Positive relationships - working with parents: 'My child is an envelope'

Asked about what she'd learned on our 'Understanding Schemas' course for parents, one mother replied, 'Oh, it was great. We talked about our children's different play and behaviour patterns and I found out that my son is an envelope!'

'Yes, an enveloper,' replied her son's nursery manager. 'I've noticed that about him too!'

This simple exchange highlights just one of the many exciting shared observations and learning that took place during the year-long Parents as Partners in Early Learning (PPEL) programme in Southwark, London.

In all, 41 local authorities received DCSF funding for the PPEL pilot project, aimed at improving parent/practitioner partnerships and supporting parents' involvement in their children's early learning.

The funding gave us an opportunity to target parents and early years settings in certain areas of the borough where children were underperforming their peers in certain areas of the curriculum, particularly Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) and early language development.

These children were primarily from families with English as an Additional language (EAL) and from within the Bangladeshi and black communities. Our studies of children's outcomes had found, for example, that black boys underperformed in PSED when starting school.

To make the best use of the funding, we decided to build on existing outreach work and to focus on the areas where children from the target communities were in the bottom 20 per cent of children attaining six points or above on the Foundation Stage Profile.

Our aim was to give parents from the target communities the confidence and skills to:

- support their children's early language and communications skills

- understand their children's behaviours, particularly when this behaviour led to difficulties

- develop their children's interests through providing opportunities to play.

We also wanted to develop practitioners' confidence when working with parents and to enhance their understanding of how children with EAL can and do communicate, while gaining confidence in their English language skills.

Our 'Understanding Schemas' course helped us to achieve these aims. It stemmed from sessions introducing parents in children's centres to the meaning of schemas. The PPEL funding enabled us to build on the success of these earlier sessions and develop two seven-week, Saturday morning courses.

The first course was attended by 17 Black African and African-Caribbean parents, whose children were registered at a local children's centre and early years centre. Staff from the two centres attended parallel training in supporting children's Personal, Social and Emotional education.

The course was then rolled out to Bangladeshi families. It was attended by mothers and fathers as well as 17 Bangladeshi childminders, again from the same area.

Course content

The parents' course provided an introduction to schemas, and how:

- schema links to child development, well-being and social interaction (and how parents and children relate to and understand others)

- individual children learn through exploring play patterns

- children express their feelings and relationships through their play and exploration.

The course also looked at ten different schemas in depth.

The parallel course for practitioners looked at:

- Personal, social, and emotional development - aspects of babies' and
young children's development and learning
- Being social - listening effectively to babies and young children
- Being close - qualities and attitudes of the key person
- Being 'me' - getting to know babies and young children
- Schemas
- Having feelings - encouragement, limits and consistency
- Having friends and relationships - working together.

At the end of each course we held a Celebration event, bringing parents and practitioners together to share their learning and plan how to take it forward in their centres.

These Celebrations were a real confirmation of the learning and new confidence felt by parents, and the growing sensitivity and commitment of practitioners to work in real partnership with parents.

Parents' response

Melissa Taylor, a parent from the Black African and Caribbean group, explained that her new-found understanding of schemas now helps her to support, extend or redirect her son's play and exploration.

Behaviour she had previously perceived as naughty, she now realises is, in fact, schematic. One example she gave was linked to her son's exploration of rotation, both at home and at the children's centre.

She described how he had destroyed two video players because of his fascination with the reels inside the machine. Now that she understands his interest in rotation, she enjoys the challenge of providing him with relevant activities and resources, such as wheels, string and strips of material and string that he can wind round old cotton reels and pieces of wood.

Another parent, Forida Rahman, who attended the Bangladeshi families workshops with her husband, said they both now spend time observing their daughters at play and attach greater value to their schematic explorations. Before attending the course, they had always been saying 'No' and 'Don't do that' to the girls, because they didn't understand the significance of their behaviours. Now they realised their lack of understanding had actually been preventing learning opportunities. Forida talks about 'tuning in' more to her daughters' interests and sees how they respond positively and creatively to their parents' valuing and understanding their play and interests.

In March, both Melissa and Forida participated in the Southwark workshop at the National PPEL Dissemination Conference, where they shared with delegates observations of their children's repeated patterns of play and how knowledge and understanding of schemas had changed both their attitudes and the quality of their interactions with their children.

Practitioners' response

The practitioners felt that knowledge of children's schemas informed their observations and planning and that they were able to be more responsive to the children.

They began to share information with parents relating to particular behaviours that their children would display when they were feeing emotional. Parents and practitioners shared strategies on extending and redirecting play and exploration.

Kathy Eaton, manager of the Aylesbury Early Years Centre, reported that parents were finding it much easier to describe schematic behaviours displayed by their children at home and were sharing these observations with practitioners. The centre has now set up a computer facility for parents to contribute directly to their children's learning records, using words and photographs. Parents and practitioners are also developing a booklet on schemas for new parents before their children start at the centre.

Bunmi Adams, the manager of 1st Place Children and Parents' Centre, has also developed a space for parents at the centre where they can now contribute directly to the children's planning.

Both centres are delighted with the way parents and staff have embraced schemas as a way of understanding and sharing observations about the children's play and behaviour.

Southwark is committed to rolling out the learning from the PPEL work. We are delivering a continuing programme of training for parents and practitioners are engaged as mentors and evaluators of the programme to help embed the principles of communication, engagement and involvement of parents in the early years of their children's lives.

Kate Miranda is PPEL project co-ordinator. Stella Louis is a schemas tutor and early years consultant for Southwark Children's Services Department. Her book, Again, Again - Understanding Schemas, is published by Featherstone Education (sales@featherstone.uk.com).

Further Information:

- To order a copy of the Southwark PPEL video, e-mail Kate.Miranda@southwark.gov.uk

- Photographs and video footage from the PPEL programme can be viewed on the PPEL link from the Southwark CIS website at: www.southwarkcis.org.uk

- For information on PPEL activities in other local authorities visit: www.nationalstrategiescpd.org.uk/course/view.php?id=111

Links to EYFS guidance

- UC 1.1 Child Development

- PR 2.2 Parents as Partners

- EE 3.2 Supporting Every Child

- L&D 4.2 Active Learning.