Sometimes questions or concerns raised by parents call for more than a brief, one-off conversation or information sharing process. This section of the Portal describes the Working on Concerns consultation model. It has been designed for occasions when an educator and parent/s may need to meet for an extended session, or over multiple sessions to work on a specific issue or concern.

It is envisaged that this model would be used to support parents with common everyday challenges of raising children that arise in the course of development, and that will be familiar to the Educator. The consultation model can be used when timely and practical help from an Educator might prevent a smaller everyday problem from becoming a bigger one.

All staff within an early childhood service have a role to play in engaging and working with parents, whether that is through everyday interactions that help parents feel valued and respected, or through the more intensive way of working with parents described here. However, this Working on Concerns consultation model has been designed with senior staff and educational leaders in mind. This includes staff to whom the agency entrusts the process of working through sensitive and complex matters with families, or those who are responsible for raising concerns with parents, or responding to concerns parents might raise.