early years alliance - Best practice

Empowering families to support children’s learning at home

rachel.lawler — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 10:06:12 +0000

Richard Knight, early years development manager at the Alliance, shares ideas for inspiring families and support learning at home

Parents and families must be valued, supported and empowered to be engaged in their children’s lifelong learning journey. Using a broad range of approaches to supporting parents at your early years provision can help improve outcome for children and young people.

All families and parents are just as unique as the children we support. The complex differences between each parent and each family means that the pathways to achieving positive relationships should always be seen as a work in progress, rather than a race to the finish line.

How can we differentiate our approach, considering the ways we communicate and create opportunities for all families to be welcomed and listened to?

Reflecting on and evaluating our work can help ensure that our provision is as inclusive as possible and that our work continues to make a difference to the children in our care.

What does ‘empowering families’ mean?
Empowering parents and carers is about improving and strengthening the methods by which educators engage with them. It’s about ensuring that they are at the centre of decision-making processes in their child’s education.

Early years providers should create a culture in which ongoing collaboration with parents is the norm and not the exception. This is crucial to building a system in which parents and carers feel valued, respected and truly empowered.

Parents as partners
Acknowledging and supporting parents and the family in their key role as the primary educators of their children is enshrined in the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

The framework tells us that key persons must look for ways to engage with and support families and carers in guiding children’s development at home. We know that families and influential adults make a huge difference to children’s outcomes. It is important that educators give priority to working with parents and seek to understand the family’s commitment to their children’s learning and early education.

Working together gives everyone the best understanding of a child’s needs, interests, likes and dislikes. This partnership will lead to better provision within a setting and maximise the potential we as early educators have to influence learning at home.

Parents as educators
Most families arrive at early childhood setting with a bank of observations about their children. They will often know the best ways to support them.

As early years providers, we should be effective at capturing parents’ voices, giving utmost appreciation and respect to the rich knowledge that families have about their children. We should work to weave that into the flow of practice and teaching.

Remember...

Parents, carers and families make a vital difference to children’s learning and development.
Parents/carers are a child’s first and most enduring educators.
Each family is unique.
Consider the best engagement methods to work with families.
Thinking about partnership with parents is a good starting point.
Educators have a responsibility to work with all families.

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Best practice

Hearing the voice of the child

rachel.lawler — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 15:10:07 +0000

Julie Pearson early years development manager at the Alliance, shares how you can ensure that the voice of the child is heard in your setting

Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia approach, informs us that children possess one hundred languages. So how can we ensure these languages are heard within our early years settings?

The role of the key person
Firstly, it is important that the whole setting has an ethos of listening to children. While the role of the key person is absolutely vital, the whole setting will need to create a respectful community for children to feel listened to and understood.

Within this bigger community, sits the essential role of the key person. This trusted adult will be able to build relationships with each child, hearing both their verbal and non-verbal voices.

The voice of the child in safeguarding
Children communicate through their feelings, the support of the key person as a significant adult enables children to begin to make sense and understand the world, manage their feelings, and be confident in expressing their views. This will be built up on the understanding of each unique child in the key persons care and build confidence in children to share both verbally and nonverbally when something isn't right for them, which of course is essential when considering the voice of the child in safeguarding.

Unfortunately, the findings of many serious case reviews, such as that of Star Hobson and Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, show us that the children’s voices are not always truly heard. This provides a stark reminder of why it is important to ensure policies and procedures around safeguarding within early years settings capture the voice of the child.

Hearing to voice of the child in practice
As early years educators, we need to think about practical opportunities to support communication with children. In Listening to young children: the mosaic approach, Alison Clark and Peter Moss (2021) developed a method for listening to children that they call the ‘mosaic approach’. This approach sees different pieces of information pulled together to create a bigger picture of what it is like for children within an early years setting.

Clark and Moss spent time observing children and talking to them about what it was like for them at their setting. They also used digital photography, asking children to take pictures of what was important to them. They also spoke with parents, carers and educators to build up a larger 'mosaic' image of a child's experience. This information can then be used to influence change within a setting to help support children better and respond to their individual needs.

Barriers to hearing the child’s voice
A multi-layered approach to listening to children and hearing their voices is essential. It is important that educators themselves do not create barriers to hearing the voice of the child by making assumptions about what children can and cannot do. Listening to young children can't be rushed, time needs to be spent observing and understanding each unique child in our care.

