Parents Archives - LearningBook

Involving parents in their child’s learning journey

Dec 2019 by Lizzy Jones

Parental involvement in Early Years and Learning Journeys

Working in partnership with parents, carers and families is a key part of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Parental involvement in how children learn, what their early experiences are and their development helps practitioners plan for effective learning throughout the early years. It also helps settings support parents in continuing their children’s learning and development at home.

Parental involvement and partnerships may mean parents join in on trips, stay and plays and other events going on at the nursery. It can also mean gathering information from families and encouraging them to invest time in understanding what their child does every day and how they are progressing. Some parents may be less engaged or may not have an understanding of how they can support their child and you. It is essential that you and your setting are inclusive of all parents and carers wherever possible.

A perfect way to get parents involved is to introduce them to their child’s learning journey, what is means and what it tells them about their child.

What is a learning journey?

A learning journey is a collection of pieces of information that create a picture of a particular child. It’s a valuable tool for:

● Assessing a child’s development through the EYFS;
● Providing a record of a child’s time with you;
● Helping you plan activities.

You should be able to see at a glance the child’s stage of development and what they need to cover next. Learning journeys enable you to keep track of a child’s development. Observations are linked to areas of the EYFS and you use your knowledge, as well as information from parents and other relevant professionals to plan activities.

Learning journeys can be hugely beneficial for early years practitioners when it comes to tracking progress, benchmarking and planning. That’s why it’s important to invest time and effort into school and nursery learning journeys, and encourage parents to contribute.

Many settings use digital or online learning journey systems, such as LearningBook, to help save time and make assessing a child quicker and more accurate. Going digital with your learning journeys means that parents can access it anywhere, anytime, rather than having to wait until parents’ evenings or the end of term to see it. It also means your parental involvement is boosted. Parents can more easily contribute as they know what is going on daily and what their child’s next steps are.

How LearningBook can help with parental involvement and engagement?

LearningBook gives parents the visibility they need to support their child’s education beyond the classroom. We have introduced multiple features to encourage the growth of early years parental engagement. If parents can understand how their child learns and what they do day-to-day, partnerships with parents will be made stronger. We understand the importance of early years parental engagement and boosting parent partnerships within your setting. To do this to benefit children’s well-being and development, not only to appease Ofsted. Parent involvement in early years education can introduce new experiences. A child can have lots of influences varying from the classroom to home. A parent who recognises what their child does at school, pre-school or nursery has a better understanding of their child’s ability. This means they understand which areas they need to work on to improve their development.

“Parental engagement has been great, we have noticed more engagement again since the launch of the Parent App. It’s been a great success!” – D-Dee’s Day Nursery

Parent Portal

MyLearningBook is a dedicated Parent Portal accessed through any web browser using a secure log in, parents can access their children’s learning journeys at any time. For example, when they’re at work or on the move – they will never miss a moment. Parents can upload photos from home to be included in the learning journey. They can comment on individual observations and view and contribute to termly assessments.

Parent App

A beautifully designed iOS app available on iPhones. Parents can download and log in for free whilst they’re out and about. Parents can do everything the Parent Portal does but it is designed to be more user-friendly for iPhones and easier to logon and keep informed. They will receive notifications when a setting shows an observation or assessment.

At Home uploads

Parents can upload their own photos from home to show children’s learning when they’re not with you in your setting. Some children may show abilities and skills that they don’t show at nursery. The At Home uploads can be converted by staff and linked to the EYFS to contribute to the ‘bigger picture’.

Keepsakes

LearningBook allows parents to cherish their child’s memories forever by printing their learning journey in beautiful hardback books and compact memory sticks. A permanent keepsake to show children, parents and families just how far they’ve come and what they can achieve.

Parent logon report

The LearningBook support team can provide settings with a ‘Parent logon report’. This report shows you exactly which accounts have logged in and when. You can encourage those who haven’t logged in for a while to do so. Ask them to upload photos from home based on your next steps and your coversations.

How does an outstanding nursery ensure involvement of all parents and carers in their children’s learning?

As part of the new (September 2019) inspection framework, an inclusive service must be demonstrated as well as how an early years setting works in partnerships with parents, carers and others. Staff and settings must engage effectively with parents and carers in order to facilitate education and development.

Footprints Day Nursery

We sat down with Hayley, Manager of Footprints Day Nursery in Macclesfield, who were recently graded as ‘outstanding’ under the new Ofsted inspection framework, to discuss how they ensure engagement and inclusion of parents on their digital learning journey software, LearningBook.

In Footprints’ case, they have many working parents, those without access to a computer and those who are less comfortable with technology. To adapt and ensure they support these parents, Hayley and her staff at Footprints have used LearningBook’s features of ‘parental view’ as well as come up with their own strategies to ensure the involvement of their parents no matter their inclination.

“Footprints were part of LearningBook’s creation which means we could have an impact on lots of features, including the parental aspect. Even early on we knew that there may have been some resistance to going online, so we needed to make sure everyone could be involved and access their child’s learning journey.

