We recognise that parents/carers are the child’s first and most powerful educators. When parents/carers and practitioners work together, the results have a positive impact on the child’s development.
We promote this partnership by:
Class Facebook pages and a school Twitter account share some of our successes as a school and keep parents in touch with some of the exciting developments that take place on a daily basis.
Weekly newsletters inform parents of the learning that is taking place through annotated photographs and also of forthcoming developments.
Outlining the Reception curriculum to parents/carers during a meeting in the summer term prior to the children starting, to enable them to understand how they can support their child at home.
Sending topic grids home every half term to show parents what is planned across the seven areas of learning with an outline of activities which could be undertaken at home to support this.
Operating an ‘open door’ policy, where parents/carers can come and discuss concerns and developments in an informal manner at the end of the day.
Encouraging parents/carers to come on school outings.
Inviting parents/carers into Reception to work alongside the children with activities such as baking, gardening or hearing readers (subject to enhanced DBS checks and teacher support).
Inviting parents/carers to termly workshops which will outline how they can support their child with the curriculum at home, including how we teach children to read and write. We want to support parents to promote their child’s life long love for learning.
Parent surveys are offered to parents annually, providing them with the opportunity to discuss strengths and offer suggestions for improvements.
Children receive a Homelink book comprising of a weekly task designed around the current topic. This task is a practical experience and is intended for a parent/carer to work alongside their child. Activities may include baking experiences, developing listening skills, collecting objects relating to seasons, registering at a library and numeracy games. Photos, notes from parents and marks from children are all encouraged to record the children’s completion of the tasks. Any additional activities which children experience at home may be added to this book, including holidays, outings or special events. Children are encouraged to share the information in the books during circle times.
Parents/carers are invited to regular class assemblies where they have the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress and future targets as well as seeing the classroom set out with a range of learning opportunities that their child would experience on a normal day.
Holding parent/carer and child open days and workshops to enable parents/carers to work alongside their children.
Parents are offered the opportunity to become a ‘buddy’ where new developments and initiatives will be discussed with them first to provide a parent’s perspective.
A noticeboard is updated regularly to share information about their child’s day, including planning, menus, key worker groups, newsletters and curriculum matters.
Providing an annual written report to parents at the end of the school year summarising the child’s progress against the EYFS assessment scales.