Reflection is key to considering this approach, maybe start with these reflective questions:

Are all children heard in the same way in your setting, are some children listened to more than others? For example, how are babies’ voices heard?
Are their times of the day or spaces within your setting where the children’s voices aren't heard as much as they usually are? For example, this could be during busy home times or when you are preparing meals?

Finally, it is clear from research over recent decades and findings from serious case reviews, that listening to children is essential for child-centred, safe, and effective early years provision. Therefore, it is vital that we consider how we empower children and hear their voices within our daily practice.

Julie will be hosting one of our four practical seminars at the Alliance Connect Roadshow on 20 March at Park Plaza, Leeds.

Places on her session, Hearing the voice of the child, are limited so please book ASAP to avoid disappointment.

Find out more and book your space here.

Best practice

How can we support children’s resilience?

shannon.pite — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:00:13 +0000

Tracey Hobbs, early years development manager at the Alliance, explains why resilience is so important and how early years educators can help children develop this vital skill

Building children’s resilience can help give them the tools they need to navigate stressful situations. When children have the skills and confidence to confront and work through problems, they learn that they have what it takes to tackle difficult issues.

The more they can manage on their own, the more they internalise the message that they are strong and capable.

As we know, all children are different and they develop at their own rate. All children will have different levels of resilience and different ways of responding and recovering from stressful situations.

Children will also have their own ways of showing when the demands put on them are outweighing their ability to cope. Some children will display this by becoming emotional, others will withdraw or become defiant, and restless.

Even the most resilient of young children will have days when it all becomes too much for them. Children with low resilience are more likely to display certain patterns of behaviour.

A supportive role

Early educators and parents can help children build resilience and confront uncertainty by teaching them to solve problems independently. As an adult, your gut reaction might be to jump in and help so that the child avoids dealing with discomfort. But this can weaken a child’s resilience.

Unfortunately, children need to experience discomfort so that they can learn to work through it and develop their own problem-solving skills. Without this skill set in place, children may experience anxiety and learn to shut down in the face of adversity.

Helping children develop into thriving adults is not about shielding them from adversity. If we could scoop them up and lift them over things that may cause them to stumble, that would be wonderful – but this would not do them justice.

Children need to know how to deal with a little bit of stress. This will help them to develop the skills they need to flourish. Nurturing strategies that will help them cope with adversity will set them up with healthy coping skills for the future.

It isn’t self-reliance, determination or inner strength that leads children through adversity but the reliable presence of supportive relationships with adults. The daily presence of responsive adults can help to reverse the physiological changes activated by stress, which can be damaging for young children.

Resilient children are more likely to take healthy risks because they don’t fear falling short of expectations. They are curious, brave and trusting of their own instincts. They learn to know their limits and push themselves to step outside of their comfort zone. This helps them to reach their long-term goals and helps them solve their problems independently.

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Best practice

Supporting children with English as an Additional Language at your setting

rachel.lawler — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 08:56:12 +0000

Sharon Bond, lead early help advisor and Louise Campbell White, early help advisor, at the Alliance, explain how you can support children and families with EAL in your early years setting

Living as we do in a diverse and multi-cultural society, many early years settings are welcoming families who have English as an additional language. For some providers, this may be a new experience, but for others it will have become routine over many years.

The important thing to remember is that we all do our best to understand how to meet the needs of these families and how best to support them.

A tailored approach
We all know that children are unique – as are their families. A one-size-fits-all approach is not the answer. That said, it is important to have a comprehensive knowledge of strategies and resources which are suitable to deliver a broad, supportive and playful educational programme for your children and families.

Some early years providers may have up to 90% of their cohort with English as an additional language. This could mean that there are many different languages spoken in your setting.

For other providers, there may only be one child for whom English is an additional language during any one session.

Bearing this in mind, how can early years educators ensure that they are providing a communication-rich setting? How can we ensure that every child has an opportunity to share their language? How can we make sure that everyone is able to communicate?

Supporting children and families
It’s important that all children and families are made to feel welcome and not isolated in their communities. Language is a key part of this.

