– January 16, 2019
Enrichment Courses, Registration Software, scheduling, payment processes, Program Management, out of school time, online registration, Summer Child Care, summer learning, school-age child care
The best summer child care and enrichment programs start with a well-laid-out plan. Planning in January should give you plenty of time to get your promotion plans and registration process just right. Here are some best practices to promote your summer learning program and get the most out of registration.
Start Promoting Early
Start communicating early that summer programs will be offered. Include detailed descriptions of the programs that will be offered as well as their schedules and pricing. Communicate with parents through school communications, on websites, and flyers in school and community buildings. If possible, have an open house or community meeting to introduce your program offerings to families. This is a great way to get families together and for your program to get immediate feedback on offerings.
Eleyo's Checklist for Planning Your Upcoming Season's Registration
Make Registration Easy
Make registration easy by providing an online mobile-friendly environment for people to register. When the right registration software is used, all the required information can be taken at time of registration. This includes medical forms, emergency contacts and approved pick-up persons, as well as permission slips for media or field trips. The right registration software will also have payments already integrated so that registration fees can be taken immediately—no need for staff to handle cash and checks.
Simplify the Registration Process: Customizable Fields & Questions
Set Expectations
In your communication and on your registration website (or forms if you’re old school), include attendance and payment expectations. Attendance is crucial for children to get the most out of their summer learning session and payments are required to keep a quality program operating. Families need to understand these expectations ahead of time which will save time for your staff when they don’t have to explain expectations later.
Promotion, registration, and communication are all connected. Families cannot sign up for programs they don’t know about, so make sure to promote your summer learning programs. Families will not sign up if it’s too complicated to register, so make sure registration is easy. Expectations need to be communicated before summer learning programs begin so that families and staff understand. Promotion and easy registration processes leads to higher registration numbers. Communicating expectations leads to higher satisfaction with your summer learning program. All are connected to ensure your summer learning program gets off to a great start!
