Positive Relationships

Positive Relationships and a Relational Approach:

At Oasis, we believe that nurturing, trusting relationships forms the basis of all interactions, learning and care in our settings. Children with positive relationships with a trusted adult feel secure and listened to and therefore more likely to engage and learn. Emotional wellbeing is essential for successful learning (Birth to Five, Alistair Bryce Clegg, EEF), so ensuring staff show empathy, co-regulate with children, empower children to have a voice, value children and ensure they are well cared for will all lay the foundations for development and learning.

The Oasis Way outlines the transformative power of relationships and how we can support all of our pupils to thrive in school. The PACE model supports practitioners to build belonging with children:
 

 

Key Person:

The role of the key person can provide a system to ensure this relational approach is a priority. A key person helps a child feel known, understood, cared about and safe. The experience of being cared for by reliable adults who meet their physical needs and remain attentive and playful, affectionate and thoughtful allows children to form secure attachments. Such a grounding provides a “secure base” from which children feel confident to explore the world and form other relationships.

• Some important aspects of a key person role are:
• Supporting a specific group of children
• Building relationships with the children and their families
• Being a contact for parents/families to share important information
•  Communicating about the child and keeping records (with parents and professionals)
• Be reflective of their practice

The Statutory Framework states: “Each child must be assigned a key person. Their role is to help ensure that every child’s care is tailored to meet their individual needs, to help the child become familiar with the setting, offer a settled relationship for the child and build a relationship with their parents and/or carers. They should also help families engage with more specialist support if appropriate”.