As the school year comes to a close, it’s time for educators to prepare for a new cohort of children and families. Whether you’re a seasoned Storypark user, or just getting started, ensuring smooth transitions in Storypark is key to providing continuous, high-quality care and education. Here are some essential tips to help you manage the end-of-year rollover.
Moving children to new rooms
As children grow, they often transition from one room to another. This can be an exciting but challenging time for children, families and educators. You can easily move children across different rooms in Storypark, supporting a seamless transition and continuous learning journey for the child. Children can also have profiles across two rooms for a period of time before, during, and even after the transition period, to allow everyone to get to know each other and support a continuous learning journey for the child. It takes time for children to fully transition into a new room. Having multiple perspectives from both old and new educators and families on a child’s transition helps to build a more comprehensive picture of the child, fosters consistent support and individualized learning, and builds relationships.
Archive old plans and create new ones
At the end of the year, you can archive plans for children who have moved on, and create plans for new children and families. Archiving outdated plans keeps your ‘Open’ plans tab organized and relevant, making it easier to find the plans that you are working on. Your archived plans will remain in the ‘Archived’ tab, allowing you to keep a record of all your previous plans. ‘All About Me’ plans are a great way to welcome and get to know a child and their family, and can continue to be added to by the educators and family over time, and as the child develops and grows new skills and interests. This helps to lay the foundation for strong relationships and is invaluable for understanding each child’s unique needs and interests from the start.
Check permissions for sharing stories
Sharing stories and documentation with other services is a valuable feature in Storypark, that supports the continuity of a child’s learning journey and development. As children transition between services, reviewing and managing permissions can allow the child’s portfolio to travel with them. This continuity helps the child’s new educators understand the child’s history and interests, promoting smoother transitions and more holistic support. If your service and the family would like to share the child’s documentation across different services that use Storypark, you can adjust the child’s profile sharing settings to allow sharing with other services.
Archive children who have left your service
When children leave your service, it’s important to archive their profiles to keep your Storypark environment up-to-date and clutter-free, and to help your focus remain on the children that are currently in your care. Archiving children also frees up space on your subscription, so you can replace them with new children. You can export and save their stories and notes after archiving. Routine records for archived children will continue to stay in Storypark, unless an educator chooses to delete them. This applies even after the child has left your service or their profile has been deleted.
Manage your subscription
Keeping your Storypark subscription in line with the number of child profiles you need is crucial. Review and update your subscription to reflect changes in your enrollment. This also helps in managing costs effectively and ensures that you have enough profiles available for all the children in your care.
Updating your service’s information and documents
Keeping your service’s information up-to-date is especially vital for new families joining your program. Edit or update your service’s ‘About’ information to include current and relevant documents such as intake forms, emergency contact forms, family handbooks, or important policies. Having important forms and documents in one place for families can help them to transition smoothly, and ensure everyone has all of the necessary information to feel informed.
Understanding family access post-service
It’s important to know what families can see after their child’s profile has been removed from your service. Families retain access to their child’s stories, notes and moments, so they have a lasting record of their child’s time with you. However, families won’t see any community posts, plans, or routine information. Understand the difference between community posts, conversations and child notes so you are clear about what information will remain for the family, after they’ve left your service.
What do new families see?
Parent admins are able to manage other family members, access and contribute to their child’s notes and documentation, and access their child’s early learning service’s community discussions. Keep in mind that new parent or family admins will also be able to see community posts that were shared before they joined Storypark. Unlike stories, plans and notes which are linked to specific children, the community space in Storypark is a place that everyone can view.
Why these steps are important
Taking the time to carefully manage the end of year rollover process in Storypark is important for supporting:
- Continuity of care: smooth transitions ensure children continue to receive the support they need without interruption
- Relationship building: personalized plans and updated information help educators to build strong, trusting relationships with new children and families
- Efficiency: keeping your profiles and subscriptions up-to-date makes it easier to focus on providing quality care and education.
By following these tips, you can make the end of year rollover a smooth and seamless process, helping to ensure a positive and welcoming start for everyone.
