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happydays2
24-06-2013, 05:11 PM
Hi I haven't posted on here before but I am looking for some help and advice....

How do other childminders get the parents involved in their child's learning and development and get them to contribute to their learning journeys/development profiles?

I provide each family with a weekly diary of what their child has been doing during the week and there is a section on there for parent comments asking them to share what they have been doing at home.
In the past I have had families that have put comments in this section but at the moment none of my families write anything. I obviously speak with parents at the start and end of the day and we share things then but they don't ever write things down.

I do provide all about me update sheets and comment sheets each time their learning journeys go home and some of my families complete this and return it but others don't despite me asking for it.

I know Ofsted want to see how we are working with our families to support the development of each child but in terms of paper based evidence I know I am lacking despite me knowing that I have a good working relationship with each of my families, they just get fed up with all the form filling (as do I!)

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

tori4
24-06-2013, 05:31 PM
Not a poplar choose but I find I get the best response via tex messages - it's all recorded date and everything . And my Facebook page, it's very private and highest security etc. I share activities, planning , newsletters finger paint recipes etc on it- I can see which parents have seen it- 90% of them reply/respond. Haven't had any post Wow moment bk but I have also started emailing invoices and copies of letters etc and how found a lot have start emailing photos bk . We all seem to communicate From behide a screen :-/.

I also send indviduall next steps via email they read and when next in I get them to fill in. I think if they get a chance to read in private 1st there not so scared to fill in :-? But who knows

funemnx
24-06-2013, 05:39 PM
One way is to record conversations with parents on a sheet - 'mummy says x can now do this or they have been learning to use their scooter at the weekend' type of thing? Another is to hand out 'how am I doing' sheets to the parents where they can comment but again you're asking them to write something down. It's not easy as some parents are happy to do this and some never do - all you can do is document somehow that you send these things out!

gef918
24-06-2013, 06:19 PM
I have regular meetings where we discuss the learning journey and planning. I then write up what we have said and agreed to do. Seem to get more information this way than asking them to fill in forms.

lisa1968
24-06-2013, 08:57 PM
i have the same problem-I do daily diaries etc and i know the parents love them and read them but they never write anything!
...so...I have a diary in which i write down anything verbal from parents-from what kind of night they've had, to how much breakfast they've eaten!
Some of this gets transferred to their journals e.g. "Billy learned to pedal his bike at the weekend"
It's not ideal really but it show's that you're exchanging info x

Mrs Scrubbit
24-06-2013, 09:38 PM
I also have shared diaries and all the parents are very good at letting me know what their children have done or said. I have sections in their LJs that are titled ' NOTES TAKEN FROM SHARED DIARY ' if the parents provided any info via them, I have also given my parents a supply of post-its to update me with info as soon as it happens ,some need reminding but others are brilliant and give me a whole batch of updates at the start of each month, these post-its then get stuck in another section in their childs LJs titled' NOTES FROM HOME' and then any info gained during conversatoins is recorded in writing and placed in anther section titled' PARENTS VERBAL COMMENTS' hth xx

jackie 7
25-06-2013, 09:47 PM
I went to a course and asked this question. I asked was it on to put parents comments in L j was told yes. Most parents are exhausted and the last thing they want Is to do more paperwork at weekend.

bindy
26-06-2013, 06:59 AM
My parents are rubbish. I did explain that I need some feed back from them otherwise Ofsted would down grade me. They did a little but nothing much. When a new child starts I do insisted they do questions for starting points though. I can understand, most of my mindees are full time, parents are tired and have two precious days to spend with their children, the last thing on their minds is having any thought of the childminder/ what the childminder wants. At the end of the day , their children are happy and content that's all what matters to them. To tell you the truth, sometimes I feel I do all the work for the benefit of Ofsted!

bunyip
26-06-2013, 09:10 AM
My parents are rubbish. I did explain that I need some feed back from them otherwise Ofsted would down grade me. They did a little but nothing much. When a new child starts I do insisted they do questions for starting points though. I can understand, most of my mindees are full time, parents are tired and have two precious days to spend with their children, the last thing on their minds is having any thought of the childminder/ what the childminder wants. At the end of the day , their children are happy and content that's all what matters to them. To tell you the truth, sometimes I feel I do all the work for the benefit of Ofsted!

I agree. Part of the problem is that ever since "childcare" was dropped into Ofsted's lap, their has been a quantum shift of emphasis towards the "education" aspects. Many parents don't understand why they can no longer just have someone to care for their child like they would at home.

It's made worse by Ofsted's view that nothing exists or takes place unless we can "evidence it".

Another problem is the mantra of "continuous improvement". It's not enough to find something that works and stick with it. We have to find something that works, then keep pushing ever harder until we've annoyed the life out of the parents.