Consent and release forms are a very important tool for any childcare provider. Having information on each child’s specific circumstances and needs, whether it is known allergies or medications they are receiving, or where their photos can be published, is vital to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children in your care. This can help you look after them, while also protecting you from unnecessary disputes with families. 

In this article, we explore the importance of consent and release forms. Read on for more information on what should be included, and examples of what you can use them for, to support your operations.

What is a consent form?
Why are consent forms important?
What are the main components of a consent form?
What are different types of consent forms?

As a childcare provider, it is important to know what consent and release forms are, and the essential role they play in your relationship with the children and their families. Ultimately, the relationship between a family and a childcare provider is a contractual relationship. Each side expects certain things from the other, sometimes written and sometimes unwritten. 

Parents and families expect that their child will receive the medication they need to stay healthy while in your care, or that photos from their class activities will be sent to them to keep memories for a lifetime. And you, as a childcare provider, should also expect that in caring for the children, you are made fully and clearly aware of the family’s boundaries and each child’s needs. 

So, what is a consent form? Consent and release forms provide additional information and specificity to these expectations. They ensure that both the families and the childcare provider understand the terms and responsibilities that are being agreed to on specific matters of importance: privacy of information including the use of photos and videos; participation in field trips; instructions for medication administration, to name a few. There are also implied and legal responsibilities to care for children.

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Why are consent forms important?

Consent and release forms provide invaluable information to you as a childcare provider, enabling you to care for the children in your facility properly and giving peace of mind to their families. 

So, why are consent forms important for children, families, and you as a childcare provider?

Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children

Consent and release forms cover a wide range of activities: from the publication of photos and videos, the administering of medication or the application of sunscreen, to taking the children off site for field trips. 

Ensuring you have all the information you need from the child’s parent or legal guardian, means that you can care for them in the best way possible. This includes knowing of any allergies they may have, or what medication they need and when. But it also includes knowing what information about them you can share publicly, including their name or image, to keep them safe and operate within the comfort zone of each family. 

In consent and release forms you set out the terms clearly, and families in turn provide you with the information you need to care for their children.

Building trust with families

Clearly and effectively communicating this information in writing to families, and giving them the opportunity to opt in or out of certain activities, such as videos or field trips, builds a relationship of trust between you and the families. 

Having clear consent and release forms, that are communicated in a timely fashion to families, are very important because they show that their children’s safety and wellbeing is your priority, and one that you take very seriously. Even if at times it can feel like additional paperwork, consent forms build a relationship of trust between both parties.

Protecting you from legal liability

Each child has its own unique needs, and each family has its own boundaries. It is not possible as a childcare provider to speculate on what these are. Does the child have an allergy to an otherwise commonly used diaper cream? Are the families comfortable with their child’s image appearing on social media? The answer to these questions will differ for each child. 

Consent and release forms are very important in helping you avoid speculation. By having the explicit and informed consent of the parents or legal guardians, you have a legal basis on which to act. In most jurisdictions, publishing photos of minors without parental consent is illegal. Or, if you administer medication to a child without permission, you could be liable for any injuries or reactions that occur. Consent and release forms mean that you are both informed on how to act, but also protected from legal liability when acting in accordance with the instructions of the families. 

But be careful: consent and release forms do not supersede the law and any licensing regulations applicable to your facility. It is always important to check what these regulations are, and to ensure your procedures are compliant. Check out brightwheel’s Ultimate Guide on How to Start a Daycare Center for more information on licensing requirements.

Save you time

Having the relevant consent forms ready to use, distributing them to families, and collecting them in a timely manner will also help you avoid unnecessary delays.

Instead of waiting for a child to start attending your program, make sure you have as much information available in advance. This way, you can provide them with the medication they need from day one. Or, if you are taking photographs and videos to build a fantastic marketing campaign for your facility, it is much more effective and efficient to ensure in advance that you have the consent of the families to use their children’s images. You can read more about childcare marketing strategies and how to make effective use of this content to help your business grow.

Consent and release forms can, and should be, tailored to the particular use they are for. In the next section, we will look at some frequently used types of consent and release forms. Now, let’s see what the main components of a consent form should always be in place.

