When looking to invest or upgrade a management software platform, the scope of features and range of packages available might seem daunting. Although many features are comparable across the market, there is still quite a bit of variation in what you get for your money.
Recently, several software providers made interesting changes and upgrades to their products, most notably those connected to supporting staff with IT skills, the expansion of funded hours and the recent rises to the minimum wage and company national insurance.
Stuart Thomas, content manager at software provider Blossom Educational, says, ‘One of our biggest updates this year has been a complete overhaul of our finance system. We designed it to help with all of the funding changes and ever-increasing complexity of childcare offerings for nurseries, and one feature in particular has proved to be especially future-proof: planned price increases.
‘Nurseries can now set their price increases well into the future, giving them plenty of time to communicate the upcoming change to parents. It'll even feed into their revenue forecasts so they can see if it's enough. With the announced [Budget] changes, almost every nursery is going to have to increase their prices, and this feature will certainly save a lot of headaches.’
Payments and invoicing – and ease in parent communication related to these – are functions that software providers have been quick to update, as nursery managers are looking for help here, with the extra work of funded hours.
Platform provider Tapestry has introduced changes in these areas. Emily Boddington, product support and testing manager, says, ‘A major development has been our nursery management system with functionality completely focused on what our customers requested.
‘We've expanded our offering to include generating and sending invoices in bulk, applying discounts and parent view of invoices, as well as other features such as direct messaging between staff and parents. Throughout the process we've been informed by our users' priorities – it's the best way to ensure that we are really helping settings solve their day-to-day challenges.’
USING AI
A somewhat contentious area of innovation that platform providers are introducing to their packages is AI technology. Digital software company Famly, for instance, has been experimenting with AI, primarily through its Sidekick writing assistant tool.
Designed to make writing newsfeed posts and messages easier, Sidekick checks over messages to correct any spelling or grammar mistakes and suggest adjustments to the tone of writing.
Matt Arnerich, Famly's director of brand and comms, says, ‘The key for us is to see AI as a technology paradigm, to solve problems, and not to simply use it just because the technology exists. Essentially, we have a set of principles around AI, that it shouldn't be prescriptive but an extension of the brain, but there's no doubt it can make life easier for customers and that's where we plan to develop its use.’
A robust customer support network is another top requirement, with the inclusion of support teams and comprehensive online help now fairly standard across the board.
Famly also offers an additional customer community feature called Village, where customers can ask questions about anything, from the best way to invoice to the best place to buy nursery supplies, with their questions answered by Famly experts or fellow Famly customers.
Meanwhile, Tapestry provides an extensive library of tutorials to help with just about every possible query (I counted 39 for booking and invoicing alone).
Emily from Tapestry adds, ‘We are very aware of the limited time settings have for training on new software, so our approach starts with talking to the users, and we keep them in mind throughout the development process to ensure new features are easy to use.
‘This is then boosted with free demos of the nursery management system when settings need them, a library of written and video tutorials and a support team who can deal with any specific questions.’
She reports that a common issue it hears from settings is how to choose the appropriate devices for staff. She adds, ‘It can help to have someone to check in with, whether it's the setting's own IT support person or Tapestry's customer service team.’
INFORMING DECISION-MAKING
The Old Station Nursery Group has opted for Connect's nursery management software.
Operations director Kirsty Love says, ‘We use Connect software to help with business development and the daily running of our nurseries. We also use People HR and HubSpot to ensure a smooth business operation. These all help to make sure we have easy access to information at our fingertips and it helps with having data readily available to inform decision-making – from managing occupancy and looking at staff scheduling to responding to enquiries.
‘We also use Microsoft Teams to aid communication and file sharing, which is great for collaboration and keeping everyone up to date, and we share daily updates on children with families through the ParentZone app.’
Kirsty says the systems are easy to use. ‘Each user has access to their support platform with weblinks and information on how to use the software, along with a helpline – which is swiftly answered.
‘We do find some staff can struggle with using digital systems, but our quality and training team can provide face-to-face support to any practitioners who are new in role to make sure they have a good understanding. We can also change the colour of the background in the app and use the dictation function, which is helpful for any staff that may require this help.’
The group offers team members online and face-to-face training for all software that it uses, ‘as some staff members prefer face-to-face training as opposed to online’, Kirsty says. ‘We also have an in-house expert on our software systems who is at hand for our nursery managers. We are also fortunate to have our own IT team, as well as regular visits from quality advisors and area managers, so there is always someone to help where needed.’
