Director’s guide
How do you manage attendance in a nursery?
The attendance register is a nursery’s most important document: it shows which children are in your care, at every moment. Here is how to keep it reliably, on paper or on a phone.
Updated
What a good register must show
- The date, and each child’s arrival time
- The departure time, and the person who collected the child
- Absences, distinguishing those the parents notified from those they didn’t
- The name of the team member who recorded the arrival and departure
Check children in as it happens
A register filled in at the end of the day, from memory, isn’t worth much. Put one person in charge of drop-off, place the register or tablet at the entrance, and record each arrival in front of the parent.
Absences, lateness and excuses
- Ask parents to let you know before a time you set, for example 9:00
- A child who has neither arrived nor been excused by then: call the family
- Mark the absence as “excused” when the parents let you know, “absent” otherwise
- Repeated late pick-ups are dealt with in the house rules, not case by case
Pick-ups, the risky moment
- The list of authorized people is provided and signed by the parents
- Each person’s ID is recorded
- A temporary authorization (an aunt for one week) has a start and end date
- A child is never handed over to someone not on the list without written confirmation from the parents
- The name of the person collecting the child is recorded at every pick-up
The end-of-day check
Before closing, check that every child who arrived has a departure recorded. A register still showing a child as “present” at closing time means either a missed check-out or a real problem: either way, you need to know before you leave.
Paper register, spreadsheet or app
| Paper register | Spreadsheet | App (Hi Kiddo) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded at the moment | Yes, if it is at the entrance | Rarely | Yes, on the team’s phone |
| Parents notified | No | No | Notification on arrival and departure |
| Who is here, live | By rereading the page | If the file is up to date | Present, departed and absent counters |
| History | Paper archives | Yes, if nobody has overwritten it | Every past day, available to consult |
| Export | Photocopy | Yes | PDF or CSV |
Read next: Child check-in and the nursery attendance register
Making use of the register
- Spot a child’s repeated absences, and talk about them with the family
- Give a precise answer to a parent who asks what time their child left
- Check daycare hours before invoicing
- See whether a class is often full, or often half empty
Read next: Daycare management software for Morocco
Frequently asked questions
How long should the attendance register be kept?
Check with the authority your establishment reports to. In Hi Kiddo, the history of every day remains available and can be exported as PDF or CSV.
Should a child who arrives late be checked in?
Yes, at their actual arrival time. The register then shows they arrived late, which is useful if the lateness keeps happening.
Can parents check their child in themselves?
In Hi Kiddo, the team does the check-in. Parents see the arrival and departure times, but cannot change them.