Inhaltsverzeichnis:
1. What is a parent letter in preschool?
A parent letter is sent by educators to parents and offers many opportunities to focus communication on important information. You can focus on one main topic per parent letter.
Possible focus topics could be:
- Organisational information (celebrations, excursions, etc.)
- Administrative informationen (familiarisation of new preschool children, getting to know each other)
- Health (allergies, previous illnesses, ticks or flu waves)
- Catering and nutrition
- Upcoming appointments (e.g. parents’ evenings)
As the parent letter is addressed to everyone, it reduces the amount of time educators have to spend and you no longer have to inform all parents individually when picking up the children, but you can reach the parents of the children centrally.
It is clear that parent letters are very effective for requesting support for your institution or informing parents in general.
2. Why are parent letters important?
Parent letters form the basis of communication with parents. The following three factors explain why they are so important: Pedagogy, participation and transparency.
Pedagogy: Parent letters are an excellent way of giving parents an insight into educational topics and more background information about everyday kindergarten life. They can summarise facts on topics such as school readiness, media education, development and support in a clear and understandable way. This gives parents an introduction to the work of preschool teachers and allows them to apply tips at home.
Participation: Parent letters are the only means of communication (apart from parents’ evenings) that provide parents with standardised information. This also makes it easier for non-German-speaking parents to participate, as they can usually follow the written content better than the spoken word. If you are a Sdui user, you can translate the parent letters.
Transparency: The parent letters give parents and guardians a transparent insight into the work of the childcare staff. They know what is being done in the preschool and how, and can suggest changes or improvements if necessary. This allows parents and teachers to work together to organise the day-to-day life and education of the children.
Based on this, parents can decide how they can support the preschool community. For example, as a crafting partner when making decorations for the carnival party.
3. How do you write a parent letter for the preschool?
As described at the beginning, a parent letter is written for several people and a central issue is described. The aim is to provide parents of an entire preschool community with general information without being too specific. In other words, parent letters should ideally not be too complicated, but easy to understand. A parents’ evening or – if necessary – a development discussion is more suitable for discussing individual topics in detail. Tip: Please also read our articles on the following topics Parents’ evening and Development interview. Here you will find valuable tips on how you can organise both digitally. Below you will find a guide on how a parent letter can be structured:
1. Brief introduction to the topic
Give a short and concise introduction to the topic at the beginning. For example, you can also talk about past festivities here to get people looking forward to the upcoming festivities.
2. Main section with the most important information
Here you can go into more detail, such as upcoming celebrations, parents’ evenings or important information.
3. Call for interaction
Ask for feedback. For example, it is a good idea to add a detachable section. Signatures can be collected here or, alternatively, even more information can be collected for the topic you have chosen. If you send the parent letter digitally, you have other options for collecting feedback digitally. If you are a Sdui user, you have the option of sharing parent letters via news or chat and can use the read confirmation to see directly which parents have read your message. Parents also have the opportunity to share their feedback directly in the chat with everyone and there is no duplication of responses. It is important that the parent letter has a clear structure and that all the information that is to be communicated is clearly presented. You can use the points mentioned above (pedagogy, participation and transparency) as a guide for your own key points. This will help you to develop a common thread and create a first draft of the parent letter. Regular communication is important to keep parents up to date, inform them of upcoming appointments and let them know that they are an important part of the preschool. There are also various guides and examples that can help with creating a parent letter. Many preschools have sample letters that can be used as templates. There are also materials on the Internet that contain templates and instructions for creating a parent letter. These can be used as a reference to create a parent letter that meets the needs of your preschool. Here you will find links to parent letter examples:
- Invitation to the parents’ evening
- Parent letters in various languages
- Semi-annual information for parents
4. What should you bear in mind when writing parent letters?
An important point is that the parent letters are designed in a standardised format. This could look like this, for example:
- The logo of the preschool can be seen in the top right corner
- The address and telephone number of the preschool are at the top left
- This is followed by a headline or subject that makes the content of the parent letter recognisable at a glance
- Then comes the text block with all the information and finally a signature from the author
Here you will find a free template for editing: Parent letters in preschool – template
This makes it easier for parents to quickly grasp the information and understand the most important points. You should also avoid overloading the parent letter with too much information. Instead, you should concentrate on the most important topics and cover them as concisely as possible. You can also write the parent letter in several languages, as foreign-language parents should also have the chance to access information. As already mentioned, a digital solution can be helpful here. Users of the Sdui app can translate parent letters in the news section into over 42 languages. You can also customise the operating language of the app. In the end, you should make the parent letters memorable and interesting so that they are actually read. If you send the parent letter digitally, you can add photos and videos, links and other instructions. This will liven up the text. Tip: When writing a digital parent letter, make sure that the images included in the text are no larger than 1 MB and that the entire email does not exceed a file size of 20 MB. In this way, parent letters can be designed creatively and effectively in the preschool and provide parents with helpful information.
5. How can parent letters be sent?
The classic way is to print out parent letters and hand them out. The analogue letters are given to the children via school mail. However, the disadvantage of this is that you do not know who has received the information. As mentioned above, Sdui is a suitable digital solution. This gives you a secure alternative and allows you to track that all parents receive the information in your letter. Another advantage of Sdui is that you can create and pre-schedule parent letters and they will be sent automatically.
Conclusion
Parent letters in the preschool are an important communication channel to keep parents up to date on relevant topics such as celebrations, activities and news. With these tips, instructions and examples, you have a guide on how to make parent letters informative, understandable and memorable:
- Structure the parent letter in advance and create a common thread so that the letters are easy to understand.
- Structure the parent letter in advance and create a common thread so that the letters are easy to understand.
- Summarise the most important information in a concise main section.
- When designing the parent letters, ensure that they have a uniform appearance.
- Use Sdui as a digital alternative to conventional satchel mail.
At the end of the day, it is important that parents and educators are on the same page to provide the best experience for the children.
Quellen:
https://www.erzieherin-ausbildung.de/praxis/fachpraktische-hilfe-leitfaeden-alltagshilfen/elternbriefe-im-kindergarten-schreiben