Nursery World - Nursery Management: Working with Parents

If you are still using paper to ensure your parents are up to date with everything that is happening in your nursery, it may be time to consider online systems which can be far more dynamic, says Karen Faux.

Communicating with parents through electronic systems not only helps nurseries to operate more efficiently, but also opens exciting possibilities when it comes to working in partnership with them. Investment doesn't have to be huge and with a bit of creative thinking, the potential is endless.

In line with this, leading supplier ParentMail is reporting increasing take-up from the nursery sector. Its web-based system allows settings to send email or text messages to parents, collect online payments for outings and equipment, communicate child absence and provide a vital service in emergency situations. Last autumn saw the launch of its next-generation ParentMail smart phone app, which allows parents to manage their children's schedules while they are on the go.

ParentMail also includes a payment collection system which enables parents to pay online for nursery fees and meals, reducing the amount of cash and cheques that have to be collected. Nursery vouchers can also be accommodated.

Geoff Jones, marketing director at ParentMail (pictured) says 'Nurseries like the fact that it allows them to communicate with families on the move, as it can be accessed on iPad as will as PC. It also gives them the chance to communicate with prospective families, helping to attract new business.'

Because the system is web-based there is nothing to install or maintain and nurseries can be up and running very swiftly, as Donna Sharp, manager at Wee Gems nursery in Broxburn, Scotland, corroborates.

'We've used ParentMail for about two years now and it reflects our desire to be as paperless as we can be,' she says. 'ParentMail does just about everything and receiver groups are grouped by the various nursery rooms. It is very useful for communicating all sorts of information - whether it is warning families about bad weather conditions, or day-to-day updates about staff changes, events and activities.'

She adds, 'Supervisors of different rooms can send their own messages to the relevant parents. This makes communication very targeted and facilitates activities in the nursery - for example, with show and tell, we can ask parents to bring things in.'

FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT

Rhona Dyer, owner and director of Red Balwn Coch Nursery in Cardiff (pictured), has been trialling a new system which allows the nursery to contact parents by email, voicemail and texts at the touch of a button.

She says, 'Historically we have always used daily diary sheets, newsletters, parents' evenings and informal verbal communication with parents at the beginning and end of each day. However, at the same time there have been ongoing barriers to communication that we realised were not being resolved.'

Ms Dyer reports that discussion with staff identified that the greatest barrier to more effective communication was always 'time'.

'Parents are busy people and the reason children are in nursery, generally, is because their parents are working,' she says. 'On the whole our parents are not able to stay and have extended discussions with nursery staff on a regular basis. Furthermore, the majority of parents drop their children off and collect them during the busiest times.'

As the nursery also wishes to encourage parents to attend workshops and talk to staff in depth, staff felt they should identify individual communication needs.

Ms Dyer says, 'After talking to parents we collated their different preferences so they could receive a level of information which would be most helpful and manageable for them.'

Red Balwn Coch approached technology company Relay Station, which is experienced in providing organisations with emergency communications tools. Through working with the company, it has adapted a tool to meet the nursery's needs.

'Basically, we now have a system where we can enter the contact details for every child and record the types of information a family wishes to receive and how frequently they wish to have this,' Ms Dyer says.

'Where extended family members are nominated by parents to participate in special events or workshops, we collate this information and communicate directly with these individuals about these specific matters.

'All families receive emergency information, such as there being an outbreak of an illness or the closure of the nursery for any reason, in the mode of their choosing, such as landline, mobile, email, text or voice message. Beyond this, we are able to target families on the basis of any number of filtering systems we choose to employ, such as the age or group of their child, the type of information they wish to receive or the frequency with which they wish to receive this information.'

An added bonus of the system is that the nursery is able to monitor the responses from its families to the information they are being sent via various reporting systems. The statistical data provides a record of how many messages were sent in relation to any particular subject and which mode of communication was used.

'It tells us whether a particular message has been received and if it was responded to,' says Ms Dyer. 'The system will automatically keep trying any contact which was unsuccessful the first time - these "re-attempts" taking place at a time interval specified by ourselves.'

She adds, 'Overall, our main aim in terms of communication with parents is to increase the level of face-to-face contact we have with families in order to explore topics and issues with them to a greater extent and to develop their involvement with all aspects of their child's life in nursery.

'The introduction of this system has definitely supported this aim through ensuring that all our families receive targeted information about subjects they are interested in, at a frequency which suits them.'

PARENT PORTAL IS A HIT

Pamela Gall, owner of Balgillo Nursery (pictured) and Balgillo Nursery Too in Dundee, has created a parent portal for both settings which allows parents to securely access information relating to their child and the nursery, including progress reports, regular observation updates, photographs and scanned-in examples of artwork.

The system encourages two-way communication. Parents can upload their own photographs and comments about their child's home-life, as well as providing a feedback system from parent to nursery which is informing future plans and influencing the nursery's policies and procedures.

To access the portal, parents have to register their details. Once approved, they are sent an email confirmation with their user ID and password. Parents only have access to their own child's information.

'We had been thinking about how we could best share information with parents in a way that suits them,' says Ms Gall. 'Parents' evenings and face-to-face meetings are very important, but we wanted to create an accessible system that recognised that many of our parents have i-phones and tablets. This is complementary to face-to-face contact.'

Balgillo Nursery went to a local IT company and asked it to develop an existing database system tailored to the nursery's needs.

'It was a very quick process,' says Ms Gall. 'We talked to them in September and it was up and running in November. We are now getting a lot of feedback from parents and they are developing a stronger understanding of our work. It makes what we do more transparent and is raising the profile of staff. Parents can see the time and effort that goes into creating best practice, and some of the attendant pressures.'

Now that the portal has become a way of life for staff and families, there are plans to develop other applications. Parents also appreciate the fact that the portal allows them to share information with family and friends. Ashley Laing, whose son attends Balgillo Nursery, says, 'As a mother and early years practitioner myself, this new system is undoubtedly the way forward for childcare settings. It's great that we can log in and view our child's progress and activities at the touch of a button. Being able to see photographs gives us an opportunity to show and talk to our three-year-old about what he has been doing. It's also great for his Dad, who works away from home, to log in and see how he is progressing at a time that suits him.'

Ms Gall reports that she has now created a steering group for the portal's further development.

'We will be having a meeting in March, including all those who are active users, and we will find out what more they want,' she says. 'We are also thinking about it in the context of professional development for staff.'

She adds, 'The portal has become a central place to visit for information on our policies and nursery activities, and we are thinking that this can be used in a similar way for training opportunities.'

BENEFITS OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

Able to identify the most effective and preferred electronic method of communication for individuals or groups

Send more information, send it more quickly and easily and to more people

Efficiently monitor responses to information that has been sent out

Engage parents in constructive discussion from their first visit to nursery about levels of involvement with us and to complete the necessary data at that point