“It’s our polite nudge in the ribs to help you and your team stay organised and on task.”
This week’s subject is Information for families
Element 1.3.3: Families are informed about the program and their child’s progress.
The new year is always an ideal time to review and assess many of our practices to determine how we can improve and better achieve quality outcomes. One of these is the way in which we provide and receive information to/from families about the educational program, their child’s progress and share in decision making about children’s follow-up learning, development and wellbeing.
Consider the strategies and methods used to share information with families about the educational program:
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- Are they based off feedback from families about their preferred ways to receive information?
- Is the information easily accessible to all families, including families with diverse needs?
- Is the information clear and comprehensible? i.e., learning outcomes and any codes/acronyms are clearly detailed
Consider the methods used to share information with families about children’s individual progress:
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- Are they based off feedback from families about their preferred ways to receive information?
- Do they provide opportunity for collaborative communication, allowing families to share in planning and decision making about their child’s wellbeing and development?
- Do educators consistently provide verbal feedback about children’s wellbeing and development, inviting families to share feedback and suggestions?
- Have they been developed with maintaining confidentiality and families with diverse needs in mind?
Consider how we obtain feedback from families about the program:
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- Can families provide feedback in a variety of ways?
- Are families encouraged to provide input about their child’s individual learning, wellbeing, and development?
- Do the methods used encourage families to provide feedback? If not, how can we better encourage family input?
There are several ways in which we can request and encourage feedback from families about the educational program and about their child’s individual progress. To support this, it’s important that consistent communication between the service and families is maintained. This includes every day, informal interactions with families, providing them with feedback about their child’s day and participation in the program. These interactions establish and foster trusting relationships, building a foundation for an ongoing dialog about children’s wellbeing and progress.
When sharing information about the program add questions to the post (if sharing online) or next to the program asking families for feedback about specific aspects of the program.
Sharing information via your online information sharing app can be a valuable way for many families to receive detailed information about their child’s participation and progress. Including information about the program, linking each experience to the learning outcomes and children’s participation through annotation and photos is often an easy way for families to be updated about their child’s learning and participation.
Resources:
Communicating with families about children’s learning
Reviewing Practice- Reflection Tool
Digital documentation for families- Quality or quantity?
Within System7 go to Quality Area 1/Modules 9, 13, 14 & 15 to submit self-assessment notes and if required, open a QIP issue if you identify any areas of improvement.
The Childcare Centre Desktop has a range of resources to assist services with Educational Program and Practice. These include Educational Program Policy and Procedure, All About Me- Child Introduction form, Observation Record, Learning and Development Register, Family Communication Policy, Communication Audit and much more.
Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links:
Childcare Centre Desktop – Childcare Centre Desktop
National Quality Standard – QA 1/ 1.3.3- Information for families
National Regulations – 74, 75, 76 & 155
System7 Module – QA1/Modules 9, 13, 14 & 15
If you have any questions send us a note via the Contact page here!
