Reflection Points for Developing Partnerships with Families

First impressions count in all relationships and Quality Area 6 of the National Quality Standard (NQS) embeds the importance of forming and building collaborative relationships and partnerships with families. Standard 6.1 states:

Respectful relationships with families are developed and maintained and families are supported in their parenting role.

Further Element 6.1.1 states:

Families are supported from enrolment to be involved in the service and contribute to service decisions.

The Quality Area 6 information sheet from ACECQA talks about first impressions and says:

“Your attitude, manner and approach are important, so consider how families and children are first welcomed into the service.”

So getting those first impressions and interactions right is crucial for services and educators. As the saying goes:

So let’s take a step back and talk about 3 considerations when it comes to developing partnerships with families….you might want to use these to reflect on your own professional practice or discuss them together as a team at your next staff meeting:

To create respectful, supportive relationships with families, you will need to understand individually as an educator and as a service what this means. What does this type of relationship or partnership look like in daily best practice? What does your services philosophy and policy say about relationships with families? How will you develop these partnerships over time?

Here is a list of some of the features of respectful relationships that some of the participants in our Respectful Relationships with Families workshop have described:

• Trust each other
• Know each other
• Positive
• Two-way
• Shared understanding
• Collaborative
• Effective communication
• Value each other
• Value the roles educators and families play in children’s lives
• Sharing in decision making
• Proactive

There are many more….what would you add? Talk about this as a team. What do these words actually mean?

The best way to manage the expectations of families is to know what they are….and the only way to know what they are is to ask. Being clear about the expectations of the family and your service will help you be supportive and minimise misunderstandings.

It’s important to remember that families may not have been involved with a childcare service before so they won’t always know what to ask or tell you or may not be comfortable expressing this information.

This information gathering needs to start right from the first enquiry phone call, as an enrolment form is completed and in the first meeting with the family.

Through conversations and other forms of information collection, expectations can be established in relation to:

• Routines
• Cultural observances
• Sleep
• Food
• Children’s interests
• Communication methods

Families, just like individuals of course, come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. This may mean that there may be some barriers or hurdles to overcome when establishing, developing and maintaining relationships and partnerships with families. You will need to remain flexible, adaptable to differences.

There are so many benefits for children, educators, families and services in developing positive relationships with families. So make sure you take the time and plan to make the first impression count!

In ACECQA’s Quality Area 6 Information Sheet, encourages services and educators to “initiate professional converations and training”. It states “Professional learning activities may also build your confidence and capacity to build partnerships with families.”

So go ahead and use this article to be reflective in your practice about your relationships with families and as a professional conversation starter with other educators. 

For further professional development training, you could consider an in-house workshop at your service or start straight away with our online training course: