A bumper start to the year

The peak New Year marketing period has come to an end – and now the mahi of converting the waitlist children to enrolments begins.

For those kindergartens that are full, the big focus is on keeping people on waitlists, engaging with them regularly, and bringing them into our Kidsfirst whānau. January and February saw some of the strongest interest we have seen since the pre-COVID days, but there is a lot of competition out there, and it’s easy for whānau who are waiting on a space to be captured by the more commercial providers who are very active and have deep marketing pockets.

There are more families waiting longer, and we’re seeing strong interest from those not even eligible to start kindergarten yet. Keeping them engaged can be a challenge, so please take every opportunity you can to reach out and remind them they are always welcome and kindergarten. Don’t forget that Stay and Play, too, offers great opportunities to get and keep prospective whānau connected.

If you’re looking for some ideas on getting that waitlist moving, or you’d like to know more about how Stay and Play could help your kindergarten raise its profile and grow community connections, email jenny.pitama@kidsfirst.org.nz.

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