With the New Starters messaging feature, upcoming parents can access a personalized welcome screen in the Famly app before their child's first day. This gives them a clear way to reach out with any questions and helps them start building a connection with your center early on.
How Your New Starter Messaging Team Works
Parents who are enrolled but haven't yet started at your center will see a New Starter widget on their Famly app homepage. This includes:
A personalized welcome message
A list of core contacts, such as the center director or other assigned staff
A Get in contact button that opens a simple messaging screen
Quick-select reasons for contacting the center
A view of the center's newsfeed so they can feel included from day one
What Can Parents Contact the Center About?
When parents click Get in contact, they can select from the following topics:
Health and wellbeing
Status of enrollment
Funding and pricing
Request a meeting
Change of circumstances
General inquiry
Configuring the Messaging Team
You can manage which staff members receive and reply to messages from new starter parents. Typically this will be the center director or onboarding team.
To set this up:
Go to Settings → Messaging → New Starters Messaging Team
Select the staff members who should receive new starter messages
Update the team as needed for staff changes, time off, or illness
A few things to keep in mind:
Messages from parents create a group chat with the staff selected at the time the message is sent
Updating your team later does not change existing chats. Original chats remain with the staff who were selected when the conversation started, and new chats will include the updated team
💡 Make sure your messaging team is set up before letting families know about the feature, so communication runs smoothly from the start
What Will New Parents See?
Center Newsfeed
Parents can see and react to posts shared by the center even before their child starts.
Welcome Widget
A clear prompt on the home screen with a warm welcome message and a Get in contact button.
Contact Screen
A simple screen where parents select a reason for contacting the center and write their message, keeping communication quick and clear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can parents contact the center before their start date?
Yes. The feature is designed to help families feel connected and confident from enrollment onwards.
Can parents choose who to message?
No. Parents contact the onboarding team as a whole. Individual staff members cannot be contacted separately.
Can we customize the contact reasons?
Not at this stage. The list of reasons is fixed to keep communication consistent.
What if I haven't set up a New Starters Messaging Team yet?
Parents won't see a Get in contact button or any staff contacts until your team has been configured.