Can a child care survey for parents be fun surprise? It can be if you do it right.
Some surprises are fun, like a classroom birthday celebration. Some surprises are less fun, like a dissatisfied parent sitting down for a conference and erupting into an angry stream of criticism and concern about your program.
When you implement a child care survey or a daycare questionnaire for parents, you'll experience more good surprises and fewer bad ones. When parents feel heard, program satisfaction improves, and your staff will gain opportunities to better adapt their classroom practice.
Here's another good surprise: if you don't yet offer a daycare survey for parents, we invite you to use the free survey below.
Child Care Survey for Parents (or Aftercare Survey for Parents)
Creating a child care survey for parents from scratch can be challenging, but with our free template, it’s easy. Click the image below to download the template for free!
Child Care Survey for Parents Best Practices
As a child care center, you're a part of an important business that 58% of working parents rely on. But to stay competitive, you need to know what parents want. A child care survey for parents can help you determine their feelings about their experiences.
And the best part? The survey will also help you make your child care business more attractive to new parents! So if you're ready to dive in, here are some best practices for your child care survey.
How to Distribute the Child Care Survey for Parents
You must have a solid distribution plan in place to ensure you're reaching out to each parent. While there are multiple ways to distribute surveys, technology is a cost-effective way to ensure all parents receive a form.
Survey Monkey
Survey Monkey is free online survey software that makes it easy to create surveys and share the results. You can create a survey in minutes and share a link to the survey with others via email or social media.
Survey Monkey allows you to analyze your data with visualizations and graphs. You can easily understand what respondents are telling you.
Email Blasts
Email blasts are a great way to get the word out about your survey. Create a message with all the information recipients need to fill out a survey from start to finish.
Keep all instructions short and simple. Even if parents aren't familiar with taking surveys online, they'll still be able to complete your survey.
Print It
Handing out printed surveys is a great way to get feedback from parents who may be uncomfortable or unfamiliar with technology. You can give each parent a copy of the survey when they pick up their child. PTA meetings are also an excellent opportunity to distribute the printed survey.
How You Can Get Parents to Participate in the Survey
Only about one in five parents engage with their child's school. Parents are busy, and you can't expect all of them to take the time out of their day to fill out a survey.
You'll need to make it worth their while. Here are some ways you can get parents involved in your survey:
Show How It Benefits the Child
The survey should be a win-win for everyone involved. It's essential to show parents how the results will benefit their child. This could include things like:
- A better understanding of their child's behavior or development
- Ideas for activities
- Suggestions for improving daycare safety standards
Tell Parents What's in It for Them
It's essential to explain what parents stand to gain by taking the survey. Tell them you care about their opinions and that their feedback is vital.
Consider offering a prize for those who participate. This can be small, like a bumper sticker or a little toy. Be sure to mention the prize in your email about the survey.
Make the Survey Short
When creating your child care survey for parents, keep it short. The shorter the survey, the easier it will be for parents to complete and respond. It's also more likely that you'll receive a higher participation rate.
Use a simple format that makes it easy for parents to understand what information you need from them and where they should enter it.
Be Specific With Your Questions
When creating your survey, make sure each question is clear and specific.
Avoid asking open-ended questions that allow parents to write whatever they want. Instead, ask direct questions that require yes or no answers. You can also let parents select one response from a list of options.
What to Do With the Results
Once you receive your survey results, take time to review them. You can use a spreadsheet or data analysis software to help you make sense of the answers.
See what the common concerns are. This will help you determine which problems you need to address immediately.
Develop a Plan
Once you have your data, the next step is developing a child care center plan. The plan should include several key components:
- A summary of your findings
- Improvement objectives
- An action plan for how to get there
The plan should be flexible enough that you can make adjustments, but it's also important to set specific timelines. For example, if your child care management system is outdated, plan to purchase a new one within the following year.
How to Respond to Any Negative Feedback
If you get negative feedback from your child care survey for parents, don't get defensive. A defensive response is not going to help anyone involved. It could even hurt relationships with other parents, who may feel that you are not taking their concerns seriously. Instead, if you receive negative feedback, try to use it as an opportunity for growth.
Talk to the Parents
As soon as possible, talk to the parents who left negative feedback. Try to meet with them face-to-face or on the phone so you can ask questions and clear up any misunderstandings. You want this relationship to be as positive as possible.
Identify Concrete Ways That You'll Improve
When responding to negative feedback, try to be as specific as possible about how you will improve. For example, if another parent thinks the school needs to introduce technology to its curriculum, you can point out that you plan to do so next semester. Share your lesson plan with them and explain what you will teach and how you will use technology.
You want to show the parents that you are listening and making an effort.
Other Must-Know Information
One of the most important things to remember when conducting your child care survey for parents is to conduct it at least once a semester. This way, you can ensure that any program changes are working.
You should also send the survey at least a week before the deadline. This gives parents adequate time to complete it and return it to you.
Also, don't be afraid to send reminders. If you send the survey and some parents never return it, follow up with a call or email. You want as much feedback as possible.
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