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The teachers and staff in your childcare program juggle many responsibilities—from caring for children and communicating with families to planning lessons, tracking progress, and keeping your program running smoothly. A well-crafted childcare employee handbook is a vital resource that clearly outlines expectations, responsibilities, policies, and benefits for your team. With a thoughtfully designed handbook, you can foster a positive work environment, empower your employees, and build a thriving childcare program.
In this article, we’ll explain how to write a childcare employee handbook, what sections to include, and provide templates to help you create your own.
Staff Handbook Template for Early Education Programs
Use this free template to create a childcare employee handbook that your staff can reference.
What is an employee handbook?
An employee handbook is a thorough, in-depth record of what all staff members need to know to be effective employees of your childcare business. It acts as a support tool for orientation and onboarding and a resource guide for ongoing daily use after training. Providing it in written form helps new staff quickly familiarize themselves with the content and retain it for the future. A handbook reinforces the standards of your business to ensure they’re consistently upheld by every employee.
A childcare staff handbook will generally include all company policies and procedures, employee expectations and requirements, employer benefits, and general rules. For childcare providers, this may include details on providing care, staff-to-child ratios, communication with families, and more. This will differ from your handbook for families, which lays out all the information families need to understand about your program.
Why your childcare employee handbook matters
A childcare employee handbook is more than just a set of policies—it’s the foundation for a well‑run childcare program. It helps new staff quickly understand your program's mission, values, and expectations, while providing current employees with a clear reference for procedures, benefits, and workplace standards.
By outlining everything from safety protocols to communication guidelines, your handbook reduces confusion, promotes consistency, and supports compliance with state and local regulations. Ultimately, a strong childcare employee handbook fosters trust, improves team morale, and ensures every staff member is equipped to deliver high‑quality care.
What to include in a childcare employee handbook
To create the best possible employee handbook for childcare programs, it must include and cover the essential parts of your business. You can tailor it to your unique circumstances, but there are still universal sections to include.
To write a childcare employee handbook, first, establish your audience. Understand who you’re writing this handbook for. You may have employees who care for children, assistants who complete administrative duties, facility managers who take care of the building, and other staff members.
Your handbook needs to address all of them and include the following sections:
1. Welcome and mission statement
2. Employment at your center
3. Employment policies and procedures
4. Professional and ethical conduct
5. Professional growth and development
6. Employee disciplinary policy
7. Philosophy and curriculum
8. Expectations for working with children and families
9. Childcare practices
10. Health and safety practices and policies
11. Classroom maintenance and procedures
12. Emergency procedures
13. Volunteers/student teachers
14. Acknowledgment
1. Welcome and mission statement
The introduction section of your handbook includes a welcome note for staff and provides basic information about your childcare business, such as the history, current executive leadership, and childcare philosophy. Also, include a mission statement detailing the business's purpose and a follow-up paragraph on how the handbook serves that mission. This section can also have a table of contents or brief description about information in the rest of the handbook.
2. Employment at your program
Give an overview of information regarding employment at your program. Include any base requirements to qualify for employment, such as age, education, or health clearance and vaccinations. Also, add any employment policies regarding things like non-discrimination and non-harassment policies, at-will status, ADA compliance, and more.
A tool like brightwheel’s center management feature can streamline your staff records, giving you easy access to contact and health information and training hours and certifications.
Brightwheel keeps my day running smoothly. You know what is happening at your center every single day. It keeps things seamless so you have more time to focus on the things you want to focus on." Alyssa D., Executive Director of McNeilly Center for Children in Nashville, TN
Parent communication has drastically improved thanks to brightwheel. Parents are more in tune with what’s going on at school, so they’re more responsive. Because brightwheel is easy and quick to use for everybody.” Cally B. Assistant Director at MBCC Journey in Birmingham, AL
3. Employment policies and procedures
Provide information on what employees can expect about working at your program and procedures for things like requesting time off or taking a leave of absence. Include specific information about work schedules, breaks and meal periods, and paydays. It is also important to outline your policies around overtime, vacation time, leaves of absence, and benefits eligibility.
4. Professional and ethical conduct
Working with families and children makes proper conduct especially important. This section summarizes all information about interacting with children, families, other employees, the program's property, documents, records, and files. You may have policies for social media, dress code, photography, security, privacy, attendance, and more.
