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In a rush? Here’s a quick breakdown:
Being a part of the Famly team, everyday I see just how much childcare management software can enhance and improve all aspects of a childcare center. But, it is always more informative and more impactful when it is from the words of our customers.
That’s why I asked Famly’s customer, Christian Preschool Centers (CPC), for their perspective, since they have used the traditional pen and paper and have tried a variety of childcare softwares. What made them choose technology over pen and paper? And why did they choose Famly?
Read on to learn what they had to say.
Christian Preschool Centers (CPC) started as one program and is now the umbrella organization for a variety of preschool centers in the West Texas area. Across their locations, they serve more than 2,900 children ages 6 weeks to 12 years old.
CPC transitioned from another childcare management software and joined Famly in January 2023. When I reached out to Brooks and Brittany at CPC, I wanted to hear about their opinion on software programs in the early childhood education (ECE) sector.
At Famly, we hear that a lot of childcare centers are uncertain or hesitant about implementing software, because they are so accustomed to the traditional pen and paper. That’s why I wanted to hear from CPC, where the staff are huge supporters of childcare management software (like Famly) and have been using it for years.
What made them “take the leap?” What was the hardest thing about the change? And simply, was it worth it?
“There’s a lot of people that do not like change and that is [the] truth, but you have to tell them why you’re doing it.” For CPC, “the ‘whys,’ so far, always outweigh the hesitation to not learn.”
The best part? CPC instantly noticed benefits, and also, noticed some benefits that they weren’t even expecting!
Another way of phrasing this is, what pain points were they trying to solve by deciding to use digital childcare tools? These were their top reasons:
CPC really values a strong community between their staff and their families. They realized that the best way to do that would be to “reach parents where they’re at” and these days, that’s primarily on their cell phones.
Parents and family members want to be engaged with their child’s growth and development all the time. With Famly’s Newsfeed feature, teachers can post updates and photos of the children throughout the day, which gives their parents a window into their day, and the ability to feel connected from a distance.
Family members can engage as much or as little as they want. They can like and comment on posts and photos, or they can simply read and look at them. But, both Brittany and Brooks emphasized that, even those who aren’t actively engaging with the Newsfeed posts are so happy to have those snippets of their child’s day.
“Even the ones that you don't even realize are on it, even if you don't feel like they’re active on it…That's the beauty about what y’all have presented and offered is, those families even though they’re not being fully engaged with the likes and the things, they are fully engaged in their child, and seeing what they're doing on a day-to-day and there is value to that, and that trust that happens.”
So, no matter what type of member you want to be, Famly enriches and cultivates community.
Plus, Famly is one of the only childcare platforms that can be used on all devices - cell phones, desktop computers, and tablets - which makes communication with parents super accessible. Whether a parent or family member is in line at Starbucks or during a short break between meetings, they can check in on their child’s day.
And for teachers, the fact that Famly works on all devices is great because it means they can quickly snap a photo of the children with the classroom tablet, and then make a mental note to post it later during a free moment, or maybe even at the end of the day. Each staff member can do what is best for their schedules and classroom.
“We tested other ones…but we’ve committed to Famly. We love Famly. Our families love Famly and that’s probably the cornerstone of a lot, and so if I was going to pick something I would pick something that engages and that's what we did - something that engages our families. And that's where I do believe your system just outshines everybody else, is that community enrichment that you don't realize your lacking until you had it, and you got it.”
CPC also liked the idea of childcare software because it meant more staff accountability.
Plus, an unexpected bonus is that all of this accountability makes staying compliant with Texas Health & Human Services (HHS) parent communication requirements. Most required communication can happen right through Famly’s app, and what you need to share with the parents can be found right in the app (ex. Diaper changes, lesson plans, child records, etc.). Also, since it is stored digitally, you will always have proof of compliance.
In addition to parent engagement being a cornerstone of early childhood education, CPC also knows the importance of interactions and relationships between staff and each child.