Since 2013, we’ve been working with early year educators in Somerset on supporting children with English as an additional language as part of a commissioned service. We provide training, visits to early years settings and sign-posting as well as partnership working with translation and interpreting services.

The important thing to remember when thinking about how to support a child who has English as an Additional Language, is to first consider their personal, social and emotional aspect of development and wellbeing.

A child needs to feel secure and valued before they can even think about developing their language skills. This is something we as EY Educators can pride ourselves on doing effectively and indeed do every day as part of the care and education we provide to all children.

We should also consider how young children learn English and what early years educators can do to develop this skill. Helping children to develop their communication and language skills is something we do with all children – not just our learners with English as an additional language.

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Best practice

How to talk to children about war

rachel.lawler — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 14:51:44 +0000

With many families concerned by the current news cycle, Val Pope, business manager at the Alliance, explains how we can talk about the situation in a sensitive way...

As adults, we’ve likely spent a lot of time in recent weeks listening to breaking news about the war in Ukraine and worrying about what it means, what will happen next and how we might be affected.

Scenes on social media
The internet and social media have meant that, unlike conflicts that our parents and grandparents may remember, we are often confronted with live stories and clips from the conflict.

Seeing the impact of the war on the people of Ukraine in this kind of detail gives the news an immediacy that some previous conflicts did not have, making the news feel even more real and relevant to us here in the UK.

It is of course a hugely worrying time. But if it’s worry for us, how must children be feeling?

Little ears listening
Many children will be worried about the things they have heard on the news about what has been happening. Even the youngest children can be listening in when we are watching the news on TV, listening to the radio or reading articles online.

Hearing parents, siblings, other children at nursery or someone on the TV talking about war, seeing images of houses being bombed or seeing people hurt can distress and worry children, no matter their age.

Supporting families
As early years providers, families may also be asking you what they should say to their children and asking if you have mentioned it at all to them.

You may have some Ukrainian or Russian families in your setting. Their families and friends may be caught up in the conflict so it’s important to be sensitive to how they may be feeling at this time.

Age-appropriate responses
For older children, you may want to go into a little detail and explain what the war is about and why it started – as well as what people are doing to try and bring an end to the conflict and help the people of Ukraine. For younger children, it is important that you limit the amount of information you relay to them.

And, of course, for all children it is important that you reassure them.

But how can we tell them the truth about what is happening without worrying them further?

Helpful guidance
Unicef has provided some excellent guidelines about this that you can share with families and use yourselves.

The guidance explains:

“Children have a right to know what’s going on in the world, but adults also have a responsibility to keep them safe from distress […] Use age-appropriate language, watch their reactions and be sensitive to their level of anxiety.”

The Department for Education has published guidance for teachers and families on how to talk to children about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Children’s Commissioner has advised that we should not hide what is happening in Ukraine but support children in their understanding.

Making a plan
Generally, it is important to plan what you want to say before you engage in the conversation. Consider what level of detail is appropriate for the age and development stage of the child.

Experts generally seem to agree that there are a few key things to think about when planning your approach:

1.Listen and notice – What are children saying? What is it that they have heard people talking about and what images have they seen on the TV or elsewhere?

Exactly what question are they asking you? Do they seem distressed or anxious? What is worrying them most? Are they even mentioning it at all?

2.Don’t say too much – Don’t say more than you need to and keep it simple. Lots of detail is not needed and it could just put more worries into their heads.

Try something that they can relate to, such as: “You know that sometimes people are cross with each other and argue? Well sometimes countries are cross with each other and they fight too.” If they ask why they are fighting, you could say something like: “They don’t agree with each other about who should be in charge of the country.”

3.Reassure – If children are scared, then tell them that it is okay to feel that way. You could reassure them that the fighting countries are very far away and not near us. Tell them that we are very safe here and that people are trying to stop the fighting.

4.Do something practical – Gathering donation in your setting for families in Ukraine might help children feel that they are doing something to help. It also helps to build a sense of social responsibility.

You may have a local collection point – check local groups for information on where you can donate.

Best practice

EAL: Why the home language matters

caroline.graham — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 10:21:57 +0000

Sharon Bond, lead EAL advisor at the Alliance, explains the importance of the home language for children with English as an additional language...

Forming working partnerships is a vital skill in all aspects of our lives. Never is this more true than when working with the parents of the children who attend your setting.