5. Professional growth and development
In this section, include everything your program does to support employees' success. For example, detail the onboarding and training process for new hires as well as any special events where their attendance is required like professional development or in-service days, fundraisers, or family-teacher conferences. This section can also include your policy on staff supervision and evaluations and continuing education that is available to your employees.
6. Employee disciplinary policy
Clearly lay out what actions are grounds for discipline or termination. Add the procedure for termination, receiving a final paycheck, and conducting an exit interview. Terms for voluntary termination can also be included here.
7. Philosophy and curriculum
Write a detailed description of the philosophy of your childcare program. Describe how you want the environment of your program to feel for your staff, children, and families. This section can also summarize your program’s approach to the curriculum and the developmental and educational basics that your program teaches.
8. Expectations for working with children and families
This section includes your expectations for how employees will manage various situations that will arise while working at your program. Describe procedures for staff regarding conflict resolution, communicating with families, recording observations and assessing children, and guidelines to keep children safe when playing on a playground or in water. Also, add information on mandated reporters and your program's specific procedures for suspected abuse or neglect.
9. Childcare practices
Use this section for guidelines of staff responsibilities that are consistent parts of child care. Things like mealtime, nap time, diapering, and toilet training are a few examples of what to include. Use resources provided by your state to inform these guidelines and ensure they are compliant.
10. Health and safety practices and policies
It is up to your staff to keep themselves and the children healthy and safe. Include all of your practices and policies for reducing the spread of illnesses and bacteria and avoiding potential injury in this section. These may be rules for daily health screenings, cleaning and disinfecting, handwashing, and handling food. This section can also cover your daycare sick policy, medication administration procedures, and how to fill out an incident report.
With brightwheel's childcare incident reports feature, make it easy for staff to log incidents directly in the app as they happen. Provide your staff with digital incident report templates so it's easy to follow your reporting procedures. This can save your employees time and allow them to instantly update families and other staff members if an incident occurs at your program.
11. Classroom maintenance and procedures
Keeping your physical facility in proper condition is important for maintaining the quality and safety of your childcare program. Include your center's opening and closing procedures as well as daily cleaning routines for your staff. Add checklists that staff can reference for these daily tasks.
12. Emergency procedures
Provide thorough instructions for staff in case of different emergencies. Your emergency preparedness plan can keep staff and children safe before, during, and after an emergency and reduce risks before they happen. Examples include what to do in the event of medical and non-medical emergencies, evacuations, and lock-down procedures.
13. Volunteers/student teachers
Any volunteers or student teachers that may work in your program must also follow guidelines for child care. For instance, volunteers or student teachers may require supervision from a staff member when watching children. Also include specific qualifications or training requirements for volunteers or student teachers.
14. Acknowledgement
In this section, provide space for staff members to acknowledge that they have received a copy of the handbook and have read and understand its contents. Include a line for their printed name, signature, and date. You can make this a perforated page to be torn out and kept for your records.
Free childcare employee handbook templates
Below are examples of general employee handbook templates that you can customize for your childcare program. Use these as a starting point or as inspiration to create a handbook that reflects your program's unique policies, culture, and compliance needs.
Valve employee handbook
Valve is a software company whose primary focus is creating PC games. They’ve published an employee handbook that provides a great example of engaging with and showcasing a company culture within the pages. It offers a detailed timeline of the company’s history, engaging illustrations, and even a step-by-step guide for how to use certain office equipment. It’s largely focused on an employee’s early days but also provides information about Valve that will be helpful once they’re no longer in training.
Trello employee manual
Trello is a task management software company. Their handbook is built on the software that they offer. This makes it very user-friendly and a strong representation of the business. This is a great example of how to organize an employee handbook. The software makes it easy to read and simplifies information that could be overwhelming or hard to understand. It features a variety of categories that make it easy to follow through from beginning to end or go back to specific sections.
GitLab staff handbook
GitLab is a software platform company whose handbook is built into web pages. Structuring it this way makes it easy to navigate, search for specific sections, and digest over 2,000 pages of text. It gives each employee audience its own handbook within the larger handbook and tags who in the company is responsible for different sections. Since this is a clickable handbook, it also includes links to where employees can suggest improvements to the handbook and ask questions about its contents. It also links to a separate internal handbook with more specific information for employees to access.
