We have recently reviewed our bulletin, which goes out once a month in an envelope with invoices. In the past, this was really just a list of announcements, dates to remember (photos, theme days, etc), and we often had parents say that they had misplaced it or not received it.
We have since restructured the monthly bulletin to be an e-newsletter. Surveys showed that parents want to receive information by e-mail, rather than hard copy.
It is guaranteed to be delivered to the right place, is easy to store and read when you have five minutes at work, and is simple to refer to over the month.
We tailor each newsletter to a particular setting, but can also include information relevant to all three nurseries (for example, reminding parents about making payments on time!).
We have also started to produce a monthly newsletter for parents on our waiting list. From a marketing point of view, this keeps us in touch with them from the moment they register on our waiting list to when they start at nursery.
Sometimes parents register with us when they are pregnant and their children don't start to attend the nursery until a whole year later.
The new newsletter system will help them feel connected with the nursery and up-to-date on our initiatives, developments and programme of events.
We also believe hope by forging a relationship with parents who are not yet registered with the nursery, we are likely to be their choice when they go back to work.
We believe the e-newsletter demonstrates that we are a well-organised, efficient, professional and forward-thinking nursery. All nursery newsletters are published monthly on our website and are also available via our Facebook page - another great way of keeping parents up to date with the nursery.
Similarly, we are able to use our e-newsletter to promote specific areas of the nursery. For example, in September, when we lost a number of children to school, we used the newsletter to remind parents to take full advantage of their Free Entitlement Funding. We saw a rise in the number of enquiries from current parents wanting to ensure they were getting their full entitlement, and a number of them increased sessions.
A good newsletter helps parents feel connected to the setting and in touch with the people caring for their child.
