Foundations™ is the brand-new, free childcare management app for smaller settings – with less than nine registered youngsters – and childminders.

Foundations are passionate about improving the lives of children globally and have developed the solution in a bid to help childminders not only streamline their operations but recoup some time in their day – usually spent on admin – to dedicate to more child-centric tasks, as well as quickly engage busy parents with their little one’s learning updates.

Here’s a look at the software’s key advantages for users…

• Digitise your setting

Foundations is a digital solution that enables childminders to ditch paper-based systems and host all important information – from child records and observations to billing and invoicing data – in one centralised system. This doesn’t only reduce the risk of losing various pieces of paper, but it also helps to streamline operations, as well as keep track of children’s daily progress – even across multiple sites.

• Unlock more time in your day

With less hours spent on creating hand-written observation books, typing up registers, and manually reconciling bills, childcare professionals have more moments in the day to dedicate to their children’s development – as well as a greater opportunity to enjoy a work-life balance in the evenings.

• Alleviate the admin burden

In the EY sector, it’s no secret that there’s a lot of daily paperwork – whether it’s bookings, registers, or updating child records. Our app typically saves childcare providers up to 15 days per year on admin tasks alone – helping them to feel more fulfilled and happier in their job, as well as improve the profitability of their setting’s business model.

• Engage quickly and easily with parents

Practitioners can invite their children’s parents to join ParentZone – our award-winning parental communication app accessed by over 400,000 registered users. It allows staff to share real-time learning updates – including events, observations, and moments – throughout the day.

EY educators can also use the technology to directly communicate important announcements with parents – helping to improve practitioner-parent interaction and extend learning outside the childcare setting and into the home, actively involving parents in their little one’s education journey.

• Benefit from greater data security

As well as hosting all your children’s information in one place, childminders can have peace of mind that the details stored inside the app are secure. When records are kept on paper, for example, it’s more difficult to tell if something is missing and it may not be spotted immediately. With foundations, records can only be accessed and changed by authorised users.

If you’re thinking about taking the plunge into digitising your childcare setting or your current technology isn’t working quite right for you, Get Started Free on the foundation’s app today.