Childcare Provider and School Apps: Do You Know Exactly What You Have Signed Up For?
- Kirra Pendergast
- Jan 30, 2023
- 12 min read
Updated: Mar 20
As a parent, especially new parents, we go through many emotions. Handing our children over to be cared for whilst we attend to working or other life commitments can be daunting and sometimes even terrifying. We worry about whether they will get the same care and attention we give them or what will happen if they get sick or hurt.
Local community social media groups frequently feature callouts from parents asking for recommendations for the best childcare centre, or sometimes advice on which ones to avoid. Many centres are recommended based on the use of their centre App, and how engaged the service is, with the App keeping you up to date on everything your child is doing during the day.
The App, you will be told, makes life so much easier. You’ll be sold on how much information is put into it. General newsletters, the weekly menu, photos of your child, observations, and reflections, you’ll know just how much they slept and ate and all about their toilet habits.
App and software developers have seen the benefit of creating childcare (and school) Apps. The industry is lucrative and seemingly has an infinite future supply of user accounts. According to the Australian Government Department of Education, the most recent data published in the September quarter of 2021, 1,398,050 children attended a childcare service. As our population grows and our economy continues to change, this number will only increase yearly.
When we as adults download an App, we consent to the Terms and Conditions, whether we read them or not, and honestly, how many people really read the fine print?
