PEAL has gathered a wide range of practice examples from early
years settings. These are tried and tested suggestions for creating
more time to talk, getting to know families, building
relationships, supporting parents’ confidence, sharing observations
and understanding about learning, working with parents at home and
on visits, and exchanging equipment between the home and
setting.
The aim is to provide a wide range of ideas so that individuals
or teams can select something they find exciting and feel able to
deliver – suitable for their own centre and community. You can
download the practice examples listed here:
Time to talk
Practical suggestions to create more time to talk and share
observations with parents
[PDF 137KB]
Settling in:
Getting to know children and families
An example stressing the critical importance of relationship
building and communication at entry
[PDF 111KB]
Key workers:
Getting to know children and families
The importance of knowing families well
[PDF 121KB]
Home
visits
Why more home visiting is so important, and practical tips
[PDF 103KB]
Sharing
Records with Parents
Open-access,
'parent-friendly' records of achievement, parents contributing to
records [PDF 143KB]
Transition
to Primary School
Supporting children and parents
moving on to Reception [PDF 97KB]
Download the All About Me booklet featured in
this practice example [PDF 316KB]
Local
visits with parents
Includes parents accompanying children on visits, and observing
with digital cameras
[PDF 207KB]
Adventures in play
Role-play with parents, children and practitioners
[PDF 237KB]
Sharing
Observations: Treasureboxes
Sharing
equipment in take-home boxes to sustain interest and learning,
listening to parents' observations [PDF 162 KB]
Stop! Look!
Listen! Sharing Observations with
parents
Encouraging parents to listen to
children, male observations at home, use Learning stories and
cameras [PDF 332 KB]
Sharing
observations with parents: The Pen Green
Loop
Regular sharing of child observations with
parents, and planning future learning [PDF 112 KB]
Sharing
observations with video
Showing parents a video
of their children to reach shared understandings about learning
through play [PDF 1366 KB]
Drama and
movement
Including parents in music and dance
sessions, sharing equipment with the home, exchanging observations
[117 KB]
Story home
visits
Taking book-sharing and reading into
homes, leaving story bags [PDF 146 KB]
Visits further
afield
Taking families on more ambitious outings,
record observations with digital cameras [PDF 164 KB]
Sure Start
goes wild
Exploring wildlife, parks, nature parks
and the countryside with families [PDF 172 KB]
Family maths
games library
Lending maths equipment and games
to children and families [PDF 131KB]
Languages
Week
Celebrating community languages with parents
in the setting [PDF 137 KB]
Listening
library
Lending stories on tape, tape equipment and videos of practitioners
telling stories to children [PDF 125 KB]
Sure Start
Battersea, PEEP
Regular groups (Peers Early
Education Partnership) with parents, babies and young children to
socialise and encourage learning at home [PDF 143 KB]
Parents
as First Teachers (PAFT)
Outreach family support
programme, offering groups and regular personal visits to encourage
and sustain learning at home [PDF 160 KB]
Baby and
Me
Using video of parent-baby interactions to encourage talk and play
with young babies
[PDF 114KB]
Baby and toddler
groups
How early learning and development can be encouraged through stay
and play sessions
[PDF 117KB]
Getting
fathers involved
Successful strategies for getting fathers involved in their young
children's learning
[PDF 145KB]
Home-Nursery diaries
0-2s
Sharing daily observations on care, development and learning with
parents
[PDF 136KB]
Toy library and treasure
baskets
The benefits of encouraging parents to borrow equipment and
treasure baskets
[PDF 114KB]
Sharing ideas for play
and observations with parents - Childminders' practice
example
Childminders explain how they share observations and record keeping
with parents - and give ideas for learning through play
[PDF 133KB]
Visits out
with parents - Childminders' practice example
How including parents on local visits can help to model and support
effective early learning
[PDF 123KB]
Reception:
involving parents in school
How one school uses Stay and Play sessions to develop partnerships
with parents and help them be more involved in their
children's education.
Reception: settling
in
How practitioners can help children to
settle in at school by working with parents and sharing
regular observations.