Give accepted places a clear handover, help families prepare for the first day and review starts and early booking changes accurately.
A first 30 days checklist for childcare centre owners and managers.
An accepted place is an important step. The work continues until the child starts, the family knows how to communicate with the centre and the team understands what support is needed.
For a centre trying to rebuild occupancy, this part of the journey deserves its own review. New enrolments can be offset by bookings that never start, early departures or reduced attendance days. Those changes have different causes and need different responses.
Use this working checklist. The timing is illustrative, not a standard every family must follow or a promise about how quickly a child will settle. Adapt it to your service policies, the child and the family's circumstances.
Give the handover an owner
Choose the person responsible for moving an accepted offer through to the first day. Identify a backup so progress does not depend on one person's availability.
Connect the person handling enrolment with the team welcoming the child. Record what the family has been told and what still needs to happen.
Check:
- The agreed room, weekdays and intended start date
- The current status of the booking and required enrolment steps
- Fees and conditions already explained to the family
- Orientation arrangements and the next contact
- Questions or practical concerns that remain unresolved
- The staff member responsible for each outstanding action
Keep detailed family and child information in the service's appropriate records, with access limited to staff who need it. A shared progress list can use a reference and action status rather than repeating personal information.
Make the period before starting clear
Send a short, useful welcome message once the arrangements are ready to confirm. Help the family understand what to do next without asking them to search several emails.
A message might say:
“We're looking forward to welcoming you. Your planned start is [date], attending [days]. Your next step is [action]. [Name] will help arrange orientation and answer any questions before the first day. Please let us know if your timing or care needs change.”
Only call a booking confirmed when it has reached that stage under your service's process. Explain any outstanding step clearly.
For a start several months away, agree on a sensible check-in date and review the booking when circumstances change. Repeated generic messages are less useful than a conversation at the point the family needs it.
Ask what the family would like the room team to know. Use your normal enrolment process for detailed care information, then check that the relevant educators can access and act on it.
Use orientation to build familiarity
Explain how orientation works at your centre and discuss what would help this particular child and family. Avoid promising a fixed settling timeline.
Show the family how arrival and collection work, who they can approach and how everyday information is shared. Introduce the relevant educators where possible, and explain how communication works when those staff members are away.
Make room for practical questions. A family may be unsure what to pack, who can collect their child, how meals work or when to contact the centre. Clear answers now can prevent confusion on the first morning.
At the end, ask:
“What feels clearer after today, and what would you still like us to talk through before the first day?”
Record the agreed action and share it with the appropriate team member. If orientation reveals a mismatch between what was promised and what the service can provide, have the manager resolve it with the family before commencement.
Plan the first day together
Confirm the arrival arrangement and who will welcome the family. Check that the room team knows the child is starting and has the information it needs.
Agree on a realistic communication plan. Explain how the family can reach the centre and when they can expect an update. Make commitments the team can keep while caring for children.
At collection, give a clear account of the day and discuss anything the family or educators noticed. Avoid using a generic reassurance when there is a specific question to answer.
If the planned start changes, update the record and speak with the family about the next arrangement. A delayed start should remain distinguishable from a family that has declined the place.
Check how the first weeks are working
After the first few attended days, arrange a conversation with the family. The child's attendance pattern matters more than an arbitrary calendar deadline.
Ask whether arrival and collection are working, whether they know how to contact the room team and whether anything differs from their expectations. Give educators a way to raise questions too.
A useful opening is:
“How have these first visits been for your family? Is there anything you expected to understand or hear from us that we haven't covered yet?”
Agree on any changes and who will follow through. Review progress again over the following weeks where useful. Concerns about safety or wellbeing should follow the service's immediate escalation process rather than wait for a scheduled check-in.
If a family decides to leave or reduce days, ask whether they are willing to share the reason. Respect their decision. Record what they actually tell you, including when a change is unrelated to the centre.
Measure starts and changes accurately
Keep accepted offers, enrolments, expected starts and actual starts distinct. Review child-level records for starts and booking changes; use family-level records for communication.
For a due-to-start group, report how many children started, postponed, declined or remain unresolved. Only assess outcomes once the relevant start dates have passed. A child due to start next month is still pending.
For an early-continuation measure, review children whose first attendance was at least 30 calendar days ago. Show the number still enrolled and the number who left. Record agreed changes to booked days separately, including increases and reductions. Use a consistent definition so absence is not mistaken for withdrawal.
Here is a fictional example. A family accepts Monday and Friday care, then postpones commencement because a return-to-work date changes. Another starts as planned but reduces Fridays after a roster change. Record a delayed start for the first child and a booking-pattern change for the second. Neither record alone demonstrates a settling problem.
Look for repeated, actionable themes before deciding what to change. If several families describe unclear first-day arrangements, improve that handover. If start dates frequently move, update the forward booking view. If families cannot obtain required days, revisit availability planning.
Start with the next children due to arrive
Review the next group of planned starts. Give each record a clear status, owner and next action. Then check a recent group of starters for unanswered concerns and changes to bookings.
The waitlist review guide helps connect family requirements with room and weekday availability. The enquiry and tour conversion service explains how earlier stages can be reviewed alongside starts and booked care days.
Use our childcare tour guide to review how expectations are set before a place is accepted.
A clear handover makes it easier for families and educators to begin well, and gives the centre a more honest view of which future bookings are becoming ongoing care.