Step 1: Essential information

All consent and release forms should clearly indicate:

• The name of your childcare facility
• The type of consent form (ex. medication administration form, or diaper cream authorization form) 
  
  

They should also  provide spaces for the parent or legal guardian to clearly state:

• Their full name
• Their signature
• The child’s full name
• The date when it is signed  

Step 2: The purpose 

Being clear and thorough on the purpose of the consent and release form will ensure that both you as a provider and the family are informed on the terms of your agreement.

Start from the title of the form, where you should indicate the general type of consent and release form this is. This will help you quickly identify the forms when filling them and keeping track of the ones you have collected. It will also help families with maintaining their own records.

Then go beyond the title, and provide more specific information about the purpose and scope of the form. For example, a photo release form should clearly outline the different uses for these photographs, including photos sent directly to families, print promotional materials, newsletters, or social media. Similarly, a consent form for field trips should clearly indicate the date, times, location, mode of transport, and other key information regarding the field trip.

Providing as much specific information as possible on the consent and release form ensures that families are aware of what they are consenting to, and helps prevent disputes due to misunderstandings in the future.

Step 3: Specific information and options

The main part of your consent and release form will require families to provide some additional relevant information. This can usually take two forms, depending on the information you require in each case:

• Completing open fields: If the information you require is specific to the child, such as listing known allergies, or the dosage for specific medication, make sure to include in the form open fields where families are instructed to provide the information you require.
• Choosing among options: In other cases, you may want to give families a choice between different options, to allow them to opt in or out of specific aspects. For example, in a photo consent and release form, you may want to provide different checkboxes, listing the different uses, such as for print or digital materials, for internal use or marketing materials, etc. This allows families more flexibility to choose what is best for them.

Step 4: Liability release

Consent and release forms should always include a statement that releases the business owners from liability. You want to ensure that your consent form covers you legally, and that this is communicated clearly to the families. 

It is also useful to reference any relevant licensing regulations or laws, if applicable, to make sure families are informed when signing the consent form.   

These key components should be present in all your consent forms, but you can differentiate them depending on the particular purpose of the form. It is also important to remember that circumstances change, so you should make sure that families are able to revise their consent forms periodically. A good rule of thumb is to renew the consent forms annually, to reflect any possible changes, and to keep an up-to-date record of each child’s forms. You may also want to inform families that they can change the information they have provided during this interval, and it is best practice to do so in writing by submitting a new form to reflect the new date of signing.

Consent and release forms are very useful for a wide range of your childcare’s activities. There are three primary types of consent forms to consider:

Medical consent forms:

Children spend a big part of their day in their childcare facility, so it is important for you to have the information and consent necessary to look after their health.

Child medical consent forms authorize the childcare provider to provide medical assistance to a child when it is needed - from a cream when they scrape their knee playing, to calling for emergency care in more serious cases.

For children who are receiving medication on a regular basis, it may be necessary for their dosage to be administered while they are in the childcare facility. Medication administration forms provide you with the information on the medication, its potential side effects, and how to administer it correctly, to ensure the child receives the treatment they need.

Finally, you may want to consider obtaining families’ written permission to apply other creams, such as sunscreen or diaper cream. Knowing of any preexisting allergies, and having informed the families in case of an unexpected side effect, will ensure that you are acting within their wishes and with their consent.

Given how important these forms are for the wellbeing of the children in your care, you should make sure to receive them from the families before the first day the child attends your facility. 

Photography and video consent forms: 

Taking photos and videos of the children in your childcare facility means that you can share them with their families, keeping them in the loop about their activities. They can also help you showcase to a broader audience the great work done in your childcare facility.

Photography and video consent forms ensure that you have the legal right to keep and distribute these materials. As privacy laws become more strict, it is important to ensure you always have the explicit consent of the families. Giving them the option to opt out can also be very important in protecting children who are in more vulnerable conditions.

Family consent form for field trips:

Going on field trips can be a very fun and educational part of the children’s experience at your childcare. But they can also involve additional costs, and potential risks when taking the children off-site. A consent form for field trips will ensure families are fully informed in advance, and you are released from additional liabilities. 

To make the process of creating these forms easier, you can use a digital tool, such as brightweel’s fillable PDF product. This way, you can access required state forms, allow for consent forms to be uploaded directly to the same platform, and automatically link the information to students’ profiles, so you do not have to do this process by hand.

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.