The following information is intended to support practitioners to -
- Be able to foster positive relationship with parents and careers, listen and hear the voice of the family.
- Feel empowered to support the family in a creative flexible and personal way.
- Initiate the development of a mutually respectful and trusting partnership with parents.
- Begin to understand and explore listening skills
Most recent child and family-based legislation including
the Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs and Disability 2014 clearly state that:
- Children and their families must be central to the planning processes.
- The child and the child’s parent must be consulted throughout the processes of assessment and planning within the Education and Social Care frameworks.
- The needs of the individual child and young person should sit at the heart of the assessment and planning process.
Statutory framework for the early year’s foundation stage
The EYFS seeks to provide partnership working between practitioners and with parents and/or carers.
Working with parents is paramount, we know that this can have a powerful and lasting impact on children’s life chances. Support should be family-centred and should consider the individual family’s needs and the best ways to support them.
SEND assessment in the Early Years requires practitioners to have key skills. Practitioners must be able to:
- Ask the right questions in order to gather the important facts
- Carry out effective observation of a child’s play; developing a vocabulary and skill base that recognises the subtle details in a child’s behaviour that are indicators of a child engaged in, and learning from, their play experiences
- Engage in difficult conversations with parents including learning skills linked with sharing difficult news.
Some feedback we’ve received from settings is that they are struggling with:
- Emotional and upsetting conversations
- Raising and discussing concerns with parents/carer
- Engaging with parents
- Supporting parents’ well-being, particularly with the impact of having a child with emerging or complex SEND.
Watch the following role play film clip…
- What do you think about the ‘professionals’ comments to the parent?
- How do you think the parent responded to the practitioners’ comments?
Obviously that clip demonstrated how not to interact with a parent
There are many ways in which practitioners can help increase parents’ confidence in sharing information so that they can operate on a more equal footing…
Now watch this second role play film clip…
- What do you think about the professional comments to the parent?
- How do you think the parent responded to the practitioners’ comments?
The second clip created a far better experience for the parent and should lead to a far more productive relationship for everyone. When there is a reciprocal exchange of information from home to setting and from the setting to home, children will experience continuity and a consistent approach to their development and learning
Let’s start by looking at the process of helping to build a relationship
This sits comfortably alongside the SEND Code of Practice 0-25yrs- Graduated Approach of Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycles
Preparation is key- use a mental checklist….
- Book a time so you can have an unhurried conversation - do you have time set aside for this? ensure the parent doesn’t have to rush off or need to collect a child, if time is precious, you must keep an eye on when to finish the meeting.
- Where are you going to meet - is your conversation taking place in a private space.
- Collect support information - have child’s developmental records and/ or tracking up to date.
- Clarity and openness of information sharing – avoid jargon, speculation and judgements.
- Be welcoming - ensure you introduce yourself and the reason for the meeting.
Things to consider before you meet
- Don’t make any judgements about the family, the child and their individual needs
- Consider where the family are in their ‘journey’….
- their understanding of their child's needs…. what have others said to them about their child?... are they concerned about their child themselves?
- Before the meeting, decide exactly what you need to talk about…..
You could use the ‘Positive-Negative-Positive Sandwich’ method to communicate your particular concern for example…
POSITIVE
Start off with a positive comment or two
“Thank you for taking the time to see me, I know you are really busy”
“We are so pleased that child's name is….”
NEGATIVE
State simply and briefly what you are bothered about
“I am concerned/not happy/ unclear about….”
Then say what action you’d like to be taken.
“I would like child’s name to be assessed…”
“I wonder if you’d be able to….”
Confirm the action you have agreed.
“So what we’ve agreed is….”
POSITIVE
End with a positive comment and thank them for their help.
“Thank you for meeting with me today”
Below are a range of topics you might want to raise with a parent about their child
- Communication
- Physical development
- Toileting
- Sleeping
- Feeding- bottle/ cutlery
- Confidence
- Independence- personal care
- Social interaction with adults and peers
Remember – to have a range of resources, strategies, advice and tools available that you can use to support your discussions with parents
Check out the EYIT pages on the RBG SEND Local Offer that has many resources that can help you
Other things to consider during the meeting
- Ask the parent/ carer to describe their child as fully as possible
You want to tap into their knowledge to know what their child is like as an individual., put the parent into the helper role since they are helping you complete a holistic picture of their child.
How do the parents talk about their child? How they describe them?
You might like to start with the following question: ‘Would you like to describe/tell me about (child’s name)?’ or, ‘What’s (child’s name) like?’
Let the parent talk as long as they like (an hour maximum). When they have finished, just ask, ‘Is there anything else you’d like to add?’
- Listen and hear what they say don’t assume you know
Show a clear interest in what the parent is saying (nodding, smiling, affirming, and encouraging) but try not to lead in any way nor prompt for specific information, nor indicate what they ‘should’ say.
- Take note and observe the parents body language
The way they sit, the way they respond to your questions- you may have to rephase a question based on how the parent responds (look closely at what their body/ face says as well as what they might say)
- Active listening
Ask open ended questions, pause wait for the parents to talk/ respond. It may help to repeat what they have said to clarify
Parent “I feel like I have let Bob down, he’s acting like this because of something I didn’t do”
Practitioner “Something you didn’t do?”
- Get to know your families
Make time to find out as much as you can about the family unit – what their story/ family history/ dynamics- for example if you always meet with mum because dad is at work… consider different ways to get dad’s input.
Feedback from a parent regarding a meeting experience
After meeting reflection- think about what everyone will now be feeling
