Playground Reviews

Playground to the rescue

Comments: Wonderful experience from the start

Pros:

I love how responsive the Playground staff are

Cons:

The only thing is that when a parent goes to compose a message they can see names of all enrolled students and staff

So Glad I Made the Change!

Comments: Wonderful! They have been extremely helpful and it does so much in this one program!

Pros:

That EVERYTHING is in one program! How GREAT their customer service is and that they spent time with me walking me through how to do important things and even did a lot of it for me!!

Cons:

I haven't found anything. Anything that I might have liked better in another program, I just sent to their team and hope it helps them create something even better.

Overhyped but Underachieved

Comments: So far it has been marginal at best, but it has a lot of features that are good ideas but not well thought out or executed. Playground is on the right track but needs to partner with high quality early learning centers that really use technology to operate their programs and would be able to give more insight on how they could potentially improve the platform. Children of Joy would love to do it because I see the potential in Playground and that's why I made the switch from a 30+ year established system and brand like Procare to a brand new company, relative to Procare, like Playground. I believe over time Playground will make the necessary adjustments that will put them in the lead as the number 1 recommended CCMS platform.

Pros:

I like the idea of it being an all inclusive platform for the childcare industry.

Cons:

The intuitiveness of the platform is subpar compared to Procare. The interface is lacking in esthetics and its just not a very comprehensive system to use. Expense feature is able to deliver on syncing my bank transactions.

Great app and customer service - listens to requests!

Comments: Overall I love Playground, like I said earlier the customer service is the best I have experienced anywhere! For me the customer service experience supercedes anything that I want improved but they take suggestions and actually do change things if there are enough suggestions!

Pros:

I like the customer service and helpfulness of the staff when help is needed! I have used other platforms and this is by far the most user friendly! I love that they listen to suggestions for improvement and actually do things to change it!

Cons:

Honestly I don't have any real issues with Playground so if I have to choose something, it would have to be the billing portion as it is less friendly than other apps when you need to adjust the billing plan.

The features are Incredible!

Comments: So far, they have been EXTREMELY helpful and accommodating, going out of their way to answer my questions and look into adding some features. I love the one-on-one where we have video chat check-ins to see how I'm doing and if I have any questions.

Pros:

There are so many features that are useful, some do not pertain to me, but I'm not burdened having to go through them.

Cons:

It can be a little overwhelming, BUT see my description of the overall experience.

Playground is effective, helpful, and easy to use!

Comments: My overall experience has been very positive! I appreciate the attention to detail provided by the Playground team- it was so helpful that onboarding was thorough, and I have had quick responses any time I have a question. I am able to access communications and administrative functions easily and clearly.

Pros:

Ease of use! We are able to easily communicate to families of children in our care. The ability to send photos is a great way to send evidence of learning home each day. I also really like how easy billing is through the Playground system.

Cons:

Occasionally I have trouble remembering where some features are/have to search the help center to remember how to use certain functions.

Excellent Experience with Playground App

Comments: My experience with Playground has been nothing but excellent. I truly appreciate how responsive and helpful the Playground staff is whenever assistance is needed. I’m also glad this app is being utilized by our administrative staff—it’s a fantastic tool for communication and organization!

Pros:

I love how user-friendly this tool is! It provides a wonderful way for parents and the school to stay connected, and it’s incredibly convenient for handling tuition payments. In addition, the staff at Playground are incredibly attentive and always available to assist when needed.

Cons:

So far, there isn’t anything we dislike about Playground. It’s been a great experience overall!

Playground App is good

Pros:

Great app, easy to use, and a wonderful team!

Cons:

It would be great if we could see when parents open and read our messages!

luv n share

Comments: I love it i enjoy it i can commutation with the parents better

Pros:

parents can fill out the paperwork online

Cons:

n/a the price is a little experience other then that its good

Care free person

Comments: So far so good with a few hang ups and understanding missed read

Pros:

Helping me keep everything in line withpayroll and students and myself.

Cons:

Have not found any yet have not been all the way through the program

Playground works with the educator in mind.

Comments: I came from 10 years of using a different app and heard this was the app I should be using from colleagues so I switched. When I was confused I was able to connect with playground staff within 24 hours (usually within 15 minutes on the chat function of the app. They want to make it the best app, and they work hard to make both the app and their customer service top notch. I’m so glad I joined the playground family!

Pros:

The customer service! They are constantly working to make it better and more helpful. I especially think it’s great that you can schedule times where they can help you learn a part of the program. [sensitive content hidden] is fabulous!

Cons:

I wish it connected to food program, but I know that it is something that they are working on. I wish that using the playground pay service was available with the turnaround that was quicker such as PayPal or bank transfer. I don’t use it because I can’t afford to wait for payment.

I always talk to my colleagues about Playground!!

