Supporting Transitions.........a parent’s view

First Step Community Project

Musselburgh

Happy & Sad

• How do you feel about your experience of transitions at the moment and why?

First Step Community Project• A community project for families

with young children, based in the Musselburgh East housing estate.

• First Step take a holistic approach to working with local families by offering a range of services such as:

• Parenting support

• Nursery provision

• Grandparents group

• Outreach & Respite service

• Young mum’s group.

• Groups and classes for the local community.

Aims Of the Workshop• To explore feelings of transition from a parent’s

perspective.• Use a practical example of how an early years setting

supported parents around transition. • Look at the benefits of this approach.• Explore theories of transition and good practice; relating

this to LTS Transition Fact File & CFE early Level Health & Wellbeing outcomes.

• Reflect on participants own experience of transition.

Activity – Feelings of Transition

• Think about being in a new/transition situation, how did you feel?

• What helped you prepare of this new situation?

First Step – Parent’s transition

• Listening to service users – staff aware of parent’s concerns/issues around transition.

• Arranged for an initial informal meeting between parent’s and Early Years Manager to explore concerns.

Case Studies-

• Morgan – First child going to local authority nursery. Heard from other

parents about several issues that were worrying her. Lots of discussion in the community regarding mixed feeling around the local nursery.

• Nicola – 2nd child to go to local authority nursery. Did not have a very good

experience with her 1st child and felt that the child’s additional support needs had not been met. Was very apprehensive about sending her 2nd child.

• Sarah – First child to go to local authority nursery although did have friends

and relatives who had children at the nursery. Had heard various things that she was a little bit nervous about and was worried about the child:staff ratio.

Initial meeting

• Identifying what parent’s concerns were.

• Discussions around change from small community nursery to larger nursery.

• How can we support parents around these issues.

Outcomes of the meeting

• Reflections on our previous transition process/methods.

• Other parent’s perspectives and real life experiences of transition were very important and relevant to parents.

• Coffee morning arranged with previous parents of First Step.

Parent’s transition coffee morning• 4 previous parents from First Step

attended covering 4 local nurseries.

• 1 parent who had not attended First Step represented another local nursery.

• 6 existing First Step parents attended.

• Very informal, lots of honest discussions around transition took place.

Outcomes and evaluations• Here is what our parents said:

Found speaking to other mum’s who have experienced the transition of moving to another nursery helpful. It is very reassuring to know other mum’s are feeling the same as myself.

Today’s session went well. I found the questions I needed to ask got answered and everyone was willing to tell their personal stories.

Helpful, answered all the questions I needed to know. Nice to know that other people are feeling the same about kids leaving First Step

What a great idea! An informal way to ask questions and air any concerns they may have about their child going to nursery. What a friendly group of people.

A good session, insightful as to what’s happening not only at First Step but also what happens in other nurseries.

Benefits of this approach: A parent’s perspective

Next stepHow did this approach strengthen existing peer support systems in place within First Step?

Transition and Good Practice• Planned transitions- Transitions should be planned for (wherever possible) and not regarded as

a one off events but as continually processes that we all experience.

• Links to Theory: Bronfenbrenner Ecological Theory

SOURCE:(http://faculty.weber.edu/tlday/human.development/ecological.htm)

• LTS transition fact file: Supporting parents to become more confident around transition.

• Successful schools involve parents. Where they are involved in transitions, the children’s move to school is well supported. ‘This is a time of change for parents as well as for children, so it is crucial to have parents and families involved throughout.’ Professor Dunlop (TAG:2013)

Transition & CFE Health & Wellbeing• I am aware of and able to express my feelings and am developing the ability

to talk about them. HWB 0-01a

• I know that we all experience a variety of thoughts and emotions that effect how we feel and behave and I am learning ways of managing them.

• HWB 0-02a

• I am learning skills and strategies which will support me in challenging times, particularly in relation to change and loss. HWB 0-07a

Building on this approach By using what we have learned from

this approach we aim to:• Continue to build upon what we have learned. Peer

support is crucial not just at key transition points.

• Continue to review and reflect on our approach to transition to meet both parents and children’s needs.

• Use this approach when children are moving on to primary school.

Closing thoughts..........

• How do we plan transition with both parents and children to fully support their Health and Well being?

Finals views.......• “Common as such experiences may be, we cannot assume that they are plain sailing. For

some children the winds of change blow fair, for others the passage can be stormy, for others still they drift into the new and for some they set off on a huge adventure, as explorers in search of something new. It is in this very variety of possible experiences, including how parents experience their child’s transition and the educators working with them, that demands that we work together to support children to maximise the opportunities and learning at times of change” (Dunlop A-W and Fabion, H (eds) informing the Early Years Research)

• “Early years transitions research and policy is especially important to realising the rights of young children, as this phase of life is generally acknowledged as a period of accelerated and intense change, usually involving multiple developmental, social, and (for increasing numbers of children), institutional transitions, each of which has implications for current well-being and long-term outcomes.” (Vogler P, Gruello G and Woodhead M 2008:08)

Final thoughts.........

References

• Vagler P, Crivelleo G & Woodhead M (2008) Early childhood transitions research: A review of concepts, theory and practice. Bernard Van Leer Foundation.

• Curriculum for Excellence: Pre-school into Primary Transitions (2010) Learning Teaching Scotland

• Dunlop, A-W and Fabian, H (eds) Informing Transitions in the early years, Research, Policy and Practice, Maidenhead Open University Press.