Recording student attendance is crucial for many programs and in-home care providers, as this information is often required by state licensing departments. Attendance can be tracked both on mobile devices and through the Administrator dashboard. With Playground, you can efficiently manage attendance data by recording and editing logs, allowing you to generate detailed reports on the time students spend in your care. This article will explore all the available methods for recording and editing attendance. Learn more about Attendance reporting by clicking here.
Check-in/out using the Kiosk Mode
Kiosk Mode enables guardians to independently check their students in and out using their own devices. This method is the top recommendation for tracking attendance at your school. In this section, we will cover how to access, print, and regenerate a QR code, as well as how to switch to using a PIN for family check-ins and check-outs.
Enable Kiosk Mode
On the device you wish to turn into a sign-in/out kiosk—whether a phone or tablet—navigate to the Kiosk Mode screen. Here, you can choose to use either a QR code or a PIN. By default, the QR code will be displayed for guardians to scan.
To switch to using a PIN, toggle to the Enter PIN option. Then, lock the kiosk using your site's PIN code, which can be found on the Administrator Dashboard under the General tab in Settings. Scroll down to the Attendance section and click the eye icon next to the School PIN Code to reveal the 4-digit code.
You can lock the device in kiosk mode to prevent parents from accessing other parts of the mobile app. Once you have your site's PIN code, tap Lock in the top-right corner of the PIN code screen on the mobile app. Enter your site's PIN code to secure the device.
Parents can now use their family's unique PIN code to sign their student(s) in and out.
When you're ready to exit kiosk mode, tap the < icon in the upper left corner of the screen.
🔎 View how check-in and out works from the family side HERE.
Print QR code
Navigate to the Administrator Dashboard.
Click on the Settings tab on the left hand side.
Scroll to the Attendance section and find the QR code setting.
Click the blue button that says View & print your QR code.
A new tab will open with your center's specific QR code. Click Print button in the top right corner to print it out.
Generate a new QR code
Sometimes programs may need to create a new QR code. To create a new QR code and invalidate all other versions of the QR code, follow the instructions below:
Follow the steps listed under Print QR Code above and then proceed to the steps below.
You will be directed to the QR code, and on the left-hand side you will notice the Regenerate option.
Click on Regenerate to generate a new QR code for your center.
What if a parent or guardian has forgotten their family PIN code?
You can view a family's PIN code by student from the Administrator Dashboard.
Navigate to the student's profile on the Students tab then click on the Settings tab on their profile.
To the right of Signing PIN, click on the eye icon to reveal the 4-digit PIN code.
Admins can change the PIN by clicking on the Edit button.
Check-in and out manually as Staff or Administrator
Staff and Administrators can also check the children in/out through the app and on the web.
Toggle quick sign on Mobile
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Teachers or administrators can quickly sign in/out a group of students using the Quick Sign option in the Student Roster. This is the most efficient way to manually check student(s) in and out.
Open the Student Roster on mobile and tap the three vertical dots in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and tap Toggle Quick Sign. You can use the filter options above the student names and then tap each student's checkmark to select them.
Tap Sign for students at the bottom, add your signature, and then Submit to complete the process.
Student check-in by staff
Log into your mobile app and tap on Roster
Tap on Check-in or Check-out next to the student's entry on your Roster
Select the guardian who is checking the student in or out from the Guardian section
You can also select yourself from the Staff section to record yourself as the signer
Tap on Sign for students
Have the guardian sign on your mobile device or sign yourself
Tap Submit to confirm
Contactless check-in and check-out on mobile
🚨 Utilizing this feature makes you entirely reliant on the guardian to complete the contactless check-in/out process to record attendance accurately.
Log into your mobile app and tap on Roster
Tap on Check-in or Check-out next to the student's entry on your Roster
Tap the toggle for Contactless sign for students
Select the guardian who you are sending the check-in/out to from the Guardian section
Tap on Sign for students and sign on your mobile device
You will be directed to a screen letting you know a prompt will appear on the guardian's device
Tap Sign another student to confirm and proceed to another student
Recording attendance for one or multiple students on the Admin dashboard
💡 Students can have their attendance recorded via the checkboxes next to their name in the Students tab or via the Attendance log on the Overview tab of their profile.
