The Feed is Playground's primary tool for engaging with parents, allowing administrators to effortlessly communicate with families. It serves as a comprehensive and user-friendly platform for sending announcements, reminders, newsletters, and more. By streamlining these communications, The Feed helps providers stay connected with the families they serve, ensuring everyone is informed and engaged.
🚨 Post types outside of announcements can only be made from the Playground mobile app. However, all posts can be viewed and managed from the web. Click here to learn more about making posts on mobile.
View the Feed
Navigate to the feed from your Admin Dashboard by clicking Feed from the left sidebar. The feed will open with the most recent posts appearing first, if any have been made.
💡 If a post is Pinned it will appear in orange above the most recent post.
Filter your view of the Feed
The feed can be filtered to view certain posts only. See all filter options below:
Classroom | Filter by the classroom the post was made to. |
Posted by | Filter by the staff member who made the post. |
Post Type | Filter by the type of post (announcement, observation, potty, eating, etc.) |
Approval Status | Filter for posts that have been approved or are waiting to be approved. |
Start at | Filter for posts made after a certain date. |
🚨 Classroom and post-type filters cannot be active at the same time. All other filter types can be stacked with one another.
Follow the steps below to filter the feed:
From your admin dashboard, click Feed from the left sidebar.
Locate the Filters on the right side of your screen.
Select the filters you would like to enable.
If you need to clear your selections, click the blue Reset Filters button.
When you are done selecting filters, click the blue Save button in the top right corner of the Filters section.
The feed will now filter based on your selections.
View the Media Gallery
All photos posted to the Playground feed can be viewed from your media gallery.
From your admin dashboard, click Feed from the left sidebar.
Under the filters section, click Media Gallery.
The media gallery will open, and you can view all photos posted on the Playground Feed.
Click on a photo to view the entire photo. You can download the photo from the single photo view using the download button in the top right corner of the screen. Use the left and right arrows to view other photos.
To return to your feed, click Feed in the top left corner of your screen.
💡 To bulk download photos from The Feed, simply click the blue Bulk Download button. Select the photos you want to download, then click Download Selected. 2The photos will be downloaded as a zip file.
Customize Post Settings and Create Custom Post Types
In the Post Settings, administrators can customize their posts by creating their own post types from scratch and selecting which post types should be displayed.
Custom post types are often used when schools have unique requirements for their injury posts or other standard post types. Admins can create a custom new injury post type and disable the standard Playground one. If you require a parent signature on injury posts, this is a great option for you.
Custom post types can also be used for unique activities, events, or post types that you would like your teachers to have easy access to. We often see schools create custom post types such as "Reading Time" or "Highlight of the Day."
💡 Administrators can choose to have their posts sent in bulk at checkout by changing their general settings. Learn more about your communication settings by clicking here.
Navigate to the Feed tab and click on Post Settings on the right side of your screen.
The next screen will allow you to manage the Default Post Types and create Custom Post Types.
Click on the toggles next to each post type to choose which post types you and your staff can use when creating a post.
Custom post types enable Administrators to create customized post types.
Under Custom Post Types click Add Post Type.
The Icon will appear as the tile image on mobile.
Enter the name of the post under Post Type.
Select from the dropdown menu under Settings. Choosing Individual student details will require specific information for each student while opting for Shared details allows for bulk posting.
For more information on Post details click the drop down below.
Creating a Custom Post from scratch
Creating a Custom Post from scratch
Navigate to the Feed tab.
Click on Post Settings on the right side of your screen.
Click Add Post Type.
Add an icon to be displayed for your custom post.
The icon will appear as the tile image on mobile.
Enter the desired name of the post under Post Type field.
Complete the remaining fields by selecting the necessary details from Step 4 above.
There is more information on each Post detail in the collapsable section below titled Learn more about Post details here.
Click the blue Save option in the top-right of the screen.
The new post type will then be available for admins and staff. Click the toggle next to the new post type to hide it.
Learn more about Post details here
Learn more about Post details here
Allow text: Checking this box will let staff add text to the post
Allow media attachments: Checking this box will enable the ability to add photos and videos
Includes a form: Checking this box allows you to create a form template
Click Edit form to open a window and click Add Question to begin your form
Choose from Text, Single choice, and Multi choice answer formats
Toggle to green to indicate that the question is Required
Editable start/end time: Checking this box will let staff edit the recorded time for posts
Requires admin approval: Checking this box will require these posts made by teachers to get admin approval before going out to parents
Activity post: Checking this box marks this post type as an 'activity' for the 'Schedule activity posts for check-out' center setting
Checked-in students only: Checking this box will require all students for the post to be checked in
Staff acknowledgments: Checking this box will add an 'Acknowledge' button to posts for other staff
Admin only?: Checking this box will only allow staff with admin roles to see this post
Parent signature: Checking this box will add an in-app alert for parents to sign the post as an acknowledgment
Post Announcements to the Feed
Here, you can send announcements, select recipients, schedule send times, create templates, and add attachments. You can also choose to send notifications via the app, email, or SMS. Utilize the filters to refine what you view in your Feed. Below the filters, Administrators can access their media gallery, newsletters, a breakdown of daily engagement, and customize new post types. Explore a detailed breakdown of these features below.
