Introduction

"A look into the recent past will give an understanding of how the approach towards working with parents has changed. Before the 1960s Early Years and childcare workers saw themselves as experts as far as children were concerned and there was little co-operation between them and parents" (Ward, 2009, pp.33). Making links with parents is especially challenging when it comes to hard to reach parents as it is difficult to make a connection with them, which may potentially help their child's development.“When the links are supportive between home and school settings, the more potential there is for healthy development”(Rege and Almeida, 2013, pp.54). 


“Parents and the home environment they create are the single most important factor in shaping their children’s well-being, achievements and prospects.” (Department of Education and Skills [DfES], 2007, cited in Ward 2009, pp. 1)

This shows just how important the influence of parents/guardians is in reference to a child’s education and development at the Early Years Foundation Stage. Set up for children below the age of 5, the framework sets out key areas of learning, which activities at home should ideally be based upon (Potter, 2007).  Child development is at a critical stage during the first five years, proceeding at a rapid rate (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000) showing the importance and need of parental support during this period.

 

All 3 and 4 year olds in the UK are entitled to 570 hours of free education or childcare each year; some local authorities also allow free education for 2 year olds (DfES, 2014). It is important for the staff in the Early Years setting to build a close and trusting relationship with the child, as by doing this it allows the staff member to pay attention to the relationship between the child and parent. If the relationship between the parent and child is not caring and supportive, the child could struggle to build relationships with the key workers in the Early Years educational settings. Some have claimed that ‘this adds to the argument that supporting parents is a relevant and essential task for Early Years practitioners’ (Ward, 2009, pp. 25).

All of this evidence emphasises the importance of parental involvement with young children in accordance with their personal learning and development within the classroom. The level of attachment that a child can achieve with a teacher can be directly linked to the relationship of the child and his/her parent, and can predict the success or failure at later stages of schooling depending on its quality (Pianta, 1997 cited in Ward, 2009). For this reasoning, it could be claimed that partnership with parents during the Early Years Foundation Stage is not just an ideal, but a necessity.