Sometimes this relationship grows naturally and other times there are barriers that may hinder your partnership.

Imagine you have English as an additional language (EAL), speak little English or are new to the country.

As a parent, what would be important to you if you had a child attending an early years setting? How would you ensure that you understand what happens in the group and what is required of you?

Welcoming everybody in

Skilled and experienced early years managers and educators should have measures in place to help support parents, including essential documents translated into the families’ home languages and access to interpreters where possible.

The setting should be welcoming to every child and parent to show that they are valued and part of the community. For example, you could have welcome signs and greetings in a variety of languages, reflecting those spoken by your families.

Home is at the heart

Something to consider when welcoming EAL families to your setting is how you can value their home language, culture and home environment.

The first thing the EYFS says about children with EAL is:

“For children whose home language is not English, providers must take reasonable steps to provide opportunities for children to continue to develop and use their home language in play and learning[...]”

This statement has been part of the EYFS framework since it was first introduced in 2008 and remains unchanged in the 2021 version.

The accompanying non-statutory guidance in Development Matters and Birth to 5 Matters also refer to the important of the home language.

“Speaking more than one language has lots of advantages for children. It is the norm in many countries around the world. Children will learn English from a strong foundation in their home language. It is important for you to encourage families to use their home language for linguistic as well as cultural reasons.

"Children learning English will typically go through a quiet phase when they do not say very much and may then use words in both languages in the same sentence. Talk to parents about what language they speak at home, try and learn a few key words and celebrate multilingualism in your setting.”

Development Matters

“A child’s first language provides the roots to learn additional languages, and parents should be encouraged to continue to use their home languages to strengthen and support their children’s language proficiency as they join new environments.”

Birth to 5 Matters

EAL specialists and consultants like us welcome these additions to the non-statutory guidance, giving extra value and importance to the home language. Supporting home language in the home is one of the key messages we should share with parents and caregivers. We need to ensure we have the right information to do this effectively and in partnership with families.

How is language used and by whom?

What is the home language? Who speaks it and with whom? Who else looks after the children, who else is in the home? All of these questions need to be answered to help build a full picture of what our families might need from us. This will help us get it right.

So, as well as language, what other factors do early years educators need to think about?

There are many aspects of other cultures we need to consider when building relationships and partnerships with parents.

For example, in some cultures it is considered bad manners for a child to look an adult directly in the eye, yet how many times do we get down to a child’s level and ask them gently “Look at me, please”?

Exploring what the home environment is like for families is key for all children in your setting.

Home visits are an excellent way of doing this. A home visit can give valuable insights into family life. More importantly, it can be a stepping stone on the transition journey for a child. It’s also an opportunity for parents to ask questions and gain valuable information from you, while in the familiar and comfortable setting of their own home.

Getting it right for the future

The quality of the home learning environment is a key predictor of a child’s early language ability and future success; positive experiences can have a lasting and life changing impact.

Early language ability is consistently linked to later outcomes – including school attainment and job prospects. Children raised in middle and upper-income homes are more likely to experience a language-rich environment. By contrast, children from low-income homes are more likely to arrive at school with below-average language skills, leaving them at an educational disadvantage from the start.

Studies also consistently show that many home learning activities support children’s early language development, including: going to the library, playing with/being taught letters, playing with/being taught numbers, songs/poems/rhymes. In particular, studies show that the quality of caregiver-child interactions taking place during these activities are a better predictor of school attainment at age seven than children’s exposure to computers or other learning technologies during the early years.

So, the message is clear: value and respect a child’s home learning environment and do everything you can to build relationships and partnerships with parents.

Build on your existing knowledge and expertise to think about the small additional steps that you could put in place to welcome EAL families to your setting, because by doing so you could make a big difference to a family’s experience of early years education.

Sharon Bond is the lead EAL advistor with the Alliance’s Somerset EAL Advisory Service, offering specialist support to early years educators in Somerset.

Virtual Classroom - supporting children for whom English is an additional language

Do you want to feel confident in supporting children who have English as an additional language?

The Alliance is running a Virtual Classroom on this topic. It is an interactive online session in which you will:

Review the research around how children can be bilingual and multilingual
Identify how settings can help children to learn effectively in a monolingual environment.