Post an Announcement
Click the edit icon✏️to change the name of the Announcement.
Enabling Rich Text allows you to customize the text formatting.
Click Select Recipients to choose the audience for this post.
Click the paperclip icon to add documents from your desktop.
Click the calendar icon to the schedule post in advance.
Click on the clipboard icon to access saved templates. A window will appear, allowing you to select from the available templates. Click here to learn how to make a template.
Use the Send this dropdown to select your preferred delivery method. You can send notifications using the app, email, or SMS. You can select multiple options simultaneously.
Click Post to send.
Once your post has been added to the feed, you can view the recipients
Tap on the 3 dots on the top right of the post.
Tap View recipients to see all the Guardian and/or Staff who received the post.
💡 SMS messages are 1¢ per text message sent. Texts can be 160 to 1600 characters in length.
Use the Rich Text Editor
The rich text editor allows administrators to enrich their messages with features such as color, links, bold text, headings, and more.
Click the Rich Text toggle to activate it. You'll know it's on when the toggle turns green and a toolbar appears above the text box, as shown above.
Add in messaging and adjust the format as desired. Click Post when ready to send.
Edit Feed Posts
All text in posts can be edited, which is useful for correcting spelling errors or making changes after a post has been published.
🚨 All post types with interactive features, like napping posts that ask if the child was on their back, side, or stomach, can only be edited on mobile. Click here to learn more about editing posts on mobile. However, text can be edited on the web as detailed in the instructions below.
Navigate to the Feed tab of the Admin Dashboard.
Find the post you'd like to edit.
Click the three dots to the right of the post.
Click Edit.
Edit and add in the desired messaging and click Save changes.
Delete a Post from the Feed
After creating a post, you can delete a post if it is no longer necessary or relevant.
🚨Once a post has been deleted, it cannot be recovered.
Navigate to the Feed tab of the Admin Dashboard.
Find the post you'd like to delete.
Click the three dots to the right of the post.
Click Delete.
View Post Recipients
Once your post has been added to the feed, you can view the recipients
Tap on the 3 dots on the top right of the post.
Tap Recipients to see all the Guardian and/or Staff who received the post.
You can also view which notifications were sent from the Recipients window.
Create Post Templates
Creating post templates provides quick access to pre-written messages, saving you time and ensuring consistent and effortless communication with your staff and families.
Navigate to the Administrator Dashboard and go to the Feed tab on the left-hand side. Locate and click on the Templates button on the right-hand side of the Feed.
Next, click the blue Create template button in the top right corner. This action will open the New Template window.
Enter a title for the template and compose the post you wish to save for future use. Once done, click Save template in the bottom right corner.
Return to the Feed tab on the Admin Dashboard and click the clipboard icon.
Choose a template from the dropdown list. The templated post will appear.
Proceed to select your post recipients and choose your preferred method of sending the post.
Finally, click Post to publish your message.
Pin a Post
A pinned post shows up at the top of admin, teachers, and parents feeds in yellow. These are a great way to keep important information accessible and noticeable at all times. All other posts appear below the pinned post in the feed.
💡Only announcement post types can be pinned. The post will only be pinned for the selected recipients. If Wellness Checks are enabled for your center, incomplete wellness checks will automatically be pinned for that date.
From the Admin Dashboard, click on Feed on the left-hand side. Create your announcement or scroll to the announcement you'd like to pin on the feed. Select the three dots to the right of the announcement you'd like to pin and click Pin.
Select the date you'd like to pin the post and click the blue Pin until date button to pin the post.
The post will now appear at the top of the feed in yellow with an orange pin symbol.
If you'd like to unpin a post before the date you selected, click the three dots in the top right of the announcement and click Unpin.
Today's Engagement
The Today's Engagement feature meticulously tracks the number of posts made each day, offering administrators a detailed breakdown of family engagement within their program.
Navigate to the Feed tab of the Admin Dashboard.
Click Today's Engagement on the right side of the screen.
Below is a list of the available tracking metrics.
Average # posts per student today
Students with 3 posts
Classrooms that haven't posted enough
Per classroom breakdown
Posts by staff member
Newsletters
Create and send custom newsletters. Click here to learn more about creating and sharing Newsletters.