Parents as Partners
Nobody knows your child better than you. I believe that all children benefit most when there is an open, respectful and supportive partnership between home and my setting. Therefore my key aim is to establish a positive relationship with every family and to ensure parents and carers are actively involved. I value the knowledge you can share about your child's personality, interests, strengths, fears or anxieties, friendships, communication, family circumstances, cultural background, routines, behaviour, emotional wellbeing and development. I will use this information alongside my own observations and professional knowledge to provide your child a personalised experience and to respond to their needs. So please share the things that make your child smile or laugh, the things that upset them or make them feel insecure or frightened, so I can make each experience a positive one, eliminating worries with support, guidance and comforting. If we work together to give your child a secure base, they will gain the self confidence to explore the world around them. With encouragement to freely express their ideas and feelings, they will learn to develop strategies to cope with new challenges and stressful situations.
I recognise that starting childcare is a significant transition for you and your child. We will discuss how your child responds to separation and work together to make the process as positive and reassuring as possible. We will agree a settling-in approach, because starting childcare is a process and not an event. This will include regular visits when you stay with your child, short initial unaccompanied sessions, gradually increasing the length of the unaccompanied sessions, sharing information about your child's usual home routines, regular communication during the settling-in period and making sure comfort objects from home are on hand.
Before your child's start I will look to discuss: their routines and needs, their sleeping, eating and toileting arrangements, their allergies and dietary requirements, and learn about additional needs and disabilities. I encourage parents to tell me about anything they believe will help me provide the best possible care for their child over and above their child's routines and needs, their interests, their medical and health needs, their communication and language needs, their previous childcare experiences, their likes, dislikes, comforters and ways of settling. We will discuss how you would like me to support your family's culture, religion and family practices. I will look to answer your questions about my setting and the EYFS. I will ask you to complete a child profile as your child joins, which will help ease the transition and settling in period. Please take the time to share as much information as you can so that your child's care can be consistent. Tell me about favourite shared rhymes you sing while you are changing nappies, or favourite games you play with your adventurous little one at the park.
My aim is to: share information openly and appropriately; involve families in decisions relating to their child's care and learning; ensure father's feel welcome; encourage parents to contribute to their child's learning journey; provide parents with opportunities to continue learning at home; ensure parents understand how the EYFS is implemented in setting; ensure parents know how to access the policies and procedures for Daisy Dolls; ensure information is accessible and inclusive; listen to and respond appropriately to parents' views and concerns; provide a clear process for raising concerns, complaints or suggestions; work collaboratively with parents and other professionals where appropriate; support effective transitions into my setting, other settings and school; promote equality, inclusion and respect; provide continuity between home and setting; support their child's learning and development; identify and respond to additional needs; celebrate their child's achievements and keep every child safe, healthy and happy.
I will obtain and maintain relevant information about your child and family, including: your child's full name and date of birth, parent/carer contact details, information about parental responsibility, who your child normally lives with, emergency contacts, health and medical information, allergies and dietary requirements, relevant health information, development information, communication and language information, information about your child's interests and preferences, information about routines, information necessary to keep your child safe and information about additional needs or disabilities. Working together is essential for the health of your child. Please make sure this information is kept up to date at all times, and tell me about any changes in home circumstances which may impact on your child’s development or my ability to care for your child. This may include parent separation, bereavement, moving home, new family members, changes in childcare arrangements, changes in health or significant emotional or behavioural changes. All information will be treated sensitively and confidentially, subject to safeguarding requirements. Where parents are separated, I will work with both parents wherever this is consistent with the child’s welfare and legal requirements. I will obtain appropriate information about: parental responsibility, who the child normally lives with, authorised collectors, contact arrangements and relevant court orders or legal restrictions. I will not become involved in or be allowed to be drawn into parental disputes. Information shared by parents will be treated respectfully and confidentially. Personal information will only be shared where there is a legitimate reason to do so. However, confidentiality will not prevent me from sharing information necessary to safeguard a child or where there is a legal requirement to do so. Safeguarding concerns will always take priority over confidentiality. We will review all your child's record forms annually, but always immediately if there is a change in circumstances.
My care of your child will reflect your values and practices, preferences and attitudes. Family customs and beliefs about dietary requirements, dress code, hair and skin care, help required with toileting and washing are respected as detailed in my Equal Opportunities Policy. Records of agreed requirements are kept attached to your child’s record forms.
I am fully aware of my responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998. I am registered with ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) – registration number PZ3302605. All information I hold is stored safely in a non portable safe cupboard and I follow all the ICO good code of practice standards.
Before a child can join Daisy Dolls I will sign a written with parents/careers which will be dated. Parents and any other party involved in the contractual arrangements will receive a copy of the contract. This contract will be reviewed with parents every 12 months or when circumstances change.
