Recognising parents and carers as a child’s first educator can create an important foundation to build a solid partnership. Having good relationships with parents and carers will mean conversations around sharing development milestones will become a part of everyday feedback. Being able to listen to and share children’s development and emerging needs holistically means that providers can work together with families to decide how to best support their child in making good progress in their learning, at a pace which is appropriate for the child’s individual development.
Providers will need to consider their approach to supporting positive interactions and how they gather information from parents about their children. How they share progress and how they discuss emerging needs so that everyone involved has a clear understanding of the support that has been put into place. It is important to highlight the positives with parents so that you can celebrate the child’s strengths. Providers who share their knowledge and understanding of child development and the assessment process set out in the EYFS can be useful for parents to understand expectations around children’s learning and development.
