{"id":561,"date":"2021-10-06T16:51:12","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T15:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/?page_id=120"},"modified":"2026-03-31T08:59:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T07:59:26","slug":"family-partnerships","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/family-partnerships\/","title":{"rendered":"Family Partnerships"},"content":{"rendered":"<section id=\"builder-section-text_11\" class=\"builder-section-first builder-section builder-section-text builder-section-last builder-section-full-width builder-text-columns-1\" style=\"background-size: cover; background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: center center;\">\n<div class=\"builder-section-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-row\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-1\" id=\"builder-section-text_11-column-1\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-17256\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/public\/earlylevelportal\/uploads\/sites\/3720\/2025\/11\/24142201\/family-Partnerships-icon--300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"50\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/public\/earlylevelportal\/uploads\/sites\/3720\/2025\/11\/24142201\/family-Partnerships-icon--300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/public\/earlylevelportal\/uploads\/sites\/3720\/2025\/11\/24142201\/family-Partnerships-icon-.png 756w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 50px) 100vw, 50px\" \/><\/p>\n<h1><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Family Partnerships<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/family-partnerships-resources-and-collated-guidance-pages\/\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Resources<\/strong> <span class=\"ttfmake-icon mceNonEditable fas\">\uf0ad<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>What are they?<\/h3>\n<p><cite>&#8220;Parents, carers and families are by far the most important influences in a child&#8217;s life.\u00a0 Their support can play a vital role at all stages of education&#8230;\u00a0 <\/cite><cite>Parents who take on a supportive role in their children&#8217;s learning make a difference in improving achievement and behaviour.\u00a0 The active involvement of parents can help promote a learning community in which children and young people can engage positively with practitioners and their peers.&#8221;<\/cite><\/p>\n<p>(Parental engagement and family learning,\u00a0Education Scotland, 2021)<\/p>\n<h3>\u00a0<\/h3>\n<h3>Key messages:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Vision, Values and Aims:\u00a0 <\/strong>All parents and carers, children and practitioners understand the setting&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/vision-values-and-aims\/\" rel=\"noopener\">vision, values &amp; aims<\/a> and are included in creating and reviewing these.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Relationships and supportive partnerships:\u00a0 <\/strong>Relationships are used effectively to enhance the <a href=\"https:\/\/education.gov.scot\/Documents\/All-experiencesoutcomes18.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">experiences and outcomes<\/a> for children.\u00a0 The setting must establish unconditional positive, supportive partnerships with families from the start.\u00a0 This supports confidence and self-esteem within families.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tailored communication:\u00a0 <\/strong>Practitioners tailor the communication with parents to their needs, e.g. written, electronic, and face-to-face.\u00a0 Creative approaches, which are well matched to the needs of families, are used to engage families throughout their contact with the setting.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Parental contribution:\u00a0 <\/strong>The setting values and supports parents and carers in understanding their contribution to children&#8217;s learning.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Life of the setting:\u00a0 <\/strong>Parents are encouraged and supported to become involved in the life of the setting.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Children&#8217;s learning:\u00a0 <\/strong>Parents and carers are supported to regularly and meaningfully engage in their children&#8217;s learning at home and within the early learning and childcare setting.\u00a0 They have the opportunity to share achievements from home.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Family learning programmes:\u00a0 <\/strong>The setting offers access to <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/family-learning\/\" rel=\"noopener\">family learning<\/a> programmes that enable families to engage in various learning opportunities to meet their individual needs.\u00a0 Family learning approaches seek to address parents&#8217; own learning needs in areas such as literacy and numeracy and equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to support their children throughout their education.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Family circumstances:\u00a0 <\/strong>The setting is responsive to family circumstances, for example, those at the risk of disadvantage or poverty, families affected by imprisonment, those with <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/english-as-an-additional-language-eal\/\" rel=\"noopener\">English as an additional language<\/a>, or suffering from mental health issues.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Collaboration:\u00a0 <\/strong>Families benefit from our cooperation and collaboration with colleagues from sectors support<i>ing referrals to other <\/i><i><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/professional-partnerships\/\" rel=\"noopener\">agencies<\/a>.<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>\u00a0<\/h3>\n<h3>Ways we can do this:<\/h3>\n<p><b>Vision, Values and Aims <\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Families should be involved in creating and regularly reviewing the setting&#8217;s vision, aims, and values.\u00a0 These are revisited and updated in line with setting improvements.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Parents and carers should be fully consulted on and contribute to the Setting Improvement Report and Setting Improvement Plan (SIP\/SIR).<\/p>\n<p><b>Relationships and Supportive partnerships<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Positive relationships with parents, carers, and other family members must be encouraged through an open-door policy from the beginning of the child&#8217;s time in the setting.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The setting should offer parents and carers home visits with keyworkers to discuss their child&#8217;s progress, needs, interests, and complete <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/care-plans\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Care Plans<\/a> before the child starts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Provide families with clear information before and after periods of <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/transitions\/\" rel=\"noopener\">transitions<\/a>, e.g. by holding information evenings, distributing information packs for new starts, organising visits to the setting before the child&#8217;s entry date and sending home photographs of the child&#8217;s first week in the setting.