Working with Parents, Carers and Families in the Early Years: The Essential Guide

by Teresa Wilson

Overview

Parents have a crucial role in supporting children’s learning, development and well-being. The act of forming effective partnerships with families and carers is a key feature of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Achieving this takes time, reflective practice, skill and a solid understanding of the barriers that can impede forming effective working relationships with parents.

Working with Parents, Carers and Families in the Early Years offers an informed and comprehensive framework for working with parents, drawing on the latest evidence and containing practical advice from practitioners and parents, to support sound partnership practice. This second edition has been fully updated to reflect the current economic and social challenges facing families and the increasing diversity of family structures.

Full of examples and activities for training to support practice across a wide range of settings, it focuses on key areas such as:

• Working with parents of different aged children

• The development of strategies to support the relationship

• The barriers to partnership working, including sector challenges, social and cultural changes and time poverty

• Creating parent-friendly environments

• Reflecting on the events of the COVID-19 lockdown and the impact on partnership with parents

• Working with diverse families

Including case studies and questions for reflective practice, this book will be ideal for Early Years students on Foundation Degrees, Childhood Studies Courses and those training to become Early Years Teachers as well as Early Years practitioners and managers responsible for staff training.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040186398
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/04/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	180

About the Author

Teresa Wilson is a recently retired Associate Professor from the Institute of Education at the University of Reading, UK. Her main research interest has been the relationship between parents and practitioners and how to reflect on making it positive and productive for all.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Section 1 Building partnerships

Chapter 1 Parents, practitioners and the partnership principle

Chapter 2 Laws, policies and supporting families

Chapter 3 Making use of theory and reflection

Section 2 Developing partnerships

Chapter 4 Partnership work during transitions

Chapter 5 Partnership work with different ages

Chapter 6 Partnership work for inclusion

Chapter 7 Creating a welcoming environment

Chapter 8 Effective communication between home and setting

Section 3 Deepening understanding of partnerships

Chapter 9 Overcoming barriers to partnerships

Chapter 10 Learning for the future

Appendix 1

Early Years Teacher Standards (NCTL, 2013)