# How to reduce paperwork at a Montessori school

Source: https://www.futurenerds.dev/guides/reduce-paperwork
Last updated: 2026-10-14

To reduce paperwork at your Montessori school, list every record you keep, drop the ones nobody reads, and collect the rest once, in one place. Families fill in their own forms, and staff record each entry when it happens. FutureNerds does this in one app.

## The records a Montessori school keeps

Each record a school keeps has a person who knows the facts and a point in the year when it gets collected.

| Record | Who has the facts | When it's collected |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Application | The family | Once, before a place is offered |
| Emergency contacts and pickup permissions | The family | At enrollment, then whenever they change |
| Health and allergy information | The family | At enrollment, then whenever it changes |
| Photo consent and permission slips | The family | At enrollment, and before each trip |
| Attendance | Staff | At drop-off and pickup, every day |
| Observations and lesson records | Guides | During and after the work cycle |
| Toddler daily records | Toddler room staff | As each meal, nap and change happens |
| Incident reports | The adult who saw it | The same day |
| Invoices and payments | The office | Every billing period |
| Progress reports | Guides | Once or twice a year |

Your licensing body and your insurer decide some of what you must keep and for how long. Get their list before you throw anything away.

## Where the paper piles up

Paper piles up in four places at most schools.

**The same fact written many times.** A child's peanut allergy appears on the application, the health form, the classroom card, the field trip form and the snack list. When it changes, someone has to find every copy.

**Retyping.** A family fills in a paper form, and the office types it into a spreadsheet. Every copy step is a chance for a wrong phone number.

**Chasing signatures.** Permission slips go home in a backpack and come back late, crumpled or not at all. Someone spends the morning of the trip on the phone.

**Writing things twice.** Guides keep observation notes all term, then copy them into a progress report by hand. Toddler staff fill in a daily sheet, then photocopy it for each family.

## What to drop

Look for records that nobody reads after they're filed. Common ones:

- a paper sign-in sheet kept next to an attendance record that already has the same times
- forms that ask for facts you already have, such as a trip form that asks for emergency contacts again
- printed newsletters for families who read email
- extra copies of records kept "just in case", beyond what your licensing body asks for

For forms you still need, ask families to confirm what's on file instead of filling in every field again.

## What to move to one place

Keep a record in one shared place when more than one person reads it, or when someone reads it more than once. Contacts, allergies, attendance, observations, invoices and signatures all fit that test.

The rule for each record is the same. It has one home, and the person who knows the facts enters them once. Families update their own contacts. The adult who changed the diaper records the diaper. The guide who gave the lesson marks the lesson. [Records you can still find in June](/blog/record-keeping-system) has a daily routine for the staff side, and [getting family records in order](/blog/family-records-setup) covers the family side.

## How to reduce paperwork in one term

1. Ask each staff member to bring one copy of every form, sheet and notebook they use.
2. For each one, write down who fills it in, who reads it, and how often.
3. Mark every record nobody reads. Check it against your licensing list, then stop using it.
4. Merge forms that ask the same questions into one enrollment packet.
5. Choose one home for each record that's left: a binder, a shared spreadsheet or school software.
6. Hand family facts to families. They fill in and update their own contacts, health details and consents.
7. Give staff a set time each day to record observations and lessons.
8. After six weeks, ask staff which record they still copy by hand, and fix that one next.

## Doing this in FutureNerds

FutureNerds keeps applications, family records, attendance, observations, daily records, invoices and signatures in one place, on the web, iPhone, iPad and Android.

- **Forms.** Build forms for guardians, a classroom or the public, with 9 question types. Starter forms cover enrollment, permission slips, emergency contacts, health, behavioral agreements and surveys.
- **Signatures.** A school document can require a parent signature by a due date. The parent signs by typing their full name, which must match their profile. Each signature saves a fingerprint of the document, the time, the IP address and the browser. Field trip permission slips work the same way.
- **Handbook.** Upload the handbook as a PDF. Parents read and download it in the app.
- **Checklists.** Send a checklist to parents with due dates and see how far each family has got.
- **Absences.** Parents report absences in the app with a reason, so the office doesn't take phone calls for them.

FutureNerds is free for your first 10 students, then $0.50 per child per month with no setup fee, and standard Stripe fees plus 1% apply if you collect family payments through it ([pricing](/pricing)). See [forms and signatures](/product/forms-and-signatures) and [attendance](/product/attendance).

## Related pages

- [Forms and e-signatures](/product/forms-and-signatures)
- [Admissions and applications](/product/admissions-and-applications)
- [Attendance](/product/attendance)
- [Switching from another system](/guides/switch-school-software)
- [Records you can still find in June](/blog/record-keeping-system)
- [Getting family records in order before the year gets busy](/blog/family-records-setup)

## Questions and answers

### Which school records should I keep on paper?

Keep on paper anything your licensing body requires in paper form, and anything that must work when the power or internet is out, such as an emergency contact list by the door. Everything else can live in one digital place.

### How long should a Montessori school keep records?

Your licensing body, your insurer and local law set the periods, and they differ by record and by place. Ask them for a written list and keep each record for the period it names.

### Can parents sign forms on their phone?

Yes, with most school software. In FutureNerds, parents sign school documents and field trip permission slips in the app by typing their full name, and the school sees who has signed and who hasn't.

### What's the fastest paperwork to cut first?

Start with forms that ask families for facts you already hold, such as trip forms that repeat emergency contacts. Replace them with a short "please confirm this is still right" step.