PARENT PARTNERSHIP
PARENT PARTNERSHIP
Statement of Intent
At Orchard Day Nursery we value parents / guardians and believe that they are the first and most important teachers and educators of their young children. Our aim is to support the vital and valuable work that they do. We believe that children benefit most from nursery care and education when parents and nurseries work together in partnership.
Our Aim
To support parents as their children's first and most important educators.
To involve parents in the life of the nursery and their children's education.
To support parents in their own continuing education and personal development.
Methods
In order to achieve this we will;
- Work closely with new parents and carers, offering support and guidance and set time aside (normally during the child’s first settling in session or home visit) to go through the nursery’s, systems and policies. Any parent with English with a second language will be welcomed and all efforts will be made to ensure that they have an equal understanding of policies and activities within the nursery setting.
- Ensure that all parents and carers have the opportunity and are encouraged to contribute their own skills, knowledge and interests to the nursery in ways which are accessible to parents with basic skills needs, or those for whom English is an additional language.
- Provide opportunities for parents to learn about the Early Years Foundation Stage and about young children's learning in the nursery and at home.
- Involve all parents and carers in shared record keeping about their child. This may be done on a formal basis by inviting the parent into the nursery for parent’s evenings, meetings. Or on a less formal basis when the children are collected at the end of the day. Or by encouraging the parents/carers to celebrate some of their child’s achievements.
- Encourage parents to participate in their child’s online learning profile (tapestry) by posting pictures, making comments on staff’s observations and contributing their own observations.
- Ensure the children’s individual profiles are available for their parents / guardians to see and discuss at any time. A written request must be made for personal files on the children. This is to ensure the protection of third parties who may be referred to in the child’s file under data protection rules.
- Provide information about forums, conferences, workshops and training.
- Consult with parents so as not to exclude anyone when arranging meetings, making sure that times, dates and venues are convenient so as many people as possible can attend.
- Making sure that the child is cared for in accordance to the parent’s wishes.
- Respect the family’s religious and cultural backgrounds and to accommodate any special requirements wherever possible and practical to do so.
- Welcoming nursing mothers. The nursery will make available a private area whenever needed to offer space and privacy to these mothers.
- Talk to parents on a daily basis about how their child ate or slept and encourage parents to contribute information about how they have been. This will help us care for the child throughout the day.
- To find out the needs and expectations of parents. These will be obtained through regular feedback via questionnaires, providing a suggestion system and encouraging parents to review working practices. These are then evaluated by the nursery to promote nursery practice, policy and staff development.
Collection Arrangements
When a child is enrolled into the nursery the parents are required to complete a registration form, on which they will inform us of persons that are allowed to collect their child/ren.
Parents are asked to notify the nursery if anyone different is collecting the child, an ‘Authorised Adult Collection Form’ should be completed by the parent advising us of their details. Parents/carers will also be required to supply a unique password. In case of an emergency where by the parent is unable to notify us in writing, they must telephone the nursery to inform us who is going to collect their child and provide us with details of the collector and a password. If the member of staff that opens the door has not seen that person previously when they collect the child, they will be asked on arrival for identification and / or a password.
Anyone who does not have identification or a password will politely be asked to remain at the front entrance while the parent/carer of the child is contacted. Only when a parent or named carer has given permission, will we allow the person collecting the child into the nursery.
It is the policy of Orchard Day Nursery to ensure that all children are released into the care of a parent / guardian or other authorised suitable adult over the age of 18. Proof of Identification may be required.
Customer Care
At Orchard Day Nursery we feel that our parents/carers and children, are the most important people on our premises. Therefore it is our aim to provide all children and parents with an impeccable standard of care, we will take time to talk to our customers and encourage advice on how we can improve our setting so as to maintain and improve our standard.
We have a Partnership with Parents Code of Conduct in place to ensure that all staff maintain positive and professional relationships with all parents at all times.
We will also ensure that:
- We have a clean tidy working environment
- We answer the telephone as quickly as possible or return messages that are left.
- Find out what makes our customers happy
- Keep our customers (Parents/carers) informed about staff changes.
- Investigate all complaints and respond within 5 days.
Nursery Parent Partnership Group
The aim of the Parent Partnership Group is to include and value the views and opinions of the families using Orchard Day Nursery. Members of the nursery management team and a group of self nominated parents form the Nursery Parent Partnership Group, which meet up on occasions to discuss the nursery, it’s staff, operations and current topics. All parents are notified in advance of the date of each meeting and may attend if they wish. Agenda items can be nominated by all parents ensuring that the meetings cover current and relevant issues.
Policy Statement
Orchard Day Nursery undertakes to ensure that all aspects of the nursery policies and procedures are kept under review and that they operate in a non-discriminatory manner.
All nursery policies and procedures are written in accordance with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework. Whilst individual policies link directly to the EYFS all policies and procedures interlink with all areas of the EYFS. The Learning and Development theme runs throughout all of our practices due to our Learning through Play ethos.
The management will ensure that any changes to this policy will be communicated to all employees.
The management will ensure that all staff, parents, carers, voluntary workers and others are fully aware of the channels through which they lodge complaints and appeals on all matters.
We also will endeavour to ensure that all staff practices remain in line with the current best practice.
