CONFERENCE RESOURCE
SUPPORTING PROGRESS IN RECEPTION:
TEACHING, PLAY AND ASSESSMENT
Engaging parents in the EYFS: 9 tips for working with parents in the
Reception year
Parental partnership is crucial to helping children develop in Reception. Julia Stead
offers some top tips you can apply in your EYFS classroom.
From the very first moment a child is in education, we need to grab parents’ attention, support and
engagement. Working in partnership with parents is known to be crucial in fostering children’s
positive attitudes to education and learning.
Practitioners know this, and Ofsted recognise it – in the EYFS inspection handbook Ofsted say they
will judge ‘how well the provision works in partnership with parents to support children’s learning
and development and the promotion of their well-being.’
The quality of parent partnerships in children’s Reception year is often dependent on the attitudes of
the teachers concerned, and the demography of the parents involved.
Sometimes senior leaders in a primary school have little direct experience of early years practice,
which can leave teachers isolated. What is certain is that the more genuine partnership, interest and
engagement there is between school and home, the better the outcomes for the children.
Tips for getting parents on board
So what can we do to cultivate this partnership? What can be immediately implemented in the
classroom, or planned into the schedule of the Reception year?
1. Foster relationships from the very first second of contact
A home visit before a child starts Reception is invaluable. Make it a happy and friendly visit, stressing
the good things that the parent is doing. This will help the parent to trust you, and will help them
believe that their child will be cared for by someone kind and friendly – a welcome feeling for an
anxious parent,
Just as we do with children, we should always include positive comments when dealing with parents,
no matter what other news we may be sharing during the same contact. It sweetens the relationship,
and helps those who may be a little guarded about school see the good too.
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2. Share, share, share
A lovely way to engage parents in their children’s learning is by sharing good work, and sharing a
little snippet of school life with them. There is a huge spectrum of ways this can be done.
How about a ‘Parents in Class’ morning, where parents come in and see a phonics session, or
continuous provision? You could hold regular assemblies where you share what you have been
doing.
Could you plan a workshop to help parents understand the importance of something e.g. a
storytelling workshop? How about a regularly-changed display outside the classroom to share what
the children have been learning?
The school website is a great way of sharing work with parents who work during the day. My school
sends home a weekly Thoughts for the Weekend letter. This brings together all notices, information
about which phonemes have been covered and ideas for extra activities parents can do to
consolidate learning from school.
3. Consider logistics for EVERY parent
It’s really frustrating for parents who work when they don’t get to go to special events in school, or
don’t hear about something important as they weren’t in a celebration assembly etc.
Address this by considering ways of ensuring all parents get good access to events and information.
Email and text message is great for sending important information home. A notice pinned to the
classroom door is convenient for the teacher, but not to parents who don’t do the pick up or drop
off.
When you arrange parents evenings and information events, ensure there is fair access for all
parents – daytime appointments will be no good for some working parents. Give plenty of notice for
special events.
4. Be available and known
Little Joshua is all that matters to his parents. They need you to be available, and they need to trust
you. We all know parents who need that little bit extra reassurance and time and Reception is the
year to give them what they need.
The key things is that when parents see you as a real life, caring person, instead of the enigma of
‘Miss/Mrs/Mr X’, they will trust in school and be more likely to engage. Always remember that
parents are giving you their child for more weekday waking hours than they will see them for. It’s not
surprising that a few need availability and reassurance.
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5. Send things home
Sometimes, parents are unsure of how things are taught. If they don’t understand how and why
something is being taught, they are often less likely to engage with the content.
Take phonics as an example – parents are sometimes wary of reinforcing learning at home because
they don’t know the ‘right’ way to help. Send home information leaflets for parents to read at a
convenient time.
You could accompany it with a little pack to use with their child, containing a mini whiteboard, pen
and rubber, and laminated phonemes/phoneme frames etc. The child could use it with their parents,
and the parents will have more knowledge and confidence to engage with their child in phonics
games.
6. Be mindful of parents’ past experiences
Some parents will have had a less than happy experience of school. Don’t assume receptiveness from
all parents – the ones who have negative memories of education will need more support, more
information and more positivity shared with them, as a slow and constant drip feed.
Over the course of the year, you will hopefully see more engagement as they get to know that school
is a positive and fruitful place for their child.
7. Make it easy
It is a non-negotiable to engage with parents about what their child shows they can do at home, and
what they have learned. Parents’ observations and knowledge must be included in their EYFS profile
and count towards the child’s assessment against the ELGs.
You should consider how best to present this task to parents. Some schools simply share stickers
with ‘date____’ on and ask parents to fill them in whenever their child achieves something.
This is very vague and overwhelming for a parent who doesn’t engage with school readily. Parents
might wonder what would constitute an achievement? How often should they send one into school?
What do they write? Should they help them?
Creating little slips with guidance headings could help. I send home slips with headings on to coax
parents into their completion.

'My child made me proud today when...’

‘My child made me laugh today when...’
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
‘For the first time today, my child...’

‘My child surprised me to day when they...’
I accompany this with a guidance letter explaining their purpose and how to use them. Parents love
to show off what their child can do – making it easy for them to do it encourages positive
engagement with the activity.
8. Consider a coordinator
In a large school, you could consider creating a ‘community coordinator’ role to organise events and
ideas to get parents into school. This may be for a ‘Parents in Class’ morning – the whole school
could engage parents that way.
The coordinator could also organise a pupil presence in community events like fun runs or Christmas
activities. If someone has the role of coordinator to focus on, then they can tie all the school’s ideas
and needs relating to parent partnership into one cohesive plan.
9. It’s the little things
Little gestures go a long way. Remember, Reception is when you start the relationship with parents –
you are trying to hook them in at the beginning of the 7-year school relationship.
Involve them in their child’s learning now and that will be established as the norm. A little note in a
book bag to celebrate an achievement will take seconds to do, but will mean a great deal to most
parents. If you know a parent has been caring for a poorly relative, asking them how they are will
show genuine interest.
It is the little things that all contribute to the big effect – parental engagement and healthy parentschool relationships.
Bring it together
We all strive for effective, professional, honest and genuine relationships with the parents of our
Reception children. It’s a balancing act where we try and convince parents of five things.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
They can trust us to care for their children.
They need to consolidate their children’s school-learning at home.
They need to engage with school to receive the information they need.
They need to feel positive about school, learning and education, and know that it matters.
They need to share their knowledge of their own children with us in school.
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Doing that relies on getting parents into school – to learn themselves, and know as much as they can
about continuing their children’s lifelong learning journeys at home.
Want to find out more? Check out our early years parental partnership policy or the Ofsted
document high quality early years provision: getting it right first time.
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