We obviously use the Parent Portal [MyLearningBook] to encourage parents to logon and look at their child’s observations and progress daily. It helps parents understand what we do and how their child learn, what they like and don’t like. MyLearningBook empowers parents to get involved in their child’s education from an early age and contribute what they’re seeing at home.

The introduction of the Parent App was great as it made logging on even quicker, and getting notifications meant there was no excuse to miss their child’s achievements!”

Hayley was quick to recognise apps and website aren’t for everyone, “We do have some parents who find using apps and websites a little tricky, or don’t have access to these devices and are put off from logging on. So to support these parents we sometimes use print outs or even show them their child’s learning journey through our Admin Portal on our own computers. We have introduced a dedicated area in our reception for parents to logon during drop-off, pick-up and parents evenings. Our staff show them how to login and advise them on how they can contribute. It also gives parents confidence and helps them realise it’s not hard to access, which has a lasting impact.”

To make sure as many parents are logging on as possible, Hayley said “We target those parents who we know aren’t logging on to MyLearningBook as regularly as we would like. The LearningBook team provide us with a ‘Parent Login Report’ which tells us when parents last logged in. Key workers will chase the parents who haven’t logged in for a while and reiterate the importance of parent involvement and engagement – this normally does the trick!”

Footprint’s strategies are clearly working as HMI mentioned the effectiveness in their recent Ofsted report, “Staff know families well and relationships between children, staff and parents are a key factor in the success of this exceptionally caring nursery. For example, staff are aware that it is difficult for some families to access computers at home. To address this, they support parents to use a designated computer in nursery. This enables parents to view children’s progress trackers.”

The report also references the parents’ point of view, “Parents describe how staff ensure that all significant adults in children’s lives are included in their learning.”

Footprints use a basic computer monitor and a ChromeBit, which is a simple PC and costs just over £100. They have this and a display board in their reception area for parents to use to logon to MyLearningBook with the support of key workers or managers. They can view observations and assessments, as well as add comments.

• To read the full Ofsted report, please follow the link: https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50130071

• To find out more about Footprints Day Nurseries check out their website: https://www.footprintsnurseries.co.uk/

• Inspection Framework: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/801429/Education_inspection_framework.pdf

• Early Years Inspection Handbook: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/828465/Early_years_inspection_handbook.pdf

How can your early years setting boost your parental engagement?

Aug 2019 by Lizzy Jones

LearningBook can help empower staff to build partnerships with parents and improve early years parental engagement

One of LearningBook’s aims is to transform how parents engage and interact with their child’s early years education. We understand the importance of early years parental engagement and boosting parent partnerships within your setting. To do this to benefit children’s well-being and development, not only to appease Ofsted. Parent involvement in early years education can introduce new experiences. A child can have lots of influences varying from the classroom to home. A parent who recognises what their child does at school, pre-school or nursery has a better understanding of their child’s ability and which areas they need to work on to improve their development.

Some ideas to get parents engaged is to invite them to ‘stay and plays’ so they participate in activities and get an idea of activities to do at home. Parents bceome more engaged and motivated with LearningBook. Using different features to keep them updated on what’s going on at their child’s early years setting when they’re at work or out-and-about. We’ve spent considerable time on features that help early years settings target parents in a number of different ways.

1) Dedicated Parent Portal

MyLearningBook is a dedicated Parent Portal accessed through any web browser using a secure log in, parents can access their children’s learning journeys at any time. For example, when they’re at work or on the moce – they will never miss a moment. Parents can upload photos from home to be included in the learning journey, comment on individual observations and view and contribute to termly assessments.

2) iOS Parent App

3) Keepsakes

4) Complete Control

LearningBook gives settings full control over their parent management. Staff can setup and manage parent details and logons, enable and disable accounts and share information at their discretion. Above all, staff are in complete control of what information they choose to share and when.

30 hours free childcare

Jul 2017 by Lizzy Jones

In order to enable parents, where they wish, to return to work or to work additional hours the government is rolling out funding to support 30 hours free childcare.

In addition to the universal offer of 15 hours free early education entitlement most working parents of three and four year old children may be eligible for an additional 15 hours per week – totalling 30 hours free childcare.

Both entitlements can be delivered over 38 weeks (i.e. school term time) or the equivalent number of hours can be stretched across more weeks of the year.

Any childcare provider who is registered with Ofsted on the Early Years Register, including nurseries, pre-schools, playgroups, and some children’s centres may provide the places. It also means that Ofsted registered breakfast clubs; out of school; holiday clubs and childminders may be partners in providing free childcare places for working parents.

Am I eligible for 30 hours free childcare?

Not all parents are eligible for the extra 15 hours. However, everyone will still receive the 15 hours free childcare that is currently available.

To be eligible for 30 hours free childcare:

You must live in England;
Your child is 3 or 4 years old;
Both parents must be working – or the sole parent is working in a single parent family;
Each parent earns, on average, a weekly minimum equivalent to 16 hours at National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage. The minimum amount will always reflect the lowest hourly rate that a person of your age can legally be paid. This information can be found online;
Each parent must have an annual income of less than £100,000.

