Tag Archives: Family Learning

Sharing Good Practice

Rosehearty ELC – Improving Family Engagement

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As a team we recognised that we needed to do more to engage with our families.  To do this we invited our families in for a tea, toast and blether session where some families shared their struggles with sleep and fussy eaters.  One parent mentioned she had previously moved to the village and was delighted to meet other parents and they invited her along to a local group. 

Mrs Purcell, EYSP and Mrs Ruxton, EYLP approached the Health and Wellbeing Team to see if they could come and speak to our parents about sleep and fussy eating, but they shared they do not come out to the villages.  Mrs Purcell then approached Homestart and they came to a couple of meetings to share information about their Mellow programme.  Parents seemed reluctant to sign up for an 8-week course, so Mrs Purcell asked Homestart if they could come and do a single session on fussy eating.  This was a huge success and attended by many of our parents.  Following feedback from parents we are now offering a session on “Understanding Feelings and Behaviour” on 15 June which we hope parents with supporting their children’s behaviour during the school holidays.  We have also invited our new parents to join us.

Other family sessions we have offered are Bookbug on a regular basis which have been well received, including a session for dads.  We have held a music session; stay and play sessions with Christmas Craft and Easter Messy play where parents discussed their child’s All About Me’s and progress to date.  Some parents recently attended a mark-making/pre-writing session with our EYSP/EYLP and P1/2 teacher where they gave a presentation on what skills children need to develop before they engage in writing and  showcased ideas that parents can do at home cheaply with their children, to get them interested in developing their gross and fine motor skills.

Staff also have strong bonds with their key worker families and parents who come to them for advice and help on a regular basis, which allows us to work closely together to give our children the best start in their learning journeys.

We are now planning a family picnic and considering inviting dad’s to a football kick about session. 

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Alehousewells ELC – Family Engagement

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At Alehousewells Nursery, Hannah Mathieson – Excellence and Equity Lead Practitioner ran a pilot in partnership with Garioch Community Kitchen as part of her Family Engagement responsibility within her role. We had 3 different Meal Kits, 1 breakfast Bag and 2 Main Meal Kits. The meal kit was offered at the price of only £1! It includes fresh shop bought ingredients and a recipe to follow – bargain! The families kindly provided pictures of their recipes and some feedback.

We held a Coffee and Cake Session in the nursery with families who wished to take part. Mandy – who is the Cooking Development Tutor – kindly demonstrated an easy breakfast recipe using oats and fresh fruit. This sparked discussion among families about the rise in food costs and comparing different supermarket prices. It was a great networking session, and the families received a free breakfast bag of oats and fruit to try at home.

In the near future, Garioch kitchen and I are running a 6-week programme for a maximum of 10 families. All of these families will receive a free slow cooker and will attend sessions including easy recipes to prepare using their new equipment. There will also be sessions discussing healthy eating on a budget and promoting healthy eating and minimal food waste at home.

If you are interested in finding out more about Garioch Community Kitchen and the work that they do please visit their Facebook page or their website Garioch Community Kitchen | SCIO Scottish Charity No SC046110

Professional Learning, Sharing Good Practice

New Deer ELC – Bookbug Sessions

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Since completing our Bookbug Training we have had various sessions in nursery, inviting parents and families. We have tried different times in the morning and afternoon. We always have a few parents attend with siblings. Before Christmas we had a Bookbug in the community, held at the Church Centre. A few families from the community came along and enjoyed the session with the nursery.

This term we had a Bedtime Bookbug in the school hall. This was at 6pm and children came in their Pyjamas. We had 27 children attend this session. Children from the nursery, from the school and the community. We made the room cosy and comfy and dark with a few lamps. We got very positive feedback from all the families that attended.

We also had a Grandparents Bookbug session, we ran this alongside Pancake Day. We baked pancakes and invited the Grandparents in for a pancake then they stayed for a Bookbug session. This was well attended and everyone involved had something positive to say about the morning.