Transforming abrupt transitions in more warm and inclusive transitions demands a democratic approach. Find out in part 2 of this document how Italian trainers made use of children’s drawings, interviews with children and questionnaires of parents to create a democratic atmosphere between children, families and staff. This is the basis to ultimately  co-construct transitional practices.  

Article 12 of The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) states that children have the right to have their opinions taken into account and their views respected in decision-making that affects them.  That is why it is important to include children's voices in developing transitional practices from ECEC to primary school. Consult the guidelines what kind of questions you can ask to children in transitioning  to primary school. 

Capturing the voices and experiences of younger children for example in the transition between childcare and preschool, is not just a matter of interviewing them. Observations is a good method. Check out how you can support staff to start observing more as a separate activity but also in their daily work to have sufficient insight on how children experience the transition.  

How to find out what parents are thinking, where their doubts and questions, concerns and thresholds lie in transitions? What they are happy about, and what raises their eyebrows or make their hearts pound? The answer is deceptively simple: ask them. In this chapter of a Belgian book — Warm, Welcome and Reciprocal — we focus on how to question parents, and to what a thousand blooming flowers this can lead to – if you do it in a thoughtful approach. Examples come from Belgian preschools.

Organising group conversations or focus groups with mothers and fathers are powerful means to create a dialogue, connect parents and gain more insight on their perspectives. But how do you organise a focus group and what can you ask to parents? Find out in these straight forward guidelines.

It is not so easy to start a dialogue on care and educational matters in transition periods. How can you invite mothers and fathers to share their thoughts in an approachable way. Starting from how people use and understand space, can be a great way to start a dialogue. So parents do not feel pushed  to talk about the attitude or skills of the staff. Check out the four methods in the first approach of this document, developed as part of the Erasmus+ Educas project – connecting ECEC spaces and educare.