Once CPC started using Famly, they realized that the amount of time teachers could engage with the little ones increased because the hours spent doing paperwork and reporting decreased significantly. Famly made so many of the more tedious tasks easier and more efficient. DIgital childcare tools streamline reporting, attendance tracking, communication, ratios, and so much more.
And let’s be honest, educators didn’t go into a career in childcare because they enjoy paperwork and documentation. They love spending time with the children, supporting them in their development.
Famly enables teachers to do what they are experts in - encouraging each child to become an individual, unique, creative, knowledgeable, successful person (in whatever way that means for them).
Of course, like most preschool programs, they were a bit hesitant to have technology in the classroom and around the children, but to them, the pros outweigh the cons: “[Famly] is that community builder, it is that tool for our teachers to be able to be more engaged…if the teacher is more engaged, the child’s more engaged.”
Also, they’ve realized that it is so efficient that “it does get them on and off quicker,” and so the staff don’t have the technology in front of the children as much as they may have anticipated - or even feared.
Billing and financial reporting is a big “pain” for a lot of childcare centers and preschools.
I said that at the heart of a high quality childcare is teacher-child relationships. Well, at the heart of a successful childcare business (which creates a space for high quality care), is revenue.
Invoicing families one-by-one can be time-consuming, and frankly, annoying. Especially when you have different tuition fees for different age groups, classrooms, programs, half-day, full-day. And don’t forget subsidies!
CPC has only used part of Famly’s billing and payment tools, but already they have been pleasantly surprised by the actual automation (more on that below!).
“Procare is still a manual process,” and Famly’s billing tools are “even easier than Procare, it is set it and forget it.”
In other words, the other childcare management softwares that they had tried advertised and said that they had automated billing. But, let’s just say, they stretched the truth…
Tuition billing is automated for both the center and families: Batched invoices are sent automatically, and families can set up auto-payment on their side of the software, and can be split between multiple adults (ex. A grandparent helps with the cost of childcare).
Brittany and Brooks did talk about the adjustment process for billing specifically. Since switching from their previous software, Famly’s billing and finance set up is a bit different than what they are used to.
But, even they say that the end result outweighs the current fear: “We are changing to match what Famly is capable of doing and in reality some of it’s going to be better, we’re going to be better for it,” they said in response to having to adjust their billing ways for Famly’s system. “One of the reasons that we’re willing to go through those growing pains is because there is fruit to learning new things, adapting and changing.”
CPC has tried and tested a variety of childcare management softwares out there. In fact, they had Famly, went to another software and then came back (!) because their director, managers, staff, and their families preferred Famly.
So why did they come back?
We know change is scary, and it’s even scarier when it’s changing up a fundamental building block to how you manage your childcare or preschool - whether you are changing to a new software, or ditching pen and paper.
As our founder and CEO, Anders Laustsen says, “It’s all about getting your work done, but saving time because it's not about being on the platform, it's not about being on the software, it's about getting back to the children and the staff and what really matters.”
That’s why we have made one our top priorities to make Famly as simple, modern and intuitive as possible. CPC notices our efforts to make it simple:
“The simplicity of it…the setup with your system is 80% easier than Procare.”
My favorite quote from Brooks and Brittany was, “You thought you had automation until you had automation,” and then later, they again said,
“You think you have automatic billing, until you have automatic billing.”
Brittany did admit that, at first, ditching the manual process was a bit scary.
“So like it is that scary of ‘I’m used to this. I’m used to being able to do this, and the fact that you have it set up so automated…the automation that y’all built into the whole system honestly is great. It really is.”
I already explained this above, but CPC’s values are similar to Famly’s in many ways, and one of those is the emphasis on how important parent engagement and partnerships between the staff and families are. This was a huge reason why they came back to Famly, and would recommend Famly.
Here are just a few more quotes they said throughout our conversation that emphasize just how strong our parent communication features and tools are:
CPC has been an invaluable partner to Famly. It’s no secret that we are the top childcare software in the UK, but when it comes to the US, you could say we are an “underdog.”
Through our collaboration with CPC, they have let us know what would be the most helpful to help them in many ways, but specifically in meeting compliance requirements.
