'Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships' therefore, it is important to build positive relationships with children, parents, or caregivers, colleagues, key partners and the community. This ensures you are offering high quality early years provision.
Relationships can be complicated, families are unique, and some parents and caregivers face specific challenges which in turn may create barriers to engagement or developing trusting relationships.
It is important to get to know individual families and understand their unique circumstances, exploring different and creative ways to build a co-operative partnership.
Positive relationships are:
- warm and loving and foster a sense of belonging
- sensitive and responsive to the child's individual needs, feelings and interests
- supportive of the child's own efforts and independence
- consistent in setting clear boundaries
- stimulating
- built on key person relationships in early years settings.
Key to the guiding principal headings
Each section below is structured under a set of headings. For an explanation of these headings see Key to guiding principals headings
Parent partnership: Assessment
Link to prime areas
All three prime areas
Description of expected Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP)
This applies to ALL children in the setting
A strong partnership with all parents is fostered. Parents or caregivers knowledge about their child is central to initial and ongoing assessments about their child.
Strategies and examples to support implementing the expected OAP
Information from the DfE EYFS Support pages
Links to area(s) of need (where applicable)
N/A
Additional strategies to support specific area(s) of need
None
Parent partnership: Learning
Link to prime areas
All three prime areas
Description of expected Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP)
This applies to ALL children in the setting
Information about what and how children are learning is readily available to parents. Parents/Caregivers are regularly provided with information to support children's learning at home.
Strategies and examples to support implementing the expected OAP
Information about what their children are learning
Links to area(s) of need (where applicable)
N/A
Additional strategies to support specific area(s) of need
The Family Hub | London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham
Family hubs are a community network that provide a range of free and low-cost services:
- access to health visitors
- activities for children under 5 years old
- financial, debt and benefits advice
- housing needs
- infant feeding
- maternity support
- mental health support
- parenting support
- support for young people
Named key person
Link to prime areas
All three prime areas
Description of expected Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP)
This applies to ALL children in the setting
Every child has a named Key Person, and every parent/caregiver knows who their child's key person is.
The Key Person ensures their key child's learning and care is tailored to meet their individual needs.
Strategies and examples to support implementing the expected OAP
The Key Person – Attachment and the role of the Key Person
EY key person Flowchart for children with emerging needs
Links to area(s) of need (where applicable)
N/A
Additional strategies to support specific area(s) of need
None
Difficult conversations
Link to prime areas
All three prime areas
Description of expected Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP)
This applies to ALL children in the setting
There is an identified space where sensitive conversations and meetings can be confidently held with parents or caregivers and professionals.
Strategies and examples to support implementing the expected OAP
Tips for handling difficult conversations
Connecting with parents in early education
Links to area(s) of need (where applicable)
N/A
Additional strategies to support specific area(s) of need
None
Emotional literacy & wellbeing
Link to prime areas
Personal social emotional development
Description of expected Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP)
This applies to ALL children in the setting
A whole setting approach is used to develop emotional literacy, wellbeing and resilience and promote positive attitudes to everyone.
Strategies and examples to support implementing the expected OAP
Emotional Literacy in the Early Years:
Help for early years providers: Emotions
Speak to the Early Years Inclusion Team about potential staff training sessions.
Links to area(s) of need (where applicable)
SEMH: Distressed Behaviours may reflect:
- Anxiety
- Low self-esteem
- Poor attachment
- Presenting as significantly unhappy or stressed
Additional strategies to support specific area(s) of need
- Focus on reducing triggers to anxiety and thereby distressed behaviours
- Flexible and creative use of rewards and consequences e.g., 'catch them in a positive moment'
- Positive reinforcement of expectations through verbal scripts and visual prompts
- Calming scripts to de-escalate, including for example, use of sand timers for 'thinking time'
- Emotion Coaching
Tips on supporting positive relationships and emotional literacy:
- CBeebies: How to talk to your child about emotions.
- Feeling Better : short videos about different feelings, using puppets.
- What are feelings? Dealing with feelings, and recognising others' feelings.
- The Age of Emotions : podcast discussion on emotion culture, with psychotherapist Philippa Perry.
- Word of Mouth : Naming Emotions: Michael Rosen podcast, about describing feelings.
Diversity
Link to prime areas
All three prime areas
Description of expected Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP)
This applies to ALL children in the setting
The Provider clearly shows a responsibility to ensure positive attitudes to diversity and difference. So that every child is included and so that they learn from the earliest age to value diversity in others.
Strategies and examples to support implementing the expected OAP
Tips on supporting positive relationships in the moment
Anti-racism in the Early Years
Unconscious bias in the observation, planning and assessment process
Equality Guidance in Early Years Settings
Links to area(s) of need (where applicable)
N/A
Additional strategies to support specific area(s) of need
None
Professional development
Link to prime areas
All three prime areas
Description of expected Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP)
This applies to ALL children in the setting
The workforce is well skilled and experiences and meets the requirements for suitable people within the EYFS.
