Engaging With Parents In Early Years Settings

′It is inspiring to see a text which attempts to shift our worldview. This shift could give us the chance to achieve more open, inclusive, democratic early childhood practice that has the capacity to answer the deeper questions and which sees both parents and children as powerful and positive agents in their own futures′ - Chris Pascal and Tony Bertram, Directors of the Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) The role of parents in the early years is fundamental. In order to achieve the best outcomes for children, mutually beneficial relationships between parents and practitioners need to underpin children’s care and learning. There are many services for children and many different settings in which care and education can take place. Whether you work in children’s centres, outreach and dual-focused services, preschools, kindergartens or schools this book will help you develop the skills and strategies to work alongside parents whatever your role. Focussing on: The importance of involving parents The nature of learning How to engage and build relationships with parents How to reflect on and develop shared learning environment in settings Transitions and attachment This book has examples taken from real settings and practical advice to help you put the ideas into practice. Reading and using it will help ensure the wellbeing and development of all children in your care. Dianne Jackson is an Adjunct Fellow at the University of Western Sydney and the CEO of Connect Child and Family Services Martin Needham is Academic Division Leader: Education, Professional and Community Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University

This book is written for all students of the Early Years. It begins by examining the role of a parent in a child's life and the importance of good working relationships between parents and Early Years practitioners. It goes on to discuss the preconceptions and assumptions that we all have about families and parents and considers the practical implications of working with parents in a respectful and trusting partnership. It explores both interpersonal and communication skills and the formal and informal ways of involving parents in the early years experience of their children. About the Early Years series This series has been designed to support students of degrees and foundation degrees in Early Years, Early Childhood and related disciplines. Each text takes a focused look at a specific topic and approaches it in an accessible and user-friendly way. Learning features help readers engage with the text and understand the subject from a number of different viewpoints. Tasks pose questions to prompt thought and discussion and further reading suggestions, including useful websites, are included to help students access extended learning in each topic. Other titles in the series are Early Childhood Studies, Becoming a Practitioner in the Early Years, Child Observation for the Early Years and Exploring Play for Early Childhood Studies. Ute Ward has been involved in the Early Years sector for more than 20 years in a range of different roles and contexts. In October 2011 Ute became Senior Lecturer in Early Years at the University of Hertfordshire where she teaches on Foundation Degrees and on undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Getting parents involved in the learning of their young children in eraly years settings is critical: children learn from everything they experience, wherever they are and whoever they are with. The greater the continuity between home and setting, and the richer the learning environment in both, the more children will benefit. This full-colour book provides accessible guidance for practitioners, explaining why parents need to be involved, what can prevent parental involvement, how to build respectful relationships, and how to ensure that involvement is a two-way process. It features practice examples for working with children and their families and provides ideas for those embarking upon new projects.

Exploring the importance of parental engagement in early childhood education, this book delves into research and practices in 25 countries to bring students, researchers, teachers and policy-makers insights into working families around the world. The incorporation and consideration of parental engagement and involvement in early childhood education are a new phenomenon to many countries. Yet, increasing research recognises the importance of parental engagement and involvement in early childhood education services, and the role both parents and teachers play to support children’s learning and development. Using a range of materials from curriculum to policy documents, Garvis et al. demonstrate differences in practices and terminologies pertaining to the topic and provide an international perspective on the importance of parental involvement and engagement in early childhood education services. The content covers a range of countries as well as countries beyond an ‘Anglo-Saxon’ perspective. The different policy settings across these countries highlight how countries work with, and involve, parents differently, which is useful for jurisdictions where early childhood education is a developing aspect of a country’s education system. Looking at cultural influences, partnership approaches, parental collaboration, institutional dominance and child involvement in parent meetings, the content offers readers real understanding of parental engagement and involvement in different settings. The readership includes students in early childhood education, and researchers, teachers, policy makers, and general members of the public interested in parental engagement or involvement in early childhood education across the globe.

The new edition of a unique guide for students, practitioners, parents, and administrators of young children who want to understand specific strategies to maximise parent involvement and collaboration.

Parents and Professionals in Early Childhood Settings addresses the complex and sometimes controversial issues that emerge from the care and education of young children. Staff and parents in early childhood settings can find ample advice about how to promote good communication, but much of that advice has no grounding in their daily lives. Instead, it prescribes an established set menu of communication tools, such as newsletters, notebooks and message boards that rarely respond to what staff and families say about relationships between them. Drawing on the authors' research with hundreds of parents, staff and students, the book explores relationships between staff and families through a series of 'issue stories'. Each story features the voices and perspectives of 'real' staff and families and captures their various understandings, desires and feelings about a complex, difficult and/or controversial issue. The authors support each 'issue story' with snippets from relevant international research, 'Fairness Alerts' that highlight unfair thinking habits and show how to challenge them, and some 'points to ponder' and 'points to discuss' that encourage readers to extend their thinking about the issue/s in the story. Parents and Professionals in Early Childhood Settings is written for the diverse people in the international field of early childhood education and care. They include staff, students, academics, trainers, curriculum advisors, policy officers and managers, together with the parents and other carers of young children.

`A unique guide for students, practitioners, parents, and administrators of young children who want to understand specific strategies to maximise parent involvement and collaboration' - Education Libraries 'This is an excellent book that draws extensively on the work of a children's centre that has been running for over 25 years' - SENCO Update Involving Parents in their Children's Learning is the story of the pioneering work of the Pen Green Centre for children and families. Showing how early years practitioners can collaborate effectively with parents, the book includes case studies of parents and children who have attended the centre, studies which chart developments in learning for both children and parents. The book will inspire early years practitioners and offer them practical advice on ways of developing effective work with parents. Drawing on their work at the renowned Pen Green Centre, the authors show how to: o support parents as their child's first educator o provide practical and psychological support to parents o involve fathers and male carers o share important child development concepts o support and extend children's learning o reach out to hard-to-reach parents. This New Edition follows up on the stories of people featured in the first edition, showing how they have progressed over the last few years. It also includes new chapters covering the headteacher's role in developing parental involvement programmes, how the Pen Green model has been applied in primary schools, and the use of parental diaries. The book is essential reading for students on early years courses (BA, FdA, B.Ed), as well as practising early years professionals and senior management teams in primary schools.

This book reports initiatives to listen to parents and families, to ascertain what families believe and do as they seek to engage collaboratively with their children’s educators, and what educators and educational systems might do to facilitate and/or establish barriers to such engagement. Parental engagement in children’s learning and development has many positive benefits. However, in the current environments of accountability and performativity which are pervading early childhood education in many countries, the opportunities for parents and other family members to be part of the development of respectful, collaborative relationships with their children’s early childhood educators are becoming more and more restricted. Many educators feel forced to choose between curriculum outcomes and parental engagement, as both involve their time. There is a danger that the voices of parents and families in their children’s early learning and development will not always be heard, seen, or fully understood. This volume addresses this important issue. Researchers, educators, and families will all benefit from this book, to the ultimate benefit of the young children who are the future. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Early Childhood Education Research Journal.