Most schools still keep attendance in paper registers. They're familiar and they never run out of battery. But by the end of a term, nobody can easily answer simple questions: which learners have missed more than five days? Is Grade 4 attendance falling? Did the parent know their child was absent on Tuesday?
A digital register answers those questions automatically. Here's how to switch over in one term without disrupting teachers.
Week 1 – 2: set up and train
- Load every class and stream with the right learners and roll numbers. Admission data is usually already in your system; check it before day one.
- Decide what "the register" is. Most schools take one daily register in the morning (the first period). Some also take attendance per lesson in junior and senior school.
- Train class teachers in a 20-minute session. Show them how to open their class, mark everyone present with one tap, and change the few who are absent.
Week 3 – 6: run paper and digital side by side
For a few weeks, keep the paper register as a backup while teachers get used to the digital one. Most teachers find the digital register quicker within a week, because they only touch the learners who are absent.
Week 7 onwards: go fully digital
Once registers are being completed on time, retire the paper. Things that make it stick:
- A deadline, for example registers in by 8:30 a.m.
- A daily check by the deputy of which classes haven't submitted.
- Absence alerts to parents. When a learner is marked absent, the parent can get an SMS the same morning. Nothing improves attendance faster.
What you get
After one term with a digital register, the school can see:
- attendance for every learner, for the month and the term, also shown to their parent;
- class and school attendance trends on the head teacher's dashboard;
- learners with repeated absences, flagged early enough to follow up;
- accurate records for reports, transfers and inspection.
Try the register
Sign in to the Class Compass live demo as Teacher or School admin and open Student Attendance. The demo school has six weeks of attendance already recorded, so you can see the reports as well as the register.