Research Conference 2023 + Masterclass 1

Partnerships: A guiding resource to use when approaching difficult conversations  

Sunday 3 September 9:00am – 12:00pm
Lead facilitator: Simone Griggs, ACER

The National Quality Framework (NQF) and the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) ask educators to form “respectful supportive relationships” with families (NQS Standard 6.1). This workshop focuses on developing partnerships between educators and families with a specific focus on how to approach difficult conversations. The workshop is an opportunity to build a better understanding of theory, including Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, and how translate theory into practice.

The workshop will begin with an overview of the findings from a recent literature review which describes obstacles and enablers that influence challenging conversations between families. The workshop will then introduce participants to a script that was developed to guide questions and offer prompts to support educators in their conversations with children’s families. A particular focus will be how to raise concerns about development and learning of children in respectful and collaborative ways. 

The workshop will also provide participants with a framework that includes a script. Participants will have opportunities to use and modify the script to their local context by engaging in scenarios through modelled role play taking on the role of educator and family member. Participants will also engage in activities focused on using the results of discussion with family to generate objective and clear evidence for funding support and for referrals to intervention services where required.  

The workshop concludes with a feedback session which may prompt collegial debate and feedback about the script, with the aim of inspiring knowledge -sharing between educators. This may also spark discussion around the challenges experienced by educators when initiating respectful and reciprocal conversations about children in education and care. The feedback will be incorporated into the script to improve and aid its development.