The revised EYFS (2012) puts a much bigger focus on involving children’s parents in all aspects of their time with us - including showing how we can evidence planning activities which the children will enjoy based on things parents tell us and how we can share their learning in our provisions with home.

You might find it helpful to make a list of the ways in which you currently work with parents to involve them in their child’s planning. For example, you might ask them to contribute resources, find out what their child is enjoying doing at home, send home favourite recipes from a cooking activity, produce activity guides for them to use with their child at home etc.

Then think about how you can further involve them so that you are raising outcomes for the children by working in close partnership.

You will also be collecting evidence for your inspection and might find it useful to talk about how you have improved the ways you work in partnership with parents in your SEF.

You might find that you do enough already… or you might think that you can meet this requirement by including parents comments and ideas in your planning documents.

Here are some ideas of how it might work in practice…

As weeks go on, I try and involve parents in the activities we are doing. For example, for Red Nose Day I suggested to the children that they might like to organise a special red party. They were very enthusiastic, so I mentioned it in my newsletter and asked parents to contribute information about what their children were dong for Red Nose Day at home.

I wrote down what they told me and used it when I was writing my individual planning, basing my group plans around each child’s interests and current needs.

Closer to the day, I sent out a letter asking parents if children could all wear red on the day of the party and again asking for information about what Red Nose Day activities the children might be doing as a family.

I then planned our party involving all the ideas the children had given me and information shared by parents. Group planning for our red party day looked something like this...

• Piñatas - xx has been to Spain recently and talks a lot about a donkey piñata he saw - make a red piñata over the course of the week to burst on our red day;

• Clothes - all the children want to wear red clothes - ask parents for contributions and provide a few spares

• Food - ask parents what red food their children like to eat. Choose red healthy eating snack items at the shop. Cook a special redcurrant cake with the children - share recipe for red cake with parents to try with their children at home.

• Red things - I talked to the parents about how they could support their child’s learning at home - I asked them to point out things that are red in the environment and to talk to their child so they could bring back ideas of red things their child likes. I followed this up during group circle time on the day.
And so on…

As you can see, I shared the planning ideas with parents and asked them to contribute ideas and information about their child’s home life. I used what they told me to write my planning and I shared ideas for home learning.

Sharing learning with parents (mini e-book 79)

This mini e-book is full of ideas of how to encourage parents to participate in the learning children are experiencing with you… without them thinking you are trying to tell them how to do their job!

All my mini e-books are priced at £1.99 and are available on my Knutsford Childminding website.

I aim to inspire