For schools

Paper register or digital attendance: what changes for nurseries and schools

A paper register works until someone needs it somewhere else: the office, a family on the phone, an inspector, a fire drill. That is where digital attendance earns its place.

What gets easier

• Knowing who is in, from any room or phone
• Spotting a child who has not arrived and has no reason recorded
• Families told when their child arrives and leaves
• Absence reasons and patterns in one place, ready for a report

What to watch for

• It must be quicker than paper, or staff will not use it
• It must work when the internet is slow
• Someone must still take the register at the same time every day

Switching over

Start with one class for a week, then the rest. Keep paper for the first few days as a back-up.

In toddlepath, staff tap the children who are in, families hear when their child arrives, and a child expected but not arrived is flagged after the school’s cut-off time, so the family can be asked.