Shift planning and staffing ratios in daycare
The rota looks finished – until Tuesday morning, when two staff members are off sick and one family brings their child in an hour earlier than they said.
In a daycare, shift planning means constantly balancing two things that keep changing: which children are there, and which staff are at work.
Staffing ratios tie the two together. The exact rules depend on the country and region you operate in, but the number of staff needed usually depends on the children's ages, and often on how long they attend each day. Children also arrive and leave at different times. So the same group may need different staffing in the morning, at midday and in the afternoon. That's why it pays to see the ratio in advance.
Three questions for shift planning
- Will we have enough staff next week? To answer this, you need to know when the children are coming. That's why care times booked in advance are the starting point for shift planning.
- Do we have enough staff right now? The plan changes when someone falls ill or a child arrives early. Then you need up-to-date attendance information.
- How much work was actually done? At the end of the month, working hours need to reach payroll without anyone collecting slips of paper.
How VakaCloud helps
In advance. Parents book care times in the app, and VakaCloud shows in advance whether your staffing ratio will be met. The ratio rules can be set to match the local regulations that apply to you. Shift planning is in the same system as care times and staffing ratios.
In real time. The arrivals and departures of children and staff are checked in with Täppi tags, and the list of who is present updates in real time. The reader is an Android phone with NFC. The ratio is based on the children and staff who are present, and you see the situation at a glance.
Read more: Daycare attendance tracking
Afterwards. The VakaCloud HR timecard records staff working hours, and they can be exported to payroll. The care-hour report helps with resourcing when you plan the coming weeks. The same care-time data also feeds invoicing, whether you charge by actual hours or a fixed monthly fee.
So staff working hours, shifts and staffing ratios are all in one place.
When someone calls in sick in the morning
Every manager knows the early-morning sick call. Because care times were booked in advance, the ratio was already taken into account when the shifts were planned. You know how many children are coming and when. So you don't have to guess whether you need a substitute – you can decide based on the facts.
Tips for shift planning
These apply whichever system you use:
- Ask for care times early. The sooner you know when children are coming, the fewer shifts you have to change later.
- Look at the whole day, not just midday. Check the ratio for the early and late hours too, when children are still arriving or waiting to be picked up.
- Plan for sick days. Agree in advance who moves from one group to another and whom you ask first to cover.
- Compare planned with actual. If the same shift overruns week after week, the plan doesn't match reality.
- Record working hours on the same day. Hours pieced together from memory afterwards are easily wrong.
Built on everyday life in early childhood education
We combine technology expertise from the IT sector with a practical understanding of everyday life in early childhood education. Our team also includes an early childhood education expert and pedagogical adviser. Our aim is simple: fewer lists for the manager, and more time for the children and the staff. Meet the team
Frequently asked questions
How do staffing ratios work?
VakaCloud shows in real time and in advance whether your staffing ratio is met, based on the children and staff who are present. The ratio rules can be set to match your local regulations.
Are shift planning and the timecard included in the price?
Yes. Shift planning, the VakaCloud HR timecard and the export of working hours to payroll are included in every package. See pricing
Do staff check in the same way as children?
Yes. Staff arrivals and departures are checked in with Täppi tags.
Can working hours be transferred to payroll?
Yes. Working hours can be exported from the VakaCloud HR timecard to payroll.
How long does onboarding take?
Guided onboarding takes you through setup step by step. Staff, groups and children are in the system in about an hour, and you can start using it the same day.
See staffing ratios in action
We'd be happy to show you in 15 minutes how shifts, attendance and staffing ratios work together.