Strategies and examples to support implementing the expected OAP
Keep up to date with the Hammersmith and Fulham local offer, see what trainings are coming up which you can send staff to ensure continued professional development.
SEND Local Offer | London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (lbhf.gov.uk)
Links to area(s) of need (where applicable)
N/A
Additional strategies to support specific area(s) of need
None
External support
Link to prime areas
All three prime areas
Description of expected Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP)
This applies to ALL children in the setting
The provider has developed positive relationships and/or knows how/when to contact key partners including:
- Safeguarding Team
- The Early Years Team
- The Early Years Inclusion Team
- Local schools and nurseries
- Inspire
- JCT
- The Health Visiting Team
- Social Care
- NHS
Strategies and examples to support implementing the expected OAP
Safeguarding teams:
Early Years' Service:
Ensure you have a robust cycle of CPD, Staff 1:1 and peer observations in place. With a clear Support plan where further development is needed. Support from the Early Years Team if required.
Links to area(s) of need (where applicable)
N/A
Additional strategies to support specific area(s) of need
None
Quality practitioner-child Interactions
Link to prime areas
All three prime areas
Description of expected Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP)
This applies to ALL children in the setting
Children are supported by knowledgeable practitioners who understand when to stand back, when to interact and what to offer individual children.
Interactions - Help for early years providers - GOV.UK (education.gov.uk)
Strategies and examples to support implementing the expected OAP
Ensure you have a robust cycle of CPD, Staff 1:1 and peer observations in place. With a clear supportive plan where further development is needed. Support from the Early Years Team if required.
Anna Freud/Pacey – Managing Challenging Behaviour in the Early Years
Self-regulation strategies | EEF
Help for early years providers : Mental health for early years children - Self Regulation Strategies to use with young children.
Promoting young children's self-regulation skills through play | Anna Freud
Emotions – Help for Early Years Providers
Meeting the needs of all children
Links to area(s) of need (where applicable)
SLCN: Child does not understand or use social rules of communication
Additional strategies to support specific area(s) of need
Children who have been placed on the Social Communication Pathway must be referred to the INSPIRE Specialist Teacher – it is the expectation the Early Years Provider will do this – if you are unsure whether the child is on this pathway please liaise with the child's family and health visitor
- Modelling / role play
- Small group sessions
- Social Stories by Carol Gray
- Prompts – symbols, signing systems
- First (you are doing this) and Next (you are going to be doing that) boards.
- Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, and Transactional Support)
www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk
Transitions
Link to prime areas
All three prime areas
Description of expected Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP)
This applies to ALL children in the setting
Transitions for children are carefully planned with parents/caregivers, the child and receiving providers/key person. SENCO shares relevant information with next provider.
This will be adapted to meet children's individual needs where necessary.
Transitions to other rooms are carefully considered, the key person supports the child. They should consider transition timing, consistency and pace.
Strategies and examples to support implementing the expected OAP
Effective transition and emotional wellbeing in the early years
Understanding and supporting transitions
Transfer forms are available to support transition.
Links to area(s) of need (where applicable)
SLCN: Difficulties understanding what is being said to them
SEMH: Difficulties following and accepting adult direction
Additional strategies to support specific area(s) of need
- Consider how much information a child can process when giving instructions e.g. awareness of complexity of vocabulary and amount of information carrying words.
- Reduce your language to meet the needs of the child. Use match plus one i.e. child says 'car' you say 'fast car'
- Ask children to repeat instructions to clarify their understanding.
- Provide visual prompts. For example, objects of reference, Now and Next boards, timetables, story and song props etc.
- Give extra time to process what has been said.
- Think about the environment and limiting any distractions.
- Check you have engaged the child's attention before talking to them; use their name first before giving them an instruction.
- Check that hearing has been tested.
- Check their understanding using BLANKS levels of questioning level 1-2
- Speech-and-Language-Therapy-Pack-Blanks-Levels.pdf (cognus.org.uk)
- Speech and Language Top Tips for Parents NHS:
- First words and little sentences: 1 to 2 years - NHS
- Chatting and building sentences: 2 to 3 years - NHS
- Learning conversations and telling stories: 3 to 5 years - NHS
- Look for patterns and triggers to identify what may be causing distressed behaviours.
- Positive scripts - positive language to re-direct, reinforce expectations e.g., use of others as role models.
- Calming scripts to de-escalate, including for example, use of sand timers for 'thinking time'.
- Limited choices to engage and motivate.
- Flexible and creative use of rewards and consequences e.g., 'catch them being good' reward systems.
- Visual timetable/supports and use of visual cues e.g., sand timers to support sharing.