You need to keep it simple to nail excellent communication between your nursery parents and your team.
Our expert advice? Do less, better.
Now, this may feel like going against the grain when modern-day methods of communication encourage us to do more of everything.
Effective nursery-home communication should make interactions with parents easier. If it doesn’t, then these simple changes to how you communicate with parents will be revolutionary.
In this article, we’ll share how to make parent communication simple and, more importantly, effective.
In this article:
Good communication with parents isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a must.
It goes much further than simply keeping everyone in the loop. Clear, consistent communication is an essential part of safeguarding best practices and protecting your reputation in the local community.
Whether you’re a small team just starting to find your feet or a large nursery looking to fine-tune your approach, we’ll walk you through the strategies, tools, and techniques that help you connect with your nursery families.
What makes nursery-home communication effective?
Your nursery team is busy from start to finish, and adding communication opportunities can seem like the final straw to an already hectic workload.
If that’s your take on communication, then you’re ready to have nursery management software do the heavy lifting for you.
Getting communication right isn’t rocket science, but it does take a clear, consistent approach. Here’s what makes it really work for your children, your parents, and your practitioners:
- Consistent: Everyone gets the same level of communication. Every nursery family can expect a minimum number of ‘touches’ through the nursery week, these professional boundaries can help to build strong home-nursery relationships
- Timely: Parents shouldn’t have to wait weeks for a photo or an update, sharing in the moment matters (within reason, of course!)
- Engaging: Parents love to see their children busy and happy. Prepare practitioners to quickly share photos and video snippets without interrupting their time with the children
- Frequent: Set clear expectations in your welcome pack, parents know how often they can expect an update – with in-app visibility, it’s easy to monitor the regularity of communication between practitioners and parents
- Manageable: Communication shouldn’t overwhelm practitioners or take them away from their main role – it should be a natural, simple part of their day, they may even enjoy adding child observations!
- Informative: Keep everyone in the loop about dates, events, policy tweaks, and more, so no one feels left in the dark
Here’s what exceptional parent communication looks like
It starts with solid foundations
That means making things easier, not busier, for your team.
Aim for a “less, but better” approach. Instead of scattered messages and last-minute reminders, pull everything important into one central place, like a regular newsletter. This is where parents know they’ll find upcoming events, dress-up days, or changes to routines – no surprises, no chasing.
Formatting matters too. Whether it’s a daily diary entry or a quick reminder, your communication should be clear, consistent, and simple to send. Use easy-to-follow templates so practitioners can enter the key info, hit send, and move on, with your nursery software handling the rest.
Case Study One: Elise
Elise is regularly picked up by her mum and dad, they take it in turns depending on their working from home schedule.
Her mum went to drop her off at nursery one morning, and her stomach fell like a stone as she realised all the other children were in fancy dress. She’d missed the memo.
Her morning was then hijacked by rushing around trying to find clothing that would transform Elise into a cavewoman to drop off before her morning meetings, so that Elise would not feel left out.
The verbal reminder Elise’s key worker gave to Dad the evening before had been lost in the wake of a busy post-nursery evening.
How to avoid this:
- Regular updates are shared via nursery software
- Morning reminders to be sent to parents on the day of an event
- A monthly newsletter including all important information and changes to be sent to parents digitally
- A reminder poster in the foyer of the building for all changes of events small and large
Manage parents’ expectations
Great communication isn’t just about what you send – it’s about what parents expect.
From the very first enquiry through to registration, make sure families know what software you use, how often they’ll hear from you, and what kind of updates they’ll receive.
This avoids confusion and sets a professional tone from day one. Ensuring parents are set up with the software in advance of their child starting means those first few days of nursery can be recorded to allay parents’ worries and concerns and help a child to settle in quickly.
Just as importantly, your practitioners should be fully clued up on your communication policies too. That way, everyone’s on the same page and is aware of what is expected of them, too.
Allow two-way communication
We get it – the idea of parents having direct access to key workers or managers might give some nursery leaders the heebie-jeebies.
But when you set clear boundaries and expectations, two-way communication becomes a huge asset. It helps build trust, strengthen relationships, and nip any issues in the bud before they grow.
Remind practitioners to reply during working hours only, and make sure there’s a clear process for escalating any concerning comments and managing upset parents.
By giving parents the option to leave messages or comments via your Parent App, you’re actually reducing the pressure on staff during the chaos of drop-off and pick-up times – no more being cornered at the door for updates!
Great nursery software makes this flexible. You can switch two-way messaging on or off, depending on what suits your setting. But when it’s used well, parents love feeling involved. Features like home observations give them a way to actively contribute to their child’s learning journey, and that sense of partnership goes a long way.
Connecting families
Great nursery communication doesn’t stop at just one parent – it should reach the whole support network.
With tools like Blossom’s Parent App, you can assign more than one parent or carer to a child’s profile, removing the old habit of only the person doing pick-up getting the day’s update. This way, grandparents, co-parents, or anyone with the right permissions can stay informed, connected, and part of the journey.
Safeguarding and privacy come first. Blossom’s system prioritises GDPR compliance and makes it simple to remove access instantly for any contacts who should no longer receive updates. This keeps families safe and your setting protected.
It also means you can confidently share those golden moments – the smiles, milestones, and muddy adventures – with all the people who matter most to the child.
Plus, it’s a great way to keep everyone in the loop about upcoming events like family fun days, so no one misses out on being part of your nursery community.
Communication to support child development
Effective parent partnerships play a vital role in supporting each child’s development. With early identification flagged as a key Ofsted inspection theme for 2025, regular and open dialogue with parents is more important than ever. Strong communication helps practitioners and families work together to spot potential concerns early, track progress, and plan support.
Easy-to-use EYFS tracking and monitoring tools give practitioners a clear foundation for conversations about school readiness, PSED, and core skills like communication and language.
They turn what could be tricky discussions into collaborative, supportive conversations, helping parents feel empowered to continue that development journey at home.
Are you a modern nursery?
In today’s fast-paced world, great nursery communication also means being a modern, accessible setting. Busy families rely on smartphones to stay connected whether they’re checking updates on their lunch break or messaging on the school run.
Having a digital-first approach to communication not only supports parents on the go, it also makes a strong impression from the very first enquiry, helping to boost enrolments and retain happy families long-term.
Blossom’s award-winning Parent App is a must-have for modern nurseries. Making daily updates, messages, observations and event reminders simple, secure, and seamless.
If you’d like a free demo, get in touch with our friendly team.
We’re not just here to show you the software. We’re experts at helping nurseries make a smooth switch from their current system, so you can focus on what matters most: the children.
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