progress in a way that is positive for all parties involved requires
careful preparation and specific skills. Dr Kay Mathieson explains.
On the face of it, meeting with parents and carers to talk about the progress their child has made and to plan how to help continued progress should be easy. However, organising and facilitating a meeting successfully takes skill, detailed preparation, confidence and a high level of professionalism.
Progress or review meetings with parents and carers do not take place in isolation. In a sense the preparation for review meetings begins the first time you meet a child and their parents or carers. The day-to-day relationship builds into a pattern of expectations, trust and understanding of each other.
If things go well, this is a two-way flow of information with shared problem-solving and thinking related to observations of the child's respon- ses, learning and development. The review meeting discussions can then fit naturally into this relationship and will have continuity over time.
The important thing to recognise is that this does not happen by accident but is dependent on a range of skills and professional approaches in our day-to-day practice as well as in our preparation for review discussions.
Accepting that these discussions about a child's progress are potential sources of anxiety, delight, frustration, disappointment, anger and misunderstandings for both parents and practitioners is a first step in raising our professional awareness.
SKILLS
A well-run meeting with parents often looks effortless, and it is easy to overlook the skills that have been used. There are specific skills that are central to facilitating a successful meeting. These include:
- organisation
- time management
- note taking
- sensitivity
- perspective taking
- listening
- communicating clearly.
All these skills can be practised and developed by working alongside more experienced colleagues rather than taking full responsibility for the whole process. This can also give meaningful opportunities for reflecting on personal effectiveness and confidence levels.
Supervision discussions are particularly useful for identifying a range of ways to increase specific skill levels and build confidence. As part of the preparation for discussion with parents, supervision discussions offer a supportive context to share ideas, concerns and problem solving for even the most experienced practitioner.
PRINCIPLES AND PURPOSE
The decision to hold a formal review discussion may be triggered by:
- timing - regular termly or annual reviews are often usual practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
- specific events, such as changes in a child's responses
- the need to involve outside agencies to support our understanding of a child's progress.
Whatever the reason, it is important to articulate clearly why the meeting is being arranged and what it is expected to achieve. Misunderstandings at this stage can significantly reduce the effectiveness of the discussion. For example, if parents or carers assume that the meeting is to tell them that the child can no longer attend the setting, they are likely to experience feelings of anger, frustration, anxiety or despair.
In contrast, if the purpose is confirmed as an opportunity to update the speech and language therapist on recent progress and to discuss possible next steps, their emotions are likely to be much more positive.
There should be no surprises for parents or carers during a review meeting; it is more about enabling shared thinking and collaborative decision-making. A focus for practitioners is also ensuring continuity in the information we share and maintaining the quality of the relationship.
If the purpose of the meeting is clear to all who are invited to attend, the information they bring will be relevant and their expectations more in tune with each other.
This is further embedded if everyone is clear that the child and their needs are kept central to discussions at all times. Contributors should also be encouraged to support judgements with relevant evidence such as observations, rate of progress over time and the impact of successful strategies.
PREPARING THE MEETING
The main objective for the practitio- ner organising the meeting is to give everyone the best possible chance to make effective use of the opportunity to have key people together sharing their perspectives of a child.
To enable this to happen, plenty of notice needs to be given of date, time and venue to accommodate busy diaries, family care arrangements and gathering of appropriate information. For multi-agency discussions, involving parents in the decisions about who might be invited and sharing understanding about whose views might be useful even if they cannot attend in person help to guide realistic expectations of what can be achieved.
GPs, for example, are very unlik- ely to be able to attend, but parents or carers may be able to arrange an appointment prior to the meeting to gather specific information.
Setting the time, venue and date for the meeting with parents is good because discussions about practicalities such as care for other family members, work shifts or commitments can then be considered.
Basic requirements such as which space can be used for the discussion, appropriate numbers of suitable chairs, offering refreshments, welcoming those attending, car parking and so on also require a bit of thought. This is especially the case in smaller, multi-use buildings where rooms may need to be booked ahead or security visitor passes organised and Reception/admin staff informed about who will be attending the meeting. Sharing the agenda, or at least key points for discussion, at this stage ensures that there is a shared understanding of the current priorities.
RUNNING THE MEETING
From the moment the first person arrives, the practitioner leading the meeting has a responsibility to ensure that everyone is helped to feel at ease and welcomed. Once everyone has arrived, formal introductions with a brief explanation of role is important so that there is clarity about the different perspectives represented.
It is the responsibility of the 'chairperson' or practitioner leading the meeting to restate the purpose of the meeting, the key items to be discussed, the expected finishing time, the arrangements for taking notes and recording decisions and how this will be circulated after the meeting.
This approach sets the tone of the meeting, so needs to be communicated in a professional and inclusive manner. The chairperson invites contributions from those attending, ensuring that each person is able to express their view, and respond to questions but remain within the agreed time constraints. It is helpful if the chairperson also regularly summarises what has been said and confirms that key points have been understood by all of those present.
Generally, parents, carers and setting practitioners spend most time with the child, so beginning with a brief update of progress in the prime and specific areas of learning can be helpful. Parents may find it helpful to use the What to Expect, When? document as a context for their own observations of their child's progress. From this general overview, key points of concern or celebration can be explored in more detail with input from specialists as appropriate.
Towards the end of the meeting, a summary of discussion points is helpful before next steps are agreed with linked timescales and responsibility being taken by individuals present. This is also a good time to confirm who should be included in the circulation of information, whether they attended or not, ensuring that everyone involved with the child has relevant, up-to-date information.
Once the meeting is finished, there should be no feeling of smaller discussions taking place, either excluding parents or between setting practitioners and parents about others who have attended. When meeting notes are distributed, those who attended and contributed can also be thanked and invited to give feedback about the running of the meeting and ways it could be improved in the future.
CONCLUSION
The size and make up of progress review discussions range from those with just a key person and parents or carers through to the much larger multi-agency meetings. However, the same principles, preparation, follow up and professionalism should be demonstrated.
Meetings with parents and carers are an integral part of working with children in the EYFS, and as such are a focus for individual professional development as well as a means of improving the quality of provision.
MORE INFORMATION
Early Years: guide to the 0-25 SEND code of practice, Department for Education (2014)
Inclusion in the EYFS, K Mathieson (2015), London Open University Press
SEN and disability in the early years: A toolkit, Council for Disabled Children and 4Children (2015), at www.foundationyears.org.uk
What to Expect, When?, www.foundationyears.org.uk.
