Building connections with families is an important part of your role and doing so will enable you to better understand what services are needed in your hub community.
Some ways you can do this are:
- Chat with parents at the school gate, canteen or inside a prep classroom.
- Use the ‘We Can’ visual consultation game to understand interests or skills individuals can share at the hub.
- Provide morning tea and invite families to have conversations with one another to plan programs and activities in the hub.
- Use appreciative enquiry questions to learn about hub families and map out their responses to make sure you understand each parent’s priorities.
- Using volunteers will help free up your time for building relationships in your hub.
Hubs in action
More ideas on what day-to-day looks like in a hub. Caroline Menassa shares some great tips on how she empowers and communicates with parents.
My Story: Caroline
Caroline talks about how she is working with her school, families and community to sustain her hub.
“We assume too much about families. So I have a DNA policy – Do Not Assume. Do not assume parents can understand, read or write English. Do not assume they can read their mother language. Do not assume they have families or friends to rely on. Do not assume families know about services outside the hub.”
Caroline
“Be very clear from the start that the hub is a place for everybody. You’ve got to have a clear idea of what the codes of conduct will be. Be clear that the hub is a caring and inclusive environment where families can discuss individual differences and negotiate responsibly, but they cannot dictate to others.”
Maureen
Link with support services