Valuable role of families and community

Educating our children is a team effort. Families, qualified early childhood teachers and the wider community underpin a quality educational experience.

While children benefit from a wide support network, society also profits by involvement in nurturing the next generation. A local business supporting a kindy fundraiser, a health service promoting nutrition, grandparents volunteering on roster days, or a neighbourhood tradesperson lending a hand, all contribute to a greater sense of community.

Government also plays a key role by recognising the vital importance of the early years in a child’s development and investing in, supporting and promoting access to high quality programs for all children.

Importance of parent partnerships

You, as parents, are the primary nurturers, educators and role models for your child. You can foster educational continuity from the home to learning service by being actively involved in your child’s development.

Research consistently shows that parental involvement maximises the effectiveness of early child development programs.

“There are well-designed child development studies and longitudinal surveys that show that quality early child development programs that involve parents benefit the children and, in many cases, their families as well,” according to the findings of the Early Years Study. Their research discovered that activities focusing on parent interaction, as well as play based problem solving with other children, stimulated early brain development. Parental involvement was considered more than an occasional visit to see how the child was doing at the service.

Come and play

C&K views parents and teachers as partners. We encourage you to visit your child’s service through our “open door” policy. You have an open invitation to visit, stay and be involved in your child’s activities. Most C&K kindergartens have a roster where you may spend a day in the centre. Many C&K kindergarten teachers offer to visit your home to discuss your child’s development.

C&K teachers work to form effective partnerships with you through:

• open communication
• trust and understanding
• a commitment to working towards shared goals in relation to your child.

Home visits

One of the special features of C&K community kindergartens are home visits. If you would like to organise a home visit speak to your child’s teacher.

Home visits can be an important process as they foster collaborative relationships between you and the teacher. They allow the teacher to contextualise your child’s home learning environment and also give you the opportunity to positively influence your child’s learning by sharing aspects about home life. This helps the teacher in curriculum planning by gaining a greater understanding of the family and home context.

Home visits benefit children because:

• they see links between home and their learning centre
• they spend some one-on-one time with their teacher
• they see their teacher valuing them and their family.

Parents benefit because you can:

• share information about your child so the teacher can better understand their needs and respond to your child on an individual basis
• build a positive relationship with the teacher
• find out more about the kindergarten.

Roster

Kindergartens have a roster system. Roster days provide an excellent way to observe your child and experience a day at the centre. It gives you a practical understanding of the learning environment, knowledge about your child’s peers and a sense of satisfaction in contributing. The roster is not just for parents – grandparents and special extended family members are also welcome, too.