The Room Opens
The teacher on duty signs in on the room computer with their own login. One teacher can look after one room or several: they tick each room they're covering today, up to all three.
Their name and the time they came on duty are recorded, and staff are signed out automatically at the end of the school day.
Take the Register
The register lists every child booked into prep, grouped by room. The teacher ticks each child who is here, adds any child who wasn't expected, and confirms. Prep opens at 16:15, so the register can't be confirmed before then.
A paper copy can be printed for the desk, in case the power or the internet ever fails.
Set Your Alerts
Each teacher chooses how they'll hear that the office has sent for a child: a chime at the desk, a notification on their own phone, a text message as a backup, or all three.
If nobody has checked the child out after two minutes, the backup text goes out, so a parent is never left waiting in the office.
The Office Sees Who Is in Prep
As soon as a register is confirmed, the children appear on the office screen under In Prep, grouped by year. The office always knows who is still in school.
From there the office can keep an eye on every child: who is still in the room, who is at the toilet and for how long, who has been sent for and is waiting for their teacher to release them, and who is on their way to the office.
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A Parent Arrives
The parent comes to the office. The office taps their child's name and picks the parent from the names the school holds, or taps Other and types the name of the person collecting. They record how they know it's them: known to office staff, or the parent phoned ahead.
The must-not-collect list is checked every time. A match stops the request straight away. Otherwise the office taps Send for, and the room is told at once.
The Teacher Authorises the Release
The room computer chimes and the child's name turns red, whichever of the teacher's rooms they're in. The teacher checks it, taps Check out, and sends the child to the office.
This is the teacher's authorisation. No child leaves a room without it, and it's recorded against the teacher's name.
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The Office Confirms the Hand-over
The office can see the child is on the way. When the child reaches the desk, the office checks they're going to the person who asked for them and taps Yes, release.
That's the second check. The room sees the child has gone home, and the record shows who sent for them, who released them and who handed them over.
Hand Matilda to Anna Brooks, the person who asked for her.
A Trip to the Toilet
When a child goes to the toilet, the teacher taps Toilet next to their name, and Back when they return. A timer runs on the room and office screens, turning amber after five minutes and red after ten.
If a parent arrives while their child is at the toilet, the office sees how long ago they went and can tell the parent. The office can't send for the child yet. As soon as the teacher taps Back, the office screen chimes and the office sends for them as normal.
Tell the parent Arjun is at the toilet and will be back shortly. You can send for him as soon as the room marks him back.
Keeping Every Child Safe
A child checked out of a room who hasn't reached the office within five minutes raises an alarm on the room and office screens, so someone goes to look for them straight away. When they're found, one tap of Found safe on either screen clears the alarm everywhere and records who found them.
Closing the Room
Children go home one by one as their parents arrive. When the last one has gone, the teacher closes the room straight away, without waiting for the end of prep.
If children are still there when prep ends at 17:20, the teacher closes the room, ticks each child still with them and walks them to the office. The teacher has released them; the office is told they're coming, marks each one as arrived and releases them to their parent when the parent arrives.
Every Step on Record
When the last child goes home, the afternoon is complete. Every register, send-for, release and hand-over is recorded with the time and the member of staff responsible.
Records are kept for as long as the school uses the service, and the office can look back at any day.
| Child | Sent for | Released | Handed over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matilda Brooks | 16:40 · Office | 16:41 · V. Fernandez | 16:44 · Office |
| Arjun Patel | 16:52 · Office | 16:53 · V. Fernandez | 17:01 · Office |
| Grace Hammond | 17:24 · Office | 17:25 · V. Fernandez | 17:27 · Office |