We believe that children benefit the most when parents and staff work together in partnership to ensure quality care and learning for the children. The nursery team welcomes parents as partners and this relationship needs to be built on trust and understanding.  It is important that we, as carers, are able to support parents in an open and sensitive manner. A two way sharing of information is key to this.

The nursery wishes to ensure parents are part of the care and education team within the nursery.

Our policy is to:

• Recognise and support parents as their child’s first and most important educators, and to welcome them into the life of the nursery.

• Generate confidence and encourage parents to trust their own instincts and judgement regarding their own child.

• Welcome all parents into the nursery at any time.

• Welcome nursing mothers. The nursery will make available a private area whenever needed to offer space and privacy to these mothers.

• Ensure that all new parents are aware of the nursery’s policies and procedures. A detailed parent prospectus will be provided and our full policy documents will be available to parents at all times as they will be kept in an easily accessible place within the nursery.

• Maintain regular contact with parents to help us to build a secure and beneficial working relationship for their children.

• Support parents in their own continuing education and personal development and inform them of relevant conferences, workshops and training.

• Create opportunities for parents to talk to other adults in a secure and supportive environment through such activities as ‘Parents Evenings’.

• Inform parents about nursery activities and events through regularly distributed newsletters and through the parent information board in reception.

• Operate a key person system involving parents for open discussions and information sharing regarding nursery and home circumstances, and individual needs.

• Inform parents on a regular basis about their children’s progress and involve them in the shared record keeping about their children. Parents’ evenings will be held at once a year. Parents will be consulted with about the times of meetings to avoid excluding anyone.

• Consider and discuss fully all suggestions from parents concerning the care and education of their child and the running of the nursery.

• Provide opportunities for parents to contribute their own skills, knowledge and interests to the activities of the nursery in ways which are accessible to parents with basic skills needs, or those for whom English is an additional language.

• Inform all parents of the systems for registering queries, complaints or suggestions, and to check that these systems are understood by parents.  All parents have access to our written complaints procedure.

• Provide opportunities for parents to learn about the *Early Years Foundation Stage and about young children's learning in the nursery and at home.

• Provide a written contract between the parent(s) and the nursery regarding conditions of acceptance and arrangements for payment.

• Respect the family’s religious and cultural backgrounds and to accommodate any special requirements wherever possible and practical to do so.

• To find out the needs and expectations of parents. These will be obtained through regular feedback via questionnaires, providing a suggestion system and encouraging parents to review working practices. These are then evaluated by the nursery to promote nursery practice, policy and staff development.