The sessions are suitable for early years educators and those working in family support services.

This Virtual Classroom will take place across two sessions on Thursday 10 & 17 March, 10am - 11.30am.

Prices:
£35 pp for members
£50 pp for non-members

Book now

Best practice

Sowing the seed of sustainability in early years

caroline.graham — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 11:30:44 +0000

When you mention the word sustainability to an early years professsional often their first thoughts are financial – budgets, cash flow, forecasts!

However in terms of children's education and learning, the topic of sustainability refers to our relationship with our environment and how we can meet our needs today without compromising the needs of future generations.

This week, the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is being held in Glasgow. World leaders, lobbyists, campaigners, activists, celebrities and even children have attended the event which is being held to try and agree new commitments, policies and strategies to tackle climate change and make our lifestyles sustainable to protect our planet for us and future generations.

Supporting children's understanding

But how does sustainability influence and impact on children in the early years?

What are they hearing and how might they feel? What is their understanding of the pressures on our planet? Do they have questions and worries that we can address?

Can we, by supporting their learning and development, change the mind-set of a generation and generations to come?

Can we grow a sense of responsibility to help our world remain sustainable? Can we amplify the voices of our youngest children to shape future sustainability policy?

Embedding responsible learning

A curriculum — through the seven areas of learning — can support children’s evolving understanding of how they as individuals contribute to Earth’s wellbeing.

We need to look at our own role as educators to help embed environmentally responsible learning and look at developing engaging play opportunities that reflect children’s interests and extend their thinking.

As a setting you will need to develop your ethos and make pledges to sustainability including setting realistic and achievable targets that will make a difference.

And then how will you reflect on your progress against those targets and share your successes?

Are there ways to take this beyond the setting into the home learning environment and the wider community?

For more ideas about teaching 0-5s about climate change, sustainability and the environment you can purchase these publications from the Alliance shop

(Alliance members get 20% off all publications)

Educating Social Responsiblity

My Favourite Colour is Green

Reconnecting with Nature

Exploring schemas

caroline.graham — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 14:07:50 +0000

By Julie Pearson

As educators we support and value the unique child in our settings, but do we really understand what their play is telling us?

Are we able to recognise and observe repeated actions in play and see them as schemas?

What is a schema?

Constructivist theorist Jean Piaget defined a schema as: "a cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component actions that are tightly interconnected and governed by a core meaning…” describing schemas as “being the basic building blocks of human intelligence."

Chris Athey builds upon Piaget’s theories and describes them as a “pattern of repeatable and generalised action".

So, are we able to recognise these patterns of play within our own settings and in the behaviour of our children?

Enabling our environment

Do we fully consider the individual patterns of play as demonstrated by a trajectory, rotational or enveloping schema?

Do we embrace an enclosing, connecting or orienteering schema when thinking about our indoor and outdoor environments?

Do we understand how invaluable getting our environment right, really is? It plays such an invaluable role in stretching and scaffolding our children’s learning based on their interests and more importantly, on the way they learn.

So, what opportunities and resources should we be offering our children to support this exploration in play?

Do we give our children enough time to embed their learning? Do we give them access to similar resources to enable the repeated patterns needed or do we still constantly change what we have available in the room in accordance with what we have planned for that day?

Are we truly reflective in our practice and do we see the value of the moment or are we hurried in order to get to that “next stage” of development?

Communication and language

Developing children’s communication and language is one of the cornerstones of children’s development.

It helps them to put a name to their feelings, to express their wants and desires, to be understood. So, wouldn’t you agree that our understanding of schemas and of the way our children learn, plays a significant role in supporting children’s developing language?

As educators we need to acknowledge every opportunity to extend or stretch children’s communication.

Every moment can be a learning moment for both educator and child, so we need to be constantly reflective in our practice, our own communication and language and in our own behaviour modelling.

Parents in partnership

So, knowing what we know as educators how do we help parents understand that their child learns using a trajectory schema, for example, and that their broken toys may be a result of this?

Can we involve our parents by sharing our knowledge and helping them understand their child’s method of learning?

Do we provide information in such a way that is celebratory and offer tips to help with play at home?

We need our children to feel confident in exploring these repeated patterns of play both at home and at our settings.

They need time and understanding from all, to explore and truly embed their learning.

