Childcare-Management-Software-LifeCubby-blog-DEC-2021-How-to-Get-Ahead-of-Daycare-Planning-For-The-New-Year

How to Get Ahead of Daycare Planning for the New Year

Preparing your center for the next calendar year ahead can be time-consuming — and when you’re trying to balance planning with other center duties, days can quickly slip away. Then, before you know it, it’s already 2022!

Our team at LifeCubby helps early childhood educators save hours each week on overwhelming and tedious tasks to focus on the most important thing — your students.

To help your center get off to a great start in the new year, we’re sharing our advice to help with 2022 daycare planning.

Set up a master calendar.

As you gear up for 2022, set aside time to create a master calendar containing holidays, billing deadlines, events and other essential dates. Be sure to also pencil in any recurring internal events such as staff performance reviews, open houses and parent-teacher conferences. Having all of your major happenings mapped out ahead of time (and in one central place) will help ensure nothing falls through the cracks. It will also help you have enough time to plan everything out when the time comes. If possible, set up a parent-facing calendar that you can share with families before the year begins. That way, they’ll be able to plan ahead of time, as well (Hint: LifeCubby’s interactive events calendar is perfect for this).

Focus on staff development.

Before you close the chapter on the current year, schedule one-on-one meetings with each teacher at your center to go over their professional development goals and where they stand on any required training hours. Use this time to share any helpful tools for their PD goals (including online classes from our sister company, ChildCare Education Institute) and see how you can help support them in the upcoming year. Finally, if they are behind on any requirements or have a certification that expires in 2022, work with them to create a timeline to get back on track.

Make sure parents are in-the-know.

To make sure parents are in the loop about any changes coming in the new year, create a center-wide newsletter that outlines any staffing changes or scheduling adjustments taking effect after the start of the year. Additionally, create notes for parents whose kids will be changing classrooms or grades so they can know what to expect and can plan accordingly. Finally, we recommend creating a master communications schedule that outlines how often you’ll be in touch with parents in the upcoming year. This can include how often you’ll send out newsletters, hold conferences and offer open office hours.

Utilize planning reports.

With LifeCubby’s Director Dashboard, you have access to over 70 reports that can help you get ahead of daycare planning and operate with ease. Access your budgeting reports to plan ahead for any expenses you will incur in the new year, and take a look at your staffing reports to see what types of employment costs you can expect. Finally, if you’re hoping to grow your center over the next 365 days, take a look at your forecasting report to see what your center can support.

Want to learn more about how LifeCubby can help support your planning — and your year-round center management? Click here to schedule a free demo and learn more today!