Face-to-face chats with parents are the most popular and productive way to share information with parents, according to a survey of early years professionals.

Nursery software provider Connect Childcare found 64.5% of nursery managers and senior practitioners said face-to-face was the best way to communicate with parents and carers.

The survey of 107 early years professionals found that the second most popular and effective way to communicate with parents was through an app (24.5%).

However more than half (56.6%) of nursery workers said parents’ and carers’ preferred form of communication was photos and videos of a child’s day, with a third (33%) saying parents preferred face-to-face updates.

More than a third of respondents said they would like communication to be more two-way, with parents sharing more news about children’s learning and experiences at home.

Connect Childcare has used the survey findings to create a free guide to establishing productive parent partnerships. Parental Engagement: A Guide for Progressive Nursery Managers includes best practice for talking with families, advice on how to nurture the practitioner-parent partnership, and how to use technology to communicate with parents in real time.

Chris Reid, founder and chief executive of Connect Childcare, said: “For nursery businesses, nurturing fruitful and productive partnerships with parents is crucial to achieving optimal outcomes for children, as well as commercial success.”