Comments: I am excited about playground because I find myslef actually using it. I am hoping to give the document aspect a try again and possible finding a middle ground for adding the bookkeeping part of our childcare. I would love to be able to add my own bank and it be a tab where I can organize my expenses. Playground is so close to being a one stop shop.

Pros:

All in one software. It is extremely customizable. Customer service is prompt. When you book with [sensitive content hidden] she knows the software really well and she know exactly what you are talking about even if you do not know what you are asking.

Cons:

I do think there is a learning curve. It is vastly different than anything i have ever used. I am positive one time a document was deleted that a parent filled out so I am concerned about using the document part as I do not want to bug parents to refill out the long forms. I wish there was an option to only send documents to only one student instead of it having to send to everyone. I have also been told wrong information from the chat box. I had to book a session with [sensitive content hidden] and she was able to show me exactly what do to. I am grateful for her.

Playground is great!

Comments: Playground was a very good choice to change over to. I have really enjoyed using this platform.

Pros:

Everything is so easy to use and if you have any issues the support team is very quick to respond.

Cons:

Sometimes the teachers can not upload videos and they will send them to me and I will have to upload them.

One place for everything

Comments: Overall the experience I have had with the Playground employees have been excellent. [sensitive content hidden] was great helping me get all set up and has been great when I need additional help. [sensitive content hidden] is great on the chat is has been able to help me immediately when I have any issues.

Pros:

Very user friendly, for a early childhood educator that is also a business owner it is so helpful to have all the bookkeeping and tracking in one place.

Cons:

Only con is can find so far is there is not a place for visitors to sign in. I continue to have a paper log.

Making bookkeeping easier

Comments: It’s been great for my small In home daycare, it could work for small or large daycare businesses

Pros:

I like the billing features of playground, keeping track of books and schedules all in one place

Cons:

When you make a post it doesn’t tell you who has seen it so when I post about closing dates I am nervous some parents haven’t seen it

Review of Playground 2024

Comments: So far it has been a great experience. [sensitive content hidden] is AMAZING! I am thankful for her and her ability to help me problem solve without making it seem like a hassle for her. Can't say enough great things about her!

Pros:

I love that everything I need to help run my business is in one location. It is nice to have all that info available to the parents as well.

Cons:

I wish there were more options available in the mobile portion.

Excited to use a new system

Comments: I have enjoyed my experience and I am looking forward to learning more about the app to make things easier for our program.

Pros:

I appreciate the fast responses to questions, specially when onboarding. Loved that it took the pressure off the [sensitive content hidden] and if parents have questions they reach out to your staff directly.

Cons:

There are many classes, and programs and sometimes not quite sure which is the overarching place where to enroll children as you can find them in so many different places.

Playground is a big help to a busy early childcare program

Comments: It's been great. The transition from a lesser quality to this one has been like going from an old flip phone to the latest Iphone. I love it.

Pros:

I love all the features of playground. I use the chat, feed, invoicing, attendance, lesson planning, and on my way features the most.

Cons:

I wish the OMY feature was a permanent button on main screen. That is my ONLY GRIPE.

My experience

Comments: It is fantastic, The beginning of starting up was exciting getting to learn about how to use the app and as I'm still learning there is many cool things to use.

Pros:

I love how quick and responsive the team is to get to my questions and concerns.

Cons:

Sometimes the app glitches and fixes itself if i close the whole program down.

Apple Daycare Playground

Comments: I really like the ease of it. It was easy to jump in and take over our old ways.

Pros:

It was easy to figure out and jump right in

Cons:

The parent portion, if it doesn't work right for them, how to fix

Loving Playground

Pros:

This platform is not only easy to use as an administrator but our families love how easy it is to start using. We love the ease of communicating with parents and staff and that we have options of using Playground for Payroll and Expense tracking.

Cons:

As a cooperative preschool, we would love to be able to have options that work with the way out parents are involved in the running of our school and tracking the hours they work at the school.

Join Playground Today! You won't go back to anything else!

Comments: It has been an amazing program for my business. It eliminates a lot of paperwork back and forth, the ease of fillable PDFs and uploading paperwork such as signed contracts.

Pros:

Ease of communication with families and it has become an essential part of my business!

Cons:

Having to wait for all of the amazing new integrations they're working on implementing!

Overall Satisfied

Comments: Customer service has been excellent—very quick to respond and helpful!

Pros:

Ability to refund families, electronic paperwork, calendar for menu and lesson plans, chat features, staff request off function

Cons:

Payment isn’t next day and takes 1-3 days, you’re only able to cash out payments two days per week, staff cannot view each others documentation

The best platform yet!

Pros:

I like the ease of the onboarding process and operation. I love the accessibility of the customer service representatives.

Cons:

Honestly, I appreciate everything about it.

AMAZING APP!

Pros:

I love how user friendly this app is regardless of how well you know technology. The lay out looks like a social media page which is awesome.

Cons:

Sometimes my page freezes and I am not sure why. I will exit the app and move on and it will be fine.