How to update and maintain your childcare employee handbook
Keeping your childcare employee handbook current ensures it remains a useful and compliant resource for your team. Laws, licensing requirements, and internal policies can change—so your handbook should evolve alongside them. Follow these best practices to keep it up to date:
Review regularly
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Annual review: Schedule a yearly review to check for changes in childcare licensing rules, employment laws, and program policies.
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Mid‑year check‑ins: Consider a mid‑year update if your program experiences significant operational changes.
Monitor regulation changes
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Stay informed about local, state, and federal childcare regulations.
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Subscribe to licensing authority newsletters or join childcare associations for updates.
Document policy changes immediately
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Update the handbook as soon as new policies are approved.
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Avoid waiting until the annual review if changes affect safety, benefits, or compliance.
Communicate updates to staff
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Notify employees of any revisions right away—via email, staff meetings, or your staff portal.
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For major changes, request that staff sign an acknowledgment form confirming they’ve read and understood the updates.
Keep both digital and printed versions current
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Replace outdated printed copies and update files in your staff portal or shared drive.
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Clearly label the latest version with a date so staff can verify they’re using the most current handbook.
Store past versions for reference
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Archive old versions for legal and operational reference.
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Maintain records of when updates occurred and which policies were affected.
Employee handbook FAQ
What should be included in a childcare employee handbook?
A childcare employee handbook should outline your program's mission and values, staff roles and responsibilities, daily schedules, health and safety protocols, child supervision guidelines, communication policies, and expectations for professional conduct. It should also include information on benefits, time-off policies, pay schedules, and any procedures required by licensing authorities.
Are childcare employee handbooks legally binding?
No. Childcare employee handbooks are not legally binding documents, even if an employee signs them to acknowledge receipt. They are meant to communicate policies, expectations, and procedures—not to serve as enforceable contracts.
Is a childcare employee handbook a contract?
No. Agreeing to work at your childcare program means the employee accepts the standards, policies, and rules outlined in the handbook. However, the handbook itself is considered a guidance and reference tool, not a legal contract of employment. Its primary role is to help staff understand how to succeed in your program.
Are childcare employee handbooks required by law?
In most cases, there is no federal or state law requiring a childcare employee handbook. However, some local jurisdictions may mandate certain policies be documented and shared with staff. Additionally, stakeholders, investors, licensing agencies, or a parent company may require a formal handbook.
Even when not legally required, it’s in your best interest to have one. A handbook helps prevent misunderstandings, supports compliance, and provides a central place for legally required notices—such as meal and rest breaks, benefits, pay policies, and safety guidelines.
How long should a childcare employee handbook be?
Your childcare employee handbook can be as long as necessary to clearly communicate essential policies, procedures, and expectations to your staff. Some programs need just a few pages, while others require a more comprehensive document.
How often can a childcare employee handbook be updated?
Review your handbook at least once a year to ensure it reflects current laws, licensing requirements, and your program policies. Notify employees immediately about any changes. For significant updates—such as policy changes affecting safety, pay, or benefits—consider asking staff to sign an acknowledgment form to confirm they’ve reviewed the revisions.
Can a childcare employee handbook be shared digitally?
Yes. Many programs now provide their childcare employee handbook in digital formats such as PDFs or through secure staff portals. A digital version makes it easy to update policies, share links to relevant resources, and ensure staff always have access to the most current version. However, be sure to maintain a process for employees to acknowledge receipt and understanding—whether electronically or in writing.
Customize your childcare employee handbook
Crafting an effective childcare employee handbook is a crucial step in fostering a productive and harmonious work environment at your childcare program. By addressing the critical aspects of employment at your program and outlining important policies and procedures, you can provide your employees with the guidance and clarity they need to excel in their roles.
A well-crafted childcare staff handbook not only ensures that your program operates efficiently but also instills confidence in your team members, empowering them to perform their duties effectively. A comprehensive employee handbook will become an invaluable resource for all your employees, contributing to the overall success and growth of your childcare business.
Brightwheel is the complete solution for early education providers, enabling you to streamline your center’s operations and build a stand-out reputation. Brightwheel connects the most critical aspects of running your center—including sign in and out, parent communications, tuition billing, and licensing and compliance—in one easy-to-use tool, along with providing best-in-class customer support and coaching. Brightwheel is trusted by thousands of early education centers and millions of parents. Learn more at mybrightwheel.com.
