Importance of Building a Trusting Relationship with Parents in Childcare Settings

Parents know their child best therefore it is essential to establish a co-operative partnership with the parents of the children. It is ideal to build a trusting and respectful relationship with parents so that they feel comfortable speaking with the practitioner if they have concerns. Parents are entitled to be kept informed on how their child is progressing and are told what the child will be doing in the setting, for example following The Early Years Curriculum.

This can help the child develop and feel comfortable. Parents should also be made aware that their child will be observed and assessed throughout the year in the setting. If a trusting relationship exists between a practitioner and a parent it is more likely information on problems or changes at home will be discussed with the setting. Parents can also help to shed light on observation findings therefore practitioners can understand the child’s stage of development and personal needs more.

However if there is a breach of confidentiality parents will be hasty to share information again and have a negative outlook towards the practitioner, this means it is essential for information handling to be in a secure and safe manner. Safe Storage of Information. Storage of observations must be dealt with care, it must be stored in a secure manner in folders which are locked, password protected and encrypted.

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Yet they must be accessible to designated practitioners and files also must be backed up. Only trusted members of staff should have access to personal information as part of the Confidentiality Policy under the Data Protection Act 1998 all children’s right to privacy should be respected and upheld. Sharing Information Information on observations can be shared with other professionals involved with the child, for example in a multi-agency team information on observations can be shared.

Parents also are allowed and encouraged to view observations that have been made on their child as they can help the practitioner understand the results and even take action towards the child’s personal needs themselves. Objectivity Pre-judgement, personal beliefs and values are not allowed to come into the observation however a skilled observer will acknowledge that everyone has these traits and will try to be objective. To be objective means to be without bias and not allow your personal experiences influence what you observe in the child.

However practitioners must be careful they don’t give the child a self-fulfilling prophecy whether negative or positive because every child is different and will develop at their own pace. Children with learning difficulties, different ethnic backgrounds or family background might be seen as developing English skills slower. This may not be the case and a practitioner must give every child the chance to develop and be given the same amount of one-on-one teaching time as well as group class activities.

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