Attendance Registers - compulsory?

[nancienoodles]

Hi all,
I'm expecting my first Ofsted inspection any time now and am just trying to get everything prepared.
I was just wondering about attendance registers. Are they compulsory or is it just good practice to complete them and get them signed by parents?
Thanks, Nancie.

[sillysausage]

You must keep a record of when children arrive and leave, however how you do this is totally up to you. I have a weekly sheet with all the children on it arranged in a table form with arrive and leave times for each day. Some use the NCMA register (but I found that really faffy having different children on different sheets). I know childminders that record everything in a page a day diary. If Ofsted criticise your choice of method just be prepared to stand up for yourself. As with many things what suits one inspector may not suit another.
There is no right or wrong way as long as you keep a record.
As far as signatures are concerned that's totally up to you. There is no legal requirement. If you ever have a financial dispute with a parent then their signature on a register agreeing to the number of hours there child has attended can be beneficial if you need to use legal services to recover money.

[nancienoodles]

Thanks very much for your reply sillysausage. At the moment I complete a daily diary to note all the details of the day for parents to read each night and I note the exact arrival and departure times in this diary. This diary travels back and forth from home-me.
I understand what you are saying about possible financial etc disputes though so I think I will create a register for parents to sign aswel.
Thanks again for your help.

[rickysmiths]

I have always used the NCMA register which has a page per child per month.

I think it is better to keep one child per sheet because if you do need to discuss attendance and hours with a parent you are only looking at their page. If all the children are on one page together you can't show other parents this information because it is confidential.

I also get my parents to sign each week and always have. It is not required by Ofsted but it is good practice and means the parents are confirming that those were the hours their child was in your care. Good Child Protection if an allegation was ever made.

It also demonstrates you are working with parents and keeping them informed. Especially if you collect children from school it shows if they are out late.

I have done this for 17 years and for the first time just before Christmas I was very glad I had.

I had a complaint made against me by an ex parent and among other things they claimed I had collected late from school one day and had not told them. I was able to send Ofsted a copy of my signed Attendance Register which showed clearly that the parent had been informed because they had signed the register that week. The complaint was not upheld and Ofsted did not even visit me.

[jellybean cc]

I brought the Help For Hero's Family calendar it has a week per page and 6 sections per day. So all children are on the same page. Last year i used a diary i chatted to Ofsted about all children being on the same page and the woman i had said it was fine as its only arrival and departure times so not a confidentiality issue.

A normal diary/calendar is great i find as all the dates, days, layout is already in place.

[nancienoodles]

Thank you for the replies :)

[singlewiththree]

I use an A4 week view diary and each day I put the name of the child, hours they are expected and then the hours they attend. On the saturday section I put the weekly invoices and in the sunday I put my expenses each week to help with my accounts

[Suebb1]

I to use a daily diary to record all childrens arrival and leaving times. ( I think all shown on the same page also clearly shows how many children in attendance each day) x

[flutterbies]

I just thought as a word of warning... The daily diary you send back and forth between the parents and you may get lost (I have had this happen) or the parents may forget the diary. It means you haven't got a continual record if this does get lost. It is best to keep a copy of the attendance times on your premises

I know this is late, but it may help someone searching

[partyrings]

I had my ofsted inspection last Thursday and it was one of the things that the inspector checked. She looked at the attendance register plus signatures and nodded that they had been signed, then tapped on her laptop. then she requested to see the last couple of months completed sheets.