Curiosity & Conversations: Strengthening Relational Practice in Early Years

Supporting children to have the best start in life begins with strong, trusting relationships with parents and carers. Everyday conversations can help practitioners understand a family’s experiences, recognise strengths and notice when additional support may be helpful.

This practical one-day course develops the confidence and skills needed to build effective relationships with families and use professional curiosity sensitively. Participants will explore how to move beyond initial information, ask thoughtful questions and create conversations in which parents and carers feel heard, respected and able to engage.

The course considers how practitioners can recognise emerging needs, approach sensitive subjects and respond without judgement or assumptions. It also explores their role in safeguarding, early support and working collaboratively with other services.

The programme supports the ambitions of Best Start Family Hubs and Families First by strengthening relational practice, early identification and coordinated support for babies, young children and their families.

_{Learning outcomes}

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Build trusting, respectful and inclusive relationships with parents and carers.
• Understand professional curiosity and its importance within early years practice.
• Use open questions, active listening and sensitive enquiry to deepen conversations.
• Recognise family strengths alongside early signs that additional support may be needed.
• Explore concerns without blame, judgement or making assumptions.
• Approach sensitive and difficult conversations with greater confidence and empathy.
• Understand how parental wellbeing and wider family circumstances may affect babies and young children.
• Keep the baby or child’s needs, development and lived experience central.
• Recognise their responsibilities for safeguarding, recording and information-sharing.
• Work collaboratively with families and partner agencies to provide the right support at the right time.
• Reflect on professional boundaries and the limits of their role.
• Apply practical tools and techniques within everyday conversations.

_{Who is the course for?}

This course is suitable for practitioners working with babies, young children and families across early years settings, Best Start Family Hubs, health, childcare, education and voluntary or community services.