Work Matters: Practical Management - Working with parents - The wow factor

Involving parents in the day-to-day life of a nursery creates strong bonds and increases the level of trust between the parents and the nursery, according to Michaela Smith, leader of Little Angels Pre-School in Gloucestershire.

'We have always tried to include parents - it is a big part of what we do,' says Ms Smith.

The setting in Stonehouse, which takes 32 children, works hard at involving parents with all aspects of their children's learning and development.

One area where the pre-school feels it is very important for the parents to be involved is the children's assessment.

Each child is given an activity book when they start at the pre-school. The child's key person will fill this in for a month, listing what activities they have done, showing what they have achieved and how they have developed. The book includes paintings and drawings that the child has done and photographs of the child doing various activities.

The next month they do a swap. The parents are given the activity book and are asked to fill it in for a month so the pre-school can see what the child does at home.

'The parents also put in photos and drawings and write about what their child has done and what trips they have been on. The book is rotated between the key person and the parents on a month-by-month basis,' says Ms Smith. 'It is very popular with the parents and when the child leaves, the parents keep the activity book.'

The parents are also given a set of 'Wow' vouchers to take home with them.

'When the child learns to count from one to ten or they sleep in their bed for the whole night, the parents can fill in a Wow voucher. We then read it out in front of all the children so they know what the child has achieved. It makes the child feel very proud,' she says.

There are four full and part-time staff at Little Angels, which has an open-door policy. Parents can come in any time and talk about any concerns they may have. The pre-school also holds regular parents' evenings.

Every day, the children get a card to take home saying what activities they have done, who they have played with and what they have eaten for lunch and how much.

Every six months, there is a review, where the parents are asked their opinions on the lunch menu and what food they would like to be on it and what other activities they would like to see at the nursery.

'We want to make the pre-school the best for our children and our parents, and we are always trying to come up with new initiatives like the Wow vouchers that will boost parental involvement,' says Ms Smith.