We have implemented 3 integrations since working with them: KinderConnect (Texas specific), Watch Me Grow, and IntelliKids.
“I don’t have the same type of support with Procare. Literally, I had a problem and it took me 4 days to get a phone call and schedule a meeting…and I'm not a small customer so you can only imagine if you're a small business.”
I’m obviously biased but I think that the people I work with are pretty great. CPC also emphasized how much they appreciate how personal our customer support team is. It is something that is really important to us at Famly, and we are thrilled that our customers notice it, and feel it.
“I trust you guys, and I do think that that is one of the reasons that I would recommend you guys over anybody else. Even past whatever product features you have, I trust you guys to see a problem, identify the problem, and fix it.”
At Famly, it is personal. We care about every center’s unique needs because we know that every childcare, or preschool, runs their programs in a different way.
We want to work with you to make sure Famly fits your needs, that it’s a software that works for you. You shouldn’t have to adapt to it. And we are with you every step of the way - not just for the onboarding!
At Famly, we have created a platform that at the most basic level will improve your business, save you hours and improve your quality of care. But we want to be more than that. CPC recognized this drive.
“What I will say is in our work with you guys, y’all take your time and when you bring a product and you say ok we’ve finished this, it’s been beautiful every time I've seen it. Once y’all have it developed, like you can tell y’all are meticulous with your work, like it looks good…One of our core values is excellence and I do feel like as partners, you meet us in that space well. Y’all work towards excellence and it shows.”
CPC has been an invaluable partner to Famly. They have explained how technology can better help them with state regulations and staying compliant, so that we can improve our platform, and make sure our features help them provide the highest quality care and exceed minimum standards.
“To be met with a company that says, ‘hey, we want to be able to do everything too, teach us, like let's work together, let me find it.’ And in some cases ‘let me take your suggestion and what y’all are wanting and make it better.’ With that being the heart of y’alls company. We've seen it time and time again working with Anders, like that’s what he wants. He doesn't want it to just meet the bare minimum. If y’all can make it a little bit better than what you’re asking, you guys are going to do that.”
I asked Brooks and Brittany directly, “what advice would you give to a preschool looking to choose a childcare management software?”
The first answer Brooks said was that he would prioritize parent engagement platforms, and “there’s no doubt that you are the one to pick.”
They also said that Famly is the best option for a preschool that has never used a digital system before. As a first time childcare software user, Famly is simple, automated and covers all the primary bases of running a childcare program. It will immediately benefit a center, and they won’t believe how much faster and more efficiently their day-to-day tasks can get.
Brittany recalled when she was first transitioning to digital tools from pen and paper: “My brain, I’m very analytical and I’m very like well this has worked for me for the last 10 years, why would I want to change it? Show people how it’s broken.” She then continued, “It is one of those things that you’ve done it for so long on pen and paper that it feels easier. So, they have to wrap their brains around that this will make it easier.”
She then exclaimed, just “point out how much money they're going to save on paper!”
Finally, Brooks, Brittany and I spent a good 10 minutes calculating how much time they have saved using Famly. In the end, Brooks said that preschools will save at least an hour a day (per staff member!).
So, if you have 7 teachers, that's a collaborative 7 hours as a team that you have back in just one day - that’s 35 hours a week! Think of how much more attention the staff can give to the children, and how much more fun and engaging their days at work will be because of it!
Plus, don’t forget about all the amazing things they said about Famly that I mentioned throughout this article! To me, the fact that they left Famly and then came back says more than anything else.
Guidance from the Danish Health Ministry, translated in full to English.
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The full recommendations from a working group of over 70 nursery chains in the UK.
Please note: here at Famly we love sharing creative activities for you to try with the children at your setting, but you know them best. Take the time to consider adaptions you might need to make so these activities are accessible and developmentally appropriate for the children you work with. Just as you ordinarily would, conduct risk assessments for your children and your setting before undertaking new activities, and ensure you and your staff are following your own health and safety guidelines.
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