-
At Buttercups Nursery School, we believe that building strong partnerships with parents and families is essential to giving every child the best possible start in life. We recognise that parents/carers are a child’s first and most important educators, and by working together, sharing experiences and maintaining open communication, we can create a consistent, supportive environment where children feel happy, safe and confident to learn and grow. Strong parent partnerships not only help us understand and meet each child’s individual needs, interests and development, but also allow parents/carers to feel involved, valued and confident in their child’s nursery journey. Together, we can give every child the strongest foundations for their future.
-
Parents Mornings / Evenings
We hold parent mornings/evenings to give families the opportunity to spend time in the nursery, meet with their child’s keyworker and discuss the child’s development and progress. These meetings help strengthen the partnership between home and nursery, allowing parents and practitioners to share experiences, celebrate achievements and discuss their next steps.
-
-
-
Coffee & Chat
We regularly hold Coffee & Chat mornings, where parents have the opportunity to meet with our management team. Parents can enjoy free drinks and snacks, whilst discussing any feedback, concerns, advice, compliments or questions. We welcome all parents, even if it is just for a catch up!
-
Parent Forum
At Buttercups Nursery School, we encourage parents to have a voice through our Parent Forum, which is independently organised and run by parents. This provides a welcoming space for families to share their thoughts, ideas, experiences and feedback about the nursery. It allows parents to raise suggestions, discuss improvements and help us understand what matters most to our families. We value the opinions of our parents and believe that listening to their views helps us continually develop and improve our provision, ensuring our nursery remains a place where both children and families feel supported, valued and heard.
-
-
-
Lending Library & Book Buddies
Our lending library encourages a love of reading and learning both at nursery and at home. Families are welcome to borrow books to enjoy together, creating special opportunities for parents and children to share stories, develop language and communication skills, and spend quality time together. We also provide Book Buddies, where children can take home a bag with a teddy bear and a book in it, encouraging children to read and share story time with their bear. This can offer children an alternative way to read books after story time with parents/carers. Each week, children can independently choose a book and exchange it the next week. By making books accessible to families, we support parents in continuing their child’s learning beyond the nursery environment and encourage a shared approach to their development.
-
Home Learning Bags & Emotion Bags
We offer home learning and emotion focused bags to bring home. Home learning bags contain activities for parents/carers and children to complete at home, this allows us to work with parents to help assist development and provide learning opportunities inside and outside of nursery. Our emotion bags focus of feelings and experiences children may have, such as loneliness or grief. These bags help children & families to work through difficult times and feelings, providing resources to support them at home.
-
-
-
EAL Parent/Carer Storytime
As part of our EAL support, we have a country of the month – where each month we celebrate a different country, with traditional music, nursery rhymes, and stories. We have words, flags and resources on display around the nursery; we host a parent/carer each month to come and tell a story in their home language. This allows parents/carers to share their cultures and language with the children and allow the EAL children opportunities to hear their favourite stories in their home language.
-
Stay & Play
All 5 of our rooms host a Stay & Play each month, where parents have the opportunity to come into the nursery and partake in a 30 minute session. In this session parents/carers and their little ones will interact with each other and the practitioners whilst partaking in an activity.
-
-
-
Open Door Policy
At Buttercups Nursery School, supporting our families is just as important to us as supporting our children. We operate an open-door policy, meaning our team is always approachable and available for a chat, whether parents have a question, need advice, want to share a concern or simply wish to talk. We believe that open, honest and friendly communication builds trust and strong relationships, ensuring every family feels listened to, valued and supported. No conversation is ever too small, and we are always here to work alongside parents, offering reassurance, guidance and support whenever it is needed.
-
Parent SEND Review Meetings
Our SENCo works closely with all parents who have children on SEN plans, meeting regularly with them to discuss and review their care plans. We welcome feedback from parents, so that we can always provide the most individualised and beneficial care to every child.
-
-
-
Tapestry
At Buttercups, we use Tapestry to allow all parents to receive constant updates and photos of their child’s day at Buttercups. We regularly update children’s journals – explaining and showing images of the activities and learning opportunities children have during the day, we explain why they are doing the activity they are and how it benefits their development. This communication helps create a strong connection between home and nursery, ensuring parents feel included, informed and valued as partners in their child’s learning journey.
-
Sign of the week
At Buttercups Nursery, we introduce a Sign of the Week to encourage parent partnership and support communication both at nursery and at home. Each week, we teach the children a new sign and share this with parents and families so they can practise and use it together at home. This encourages parents to become actively involved in their child’s learning, helping to reinforce new skills and create consistency between home and nursery. By learning and practising signs together, families can support their child’s communication, build confidence and develop new ways to express their needs and feelings.
-
-
-
2 Year Old Checks
At Buttercups Nursery, our 2-year checks are an important part of building strong partnerships with parents and families. We work closely with parents to discuss their child’s progress, development and emerging skills, sharing what we have observed of their child’s development at nursery and comparing it to parent’s home observations. By working together, we can identify any areas where additional support may be beneficial and ensure children receive consistent encouragement and support both at home and in nursery.
-
Swap Shop
We provide a rail outside the nursery where parents can freely swap or exchange children’s clothing, shoes and fancy-dress costumes. This gives families the opportunity to pass on items their children have outgrown and find something new, helping to reduce waste, save money and support one another. It encourages a sense of community, sharing and togetherness, while creating positive connections between our families.
-
-
-
End of term reports
Our end-of-term reports are an important part of our parent partnership, helping us share each child’s individual learning journey, progress and achievements with their families. They provide parents with an insight into what their child has been exploring, enjoying and developing throughout their time at nursery. Reports also encourage conversations between parents and practitioners, giving families the opportunity to share their thoughts, celebrate milestones and discuss any areas of development. By keeping parents informed and involved, we can work together to provide the best possible support for every child.
-
Newsletters
At Buttercups Nursery, our monthly newsletters are a great way of strengthening our partnerships with parents and keeping families connected with nursery life. They provide regular updates about upcoming events, activities, important information and the exciting experiences the children have been enjoying. Our newsletters help parents feel informed and involved in what is happening within the setting, while also providing opportunities to share ideas, celebrate achievements and encourage conversations at home.
-
