The ‘Curricular Guidance for Pre-School Education’ in Northern Ireland (CCEA 2006) recognises the importance of the pre-school phase in children’s development and the need to provide developmentally appropriate learning experiences and environments. Parents/carers should be aware of the importance of their role as described inthis document
“Links between home and school are important at all stages of education, but particularly during the pre-school year. Parents are the child’s first educator and have an important role to play in pre-school life. So parents and staff should regard each other as partners in the children’s education.”
A successful home-school relationship can be a key element in making a school stronger. In effective schools, whose ethos is explicitly child-centred, the nurturing of positive relationships between school and home is prioritised, thus enabling parents/carers to feel valued as partners in supporting their children’s learning and as part of the school community. The benefits for children who have the joined support of school professionals and family members have been well documented.
Following the positive response to the launch of ‘Building Together in the Foundation Stage’ in 2007, a subsequent resource, ‘Building Together in the Nursery’ was written in partnership with colleagues from MASTS (Multi-Agency Support Team for Schools). It was launched at an event in Houston’s Mill Broughshane in 2009 and distributed to all nursery school and units in the NEELB.
The purpose of ‘Building Together in the Nursery’ is to support schools in supporting parents/carers as they seek to support children in the learning process in their important early years. The ultimate benefit will be to the well-being and all-round development of our children.
‘Building Together in the Nursery’ consists of four ‘sessions’, which can be used flexibly by schools at any stage during the pre-school year. It may be offered as weekly sessions as a core ‘parenting programme’ or can be organised as individual sessions throughout the year or, for example, on a termly basis.
The first session provides an overview of the pre-school curriculum and provides generic information centred around how children learn through play and may be accessed on this website. The three subsequent sessions take three of the core learning areas – Personal, Social Emotional Development, Language Development and Physical development and Movement - and provide information for parents/carers on what and how children learn within that area. Each session also provides some suggestions to encourage parents/carers to further support children’s development beyond their school experiences.
The introductory powerpoint, ideas for running a play workshop and a leaflet for parents are attached – these may be adapted for use for induction sessions or play workshops at any stage during the year.
