Partnerships with Parents

I believe that it is extremely important to have excellent partnerships with the parents/guardians of the children in my care. I believe I achieve this by using the following means:

Face to Face Contact - I am happy to talk to parents about any concerns they have regarding their child when they come to drop off or pick up.
Telephone/Email Contact - It may be more suitable to discuss any issues over the telephone or email when parents have more time or when little ears are elsewhere! I am happy for parents to contact me after working hours.
Daily Diaries (0-5s) - Each child has a learning diary which is a blank book for both myself and parents to write in. I enter information each day about the child's mood, activities, meals, sleep, toilet habits and I also include any lightbulb learning moments! It is very useful if parents also write in the learning diary to provide me with any important information. This is especially important if the child attends another setting e.g. it is helpful to know what a child is learning at Nursery so that I can reinforce it during their time with me.
Observations for Learning (0-5s) - With the permission of the parent I like to observe children's learning whilst they are with me. I take photographs which show the child's learning and keep them together in individual learning assessment books. These are always available for the parent to see and are theirs to take away when the child leaves my care. I have found that parents are very impressed by these books and are pleased to have a photographic record of their child's learning.
My Website - This provides parents with information about future events and allows them to see our weekly topics and a synopsis of the activities we'll be doing. This gives parents the option to reinforce the learning at home. For example they may wish to read the same stories at bedtime that we have enjoyed during the day.