How preschools get more Google reviews (and why parents choose by them)

Before a parent phones a single preschool, they've compared every option in the suburb on Google Maps - and for no purchase on earth do people lean harder on other parents' words. A crèche with thirty warm, recent reviews gets the tour bookings; the one with four reviews from 2023 doesn't, no matter how good its teachers are.

The encouraging part: most preschools have never asked a single family for a review. A gentle habit puts you ahead of your whole suburb in one school year.

The moments parents say yes

Don't ask at drop-off on a rushed Tuesday. Ask when the goodwill is overflowing:

• After the year-end concert or graduation - parents are proud, emotional, and holding photos
• When a child settles in - the "she actually ran in the door this morning!" message from a parent IS the moment; reply warmly and include the link
• At the end of a great parents' evening
• When a family leaves for big school on good terms - exit reviews from alumni parents are gold

The ask is one WhatsApp message: "Thank you for trusting us with Lila this year! If you have a minute, a Google review helps other families find us: [your link]". Use the direct link that opens the review box in one tap - generate yours free with PeakReviews' review link generator. A small QR poster at the signing-in desk catches the rest - also free to make.

The replying rules are different for schools

Replying matters everywhere, but preschools carry one rule the other industries don't: never confirm or share anything about a specific child. Even a happy reply like "We love having Lila in the Butterfly class!" publishes that a named child attends your school, at your address - a real safety and privacy problem, and under POPIA children's information gets the strictest protection there is.

Safe pattern: thank the parent, praise the team, never the enrolment. "Thank you for these kind words - our teachers pour their hearts into every day, and messages like this are why. - The [School] family." Warm, personal, and zero information about any child.

For a critical review (fees, a biting incident, a teacher change): acknowledge briefly, never discuss any child or family's specifics in public, and move it to a call with the principal. Future parents judge the tone of your reply far more than the complaint itself. If the wording is hard, the free reply generator gives you a calm draft to adapt.

The rules that keep reviews up

• Never reward reviews (a fee discount for five stars breaks Google's rules and looks terrible to parents)
• Ask every family, not just the happiest - selective asking is against Google's policies
• Get consent before WhatsApping parents (your enrolment forms should cover it; POPIA applies)
• Never post photos of children in review replies, ever

Making it automatic

The schools that win at this aren't better at marketing - they just ask every family, every term, without forgetting. PeakReviews (built by the team behind Find a Preschool) sends the WhatsApp asks automatically, tracks consent, and drafts your replies - built for South African small businesses at R299 a month.

However you do it, start this term - reviews compound, and your listing in our directory already shows parents your review count right next to your name.