Furthermore, parents can check their eligibility via the Childcare Choices website using its useful childcare calculator.

When does it start?

The scheme began nationwide in September 2017.

How do I apply?

You can now apply for 30-hour free childcare online via the Childcare Service.

When you apply, you’ll be asked to enter your name, address and National Insurance number, whether you expect to meet the income requirements over the next three months and whether you are in receipt of any benefits. Your partner will also need to fill in this information if necessary. This will enable HMRC to let you know whether your child is eligible for the 30 hours free childcare.

If you’re eligible, you’ll receive a code to take to your childcare provider and arrange your childcare place ahead of September 2017. You will also need your National Insurance Number and child’s date of birth. Your childcare provider or council will check the code is real and allocate your child a free childcare place.

Furthermore, if successful you will have to reconfirm their details quarterly – to ensure all information held is up to date.

Please be aware not all settings will offer the flexible 30 hours free childcare, it’s important to check with your local childcare providers. Also, some settings may charge for ‘extras’.

Useful Websites

Department of Education: Guidance

Childcare Choices

Pre-school Learning Alliance: 30 hours free childcare

EYFS for parents

Apr 2017 by Lizzy Jones

In order to fully support their child’s early years learning, parents need to be familiar with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. This blog gives basic information on the EYFS for parents.

Education can be full of jargon, and keeping up with the frameworks, acronyms and governing bodies can be a struggle even for the most engaged parent. However, parents need to understand that the activities they do at home should be supporting their child in every way possible, and for that it’s vital for parents to have a good knowledge of the framework that schools and nurseries are working to in order to help and not hinder development.

An introduction to the EYFS for Parents

The EYFS is the time in your child’s life between birth and age 5. The EYFS Framework supports all professionals working in reception classes, pre-schools, nursery classes, day nurseries and childminding settings. It sets out:

The legal welfare requirements to keep your child safe.
The seven areas of learning and development.
Assessments that will tell you about your child’s progress through the EYFS.
Expected levels (Early Learning Goals) that your child should reach at age 5, usually the end of the reception year.

The welfare standards have been designed to make sure that your child is as safe as possible. These include the number of staff required in a nursery, how many children a childminder can look after, and things like administering medicines and carrying out risk assessments.

Areas of learning and development

The seven areas of learning and development are split into three prime areas and four specific areas. Firstly, children mostly develop the three prime areas first. These are:

Communication and language
Physical development
Personal, social and emotional development

Secondly, as children grow the prime areas will help them to develop skills in four specific areas. These are:

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design

Children’s activities are planned based on the areas of learning and development. To suit your child’s unique need, Early Years professionals teaching and supporting your child will make sure that the activities engage your child.

Traditionally completed on paper, Learning Journeys used printed pictures and sticky notes. Alternatively, digital learning journey providers like LearningBook are used to save time, as well as provide more accurate reporting and parental engagement. Schools, preschool, nurseries and other ealry years providers use LearningBook to record and track children’s development in line with the EYFS framework.

Compiled by early years practioners to document achievements through observations, above all learning journeys are used to monitor children’s progression. The learning journeys are key to share information with parents and complete assessments.

LearningBook provides a Parent Portal and Parent App to keep families informed of their child’s wellbeing, day-to-day activities and progression.

Find out more about the EYFS and how you can support your child with our free eGuide, here. In addition, check out these widely used resources on EYFS for parents:

Partnerships with parents

Feb 2017 by Lizzy Jones

No one knows a child better than their parents, and harnessing a strong working relationship with those parents is key, especially in early years education.

Partnering with parents is key to being an Outstanding school or nursery: Parental involvement needs to be identified as highly valued by the school or nursery and should be promoted through parents’ involvement in the planning and assessment arrangements, regular review meetings, workshops and stay and play sessions.

A two-way flow of information

The key to building a good relationship is communication and that’s especially important when you’re dealing with something as fundamental as a child’s early years education. Gather examples of ways in which you enable a two-way flow of information with parents. Look at them and explore how these might be improved. Communication channels might include:

1. Send out a regular newsletter

Parents often have a lot of information to process. Keep it short and to the point with important dates highlighted. Can it be done more visually? Maybe try a video message or include lots of photos.

2. Face-to-face meetings

Do these take place at times that suit parents? Do parents feel that you have time for them; that you’re not rushing to get on to the next one?

3. Informal chats at drop off or collection times

Is there one member of staff available to talk to parents while others are settling in the children? Do you have information, photos or displays on what the children have been learning?

4. Surveys, forms and requests for evidence of home learning

Can these be made easier for parents? Can they be done online? Do you offer guidelines or examples on what you’re looking for, particularly when asking for home observations?

5. Reading records or home learning diaries

Do you offer examples of how to fill these in to get the information you need to support the learning and development of the children?