Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JACKIE MUSGRAVE
Working with parents is really important. And it seemed that identifying ways to improve the health of children in your setting became a shared goal in the nursery. So what steps did you take to involve the parents and to get them on board?
KAREN NEAL
So with working with the parents, you need to start from as soon as they enter the setting. They need to feel relaxed with you as a member of staff and know that their children are safe. Once you've made those relationships with the parents, then the support that you offer becomes key in all parts of their child's learning and development. It's not all about whether they can start to learn to put their own clothes on as they grow up. It's about the impact that you have with them on a daily basis within their little bits of routine that they do.
We looked at-- first of all, we did the questionnaire with the parents, so that then gave them an idea of what we were doing. We sent a letter out to the parents so they were aware of the toolkit that we were looking at using, and how that might impact them and their children. We then used the questionnaire information to see where we felt they needed the support so that they were being listened to as parents because often some parents feel like they just get lost in the system. They need that support from someone else. And it was nice to know that we could offer that support.
We then looked-- so when they came into the setting we used almost shock tactics. So we made a sugar display board, and it drew the parents in automatically. They all walked in and were absolutely appalled to see that some of the products they think were healthy choices for their child, that are advertised as healthy choices, were actually full of sugar and really unhealthy for them. I think that then, once they'd seen that board, it just drew them in to understand that something did need to change, and something needed to happen, and that we all need to take responsibility for providing that for the children.
JACKIE MUSGRAVE
You kindly invited me along to parents' evening when you put the display up with the little bags of sugar. And yeah, the parents were just absolutely appalled, weren't they? But it was such a strong message.
KAREN NEAL
Yeah.
JACKIE MUSGRAVE
And then you were able to offer alternatives. It wasn't as if you were taking away the food, but you were then offering other food and drink that was going to be healthier but also realistic and affordable. And that was the real skill and strength of what you did.
KAREN NEAL
Yeah, so we also obviously when we'd find this information out, lots of our parents had come back to us often saying to us, oh, I can't believe my child's eaten that today at nursery. They'd never eat that at home. I'd never be able to provide that for them. And it highlighted how our menus that we'd provided offered so much to children and that maybe if parents had that tried and tested menu available to them, that that could actually be put in place in the home.
It was cost effective for parents. Obviously, in the area that we are, it needed to be something that they wouldn't be wasting their money on. And it was also things that were really simple to cook. Parents are often scared of trying to cook these various dinners, and they think that they're quite difficult.
But they-- obviously, the menu that we provide needed to be easy enough for us to make it for such a high number of children. So it was something then that we reduced down and made a small menu, just a sample of a week worth of food that we found were our most popular meals. And we offered that then out to parents as well so that they could use these at home, even just simple techniques such as cooking twice as much, and then freezing them so that you've got these meals readily available without the hassle. It's got to be realistic for parents.
Parents are really busy nowadays. The world is non-stop. So if you can make these things readily available to them so that they become part of routine without causing extra work for parents.