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Ensure that measures are in place to ensure inclusiveness and address any difficulties that parents and carers may have in joining in with the life of the setting, for example, due to work commitments, technology, childcare, or health issues.\u00a0 This might include offering a variety of times for certain activities or meetings, helping parents with literacy difficulties to complete paperwork, providing cr\u00e8che facilities for parents of children with younger siblings, or offering translated versions of essential documents to families with English as an additional language.<\/p>\n<p><b>Welcoming <\/b><b>environment<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The environment is warm and welcoming for visitors.\u00a0 Displays inform visitors of the practitioner team and provide helpful information for parents, e.g. timings, lunch menus.<\/p>\n<p><b>Tailored communication <\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Find out preferred methods of communication for parents; for example, use drop-off and pick-up times to engage parents.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b>Parental contributions <\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Parents are encouraged to share the wider achievements of their child and are allowed to contribute to care plans and <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/learning-journeys\/\" rel=\"noopener\">learning journeys<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><b>Life of the setting<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Parents and carers are encouraged to contribute to the life of the setting, with opportunities for parents, carers and other family members to share specific skills, tell stories or join in with play activities.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Encourage parents and carers to volunteer to assist with group outings and excursions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Ensure that children and their families contribute their views during planning and <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/self-evaluation\/\" rel=\"noopener\">self-evaluation<\/a>\u00a0exercises.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Hold regular &#8220;stay and play&#8221; sessions where parents can enjoy engaging with their children in <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/play\/\" rel=\"noopener\">play<\/a>, observing and joining in with some of the structure and routines of the day.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Offer parents and carers the opportunity to join and assume leadership roles in ancillary groups such as the Board of Trustees, PTA, Parent Council or fundraising committee.<\/p>\n<p><b>Children&#8217;s learning <\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Encourage parental involvement in learning journeys and floor books, making these accessible to parents, carers and children.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Keep parents fully informed about their child&#8217;s progress and achievements by regularly sharing Learning Journeys and offering sufficient consultation time with practitioners (both formal and informal) throughout the year.\u00a0 The use of a digital learning journal platform may facilitate this.\u00a0 See <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/showbie-in-early-years\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Digital Technology- Showbie<\/a>\u00a0for more information about using Showbie to create digital learning journals.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b>Work with parents and other agencies to identify needs and how to meet them.<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Practitioners must ensure that a high standard of clear and meaningful communication is maintained between the setting, the families, and any other professional agencies involved in achieving the best outcomes for the children.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Other agencies might include (but will not be limited to) Occupational Therapy, Learning Support, medical practitioners, Social Workers, Home Visiting Teachers, Health Visitors etc. (see <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/inclusion\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Inclusion<\/a>).\u00a0 Practitioners should be proactive in maintaining communication with these and other services as appropriate.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Practitioners working within the setting should, when necessary, be given time to prepare for and to attend any professional meetings around the child or consultations with other professionals and families.<\/p>\n<p><b>Family learning programmes <\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Consider family learning programmes where appropriate for parents, carers and children to learn together and parent and carer only learning.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">These should seek to include all, especially those who may face barriers to their involvement.\u00a0 Family learning opportunities help parents understand the significant impact of the home learning environment at all stages of their children&#8217;s education.\u00a0 They recognise and make the most of everyday learning opportunities.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Incorporate initiatives such as <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.nes.nhs.scot\/735\/flying-start-nhs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Flying Start<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nes.scot.nhs.uk\/our-work\/psychology-of-parenting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PoPPs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/incredibleyears.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Incredible Years<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peeple.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PEEP<\/a>\u00a0into the everyday life of the setting to provide opportunities for parents and carers to further develop their own skills and learning.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Family Partnerships Resources \uf0ad What are they? &#8220;Parents, carers and families are by far the most important influences in a child&#8217;s life.\u00a0 Their support can play a vital role at all stages of education&#8230;\u00a0 Parents who take on a supportive role in their children&#8217;s learning make a difference in improving achievement and behaviour.\u00a0 The active &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7767,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-builder.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-561","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7767"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561"}],"version-history":[{"count":80,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21005,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/561\/revisions\/21005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}