EV681Pedagogy, Principles and Practice in Early Childhood

Session 10Positive Relationships

1. Working with families

Transitions

Transition into Reception or Nursery Class

What will this involve? Why is it important to get this right?

Home visiting What are the benefits and logistics? What will a home visit look like?

Why home visit?

Building relationship with family Family and child at ease Family as first and most enduring

educator Emotional security Shared understanding Initiate communication

What is a family?

More than a half of British families feel under-represented by media, politicians and advertising

57% say marriage is not necessary a factor

77% feel single parents can be ‘a proper family’

59% agree that same sex couples make a family

Centre for the Modern Family, December 2011

Partnerships with families

What are the gains from partnerships with families?

For whom?

What can be the barriers and challenges?

Who are the losers?

Allen report ‘Early Intervention’ (Jan 2011): http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/early-intervention-next-steps.pdf Field report ‘The Foundation Years’ (Dec 2011): http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110120090128/http:/povertyreview.independent.gov.uk/media/20254/poverty-report.pdf

Really, really important bit….

Children are often a parent’s most precious belonging.

Families trust teachers every day to look after their most treasured belonging.

There is only one perfect child in the world,

and every mother has it.  Chinese Proverb

Parents are (usually) experts on their own children

Their skills complement professional skills

Parents can impart vital information and make informed observations

Parents have the right to be involved Parents can be highly effective teachers

of their own children Parents should contribute to decision

makinghttp://www.teachersmedia.co.uk/videos/leadership-parent-voice

EPPE Report from the Primary Phase: Pre-school and Family Influences on Children’s Development during KS2 (DCSF Report 061)

The HLE has a greater influence on a child’s intellectual and social

development than parental occupation, education or income. What parents do is more important than who they are, and a

home learning environment that is supportive of learning can counteract the effects of disadvantage in the early years

Factors used to measure the HLE:

Reading to children Playing with letters and numbers Teaching number rhymes and songs Painting and drawing Joining the library Taking children on visits Arranging for children to play with

peers at home

What will you do to encourage

these?

‘Establishing good home-school relations is not easy. The challenges include lack of time and the need for clarity . . . More fundamentally, mutual respect between home and school, though desirable, is not always present . . .’

(Alexander, 2010, p79)

planned

informal

formal

un-planned

Consultations

Admin meetings

Volunteers

School gate

School functions

Supermarket

Pub

Street…

Open-door

Incident

Communication

In groups of three take the role of parent, teacher or observer

Consider or even act out your scenario

How does it feel to be the teacher/parent?

What observations can the observer offer?

NUT - http://www.teachers.org.uk

Prepare for the parents' evening by making sure that your notes on your pupils are in order and easy for you to refer to. Take a pen and paper to jot down any important points that parents may make.

Wear clothes that will make you feel confident about the image you project.

Make parents feel welcome, smile and shake hands. Remember that parents may be feeling nervous and intimidated.

Try and be as positive as possible about each pupil. Even when you have to say something negative, try to begin and end the discussion with a positive comment.

Make sure you know to which parent of which child you are speaking.

Be concise in your comments and avoid using jargon.

You may wish to suggest one or two targets for the pupil and encourage the parents to discuss these with the child.

Offer the opportunity for parents to make comments and to ask questions.

Be polite, but firm, in saying goodbye to any parents who talk a great deal. Standing up and shaking hands is a good technique.

2. Working with staff within school/nursery

Transition out

Reporting, sharing info Children’s perspective

meta-cognition self assessment and target setting

Reflections

Identify a particular interaction with a Teaching Assistant/Nursery Nurse

What happened?

Why was it challenging/interesting/ empowering?

What did you learn from it?

Did it or will it affect what you did or do subsequently?

Desirable skills and personal attributesidentified in each other by TAs and teachers

Teaching AssistantsRelationshipsCommunication skillsAbility to take initiative and be

proactivePunctualityOpen-mindednessConscientiousnessGood standard of writing and

subject knowledgeAbility to plan, manage time

and manage behaviourBeing alert and sensitive to the

needs of the teacher

TeachersRelationshipsCommunication skillsEffective delegation

and enabling autonomy

Reward and celebrate success

Effective organisation and management

Wilson and Bedford (2008)

3. Working with staff beyond school/nursery

“. . . it is essential that we work together effectively, understanding the different roles and responsibilities and how we can facilitate each other as well as support the child. It is when the professionals do not work together effectively that there is a gap in provision and support that children suffer, sometimes disastrously . . .“

(Johnston & Nahmad-Williams (2009) Early Childhood Studies, p394)

http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/statutory/g00213160/working-together-to-safeguard-children

Multi-agency or inter-agency?

Child and famil

ySpeec

h /lang therapist

Educational

psychologist

Social worker

School

nurse

Teacher

Interagency (transagency)

Child and family

Teacher

School

nurse

Social worke

r

Educational

psychologist

Speech

/lang therapist

“Primary schools need stronger support in ensuring that the range of professionals working in schools . . . are working in a cohesive team . . . in order to improve outcomes for all and to narrow the achievement gap for more vulnerable children.”

Alexander, 2010, p504

Key principles to success (i)

Differing perspectives are valued and respected

Change comes from the bottom not the top

Services need to be brought into the community – not the reverse

Services need to be co-located to improve co-ordination

Open access to training Highest priority should be given to areas of

highest need

Key principles to success (ii)

Causes rather than effects need to be addressed Wider range of services such as advocacy for the

vulnerable Building independence rather than dependency Emphasis on improving self-esteem and self-

worth Increase in non-judgmental working High quality early years education and care

should be prioritised with the employment of teachers and better inspections

Gasper M ( 2010) Multi-agency working in the early years, p36-7

Common Assessment FrameworkAim:To identify at the earliest opportunity, a child’s additional needs which are not being met by the universal services they are receiving; to provide timely and co-ordinated support to meet those needsThe CAF is a standardised tool used to conduct an

assessment of a child’s additional needs [in the broadest sense] and help practitioners decide how those needs should be met (CWDC, 2008)

http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/strategy/integratedworking/caf/a0068957/the-caf-process

Three main focus areas for CAF

Development of the childParents and carersFamily and Environment

Working together?

Sarah Cowley Nov 2011

Supporting tasks

Read Ch3 in Edmond and Price (Aspire). This explores leadership and interagency working

You may like to look up Whalley, M. (2001/7) Involving Parents in their Children’s Learning

Field and Allen reports SBT1: how does the school/nursery work with

families and colleagues in support of children’s learning and wellbeing to promote Positive Relationships?

Watch more of the clips www.brighton.ac.uk/education/national_prioritie

s