WORKSHOP
Implementing the Key Person Approach (KPA)
Peter Elfer Principal Lecturer and Convenor, MA Early Childhood Studies –
University of Roehampton
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Participants of this workshop will have an opportunity to:
 Reflect on the contribution of Elinor Goldschmied who originally developed
the Key Persons Approach for children in day care as well as to learn about
new knowledge of why the KP relationship is important for babies and
young children;
 Focus on the challenging work of establishing and sustaining an attachment
relationship with babies and their families;
 Consider the role of supervision and professional reflection (a requirement
in the new EYFS) in enabling the KPA;
 Share their own experiences of developing the KPA and seek advice for their
KPA work.
This workshop will be led by Peter Elfer, who is co-author of the recently
updated book: Elfer P., Goldschmied E. and Selleck D.Y. (2011) Key Persons in
the Early Years: , Building Relationships for quality provision in early years
settings and primary schools. Routledge.
1. Being a key person – what it means (and what it
does NOT mean…)
Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and
secure relationships with parents and / or a key person
(EYFS Principles)
The kp should help the baby or child to become familiar with the
provision and to feel confident and safe within it, developing a genuine
bond with the child (and the child’s parents) and offering a settled, close
relationship
(SF for EYFS p37)
But this does NOT mean:
 the key person must be there ALL the time – she cannot do this;
even parents don’t do this;
 that the child cannot interact with any other staff in nursery – the
kpa should help this, not hinder it;
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2. What’s in a word - Key Person (KP) or Key Worker
(KW)?
The terms KP and KW are often used interchangeably as if they mean the same thing. They
do not!
KW was the first term to be in common use in social care. It meant essentially someone who
was a coordinator, ensuing that everyone in a team had the information about a child they
needed (for example medical, religious and dietary information) in order to work well. In
nurseries, the role of KW also included a point of contact for parents and the person that
maintained a child’s records. It is a very important role.
The KP is someone who has significance and meaning from the point of view of the child. It
is the person who manages most of that child’s day to day care and who keeps the child in
mind. It is the person with whom the child has a special relationship and the child may be
upset if their KP is not able to be available to them (NB this does not mean that the KP
should be there all the time – no one can do that, not even parents!).
In many nurseries, the KP and KW roles are combined. The same person does both. But it is
important to remember that they are two distinct but closely related roles, both very
important, but different.
3. Why being a KP matters so much – for children;
for staff; for parents;
Why do (babies, young children), indeed all people, so strongly
seek states of interpersonal connectedness, and why does
failure to achieve connectedness wreak such damage on their
mental and physical health? … (Tronick 2005 p293)
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4. Being a Key Person means a close working
relationship with child’s Key Adults at home as well
as the child!
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Another way of thinking about the significance of
partnership….
A critical factor in determining
the emotional impact of nursery
is how nursery and home help
the child manage transitions
…Ahnert, L. & Lamb, M.E. (2003). Shared care:
Establishing a balance between home and childcare
setting. Child Development, 74(4), 1044-1049.
5. Caring for Key Persons
• Physical Care - Breaks; Quality of staff room; Holidays; Access to
Training;
• Emotional Care – An ethos where it is expected that there will
always be difficult emotions that need talking about – that is part
of real professional practice NOT a sign of ‘can’t hack it...’;
• Time for professional reflection - meetings that are not entirely
filled with practical issues...;
6. A new model of CPD
Aims include:
• How children’s emotions can impact at an emotional level on staff
and vice versa;
• How past experiences for staff and children can affect future
relationships and experiences.
• To increase awareness of how groups operate below the surface
This is NOT GROUP THERAPY!!! It IS about establishing relationships
of trust in order to facilitate professional reflection
Elfer, P and Dearnley, K (2007) Babies and Young Children in Nursery: Using psychoanalytic ideas to
explore tasks and interactions. Children and Society 21(2) pp 111-122 ISSN 0951-0605
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7. A commitment to reflective practice?
• Supervision should be expressed in such a way that
encourages reflective practice and moves away from the
perception that it is merely a tick-box approach to check what
practitioners are, or are not, doing. Therefore, I recommend
that the EYFS is clear what supervision means in practice,
including some good practice examples…..
Tickell Review on the EYFS (2011)
8. An Example: A parent’s perspective on the stresses of
transitions without key person support from Teresa Asquith –
Advisory Teacher, Haringey.
The Nursery was such a big space and I was worried about how O would cope without me.
She had a key person and that helped. I could go to this key person and tell her very
personal things about O and she would listen and I was aware that she shared this with the
other staff which made me feel that O was safe whoever she was with. O knew she could go
to her key person whenever she needed something. She had a co-key person whenever she
was away. I did really feel that her key person knew her best.
Eventually O became especially close to her key person, very fond of her. She talked about
her at home in a very positive way: ‘She said I was lovely” etc especially if she was being
naughty at home! It was like she used her as someone to stick up for her even when she
wasn’t there! If her key person was away then O would look at me to check that I thought the
co key person was going to be alright. O had one key person all the way through her 2 yrs in
Nursery.
Transfer to Reception was difficult. To begin with the teacher didn’t come in to meet the
children before she started at the school and O and I worried all summer about what she
would be like. I didn’t know who her key person was or even if she had one. When a friend
told me she would have one I asked and found out that, yes, she did have one. I then asked
her if she knew all about O’s history and she said No, she hadn’t read any notes yet. I was
upset about this. I felt she should know about my child in order to support her. O definitely
didn’t know she had a key person until I told her. All the staff seemed very nice but I didn’t
know who to go to if O was upset after a contact visit. O was not happy to leave the Nursery
she kept saying “I can see it (Nursery) but do you know I am not allowed to go in there?” O
lost confidence and didn’t want to be left there even though they did phase the children in
gradually. I accept that change is probably more difficult for O than for others but then she
could have had more support.
Taken from Elfer, Goldschmied and Selleck (2011) Chapter Five, Key Persons in the Early
Years. London: David Fulton.
p.elfer@roehampton.ac.uk; petermelfer@gmail.com
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