QI 2.7 p38 – Partnerships
Features of highly effective practice
Purpose, aims, roles and responsibilities within partnership working are clear and understood by all involved.
Sharing of skills, knowledge and experience between partners improves outcomes for children.
Partnerships learn from effective practice elsewhere. Shared professional learning opportunities enhance capacity.
Feedback from partners indicates strong and effective relationships with the setting. The setting plays an important role in the life of the local community.
Partnership working with other services demonstrates improvements in outcomes for children and families.
Joint planning and evaluations of partnership working show the positive difference collaboration is making and has enriched children’s progress and achievements.
Challenge Questions
What do we do to support families to participate in, contribute to and understand the value of their engagement in children’s learning and life of the setting?
What strategies do we use to communicate, plan, monitor and evaluate our work with partners?
How do we know our support to parents/carers has led to further engagement in children’s learning within the setting, at home and in the wider community?
What approach do we take to actively seek out, promote and respond positively to potential partnerships which will lead to better outcomes for children?
What do we do to share skills, knowledge and experience amongst all partners? Do we engage in shared professional learning opportunities with partners?
How well do we understand our local community? What is the impact of our partnership with the community on our setting and the local area?
How well do we ensure all young children contribute to the life of the setting? What strategies are used?
How well do we support parents/carers to understand the value of their engagement in children’s learning?
What makes our partnerships successful and how do we learn from what is working well?
What evidence do we have of the added value partnership working brings and what difference it makes to our children?
QI 1.4 p26 – Family Engagement
This indicator focuses on engaging with families to support children’s care, play and learning together. This recognises the importance of sharing key approaches with families focused on the home learning environment. The emphasis is on working in partnership with families to achieve positive outcomes for children. It highlights the importance of children and families building resilience and feeling loved, safe and respected so that children can realise their full potential. It recognises family differences and responds without judgement. It supports the ambition of the Promise to support care experienced children and their families. Staff understand the importance of children’s human rights and reflect this in all of their work. This ensures children are healthy, happy and safe and that they have a say in their lives. Staff value diversity and challenge discrimination where this is needed.
- High-quality engagement facilitates a partnership approach to care, play and learning outcomes.
- Staff recognise the importance of engaging families in understanding how to support their child’s learning in the home environment.
- Where needed, well planned intervention supports and strengthens children’s and families’ overall health, wellbeing and resilience.
- It recognises the need to ensure that children and families’ rights are respected and promoted.
p30
Scrutiny toolbox
Improvement and support questions
How well do we support and respect the individual needs and rights of children and families?
How well do staff understand, champion, and enable the rights of looked after and care experienced children and families?
When children and their families first arrive at our setting, how do we know they are welcomed and have a positive experience of their induction?
In what ways do we build empowering and respectful relationships with children and families? How do we ensure we are providing an inclusive service for children and families?
How well do we ensure that our children and families voices are included in our decision-making? How effective are our partnership approaches (parents, health education, social service, third sector, other care services) when ensuring children’s wellbeing needs are being met?
QI 2.7 p24 – Partnerships
Features of highly effective practice
Partnership work with stakeholders, including parents and carers, the local community, third sector, public sector and business organisations, is based on mutual trust and respect.
The school consistently involves parents and carers in shaping policy and services to improve impacts.
Staff support parents/carers to actively engage in their children’s learning, attainment and achievement.
All parents/carers are fairly represented by the Parent Council and any views or complaints are acted upon in an effective and timely manner.
The school’s learning pathways take account of key features of the local community.
The school understands and plays a significant role in the life of the local community.
Partnerships have clear agreements where the purpose, aims, roles and responsibilities are clear and understood by all involved.
The school jointly plans and evaluates shared projects with partners.
The school and partners share skills, knowledge and experience and take part in joint professional learning opportunities. They learn from effective partnership practice elsewhere.
Feedback from partner organisations indicates strong and effective relationships with the school.
The school engages effectively with partners to promote a coherent whole school approach to learning for sustainability.
The school can demonstrate the impact of partnerships through improved outcomes for learners.
Challenge questions
How do we ensure that relationships with parents, carers and families, the local community and partners are characterised by trust and respect?
How well do we enable parents, carers and families and the local community to contribute to the life of the school and be involved in school improvement?
How effectively do we support parents and carers to participate in, contribute to and understand their child’s learning? How effectively do we communicate about progress, attainment and achievement?
Is our Parent Council representative of all the parents and carers in the school and their social, economic and cultural backgrounds? If not, what are we doing to address this?
How well do we understand our local community? Are the key features of the local community reflected in our learning pathways?
How well do we seek out and respond positively to potential partnerships which will lead to better outcomes for the children and young people we work with?
How clear are the partnership agreements we enter into? Do we involve partners at the earliest stages of planning?
How well do we identify priorities, communicate, plan, monitor and evaluate our work with partners? Are we clear what added value each partnership brings?
How well do we share skills, information, knowledge and experience across partners and partnerships? How well do we learn from successful partnerships? Do we engage in shared professional learning opportunities with partners?
What opportunities do our learners and staff have to work with others to contribute effectively to their communities as active citizens?
UNCRC Article 2, Article 5, Article 6, Article 14, Article 12 ,Article 13, Article 18, Article 23, Article 24, Article 28, Article 29, Article 31
Health and Social Care Standards: 1.1,1.2,1.6,1.29,2.2,2.3,2.9,3.14,4.2,4.16,4.18,4.23
The National standard: CRITERIA 5 – Parent and carer engagement and involvement in the life of the setting • Sub-criteria 5.1 – There is open and regular communication with parents and carers about the work of the setting and families are meaningfully involved in influencing change. • Sub-criteria 5.2 – Parents and carers are supported to engage in their child’s learning and development.
