School Office Guide

Managing Late Arrivals, PTL Approvals & Please Checks

This guide outlines the daily responsibilities of the school office when using the Unique Schools system.

Following these steps ensures:

  • Accurate attendance records
  • Correct communication with parents
  • Compliance with attendance procedures
  • Reduced manual work

1. Digital Sign-In Tablet (Daily Check)

Each Morning

  • Ensure the Digital Sign-In Tablet is turned on and functioning.
  • Confirm it is connected and accessible.

The manual sign-in system is available if you're tablet is having issues:

www.digitalsign.uniqueschoolapp.ie

During the Day

Re-check periodically to ensure it remains operational.

All late students must sign in using:

  • The Digital Sign-In Tablet
  • OR the staff can manually use the Desktop Browser

This ensures accurate late tracking.

 

 


2. Permission to Leave (PTL) Approval

⚠️ Important: PTL must be approved before a student signs out.


How to Approve PTL

  1. Go to Dashboard
  2. Click Attendance Overview
  3. Click Permission to Leave

From here, you can:

  • Bulk approve (select all → click Approve)
  • Approve individually

You should:

  • Review PTL requests each morning
  • Re-check every hour (or approve at time of sign-out)
  • Once PTL is approved, the student can sign out.

How to Approve Permission to Leave Notes

 

 


3. Late Arrivals

Ensure all students who arrive late:

  • Use the Digital Sign-In Tablet
  • Or staff can manually sign the students in via the Desktop Browser

If students do not sign in, the system will not record their late arrival.

 

 


4. “Please Check” (Morning Attendance Review)

The Please Check feature ensures students marked absent at morning roll are verified.

Pro Tip:

You can abort a Please Check if you do not wish to notify the parent by clicking the Edit option on the far right and changing the status to “Aborted”.

 

How to Action “Please Check”

  1. Go to Dashboard
  2. Click Attendance Overview
  3. Click Please Check

Then:

Check your attendance system to see if the student was marked present in later classes after AM roll call.


If Student is Marked Present

If the student appears in later classes:

  1. Select the student
  2. Click:
    In Class – Cancelled → Mark As Present

This:

  • Cancels the Absence Request Form
  • Notifies the parent via the app that the student is present

If Student is Late

If the student arrived late but did not sign in:

  1. Select:
    In Class – Cancelled → Mark As Late
  • This updates the attendance correctly.
  • Notifies the parent via the app that the student was late but bypassed the sign in device.

If Student is Marked Absent

If the student is marked absent in subsequent classes:

  1. Select:
    Not In Class – Confirmed

This:

  • Confirms the absence
  • Sends a notification to the parent via the app so they must explain it.
 

 


5. Important – Push Parents to the App

There may be a transition period where parents:

  • Call the school
  • Send emails
  • Send written notes

It is very important to:

  • Encourage all parents to submit attendance information via the app
  • Inform callers that attendance updates must be submitted through the app

This ensures:

  • All communications are logged
  • No manual tracking is required
  • Records are centralised
 

 


Daily Office Checklist

Each Morning:

  • Digital Sign-In Tablet checked and working
  • PTL requests reviewed and approved
  • Please Checks reviewed

During the Day:

  • Monitor late arrivals
  • Approve PTLs
  • Action Please Checks
  • Encourage app usage

Support & Training

If assistance is required:

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