5 Big Reasons You Need to Use a Physical Sign-in Sheet!

/ Administration, Ministry / By
childcare safety sign in sheet

0100100001101001. Translation – “Hi”. Technology is Amazing! Our computers, phones, and tablets can do so many different things quickly and efficiently. They streamline our lives and help us remove burdensome work. I love technology!  

A lot of churches have gone to a digital sign-in process for their children and preschool areas. These programs capture and store information and make the drop-off process smooth. Security badges are also a great feature. They eliminate paper waste, track attendance, send invitations, and even allow access to emergency phone numbers. These check-in systems are the way to go and worth the investment.

You may be asking “I thought I was reading an article about physical sign-in sheets?” And you are. As great as technology is, you still need to be using a physical piece of paper in addition to your high-tech sign-in. Here’s why.

1. Technology Fails

Perhaps the most obvious reason is a failure. We have all been working on a school project, playing a game, or watching a video when the technology we are using fails us. The wifi goes out, the battery dies, or the computer just decides it no longer works here, whatever the reason failures are imminent.  

These failures never happen at the right time (I’m not even sure there is a right time). A physical sign-in sheet provides an automatic backup. This could alleviate stress on Sunday and help your Monday be much better on those weekends technology takes a sick day. 

2. Recognition

I don’t know about you, but I forget kid’s names sometimes. It is not that I don’t care, it just happens. Having this physical sign-in (PSI from now on cause I’m tired of typing “physical sign-in”) can help jar your memory. It can also help you know new guests and visitors easily when you visit a room.  

This is also true for remembering and learning parents’ names.  

3. Allergy/Medical Info

Most of the check-in programs can track who has listed allergies and what those allergies are. Some can even print this info on the check-in sticker. Your PSI should have a spot for this as well.

Allowing parents to list allergies can be helpful to the teacher. Check-in stickers often get lost, torn up, or even eaten taking the allergy information with it. Subs can forget that information is on the sticker. Additionally, children develop new allergies all the time and this often happens after they have completed their “Family Profile” in your computer system. Having this option allows for parents to keep you more informed and up to date on their child’s health and safety. 

This spot can also allow for information about temporary medications or medical issues currently being treated. This can be very helpful information for you and anyone who is working with that child. 

4. Emergency

This is perhaps the biggest reason you should be using a PSI. We all hope and pray that we never have to deal with an emergency situation at church. However, if we must, we should be above and beyond prepared to handle whatever situation that may arise.  

Having emergency phone numbers immediately available is a good practice to have, and a PSI provides that. If something happens in class and you or the teacher need to get in contact with a parent quickly then the PSI is a faster alternative than having to pull up a program/app/website on your electronic device. 

Evacuations are another time a PSI would prove vital. Emergencies can invoke panic and stress in even the calmest individuals. In the event of an evacuation, you and or your teachers should perform a roll call to ensure every child is accounted for. The stress of the situation could lead to some confusion, “I had 5 kids…right?!” “Marcus was absent today…or was that last week?” This PSI allows you and your teachers to quickly grab on the way out and then use it to ensure all kids are safe and accounted for. 

The phone numbers are also relevant in this situation and can be used to inform/comfort parents about their child’s whereabouts.

5. Pick-Up Safety

On rare occasions, an adult we do not expect may show up to pick up a child. We all have (or at least should have) safety measures in place for when this happens. Part of these safety measures should include a phone call to the parent if you were not informed of this 3rd party pick-up. Once again a PSI is there to save the day! You do not have to leave the room or the hallway to get the phone number to call.  

Adding a space on the PSI for adults to indicate another individual will be picking up their child is an option to consider. 

Physical sign-in sheets provided a whole lot of added protection in exchange for minimal extra effort. Place them at each classroom door so parents can see them and fill them out as they are dropping off their children.  

An option to consider would be to have your regular attenders already printed on the sheet and have parents simply write in a phone number at check-in. It is a good idea to not have the phone number pre-printed. This way you can be confident that the phone number listed on the PSI is as up to date as possible! One drawback to this approach of having the kids already listed is that the director can no longer simply print a batch of sheets and distribute them. Instead, the director would have to ensure that the right list goes to the right class.  

These sheets do not have to be fancy!  Click below to download a sample PSI!

Sample PSI

Whether you have a blank PSI or one with pre-printed names on it, these sheets should be a vital piece of your check-in procedures!

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Also be sure to check out our Administrative Resource pack that includes printable registration cards as well as some helpful parent handouts for those accidents that occur.

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