Partnership with Parents - Little Leaf Nursery

At Little Leaf Nurseries, we believe that in order for children to receive quality care and early learning that suits their individual needs, parents and staff need to work together in a close partnership. The two-way sharing of information is key to this. The nursery team welcomes parents as partners and this relationship needs to be built on trust and understanding. It is important that we, as practitioners, are able to support parents in an open and sensitive manner.

The nursery wishes to ensure parents are an integral part of the care and early learning team within the nursery.

Our policy is to:

Recognise and support parents as their child’s first and most important educators and to welcome them into the life of the nursery at any time of the day.

Ensure that all parents are aware of the nursery’s policies and procedures.

Maintain regular contact with parents to help us to build a secure and beneficial working relationship for their children.

Create opportunities for parents to talk to other adults in a secure and supportive environment through such activities as open days, parents’ evenings and a parents’ forum, stay and play sessions.

Inform parents about the range and type of activities and experiences provided for children, the daily routines of the setting, the types of food and drinks provided for children and events.

Operate a key person system to enable a close working relationship with all parents. Parents are given the name of the key person and their role when the child starts. Support two-way information sharing regarding each child’s individual needs both in nursery and at home.

Inform parents on a regular basis about their child’s progress and involve them in the shared record keeping. Parents’ evenings will be held at least twice a year. Parents will be consulted about the times of meetings to avoid excluding anyone.

Encourage parents to contribute to children’s learning through sharing observations, interests and experiences from home. This could be verbally, sharing photographs or in written form.

Consider and discuss all suggestions from parents concerning the care and early learning of their child and nursery operation.

Inform parents of the systems for registering queries, compliments, complaints or suggestions, and to check that these systems are understood. All parents have access to our written complaints procedure.

Share information about the Early Years Foundation Stage, how parents can further support learning at home and where they can access further information.

Respect the family’s religious and cultural backgrounds and beliefs and accommodate any special requirements wherever possible and practical to do so.

Inform parents how the nursery supports children with special educational needs and disabilities.