Throughout your child's time at Daisy Dolls I will maintain regular, two-way communication with you. The communication will be professional, respectful and appropriate. I recognise that parents have different circumstances and communication preferences. I always look to remove barriers to effective communication, so feel free to share your preferences (WhatsApp, text, email, telephone, face-to-face meetings, or informal day to day feedback). I will always make myself available at the beginning and end of each session to talk and listen to you. This open dialogue is so important. In the early days leaving your child in a new setting can be unsettling, perhaps even more so for you than your child. I will always be available to talk, so if you feel you need to text/ring to see just how they are getting on, then please do. Usually, with comforting and a little distraction even the very youngest child is quite happy to start exploring their new setting quickly after Mummy or Daddy has left. At the end of the day, I will let you know how our day has gone. That will include giving an insight into our activities and outings; reciting your child’s achievements and triumphs that day and perhaps if I have picked up on something that has particularly interested and captured their imagination, we can talk about it, so that we can jointly build on these interests in the setting and at home. Any accidents that day will have been recorded and I will ask you to sign the appropriate form. If you have given written permission to administer medicine at the start of the session, I will ask you to sign to accept that I have followed your written instructions. Please refer to my Medicines Policy. Each day you will receive a notification in your child’s Care Diary through Tapestry and will be able to see details on their toileting, sleep, meals and feeds. I always put any uneaten food back into their lunch box. From this you can also see what they have eaten through the day. All significant incidents are recorded on Tapestry and will be shared and discussed at the end of the day, so we can work together to resolve any issues.
I use Tapestry, an online journal, to record all the learning and fun of children’s early years education. Each week day your child attends you will receive a record of their experiences, development, activities and daily routines using photos, videos and diary entries. You will be able to add your own comments and share photos and videos, and together we will weave the story of how your child is growing and developing. Tapestry allows all records to be stored on a secure platform. I will use ‘Tapestry’ to keep you informed about forth coming topics, next steps in their learning, tips for supporting home learning and useful information to support your child in their early years. Please help build a fuller picture of your child by sharing on Tapestry their new interests, achievements, favourite books, family experiences, outings, new words or phrases, changes to their behaviour or emerging skills.
Your child’s ability to learn is at its greatest when absorbed in play, doing something that has totally captured their imagination. With this in mind, I always try to plan around a child’s individual interests. Child initiated play can lead anywhere. The only thing to be sure of, it has sparked enthusiasm, motivating them to extend their learning with the right resources and opportunities available to them. I will be proactive in asking about latest interests and learning styles at home and will share game ideas to support them.
I encourage parents to become involved in the Daisy Dolls community in ways that are appropriate and comfortable for them.
I avoid creating unnecessary paperwork or making parents feel that they are required to undertake formal teaching at home. Instead the emphasis is on enjoyable, realistic activities and game ideas that will fit naturally into family life which will support your child's next steps.
Please do discuss any particular concerns about your child’s development or learning with me, so we can jointly agree a plan and work together towards a positive outcome.
If your child has English as their second language, with your help, I will be able to mark commonly place items with their name in your child’s first language. Perhaps a few photographs of family celebrations could help us all share in the enjoyment of your child’s happy memories. These may be cultural or religious festivals. If we promote positive images and attitudes to diversity and difference within the children, we will help them to learn to value different aspects of their own and other people’s lives. We should all be made to feel we are included, safe and valued; that we will be listened to and respected and not discriminated against.
Every child has a Two-Year Progress Check with the Health Visiting Team. Health Visitors send parents an ASQ3 questionnaire to complete on their child’s development and they invited to attend a health review. As part of this review I will complete an EYFS progress check in partnership with you. You will be able to share my report during your child's check with their Health Visitor. Parents are encouraged to share their own observations and concerns. We will discuss your child's development, identify strengths, areas where additional support may be beneficial and agreed next steps. If I have any concerns, I will discuss in a sensitive manner how best to support you and your child. You will receive a hard copy of the EYFS Progress check I make to slip into your child's health care record (their red book). The combined information from the two checks is important as it gives a holistic picture of your child's development.
I expect communication between parents and myself to remain respectful and professional. I understand that parents may sometimes be worried, frustrated or upset. I will: listen without unnecessary interruption, remain calm and professional, avoid judgement, focus on the child’s needs, explain decisions clearly, and seek solutions wherever possible. Any aggressive, threatening, abusive or discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated.
I welcome parents’ feedback as it helps me to improve my provision. Please refer to my Complaints Policy on my procedures for managing negative feedback. All complaints will be investigated.
I notify all parents in advance when I am to be inspected by Ofsted so that parents can contribute their views to the inspector. A copy of the Ofsted report is given to parents within five working days of receiving the report.
Children will only be released from my care to the parent(s)/career(s), or to someone named and authorised by the parent/career. A password will be used to confirm identity if the person collecting the child is not previously known to me.
This policy will be reviewed at least annually and sooner if: EYFS requirements change, legislation or statutory guidance changes, Ofsted requirements change, there is a significant incident, feedback identifies a need to change, or the setting's procedures change.