QUICK WITH QUALITY
At Storal nursery group, infrastructure director Stuart Graham believes that ease of use, incorporating the minimum number of systems, is vital when looking to streamline admin and improve efficiency across multiple sites.
He says, ‘You need to choose a system that is quick and easy to use but also delivers quality of content. You also need to look at the training that comes with the software package – is it off the shelf and ready to go? You're looking for a quick implementation time without tying up staff in a considerable amount of training. Have a good look at user testimonials too, paying particular attention to feedback from nurseries who have benefited in the same areas that you are hoping to streamline the most.’
Stuart reports that when dealing with new acquisitions, there are typically three types of nurseries that people can find themselves working with: ‘Nurseries already using a high-level platform, nurseries that have taken on some level of software to deal with certain areas of nursery life, and nurseries that have been using no software tools at all – these are becoming increasingly rare.
‘Often a nursery we acquire will have a slightly different system to ours, and although the differences might seem small, they can make a big difference to staff who are used to a particular way of doing things – like playing a new musical instrument, you can play it a bit because you have the basic knowledge of how it works, but it's not quite the same.’
Stuart believes that the biggest benefit of software platforms is that they free up time that can be spent with children.
He adds, ‘They also give you better connection to parents and families with their great observation capabilities, allowing parents access to not just their own child's day but also the story of what went on in the nursery as a whole.
‘Good communication is important with your software provider and is welcomed by our provider, Famly. Staff [also] appreciate being listened to and seeing their feedback being taken seriously. Our staff really want to do their best for our children and their families, and in my experience, this goes for those working right across the sector.’
Funding Loop – automating funding
Created with the intention of helping parents and nurseries manage early years funding, Funding Loop has streamlined the administration process and is used by over 1,000 nurseries. It requires little IT knowledge from staff to navigate.
Co-founder Khayam Ezzat is also the owner of Abeona nursery in Kettering, Northants, and his experiences as a manager struggling with the demands of nursery admin was the initial inspiration behind Funding Loop.
Khayam says, ‘People were talking about how painful the process was.
‘Parents were having to fill in forms. You have to log in to the council website all over again. All the information has to be typed in. It's a very manual process and extremely dull. When I was doing it manually before I started Funding Loop, I found myself making mistakes. I developed Funding Loop to take care of all that and reduce that burden – to take that all out of your management system and fill in the forms for parents, 90 per cent beforehand, typing all that information into the portal for you, so that you know it's accurate.’
Benefits of using the system:
- Intuitive for parents: Declaration forms are split into logical steps with clear instructions and validation. Parents are able to upload birth certificates by taking a picture on a phone and electronically sign with a mouse or finger.
- Quick review: Allows parents to seamlessly check uploaded birth certificates and proofs of addresses in real time. All forms can be downloaded and printed.
- Automatic calculations: With inbuilt knowledge of term times, all calculations are done for you as per the child's attendance schedule, including children attending multiple nurseries.
- The system has undergone independent testing by third-party experts and is very secure, with all information securely stored in the cloud. You can find out more about the technology used and its privacy policies on the Funding Loop website (see More information).
- Although Funding Loop does not provide training, it does offer a software tool to help with the process of claiming government funding, plus it has a good reputation for being on hand to answer any questions nurseries may have with its product.
One point to maybe bring to parents' attention is that Funding Loop is not affiliated with their local authority, so it is the responsibility of parents to revalidate their codes with HMRC every three months.
Edufeel – supporting mental health
Edufeel is a digital mental-health management tool designed to help provide educators with consistent support and foster a culture of open communication and wellbeing throughout the setting.
The tool is easy to use, with educators first registering for a personal Edufeel account, then submitting a daily check-in.
Each educator has their own profile and data analytics where managers can view, assess and respond to early indicators of mental health decline.
Managers can use the main dashboard for an overview of issues arising in their setting, based on the real-time emotional data of staff, and also send notifications to their whole team, including wellbeing hints and tips, positive messages and encouragement, plus a wellbeing questionnaire to see how each term is going for their educators.
MORE INFORMATION
- Edufeel: edufeel.co.uk
- Funding Loop: fundingloop.co.uk
- Tapestry: tapestry.info
- Blossom Education: blossomeducation.co.uk
- Connect: connectchildcare.com