Checking students in and out via checkboxes on the Students tab
Navigate to the Students tab under My School
Use the search bar or filter option to locate the student(s) you want to check-in
Filters can be applied for classrooms as a whole to assist in finding the student's profile
Click on the checkbox to the left of student's name
(OPTIONAL) If you are checking-in more than one student, repeat Step 2 to locate all students you want to check-in together.
When you have checked the boxes for the applicable students, look towards the column headers (First name, Last name, Classroom, etc.). You will notice additional options.
Click on Check in/out
Complete the required fields on the Add signature window
Select who should appear as the signer on the attendance report via the dropdown menu
Record the date of the signature
This will be the date listed on the attendance record
Add the time that the students were dropped off or picked up by their families
Add a signature for the party responsible for the check in/out if applicable
Recording attendance for a student via their profile
Navigate to the Students tab under My School
Use the search bar or filter option to locate the student(s) you want to check-in
Filters can be applied for classrooms as a whole to assist in finding the student's profile
Click on the Student to be directed to the Overview tab of their profile
Navigate down the page to the Attendance log section
Click on Click to show attendance records
Click on Add attendance on the left-hand side of the page to add a check-in or check-out to the student's Attendance log
Click on Check-in/out for a time to pop up to log.
Click on Add absence to add an absence to the student's Attendance log
Click Save to confirm your updates
Edit attendance logs for a student
Follow steps 1-5 from the recording attendance section above then proceed to the steps below.
Click on the ellipsis (. . .) next to the attendance record you would like to edit
Click on Edit from the menu
The Edit times window will populate giving you the ability to:
Edit a check in/out time for a student
Delete a check in/out via the red trash can icon
Add a check-in and check-out for the same day via the Add check-in option in blue
Click Save to confirm your updates
Managing absences
How to add an absence
Adding absences to a child's profile will show up on their schedule. This will also automatically open up slots for families to book drop-in care, an easy way to add additional revenue without any extra overhead costs or operational effort. Learn more about drop-in care by clicking here.
Admin dashboard
From My School, click Students and select the student you want to log.
There are two ways to record an absence:
Under Attendance Log click Click to show attendance records.
Then, on the right side of the screen click Add absence.
Or, under the Student schedule click on the date of absence.
Click Mark absent for day.
Enter the absence duration and any notes about the absence.
Click Record absence.
Mobile
💡Families are also able to record absences for their children using these instructions.
From the mobile app, tap Roster.
Tap on the student's name to access their profile.
Tap Add post.
Tap Absence.
Add the Start and End date along with any additional notes or reasons. This will automatically list the child(ren) as absent on their schedule.
Edit absence
Admin dashboard
From My School, click Students and select the student.
Under Attendance Log click Click to show attendance records.
Click the three dots on the absence row to Edit.
Mobile
On the Playground app, tap on the Roster icon at the top.
Find the student whose absence needs to be edited and tap on their name.
Tap on the Feed tab on their student profile.
Find the absence post in their specific feed and tap the three dots in the top right corner of the absence post
Tap Edit post.
Make any necessary changes, such as editing the end time, reason, or description.
Once all edits have been made, tap Save in the top right corner.
Delete absence
Admin dashboard
From My School, click Students and select the student.
Under Attendance Log click Click to show attendance records.
Click the three dots on the absence row to Delete.
Mobile
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Start by tapping on Roster at the top of the Admin or Teacher app.
Tap on the specific student who needs an absence removed.
Tap on Feed at the top of their Student Profile to see all activity posts for the specific student.
Find the absence post in the feed and tap the three dots next to the post.
Tap Delete post. Once deleted, the student will be marked as checked in.
Disabling signature requirements
If you do not collect signatures from your parents follow the steps below to disable this setting.
Log in to your Playground account on web to access your Admin dashboard
Click on Classrooms under My School
Click on the ellipsis(. . .) next to the classroom you wish to remove the signature requirements from
Click on Edit from the menu
Click on the toggles next to Signatures required for drop-off and Signatures required for pick-up on the Edit classroom window to disable the signature requirement
Click Save to confirm your updates