Here at Learn and Laugh, we value genuine partnerships between our families
and educators. Quality Area 6 of the National Quality Standard highlights the
importance of building collaborative partnerships with both families and
communities. We strive to ensure that strong communication is open and
ongoing, and that collaboration is embedded in our practice so that families
can continuously feel their perspectives, suggestions and feedback are valued
and respected.

How are we building partnerships with families?
One approach we have been using to extend our partnerships at Learn and
Laugh Lewisham and increase family-educator collaboration is through a
monthly food project. Through creation of our Fruit and Vegetable of the
Month program we have communicated with parents and families on a regular
basis. Here we invite families to send their own recipes that they enjoy at
home, use these recipes as part of our educational program, and then share
the positive feedback about the experience with the family.

Recipes we have collated and displayed neatly in our Recipe folder for families and children to view.

 

Advantages of collaboration
This program has allowed educators to gain information from families that can
be used to support children’s learning and wellbeing at the centre. As families
share insights and perspectives about their children, our network of
information about the child and their strengths, interests and beliefs expand as
we get to know more about what they enjoy at home.
An amazing benefit to this program is the way it has opened our service to
learning about and showing respect for the backgrounds, cultures and
identities of our different families. We have seen this actively support
children’s understanding of diversity and culture as they enjoy a variety of
recipes from all around the world, like Samosas from India or Gnocchi from
Italy (recipes sent in response to the vegetable of the month, the potato).
The main benefit for children is that they feel security and comfort in knowing
that there is open communication between their families and their educators,
as their parents are viewed as partners in their learning. This adds to their
sense of belonging and inclusiveness in their home and school environments.

From these experiences, we have found families feel a deeper connection to the service and continuously engaged and active participants in their children’s learning.

Far left photo: Junior Preschool making Potato Gnocchi (September vegetable of the month – Potato)

 

Bottom left photo: Senior Preschool enjoying Zucchini Fries (August vegetable of the month – Zucchini)