How nurseries are keeping track of their toddlers

Misty Ardouin set up her Nestlings nursery in Cardiff city center in 2019. At the end of each day, they would “sit down” with the parents in the playroom to catch up on everything the children had done.

“It was an integral part of our day,” says Ms Ardouin.

“Building relationships and connecting with parents has helped us get to know the children better. This meant that we worked in sync, with the same ideas for caring for and educating the child both in kindergarten and at home.”

But the pandemic changed everything. In March 2020, nurseries were ordered by the government to close to all but the children of key workers and vulnerable children. By March 2021, more than 3,300 day care centers had closed their doors permanently.

In the facilities that eventually reopened, parents were no longer allowed to stay inside and chat or socialize outside with other parents and children — they were cut off from their child’s kindergarten experience.

Nestlings, like many nurseries, turned to technology to keep communication going. It uses Blossom software, which allows its employees to share children’s daily diaries. Everything from diapers and lunches to big moments like first words can be shared with parents.

Staff plan the “next steps” for each child, and parents can access this information to continue their child’s learning at home. It can also handle the more mundane tasks like sending bills for fees.

“We had to think quickly about what we could do to keep the relationship strong,” says Ms Ardouin.

“Parents can check on their little one at any time. That’s a big advantage as parents weren’t allowed in the area – and still aren’t.”

Blossom co-founder Sara Thakrar says parents fueled the boom in nursery technology.

“There was an enormous increase in kindergartens that said goodbye to paper. Parents want information at their fingertips. They want to know what their child is doing in real time. They want instant feedback.”

Caroline Humphreys’ son, Joe, goes to a nursery in the London borough of Walthamstow that uses Famly, a Danish software application.

“I’ve never really been to kindergarten. Our experience of his inner kindergarten life is based on the photos in the app and, apart from that, talking to the kindergarten staff at the drop-off and pick-up points,” she says.

“We had a massive boom in 2020,” says Matt Arnerich, communications director for Famly, “and hired 1,300 in the last year alone.”

A survey by Tapestry, another widely used app, found that a third of early childhood educators are now using video to communicate with parents, compared to just 9% before 2020 and using printed letters almost halved.

Over 75% agreed the use of technology has helped overcome barriers to working together with families during the pandemic.

Demand for early childhood education in the UK is high. According to the Department for Education, there were around 1.5 million childcare places available in England in 2021 – 75% of which were full.

Anna and David Wright started Paint Pots from their home in Southampton in 1993, initially caring for just a dozen children.

By 2000, demand had outgrown their home and they moved into a separate building with Paint Pots. They now run three preschools and six daycare centers – and look after almost 1,000 children a week.

“We used to rely on paper records, but it became impossible to keep track of the details, records and administrative tasks,” says Mr. Wright. Therefore, the kindergarten now uses the online learning journal Tapestry.

“The technology frees our team members from the time they spend maintaining these manual records and frees them up to spend more time with the kids,” he adds.

More technology of business:

dr Tapestry co-founder Helen Edwards previously spent “hours and hours” on paperwork for her own nursery in East Sussex. In 2012 her husband Steve had the idea for Tapestry.

“It grew very quickly. We now have around 18,000 accounts in 40 countries and serve over a million children’s magazines,” she says.

Employees want to spend as much time with the kids as possible, and technology helps them do that, she points out.

“Also, both parents can access the diary – useful when the parents are separated,” she adds, and access can also be granted to outside professionals, such as speech therapists or home visitors.

“Everyone can work together to support the child,” says Dr. Edwards.

But not everyone sees the increased use of technology as a positive step forward.

“We can rely too much on apps and technology, especially when it comes to kids,” says parent Alex Mills. “I don’t want my toddler being photographed all the time.

Ms Mills’ two-year-old son, Max, attends a local daycare center that does not use communications technology. Instead, staff speak to the parent and provide a note with details of what the child ate, changed diapers, and slept.

“I’d rather have them take care of my child than be distracted by updating an app all day. It’s a very modern phenomenon, the need to constantly feel connected.”

Sharon Birch is the owner of Footprints Learning for Life nursery in Hartlepool. The nursery has been rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted and has won a number of awards, most recently for inclusive practice – but it doesn’t use apps.

“Technology is everywhere, in our offices, at home and in the hands of most people. The world is saturated with technology,” says Ms Birch.

She says parents like the fact that they’re doing things the old-fashioned way.

“We talk to our parents. A key worker needs to know their key children as if they were their own – their likes, dislikes, what makes them them. These bonds are so important for trust and protection to understand them and help them reach their milestones. An app cannot do that.”

The first five years of a child’s life are crucial. Research shows that early development in the early years of childhood has a direct impact on behavior, social skills and lifelong learning. And parental engagement with preschool children has been linked to improved language and reading development and school readiness.

The last 18 months of the pandemic have been very challenging, but according to social enterprise Parent Zone, technology has had a largely positive impact in 2020, with 77% of parents agreeing that connected technology has helped them cope.

“When I started Nestlings Nursery,” says Ms. Ardouin, “I wasn’t really interested in technology. It was so important to welcome families and spend quality time with them.”

But she now feels that “technology is allowing us to connect and make sure those important relationships last.”