This week I have visited the children who will join me at school next week. I have been welcomed into their homes by their parents and carers to begin to establish the relationship that will support them as they take their next step on their learning journey.

Home visits are a very special part of being an Early Years teacher. Children remember and talk about our visits long after they start school and it supports a personal connection with their key adults that allows them to feel safe, secure and happy in their new environment.

No child should feel alone on the next step of their journey.

For all involved it’s a bit nerve wracking as you approach the visit and both children and adults (school staff included!) can feel shy. However, it has been an absolute joy to meet everyone and experience tells me that the power of a meeting in the home is enormous.

Education is fundamentally all about relationships. The quality of those relationships between pupils and teachers, parents and teachers, the school and it’s families and the wider community. Those relationships begin with schools reaching out into their community and visiting children and their parents in their homes.

It takes a village to raise a child is an African proverb that means that it needs a whole community to be involved if we want our children to grow and thrive in their environment. Home visits are a crucial part of schools reaching out to children and families.