We believe that children benefit most from their early year’s education and care when parents and settings work together in partnership.

Our aim at Jack in the Box is to support parents as their children’s first and most important educators by involving them in their children’s education and in the full life of the setting.  We also aim to help support parents in their own continuing education and personal development.

Some parents are less well represented in early year’s settings; these include fathers, parents who live apart from their children but who still play a part in their lives as well as working parents.  In carrying out the following procedures, we will ensure all parents are included.

When we refer to “parents” we mean both mothers and fathers: these include both natural or birth parents as well as step-parents that do not live with the children but have contact with them and play a part in their lives.  ‘Parents’ also include same sex parents as well as foster parents.

Parental responsibility

In England and Wales, if the parents of a child are married to each other at the time of the birth or if they have jointly adopted a child, then they both have parental responsibility.  Parents do not lose parental responsibility it they divorce, and this applies to both the resident and the non-resident parent.

This is not automatically the case for unmarried parents.  According to current law, a mother always has parental responsibility for her child.  A father, however, has this responsibility only if he is married to the mother when the child is born or has acquired legal responsibility for his child through one of these three routes:

  • (from 1 December 2003) by jointly registering the birth of the child with the mother
  • By a parental responsibility agreement with the mother
  • By a parental responsibility order, made by a court

Living with the mother, even for a long time, does not give a father parental responsibility and if the parents are not married, parental responsibility does not always pass to the natural father if the mother dies.

All parents (including adoptive parents) have a legal duty to financially support their child, whether they have parental responsibility or not.

More than one person can have parental responsibility for the same child at the same time and anyone who has parental responsibility for a child does not lose that solely because some other person subsequently acquires parental responsibility for that child.

  • We like to ensure we include all parents, which means we may have different strategies for involving fathers or parents who work or live apart from their children.
  • We consult with all parents to find out what works for them.
  • We ensure on-going dialogue with parents to improve our knowledge of the needs of their children to support their families.
  • We inform all parents about how the setting is run, its policies through written information and informal communication. We check to ensure parents understand the information that is given to them.
  • We inform all parents on a regular basis about their children’s progress.
  • We involve parents in the shared record keeping about their children- either formally or informally- and ensure parents have access to their children’s written development records.
  • We provide opportunities for parents to contribute their own skills, knowledge and interests to the activities of the setting.
  • We hold meetings in venues that are accessible and appropriate for all.
  • We welcome the contributions of parents, in whatever form these may take.
  • We inform all parents of the systems for registering queries, complaints or suggestions. All parents have access to our written complaints procedure.
  • We provide opportunities for parents to learn about the curriculum offered in the setting and about young children’s learning, in the setting and at home.

In compliance with the Welfare Requirements, the following documentation is in place:

  • Admissions policy
  • Complaints procedure
  • Record of complaints.
  • Developmental records of children.

Published: 11th September 2023
Review: September 2024
© Jack in the Box Playgroup Limited trading as Jack in the Box Preschool.