Nursery World - Non-Verbal Communication

Understanding non-verbal communication will help practitioners get on with parents, finds Charlotte Goddard

Partnership working between parents and practitioners is central to the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, in some instances, the demands of the EYFS and other policy initiatives could actually be creating a rift between the two, making some parents feel judged and patronised.

Nursery practitioner Anna Max researched parent/practitioner relationships for her Master’s dissertation. ‘The EYFS has got this agenda of practitioners spotting problems and educating parents how, as a partnership, we will deal with this problem, but nothing that says the opinions of the parents need to be respected,’ she says.

Early years practitioners are increasingly charged with ‘spotting problems’, whether in relation to obesity, so-called ‘school readiness’ or dental health, and Ms Max feels this attitude can drive a particular approach to communication with parents. ‘The approach is very much around positioning parents as problematic,’ she says.

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