Keeping whānau close

As COVID continues to creep into our communities, all of our lives are changing – and that includes the way that we engage with whānau, and also how they ‘shop’ for early childhood services.

Like so many other aspects of life, kindergarten connections are increasingly going digital – which can be limiting, but also create opportunities to reach whānau, and stay in touch with them, in new ways.

The physical distance we need to keep with manuhiri to our services right now runs counter to so much of the kindergarten tikanga, and it can be hard for whānau to get a feel for the kindergarten experience.

Kidsfirst Maniototo head teacher, Deb McNally, looks for ways to communicate that are already familiar to families.

“It’s a matter of connecting with people where and when is best for them,” Deb says. “For some that’s Educa, others follow the Kidsfirst Facebook page. Whānau today often like things like the immediacy of a message or phone call – they don’t always want to be going back and forward on email.”

Deb says the extra steps needed to keep somebody connected can be small, and lots of time can be saved by re-using existing resources.

“Just last night, I added the link to the most recent COVID post on the Kidsfirst Facebook page to a message on Educa,” Deb says. “We don’t have to do everything from scratch – sometimes it’s just a matter of sharing something with a quick personal comment.”

Maintaining face-to-face connection as safely as possible is key. And sometimes, it’s the little conversations that can make a big difference.

“Talking to people at drop off and pick-up, there’s a real sense that people are always interested in our rolls. Parents are very motivated to keep the numbers up, and they want to help. They will often ask, 'How are your rolls? I’ve got a friend I’d like to introduce you to.'

Parents are your best advocate, and for us that really is true. People might be making an inquiry online, but they’ve actually already talked to their friends, and then they get messages from several channels. They want their friends' kids to come, too. And that makes sense – it’s a bit scary to go somewhere you’ve never been before.”

“If it’s your first child, you might not be confident, and we understand, as a parent, that's a big trust thing. It’s important to have that relationship, so we can understand how people communicate, but also what they want for their children, they can feel happy to tell us that.”

Face-to-face time can be fleeting at times like these, so Deb and her team have found new ways to maintain the links between home and kindergarten.

“We make sure we still talk to them where we can so they still get that teacher time, and we put pictures at the drop off area about what we’ve been doing so we keep up a sense of connection.”

Deb looks for opportunities to stay in touch, but says she is careful to think about how messages are landing.

“Especially right now, we don’t want to put additional pressure on people. We just want to keep in touch, and say, 'we’re thinking about you.' It can be as simple as a text message, or checking in at the gate at pick up and drop off time. One of the most important things is the feeling whānau get when they interact with us. Even if it’s fleeting – as it so often is right now – we want people to feel welcome, that we’re friendly, and that we have them and their child top of mind. You want them to say 'I went to kindy, and the teachers are awesome, and they’re all so friendly, I felt so welcomed there.'”

Manager, Business Development for Kidsfirst, Jenny Pitama, echoes Deb’s sentiments, and it’s almost word for word.

“We say - ‘You’re Always Welcome Here’. It’s a phrase that came out of one of our Marketing Working Party meetings, and it has stuck. There’s so much in those four words that captures the kindergarten experience, and now, more than ever, it’s so important to keep them alive.”

Jenny says kindergartens are doing a fantastic job of translating the quintessential kindergarten welcome into the digital realm.

“We’ve got teaching teams doing Zoom or FaceTime tours, so prospective whānau can take a look around – it’s a really personal way of bringing them into the space and giving them a feel for it when people can’t physically be there. It’s so much more powerful than an email or PDF attachment can ever be, and highlight the thing that whānau tells us matter the most – the relationship they have with kaiako, our amazing outdoor spaces, and the professionalism and integrity of our teams and the organisation.”

Want to shake things up a bit? With COVID changing the ways we work and interact in so many parts of our lives, it’s the perfect time to get the team together and think about ways to get – and stay – engaged.

• Think about all the ‘touch points’ that prospective and existing whānau come into contact with in their interactions with your kindergarten, and identify any that might not work so well with COVID. Have a think about new ways of doing those things, and give it a go.

• Make use of rauemi ipurangi – existing resources – to ease your workload and share valuable information with whānau. The Whānau Connect section of our website is packed with kaiako wisdom on a rage of topics that highlight what is special about kindergarten, and help prospective families understand how it is different to other forms of ECE.

• Get to know prospective whānau as well as you can – find out what’s important to them, and also how they’d like to stay in touch. Just adapting your communication style can sometimes make all the difference to how welcome people feel.

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