As a director of a childcare center, your role extends beyond administrative tasks; you are a steward of the nurturing environment that shapes young minds. Conducting a tour for prospective parents is a pivotal opportunity to showcase your center's commitment to excellence, safety, and a child-centric approach.

Here is how you can successfully plan & conduct a tour with prospective families who are seeking the perfect childcare program for their little ones.

1) Schedule ahead

There are days of the week and times of the day that lend themselves in creating the ideal atmosphere for your tour. You wouldn’t want to show prospective families around during the hustle and bustle of morning drop-off and you can’t expect them to be able to retain information during the chaos of evening pick-ups! During the middle of the day, most of the children are napping and there really isn’t anything to see. So what seemed like an easy task (just planning the time of a tour) can easily turn into a complicated math equation of what would work best for your families and your team members. Being intentional about the days and times that you are available to conduct a tour is essential!

In CareDay you can schedule tour availability in advance at all of your centers including time, date, location, and any additional details. This allows prospective families to sign up for what day and time works best for them out of the choices presented. No more random people showing up for a “last minute” walk-through!

2) Personalize your welcome

Start the tour with a warm and personalized welcome. Greet parents with a smile, introduce yourself, and make them feel comfortable. By utilizing CareDay, the family will have already signed up for the tour ahead of time so you can easily tailor the tour to address individual needs based on their child’s age and preferred start date for care which they have indicated in their tour registration.

3) Walk through classrooms and learning spaces

Guide parents through the various classrooms and learning spaces. Share insights into the age-appropriate setups, educational materials, and the thought behind the design. Illustrate how the environment fosters creativity, independence, and a love for learning. Explain the different variables that come into play for when a child will transition from one classroom to the next.

By utilizing CareDay, you can ensure them of their child’s position and schedule within your center and predict their future transitions.

4) Introduce qualified staff

Take the opportunity to introduce key staff members, including teachers and administrators. Share information about their qualifications, experience, and dedication to childcare. Brag about your staff and all the amazing work they do! Be sure to discuss the professional development that your staff completes each year.

Using the CareDay Parent mobile app, parents can preview all of the information about their child's teachers, helping them to feel more confident about entrusting their child to a team of passionate and qualified professionals.

5) Discuss daily routines and curriculum

Provide a detailed overview of the daily routine and the curriculum in place. Explain the balance between structured activities, playtime, and rest. Emphasize the center's commitment to a well-rounded educational experience that addresses cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development.

This is a wonderful time to show the CareDay feed from a specific classroom device, showing all of the fun curriculum-tagged pictures and daily report information that gets updated live throughout the day. A sneak peek into what they would experience as a parent in your program is the best way to get them to envision themselves as a part of your community!

6) Showcase communication channels

Highlight the multiple communication channels that your program uses to keep parents informed. Whether that includes a bulletin board of updates, emails with a monthly newsletter, or a childcare management app that links all your communication into one place - ensure the prospective parents that they will continue to be a part of their child’s day even while they’re away.

Using CareDay to communicate with parents makes this part of the tour a breeze! Their child's live feed will be the main form of communication that the teacher uses to keep parents informed about their child's progress, daily activities, and everyday care tasks such as diapering, bottle feeding, napping, etc. Parents can receive emails/texts through CareDay, and register for special events right within the app!

7) Closing the tour and provide next steps

As the tour concludes, express gratitude for the parents' visit and reiterate your enthusiasm for the prospect of caring for their child. Let them know if they would like to take the next steps, and how they can move forward with any registration fees or deposits for the waitlist or enrollment. Offer follow-up resources, such as tour packets or contact information, to assist in their decision-making process.

At this point, most families will ask what your program’s availability is and whether you have a waitlist. With CareDay at your fingertips, you will have a clear picture of your next 12 months of enrollment availability, as well as what your Waitlist looks like, making answering their questions simple! If they’d like to move forward, either joining your waitlist or enrolling, they can easily sign into their CareDay account that was created during their tour registration and start the process!

8) After-tour tasks

Document any impressions made during the family’s tour. Not every family will be a good fit for your center! If that is the case, be sure to put that down somewhere to remind you later if they reach out to enroll and you’re not comfortable doing so. If they were a wonderful family that you’d love to have, put that down to! Any information that would be helpful to have in the future is worth sharing.
CareDay provides a space to put private notes that only management can access which is perfect for this use!

Follow up with next steps: If a family tells you by the end of the tour that they’re convinced and ready to go - whether that means getting on your waitlist or starting the enrollment process, follow up with them in writing what their next steps are!
With CareDay, you can create communication templates to quickly send to families using the profile information that was created when they registered for your tour.

Conclusion

Conducting a tour as a childcare center director or owner is not just about showcasing the physical space; it's about conveying a commitment to quality care and holistic development. By utilizing all of the features of CareDay, you set the stage for a partnership focused on the well-being and growth of their child. Remember, the tour is an opportunity to not just inform but to inspire confidence and build a foundation for a collaborative relationship between parents and the childcare center.

A director's blueprint for conducting an impressive tour for prospective parents