Parents play a crucial role in supporting their children’s learning, and levels of parental engagement are consistently associated with better academic outcomes.

Education Endowment Foundation

Working with parents and carers to influence the home learning environment is a key aspect of Early Years practice. The home learning environment is very important in influencing a child’s development and achievement.  Some children get much less support than others with their learning at home. By getting to know your families, settings can adapt the support provided and offer extra help to those who need it most.

Awareness - Ensure that all your staff and parents know how vitally important parents are in influencing their children’s learning and development. Research suggests that children’s achievement is influenced 80% by family and community and 20% by schools.

Inform  - your parents that sharing books, chatting and singing songs and rhymes are the key ways that they can support their child’s learning.

Ideas - provide parents with simple, ongoing suggestions, often related to what you have been doing in the setting/school, e.g. build a tower out of boxes from the kitchen cupboards, create a den in the garden or lounge, allow your child to style your hair.

Inclusive - When inviting parents into an event, make clear that it is non-threatening and fun. Some settings and schools do activities such as digging, making bird feeders, and decorating boxes rather than a formal workshop. Provide good quality refreshments - Homemade cakes or pizza and a refreshing drink are always well received!

Flexible –Have a mixture of strategies for engaging your parents in their child’s learning. Different strategies appeal to different parents, e.g. a loan system of bedtime story books, regular suggestions sent by text/website/newsletter, Stay and Play sessions, inviting parents into the last 10 minutes of the day when there is story and singing, free gifts of chalk and black sugar paper put in the entrance hall.

Persistent - One size won’t fit all! Keep on trying until every parent and carer participates with some of your approaches. Who isn’t and how will you work with them? Encourage your Parents to Behave Powerfully.

Best Start in Life - Best Start in Life  Please signpost your parents to the new Government website Best Start in Life.  There they will find advice and support from pregnancy to childcare right through to starting school, for parents’ questions, big and small.