Cylch Llangollen and the LGBTQ+ pack

How we are using the
Cylch i Bawb: welcoming every family with our LGBTQ + pack

Cylch Meithrin Llangollen

Our Cylch

Our cylch in Llangollen now has two locations; we have our cylch at the chapel which takes children from 2-3 years old, then we have a classroom up in Ysgol Y Gwernant which provides the wraparound from nursery class to 3.00pm. Over the years our cylch has grown, and continues to go from strength to strength. We are lucky enough to have a team of seven outstanding practitioners who all understand the importance of early years.

Why we used the pack in our cylch

Last year, we had a child who came from a home where she had two mums and this was something that was talked about by her one day. We have books throughout the setting which have all different families and what those families may look like; for example one family was a little girl who lived with her grandparents, another who lived with just mum, and another one which had two mums. Another child said, ‘I don’t have two mums I have just one’, the girl then replied, ‘I have two mums and I am so lucky!’ In that instance this was something that we needed to talk more about and make the children aware that this is what families can look like, and how amazing that she’s got two mums. We did some lovely together times referencing that all families are different, and from this we had so many lovely activities and experiences of children modelling what their families looked like by drawing, modelling using loose parts or drawing on the iPad! We have also had children in our setting who have sadly lost a parent or sibling, which has left their family as a single mum at home. They talk about them to us, we think it is so important to embrace this and allow them to share their feelings with us and allow them to ask questions.

How we shared the pack with staff and ensured all had the opportunity to understand its content and how it is relevant to them

We went through the pack together in a staff meeting, and all staff really enjoyed reading the stories from other families and hearing their perspective and their experiences through having children. We have this printed out and is available any time to read/look at.

The staff’s views of the pack

Really enjoyed reading and sharing their thoughts in the staff meeting.

The part of the pack which was most useful to us was:

Hearing the families’ stories and experiences on having children and hearing
about how their settings approached the topics.

Changes we have implemented in the cylch after receiving the pack

We don’t do the usual “mothers’ or fathers’ day” cards, we just give the children the opportunity to create a card for someone they love or for someone who is their hero.

Our advice to another Cylch Meithrin thinking of using the pack or who are unsure why they should use the pack

USE IT!! It is packed with so much important information, not just to share with your staff and children but for other parents also! This is something that should be celebrated.