# Child Attendance Sheet
URL: https://guide.whitepenguin.co/docs/attendance/child-attendance-sheet/
> View the children attendance sheet to track the following data: Child Name, Time In, Time Out, Reason/Note, and Status.
## Overview [#overview]
The **Child Attendance Sheet** is the **Children** tab of the **Attendance** section. It records every clock-in and clock-out for each child, calculates how long they attended against the expected day length, and marks each record as **Present**, **Late**, **Absent**, or **Excused**.
The **Attendance** section is organised into four tabs:
| Tab | What It Shows |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------- |
| **Children** | Attendance records for every child. |
| **Teachers** | Attendance records for teaching staff. |
| **Admins** | Attendance records for admin users. |
| **Reports** | Attendance reports and summaries. |
Each row on the **Children** tab is one attendance record:
| Column | What It Shows |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Child Name** | The child the record belongs to. |
| **Date** | The day of the record, including the weekday — for example *Wed, 5 Aug, 2026*. |
| **Clock In** | The time the child arrived. |
| **Clock Out** | The time the child left. |
| **Hours Attended** | Time attended against the expected day length — for example *3h 0m / 8h*. Shows a dash when it cannot be calculated. |
| **Reason/Note** | An optional note explaining a late arrival or an absence. |
| **Status** | **Present** or **Late**. |
| **Action** | **View details** opens that child's full attendance profile. |
At the top of the page you can:
* Change the period with the **Date** dropdown.
* Narrow the list with the **All Classrooms** dropdown.
* Find a specific record with **Search by name, class, etc**.
* Load more or fewer records with **Rows per page**.
## How to Access [#how-to-access]
* **Admins**
1. Click **Attendance** in the left sidebar.
2. Open the **Children** tab.
3. Click **Add Attendance** to record a new entry, or click **View details** on any row to open that child's attendance profile.
* **Teachers**
1. Click **Attendance** in the left sidebar.
2. Open the **Children** tab.
3. By default, teachers see attendance only for their **assigned classrooms and children**. Adding or changing records depends on their custom role.
* **Parents**
1. Sign in to the **Parent Dashboard**.
2. Clock the child **in** on arrival and **out** at pick-up.
3. Parents can do this for **their own children only** and cannot see other children's records.
## Roles & Access [#roles--access]
**Access is based on custom roles.** Your **school admin** creates **custom roles** for all users and controls exactly which permissions each role has — **View**, **Edit**, **Create**, and **Delete** — for every section of the system, including Attendance.
| User | What they can do with child attendance |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Admins** | **Create**, **view**, **edit**, and **delete** attendance records for any child. |
| **Teachers** | **View** attendance for their assigned classrooms and children by default. With the right custom role, they can also **create**, **edit**, and **delete** records. |
| **Parents** | **Clock in** and **clock out** for their own children only. |
For staff users, each action maps to a permission on their custom role:
* **View** permission for Attendance — open the Children tab and read records.
* **Create** permission — add a new attendance record.
* **Edit** permission — correct the times or the note on an existing record.
* **Delete** permission — archive or permanently remove a record.
**Where to manage roles:** Go to **Settings → Roles & Permissions**, then click **+ Create Role** to build a new custom role, or select an existing role to toggle its permissions. **Super Admin** permissions are fixed and cannot be edited.
## How to Add a New Attendance Record [#how-to-add-a-new-attendance-record]
From **Attendance → Children**, click **Add Attendance** and fill in the record:
1. **Child**
* Select the child the record belongs to.
2. **Date**
* Choose the day being recorded.
3. **Clock In**
* Enter the arrival time.
4. **Clock Out**
* Enter the departure time.
5. **Reason/Note** — optional
* Add a short explanation for a late arrival or an absence. This is what appears in the **Reason/Note** column.
6. **Save the record**
* The record appears in the list, **Hours Attended** is calculated from the two times, and the **Status** badge is set for the day.
**Parents record attendance too.** When a parent clocks their child in or out from the Parent Dashboard, the entry appears in this sheet automatically — so on most days there is nothing to add manually.
## Reading a Child's Attendance Profile [#reading-a-childs-attendance-profile]
Click **View details** on any row to open that child's profile. The header shows the child's name with their current status badge, plus a **Last Month** dropdown to change the period.
The profile row shows **Class**, **Age**, **Parent/Guardian**, and **Admission number**.
Below it, five summary cards cover the selected period:
| Card | What It Counts |
| --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Total School Days** | School days in the selected period. |
| **Present Days** | Days the child was marked **Present**. |
| **Absent Days** | School days with no attendance recorded. |
| **Late Days** | Days the child clocked in after the expected start time. |
| **Excused Days** | Absences that were approved or excused. |
The **Attendance logs** table lists every individual record with its **Date**, **Clock In**, **Clock Out**, **Hours Attended**, **Reason/Note**, and **Status**, plus an **⋯** menu to **view**, **archive**, or **delete** that record.
## Attendance Statuses [#attendance-statuses]
| Status | Meaning |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Present** | The child arrived on time and attended the day. |
| **Late** | The child clocked in after the expected start time. |
| **Absent** | No attendance was recorded for a school day. |
| **Excused** | The absence was approved — counted under **Excused Days**. |
## Tips [#tips]
* **Set the period first.** The list and every summary card follow the **Last Month** dropdown, so change it before reading the numbers.
* **Use the classroom filter** to review one class at a time instead of scrolling the whole school.
* **Always add a Reason/Note** for a late arrival or absence — it is the only context the sheet keeps, and it shows up in reports.
* **A dash in Hours Attended means the record is incomplete.** Open **View details** and correct the clock-in or clock-out time.
* **Read Late Days alongside Present Days.** A child can be attending every day and still be recorded late most mornings.
* **Head to the Reports tab** when you need attendance totals across classrooms rather than one child at a time.
## FAQs [#faqs]
Admins can create, view, edit, and delete any record. Other users can add records if their **custom role** includes **Create** permission for Attendance.
No. By default a teacher sees only the children in their **assigned classrooms**. A custom role can widen that, and can also allow creating, editing, archiving, and deleting.
Parents can **clock in** and **clock out** for their own children only. They cannot view or edit any other child's attendance.
Because the total cannot be calculated — usually the record is missing a clock-out, or the clock-out time is earlier than the clock-in time. Fix the times and the total appears.
**Absent** means no attendance was recorded for a school day. **Excused** means the absence was approved, and it is counted separately under **Excused Days**.
Click **View details** on their row. You get the child's profile, the five summary cards, and the complete **Attendance logs** table.
Check the two filters at the top right — the **Last Month** period dropdown and the **All Classrooms** dropdown both limit what the sheet shows.
Yes — use the **Reports** tab in the Attendance section for summaries across children, classrooms, and date ranges.