abilities.
