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Working with parents in the early years foundation stage
Working with parents is a large part of the early years foundation stage (EYFS), and involving them from the beginning is vital. From inductions and daily chats to sharing resource packs and information sessions, there's lots of ways you can involve parents and carers.
All staff should be aware of their own duties for working with parents, especially those whose children may have additional or special educational needs or disabilities. It's important to:
- not use jargon or acronyms parents might not understand
- involve parents in the process of reviewing your policies and procedures
- sign post families to relevant services such as the SEND local offer and early help services
What parents need to know
Parents and carers should know their child’s 'key person', and it's your role as that person to keep them informed of their child’s progress. You should make sure they know:
- who to go to when they need to discuss important issues regarding their child
- the role of the key person, the setting's special educational needs co-coordinator (SENCO), and any advisory support staff
- your policies (you should make sure they have a copy of these)
Learning and development guide for parents
What to expect, when? is a guide to help parents find out how their child is learning and developing during their first five years, in relation to the EYFS. It's been written to help parents understand what to expect during these vitally important years, focussing on the seven areas of learning and development covered in the EYFS.
Supporting families
As a childcare provider you'll support families that at some point may experience challenging times and need advice.
Early help
Early help is about working with families early on so that small problems don’t become big problems. There are lots of reasons why people might need early help, and early years practitioners are in a prime position to provide that help, guidance and support.
Where families are having specific issues, signposting them to a particular agency may be all that's needed to support them. However, if families are in need of support from more than one agency. It may be that you need to discuss the option of an early help assessment (EHA).
Early help assessments (EHAs)
An early help assessment (EHA) isn't anything to worry about - it’s just a chat to work out how to help a family stop small issues they're having before they become more of a concern. During an EHA you can talk to the family about things that are going well and things that they're proud of, as well as things they're finding a challenge.
An EHA is a multi-agency approach to support families in need to make sure all their issues can be addressed where possible. You can read more about undertaking an EHA or speak to your Quality Improvement Officer for more support with this.
Family hubs
Family hubs offer a friendly one stop shop for families with children and young people aged 0 to 19, or 25 if they have a disability. They're welcoming places offering:
- fun activities
- somewhere to meet new people
- learning options
- access to health services and family support
It's important to acquaint yourself with your local family hub in order to improve the support you offer families and know about sign-posting options. Using your partnership with your local family hub will strengthen your support for parents and give you a starting point to multi-agency working.
Barnsley Virtual Family Hub
The Barnsley Virtual Family Hub provides information for all the family, including about childcare and education.
In order to help people easily find and choose childcare within the borough, you should create an account for your setting and keep it updated with your current details. By providing as much detail as you can about your service you'll help parents make the right choice for their child's care and early education.
