If you’re thinking of opening a daycare centre, there’s a lot to think about. You’re taking care of children and need to make sure that parents are confident that they can leave their child with you. Running a daycare centre is a huge responsibility, but it can also be one of the most rewarding experiences too. Take a look at these things to put into place to make sure things run smoothly and ensure your center is a success.
Make it welcoming
One of the first things you need to concentrate on is making sure your daycare center is a safe and welcoming place for children and parents) to be. Your space needs to be clean, organised, and child safe. You’ll also need to think about making sure the space is perfect for children to be comfortable and enjoy exploring. You want your center to be a space children enjoy coming to, so make sure you decorate it with bright colours and fun yet educational artwork. Once your center feels and looks welcoming, you can guarantee parents will feel more confident leaving their children in your care.
Hire the right team
You also need to make sure you’ve got an amazing team working for you. You need more than people who love working with kids (although still an important quality), but people who are reliable, responsible and trustworthy. After all, you’re looking after other people’s children! Think about the roles being reversed. If you didn’t feel like the team at hand were perfect for the job, you wouldn’t leave your child in their care, right?! They’ll also need to be comfortable handling certain situations like if a child is unwell or needs CPR. Get the team right and you’re already going to be making leaps and bounds with your daycare center.
Get the right tools in place
As you may already know, running a daycare is more than just looking after children all day. You need to think about making schedules, allergies, and even making sure payments go through. Having the right tools in place can really save you a lot of hassle. Consider looking into daycare management software to help you organise things like scheduling and billing. You might also want to research a POS guide for daycare centers so that you can find a payment solution that works well for you and your customers. The easier payment is, the easier your whole process will be.
Have a clear daily routine
The last thing you want is for your daycare center to be absolute chaos, so make sure you’ve got a clear routine for each day. And, kids tend to thrive with routine. Not only that, parents will want to know what their children are doing each day, and having a routine that you can pass along will really help. Make sure you include activities like playtime, learning sessions, meals, naps, and even outdoor time. Now, even the best laid of plans sometimes go out of the window, so be sure to leave room for some slight changes. However, a routine in general will help keep things calm and productive.
Keep communication open
Parents understandably want to know how their child is doing, what they’ve been up to, and if there’s anything they need to know. Make sure you’ve got updated contact details with all of the parents, and make sure you give them regular updates on their child. This could be through verbal communication at pick up or drop off, or you could send a text, email, or daily report to them. If you have the means to, setting up a parent portal might be useful to parents to check on their child at any point.
Have strong policies in place
Next up, you need to think about putting clear and strong policies in place so everyone knows what to expect. This will include things like your hours of operation, daycare rates, drop-off and pick up procedures, and even what to do if a child is sick. If everyone knows the rules and they’re laid out clearly in a handbook, it helps avoid confusion or possible conflict between parents and your team.
Focus on child development
Finally, while playtime and fun is important, you also need to make sure you’re giving the children an environment where they continuously learn and develop. Pack their days with activities that can help improve motor skills, language development, and social interaction. After all, they’re only small for so long and then they’re off to big school!