As the school year comes to a close, it’s time for educators to prepare for a new cohort of children and families. Whether you’re a seasoned Storypark user, or just getting started, ensuring smooth transitions in Storypark is key to providing continuous, high-quality care and education. Here are some essential tips to help you manage the end-of-year rollover.
Moving children to new rooms
As children grow, they often transition from one room to another. This can be an exciting but challenging time for children, families and educators. You can easily move children across different rooms in Storypark, supporting a seamless transition and continuous learning journey for the child. Children can also have profiles across two rooms for a period of time before, during, and even after the transition period, to allow everyone to get to know each other and support a continuous learning journey for the child. It takes time for children to fully transition into a new room. Having multiple perspectives from both old and new educators and families on a child’s transition helps to build a more comprehensive picture of the child, fosters consistent support and individualized learning, and builds relationships.
Archive old plans and create new ones
At the end of the year, you can archive plans for children who have moved on, and create plans for new children and families. Archiving outdated plans keeps your ‘Open’ plans tab organized and relevant, making it easier to find the plans that you are working on. Your archived plans will remain in the ‘Archived’ tab, allowing you to keep a record of all your previous plans. ‘All About Me’ plans are a great way to welcome and get to know a child and their family, and can continue to be added to by the educators and family over time, and as the child develops and grows new skills and interests. This helps to lay the foundation for strong relationships and is invaluable for understanding each child’s unique needs and interests from the start.
Check permissions for sharing stories
Sharing stories and documentation with other services is a valuable feature in Storypark, that supports the continuity of a child’s learning journey and development. As children transition between services, reviewing and managing permissions can allow the child’s portfolio to travel with them. This continuity helps the child’s new educators understand the child’s history and interests, promoting smoother transitions and more holistic support. If your service and the family would like to share the child’s documentation across different services that use Storypark, you can adjust the child’s profile sharing settings to allow sharing with other services.
Archive children who have left your service
When children leave your service, it’s important to archive their profiles to keep your Storypark environment up-to-date and clutter-free, and to help your focus remain on the children that are currently in your care. Archiving children also frees up space on your subscription, so you can replace them with new children. You can export and save their stories and notes after archiving. Routine records for archived children will continue to stay in Storypark, unless an educator chooses to delete them. This applies even after the child has left your service or their profile has been deleted.
Manage your subscription
Keeping your Storypark subscription in line with the number of child profiles you need is crucial. Review and update your subscription to reflect changes in your enrollment. This also helps in managing costs effectively and ensures that you have enough profiles available for all the children in your care.
Updating your service’s information and documents
Keeping your service’s information up-to-date is especially vital for new families joining your program. Edit or update your service’s ‘About’ information to include current and relevant documents such as intake forms, emergency contact forms, family handbooks, or important policies. Having important forms and documents in one place for families can help them to transition smoothly, and ensure everyone has all of the necessary information to feel informed.
Understanding family access post-service
It’s important to know what families can see after their child’s profile has been removed from your service. Families retain access to their child’s stories, notes and moments, so they have a lasting record of their child’s time with you. However, families won’t see any community posts, plans, or routine information. Understand the difference between community posts, conversations and child notes so you are clear about what information will remain for the family, after they’ve left your service.
What do new families see?
Parent admins are able to manage other family members, access and contribute to their child’s notes and documentation, and access their child’s early learning service’s community discussions. Keep in mind that new parent or family admins will also be able to see community posts that were shared before they joined Storypark. Unlike stories, plans and notes which are linked to specific children, the community space in Storypark is a place that everyone can view.
Why these steps are important
Taking the time to carefully manage the end of year rollover process in Storypark is important for supporting:
- Continuity of care: smooth transitions ensure children continue to receive the support they need without interruption
- Relationship building: personalized plans and updated information help educators to build strong, trusting relationships with new children and families
- Efficiency: keeping your profiles and subscriptions up-to-date makes it easier to focus on providing quality care and education.
By following these tips, you can make the end of year rollover a smooth and seamless process, helping to ensure a positive and welcoming start for everyone.