Community nights. These nights are held twice a year as informal“ share a plate of your cultural food”. They provide an opportunity for families to chat and catch up with educators, to meet their child’ s peers and to build relationships with other families in the community.
Participating in the program. Parents enjoy being part of the daily program by cooking with the children and participating in incursions. Other events occur throughout the year such as sharing culture, grandparents reading and telling stories, families playing music in small groups around the garden and sharing picnics.
Educators attend celebrations. Cultural and religious celebrations occur in the community such as the Bangladesh festival, Festival of Lights and NAIDOC Week. Everything is embraced and celebrated. Parents see educators joining in and being part of the community.
Linking families with support services in the community. Most families do not know what support is available and so we facilitate their connection to services such as South West Sydney Therapy and Skills and Early Links. Taking the time to help families access available support has had enormous benefits for parents, children and our preschool.
Our preschool also runs playgroups which have proven to be a wonderful resource for children and families and for making community connections. Sometimes both parents attend as well as extended family. Many children transition from playgroup into preschool. By this time parents, children and educators are already familiar with each other and positive and trusting relationships are well established.
How do these strategies meet the particular needs of your families?
We find that families like us to have a direct approach. For many families, our preschool is their first experience with a service in Australia. They want us to support them in knowing how to engage with the service and build relationships with educators. Our strategies have also been developed to help us in understanding the families, their many cultures and their hopes and dreams for their children. What we are doing seems to be working because there are currently over 100 children on the waiting list with parents spreading the word in the community.
Are there any challenges you face and how do you respond to them?
Many families in our preschool community experience issues such as geographical isolation and lack of extended family living in Australia. At times we might also be confronted with families who have experienced domestic violence and child protection issues. Limited English language also impacts on parent understanding of verbal language and ability to engage in lengthy conversations. Each family is unique and the issues that impact on them are individual and complex.
To support families, it is important that educators have in-depth awareness and understanding of family cultures and the many challenges that face parents, carers and children every day. Most importantly for our preschool, we have spent time building relationships with support services in the community. It helps when you know what is available, can put faces to names and have established contacts within community organisations.
Educators are also challenged by time – time to talk, communicate, make referrals, build relationships and especially to ensure mutual understanding when English is a second language. We have responded to this challenge by using email, Storypark, phone meetings and group orientation sessions for families on our waiting list. Most importantly we greet everyone with enthusiasm every day and are rewarded by the mutual support and respect we gain from the families.
NATIONAL FAMILIES WEEK 15 – 21 MAY 2018
The aim of National Families Week is to celebrate the vital role that families play in Australian society. It coincides with the United Nations International Day of Families on 15 May 2018. This day is observed by the United Nations to mark the importance that the international community places on families as the most fundamental units of society, as well as to show concern about their situation in many parts of the world. The enduring theme is“ Stronger Families, Stronger Communities”.
More information and resources about National Families Week can be found at https:// nfw. org. au /
www. ku. com. au APRIL 2018 Page 5