Partnership, Power, Parents and
Pedagogy: Putting Policy Into Practice
Trevor Chandler
Quarriers
Quarriers HO
100+ projects
2000+ staff
also international links
Regional
Office
Quarriers: 4 strands




Children and Families
Adults with disabilities
Young adults
Epilepsy
Ruchazie Family Centre: Aims







To support parents to meet their
children’s needs
To improve self-esteem and
confidence
To tackle disadvantage
To be rooted in the community
Open Access
Targeted
To offer a range of services
Mission statement

….our image of the child is rich in
potential, strong, powerful, competent
and, most of all, connected to adults
and other children.
Loris Malaguzzi
Four Possible Approaches To Working
With Parents

Parents as problems

Parents as a resource

Parents as consumers

Parents as partners
Schools need to consider these and choose their approach
‘ The Parents’ Survival Guide’ by Tony Attwood (1999)
Critical Questions
How can early years educators
overcome traditional power
relationships between themselves and
parents, where the professional
educator is perceived as having all the
critical competencies?
Critical Questions

What are the challenges and
opportunities for early years educators
in the early years phase to release the
untapped energies of parents?
“few professionals have been trained or feel
prepared to manage relationships with
parents.” and even with training it will be
difficult since true partnership “involves
sharing control and relinquishing status”
Moss and Pence, 1994

The roles of professional experience and parents’
every day experiences are seen as complementary
but equally important. The former constitutes a
‘public’ (and generalised) form of ‘theory’ about child
development, whilst the latter represents a ‘personal
theory’ about the development of a particular child.
Easen et al 1992
What matters to parents





Safe, welcoming place
Non-judgemental ethos
Being listened to / taken seriously /
valued as an individual
Relationships with staff
Reliable advice and information
Value Base






Parents and children both have rights.
Being a parent is a complex and difficult role
Parenting is a key concern for both men and women
The belief that parents are deeply committed to their
children
Professionals, working with children and families,
need to recognise parents’ roles as their child’s first
and most consistent carers and educators
That we must create a culture of high aspirations for
children
Creating a culture of high
expectations



Parents have the right to expect high quality,
flexible services that respond to the changing
needs of their families
Staff need to believe in parent’s deep
commitment to supporting their children’s
learning. They need to encourage parents to
increase their competence
Parents and staff both need to have high
expectations of the children. They need to
work together to get children the best
possible deal.

Nothing gets under a parent’s skin more
quickly and more permanently than the
illumination of his or her own children’s
behaviour. The effect of participation
can be profound.”
(Athey, 1990)
Ways for parents and nursery
staff to work together






Need for a common language and
understanding of how children learn
Home visiting
Daily chats
Parent interviews
Parents meetings
Home/Nursery videos