Brightwheel provides a secure and configurable check-in experience that staff and parents will love. The brightwheel Kiosk and attendance features offer a secure digital sign-in experience that tracks the time and date of a student's drop off and pick up, the user who signed them in/out, and additional security through a check-in code and digital signatures. The Kiosk is an easier and more secure sign-in process when compared to pen and paper.
With the Check-in Kiosk, staff can also clock-in/out of specific rooms throughout the day. These student and staff records help administrators track and maintain Ratios, managing billing hours, and tracking attendance for licensing requirements.
Please Note: The check-in and attendance features are only available on the mobile app.
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Implementing brightwheel Check-in
Brightwheel has two primary ways to manage and track a student’s attendance. The Check-in Kiosk, available to all Premium users, and the Attendance tab which is available on all plans. The Kiosk has additional security and health options that can be configurable based on the provider's needs while the Attendance tab is great to track a student’s movement throughout the day.
Check-in Kiosk
The Check-in Kiosk is an incredibly versatile tool that can be adjusted to fit the needs of the center. While a check-in code is required to complete a check-in, there are additional requirements that can be enforced. A few simple questions will help determine how best to set up the kiosk and which check-in settings to enable:
- Digital Signatures - Are digital signatures required by the state or preferred by the staff?
- Quick Scan - Which is preferred: Students are checked in on the provider’s device? OR Student contacts complete the check-in on their personal devices?
- Health Screen - Does the center need to collect additional health or student information at check-in?
Attendance Mode
Brightwheel's Attendance feature allows staff to internally track the whereabouts of each student throughout the day. Staff can check students in and out, move them to different rooms that the student is assigned to, or mark them absent. By default, parents are not notified when actions are made in Attendance Mode allowing staff to track student’s locations without alarming parents that their student has been checked out of a room. If preferred, notifications for these actions can be enabled in the check-in settings.
Check-In Codes
Any time a student is checked in or out by anyone other than a staff member, a check-in code will be required. Every user with a brightwheel account has a check-in code assigned to them upon the account's creation. These codes can be modified by the user and should not be shared. Some states accept these as a digital equivalent to a signature.
Drop Off Form
Drop-off forms are also a helpful option to ask for additional information such as when their child woke up, ate last, the last time they used the bathroom, to set an optional pickup time, or just to leave a note. This option is built into the check-in experience and does not require any setting changes for parents to use the Add info option.
This additional information will be included in the check-in record and viewable from the student's feed for both staff and parents.