The positive relationships we nurture with our children and their families, will help us observe and support all children’s interests.

By enabling our environments and seizing every moment, we will help our children’s future thinking.

Booking now: Exploring schemas

To explore schematic play in more detail book a place on our Alliance Spotlight online session on Wednesday 17 November.

The session will look at what schemas are, how to recognise them and how you can offer first-hand experiences for children within your setting to support these play patterns.

Observing and understanding schemas in children's play can truly support the unique child.

Wednesday 17 November, 12pm - 1pm

Alliance members: £12

Non-members: £24

Best practice

Coronavirus rules for families over the holiday

rachel.lawler — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 16:08:53 +0000

As many settings get ready for a break at the end of the year, it’s important to remember that the rules on self-isolation and testing are still in place, despite the coming holiday.

Here is a quick reminder of the current rules before the end of term…

Childcare over the festive break

Registered childcare providers can remain open as usual across all four tier levels, although of course many will close for a break during this time.

Families are advised against using any separate ‘childcare bubbles’ they have previously formed over the Christmas period if they are forming new ‘Christmas bubbles’ – except where “absolutely necessary” to avoid potential spreading between bubbles.

If you live in Tier 4 you are not permitted to form a 'Christmas bubble' but you can continue to use your childcare bubble, support bubble, childcare activities and wraparound care if they are still running.

Travelling abroad

Those in tier 1 and 2 have been permitted to travel abroad since 2 December. Those in tier 3 and tier 4 should not leave their tier unless it is for work, education or caring responsibilities.

Families that have travelled abroad will need to self-isolate for 10 days when they return, unless they have travelled to one of countries on the government’s “travel corridor” list.

This has recently changed from previous guidance which recommended 14 days of self-isolation after travel from a non-corridor country.

From 15 December, passengers arriving into England from a non-corridor country have the option of taking a coronavirus test after five days of self-isolation. If the test is negative, they will not need to isolate for any longer.

The rules on international travel will remain in place between 23-27 December.

Self-isolating and getting tested

If any children, families or staff members experience symptoms of coronavirus while away from your setting, they should:

book a test – all children can be tested, including children under five, but children under 11 will need to be helped by their parents if using a home test kit
be prepared to give contact details for anyone they have been in close contact with if the test result is positive or if asked to by NHS Test and Trace
self-isolate if they have been in close contact with someone who tests positive for coronavirus or has coronavirus symptoms

The guidance on self-isolation recently changed – as of 14 December, people now only need to isolate for 10 days after coming into contact with a positive case, not 14 as previously recommended.

NHS Test and Trace

The NHS Test and Trace service will be open as usual over Christmas and the New Year. Families will be able to access tests as usual, although some testing sites may have reduced opening hours and home testing will have a reduced service on bank holidays due to postal delays.

Staying in touch

Some local authorities have asked early years providers to remain contactable for at least six days after the end of term for contact tracing. This will allow enough time for positive cases to be identified and confirmed after the end of term, although most cases should be identified within the first few days.

If any staff or children test positive in the days after the end of term, they will need to let you know so that you can engage with the NHS Test and Trace service and inform �°��ϲʹ��, if required.

Families should let you know if their child is self-isolating and unable to return as expected after the Christmas break.

DfE coronavirus helpline

The DfE's coronavirus helpline and PHE Advice Service will be available over the break to answer any questions you have about Covid-19 relating to your provision. However, they will be closed on bank holidays over the festive period and will have shorter operating hours on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Opening hours
24 Dec - 8am to 4pm
25 to 28 Dec - closed
29 to 30 Dec - 8am to 6pm
31 Dec - 9am to 4pm
1 January - closed
2 to 3 January - 10am to 6pm

Until 24 Dec the helpline will be open Monday-Friday, 8am to 6pm. You can contac them on: 0800 046 8687.

Alliance members - To download a copy of our template letter to parents outlining the need to stay in touch in case of any positive tests results over the festive break, please visit our Members' Area where you can download a word doc ready to share with parents.

For further information, please check our Covid-19 FAQs here

Useful links

Guidance for the Christmas period

NHS Test and Trace - how it works

Actions for early years and childcare providers

Best practice

Celebrating the festive season during COVID-19

rachel.lawler — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 12:19:09 +0000

With the coronavius pandemic still ongoing, many providers have lots of questions about how they can celebrate the festive season - Can we still hold our nativity play? What can we do instead of our usual nursery Christmas party? Are we allowed to sing carols?

