Guest Posted July 11, 2010 Posted July 11, 2010 Hello all Feel a bit silly asking this question but hear goes, On are attendance regiesters do we need to get the parents to sign there children in and out every day or just sign it at the end of each week or month ??? only asking because my parents seem to get a bit annoyed when I ask them to sign it it's like it's a bother to them. Would be great for them if i did not need to bother them with getting signatures at all. I have looked in the eyfs pack but can't seem to find an answer in there would be greatfull for any feed back. Thanks Michelle
Gezabel Posted July 11, 2010 Posted July 11, 2010 i don't think any question is silly I may get shot down in flames for saying this but our parents don't sign their children in at all. The member of staff 'on the door' has a daily tick sheet and marks the children as they come in (this is done for emergency evacuation use before the formal register is done) I am certainly not aware of any official requirement for parents to sign their children in and /or out but am happy to be proved wrong!
Buttercup Posted July 11, 2010 Posted July 11, 2010 When i was a childminder i use to use the NCMA book I think parents signed weekly but i thought that was more to do with the money side of things. What i would do is have a diary and put in the times of arrival and departure agains their names each day. Parents dont need to sign. I believe it is good practise to have actual times especially when children are coming and going at different times buttercup
Guest Posted July 11, 2010 Posted July 11, 2010 Hi Michelle what sort of provision are you? Hi there I am a childminder.
Guest Posted July 11, 2010 Posted July 11, 2010 When i was a childminder i use to use the NCMA book I think parents signed weekly but i thought that was more to do with the money side of things. What i would do is have a diary and put in the times of arrival and departure agains their names each day. Parents dont need to sign. I believe it is good practise to have actual times especially when children are coming and going at different times buttercup Thank you butter cup I have been useing the ncma attendance regiester to date and I to think it's more for the account's side of things or I hope it is.
Guest jenpercy Posted July 12, 2010 Posted July 12, 2010 As an after-school club, we have been criticised by OFSTED for not getting every parent to sign out every day (we sign them out if parents forget, but we have 35 children all leaving at different times. On the other hand, I know that pre-schools with set finishing times don't get parents to sign at all. Apparently we were once asked by police to alibi a parent - but that was before my time.
dublinbay Posted July 12, 2010 Posted July 12, 2010 We are a pre-school with set finishing times and our parents sign the register every day, four times if their children attend both sessions a day. If they don't sign, children are marked as absent and once a month parents are required to sign an absence form which goes to County Hall. County hall have tried in the past to take back some of the funding after inspection of our registers. Parents have to give a reason for absence, sign and date the form. Parent's have never said they are unhappy with signing the daily regiater.
finleysmaid Posted July 12, 2010 Posted July 12, 2010 i supect this is more about funding - ofsted were very happy with the way we operate our registers - all children are signed in and out at the time they arrive and leave by a member of staff. If you are sending information to your borough about attendance then that is likely to be them that have set this rule ( a bit too much like school for my liking!). I am not aware of any standard that suggest you should do this unless they are entering the premises - maybe someone knows better
waveawand Posted July 12, 2010 Posted July 12, 2010 (edited) HIya 1michelle I'm a cm too and get the parents to do a block of signatures (in advance) using the ncma attendace register so they are pre signed - they dont seem to mind this at all, also if they are signing your daily diary as part of communication with parents that should suffice for Mrs O. Hope this helps. Edited July 12, 2010 by waveawand
Guest jenpercy Posted July 12, 2010 Posted July 12, 2010 HIya 1michelle I'm a cm too and get the parents to do a block of signatures (in advance) using the ncma attendace register so they are pre signed - they dont seem to mind this at all, also if they are signing your daily diary as part of communication with parents that should suffice for Mrs O. Hope this helps. Yes but what happens if the children don't attend because they are sick after parents have signed in advance. I would not have thought that the big O would be happy about advance signing of a daily register.
Guest Posted July 12, 2010 Posted July 12, 2010 Hi, We sign the children in at the time they arrive, but ask the parents to sign them out at the end of the session/day. We also use a highlighter pen to indicate a child whose parent / carer needs to sign the medication or accident book before they sign out. Another question ......how long do settings keep their registers for once they are full? We are a setting that offers full day and sessional care. Julie
Guest Posted July 12, 2010 Posted July 12, 2010 I'm a childminder and know of others who have been pulled up by Ofsted regarding registers. "Best practice" is to complete the EXACT time that children arrive and leave. So if your contracted hours are 9-5 it's NOT acceptable for your register to say 9-5 every day, but, instead, 9.01-4.57 or whatever the precise times are. Your register should also reflect the times when children go on to other settings... so, if you have a child before and after school your register would show them with you from 8.01-9.00 and from 3.30-4.57 I didn't found the NCMA one easy to use this way so had one drawn up on excel, with columns for date, time of arrival, time taken to school/nursery/playgroup, time collected from school/nursery/playgroup and time collected by parents. I print off one for each child every month and it has a signature space at the end of every month. Again, it is deemed "best practice" to get it signed to avoid any contractual disputes about hours/fees and also in case it needs to be used as evidence if an incident or injury occurs while the child is in your setting. It was commented on favourably by Ofsted. Nona
Inge Posted July 12, 2010 Posted July 12, 2010 Hi, We sign the children in at the time they arrive, but ask the parents to sign them out at the end of the session/day. We also use a highlighter pen to indicate a child whose parent / carer needs to sign the medication or accident book before they sign out. Another question ......how long do settings keep their registers for once they are full? We are a setting that offers full day and sessional care. Julie sorry to hijack but this question made me laugh as when I left the preschool there were registers for the 10 years I worked there left in a locked drawer and I know they have just kept adding to them.. must be about 15 years worth there now at least as there were some from before .. they have been out looked at and returned.. several times over the years.. and the current staff have said they cannot bear to dispose of them.. they show generations of children coming through the setting.. they dont take up much room so will probably still be there in many years to come.. which is not much help on how long to keep them.. I know we were grateful to be able to go back 5 years when question arrived about the child attending the setting etc from social services long time after they had left us.. Inge
Fredbear Posted July 12, 2010 Posted July 12, 2010 Hi 1 Michelle, firstly a questions never silly if its bothering you and there are some fantastic people on here that seem to have lots of knowledge and expertise. We are a preschool that has a daily register, but if our children arrive late or leave earlier than the regular session times our parents sign a book.This seems to work for us.
Guest Posted July 12, 2010 Posted July 12, 2010 Hello everyone Just like to say thank you for all you advice on this question I think I will now write a letter to my parents expaling the reasoning behind the signature maybe they will be more acceptable to it then. Thanks again. Michelle
Buttercup Posted July 12, 2010 Posted July 12, 2010 Nona I think you are doing a good procedure. The important part is times being correct. As for signing in and out I think some people are getting confused. for me this just means recording the times in and out not an actual signiture, buttercup
Guest Posted July 13, 2010 Posted July 13, 2010 Hi Michelle, like nona i also hated the ncma ones and now have my own which are easier to record nursery drop off etc, they are also only signed monthly by parents, but if i have an neg funded child i have to sign them in and out daily but this is purely for local authority and not Ofsted
Guest Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 i am a CM too and i have been inspected 3 times now and i have never been asked why my parents do not sign their children in and out. i make a note of children's arrival and departure in my diary. i can't be doing it wrong because my last 2 inspections were both outstanding but if something new has happened since last august then i'd like to be enlightened
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