Richard Knight, early years service officer at the Alliance, shares ideas for celebrating the festive season in your early years setting, while still following coronavirus guidelines and restrictions...

The festive season is fast approaching and I think we can all agree that Christmas 2020 will be a different one for all of us. Holiday season with children and young people can be a magical experience: the awe and wonder of the build-up, family traditions and people coming together to celebrate in lots of diverse ways.

Autumn is a busy time for early years providers with many becoming hives of activity and parental involvement as children work through crafts activities, stories and tales. Children may even be rehearsing performances for the eyes of proud families.

While settings and childminders might usually have their typical go-to festive activities and traditions, including parents and cares in their celebrations this year might be a little more difficult than usual in these times of ever-changing social distancing restrictions and guidance?

A different way of life
Ordinarily, seasonal celebrations in settings might involve last day of term parties for both children and parents, carol concerts, fayres or fetes, shared food and treats from home, nativity plays or favourite story book performances.

With providers still being encouraged to avoid parents and other third party adults entering the premises where possible, it is evitable that times of celebration and coming together in the early years sector are going to continue to be significantly different in the way of life we now lead.

The digital revolution
�°��ϲʹ�� up and down the country have had to embrace digital communications just like many other sectors in the pandemic. We are all working in new ways and connecting virtually with each other and families to good effect. Video and Wi-Fi calling have become the new normal for most.

Some settings are considering using their devices to record festive song sessions and other popular music and movement choices that children may use at home. These sessions could see key persons having a sing along with their key group of children or the whole setting community in a larger, spaced-out session with staff and children singing and dancing together.

�°��ϲʹ�� who are under tighter restrictions locally or are maintaining the use of ‘bubbles’ may prefer to keep to smaller groups.

Another option is for practitioners to sing inclusive seasonal songs while using props to enhance the experience. The recordings can easily be sent to individual families or, with relevant consent, can be used on social media or your setting website.

To keep the recordings as meaningful as possible, practitioners could send out a simple survey asking families which songs they would like to see in the clips.

�°��ϲʹ�� that would usually do larger scale performances such as carol concerts or plays may want to go ahead with their planned activity and use technology to record the event. Again, the recording can be shared with families who can keep it and watch in the comfort of their own homes.

Those that are feeling savvy might choose to livestream the song session of choice, giving parents and carers an opportunity to watch in real time as if they were in the building.

Other ways to share the celebration include taking photographs of children engaging in festive activities and being creative. You may wish to create a series or gallery that can be sent out to families and then be enjoyed at home with the wider family.

Don’t forget to make the most of any nursery management software you may have. You can share play and learning ideas with families remotely.

Your usual favourite activities can be given a festive twist to help parents and carers improve their home learning environment over the festive break. This could be increasingly important over the winter break if families are at home more than they would usually be due to local restrictions.

Many providers are hosting catch-ups with parents and carers using video conferencing platforms. Conversations about children’s learning and development still need to happen, despite the fact that parents are not entering the setting itself.

Why not consider a Christmas jumper or other fancy-dress parent networking event or parents evening session online? Invite them to join a virtual party, bringing their own food to enjoy while they chat.

Party like it’s 2020
Lots of providers mark the end of the calendar year with a big party to help celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah and other winter festivals. These parties don’t necessarily have to stop but they will certainly need to be managed differently to ensure they go ahead in the safest way possible.

Think about keeping your parties in house and perhaps serve food which is prepared on site, rather than asking families to bring their own dishes in.

With allergies, food intolerances and likes and dislikes to consider, you may wish to ask families for their thoughts on the menus offered.

This could be a great opportunity to acknowledge the traditional foods that parents and carers enjoy in times of celebration. Including some favourite foods from home ensures that your celebrations reflect that of the local community.

Taking lots of photos or videos and involving parents in the planning will help them feel part of the event, even if they can’t be there in person.

If you have a large number of children attending your setting, you may wish to organise several, separate smaller parties within key children cohorts or secure bubbles if you are still using them.

Find out more
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Celebrating the festive season during COVID-19