Category:Attendance

PARS's oldest and most-used area is attendance. The features are described in brief below, with a link to a wiki page that goes into more detail about each feature. Each link that you can click is coloured and emboldened like this (you can't click on this one).

PARS has systems for Extra classes, Detentions and Removals, which all create registers for pupils. Follow these links for further information about these features as they are not covered in depth on this page. Some pages relating to these categories can be found at the index at the bottom of this page.

Usage

Finding registers

You can use the Take a register page to look for specific registers.

However staff will generally access their registers via their homepage, which will show all registers to be completed today or this week.

Using registers

Follow the Register link for instructions on how to take a register and what features are available via the register. You can create seating plans from your register.

Updating marks & finding absentees (attendance officers)

Attendance officers should use attendance view to manage attendance. Attendance view can also be filtered to find first day absentees, latecomers, truants, etc.

Deal with unexplained marks is a features designed specifically for tracking down unauthorised absence codes. This also links with external contact (below) allowing you to contact parents regarding unauthorised absence.

Contacting parents

The external contact page allows you to send messages home to parents (emails or SMS messages) as well as recording the details of telephone calls or meetings in a pupil's contact log. This can be used in conjunction with attendance view (above) to send messages to parents of absentees or latecomers.

Chasing missing registers

Missing registers is used to chase staff who have not completed their registers on time. It is important that all registers are taken on time for fire-safety and safeguarding purposes.

Preparing for fire

PARS has a fire module which constantly updates itself with today's attendance so that if there is a fire, you are able to tell which pupils are onsite using attendance data that is no more than 5 minutes old.

Reporting on attendance

Attendance reports can be used to analyse attendance data, track persistent absentees and identify patterns of attendance. Follow the link for screenshots of the reports available as well as a guide to using reports.

You may also create Custom behaviour reports. Despite the name, these reports allow you to analyse various aspects of attendance data, as well as behaviour, detentions, removals and more.

The Attendance overview features will give you an overview of the whole school's attendance at a glance, including the lowest attendance pupils and form group analysis.

Using the # or Y codes

The Exceptional circumstances feature allows you to issue the # or Y codes. These are used if your school needs to close unexpectedly, perhaps due to weather conditions or industrial action.

Configuration

Automatic alerts for absentees or truants

The Group manager page can be used to create attendance alert groups - these are groups of recipients who are notified immediately when certain pupils get specific attendance codes (such as N) or when the pupils truant.

Custom attendance codes

The Maintain codes feature can used in PARS to create custom attendance codes. This can also be done via SIMS and any custom codes from SIMS will be pulled into PARS.

Lesson registers writing back to AM or PM

Mapped periods are used when you want your attendance data from a lesson to write back to a session (for example, period 5 being copied to the PM session). You will need to configure this in SIMS.

Preparing for fire

The Fire module may need some configuration before use. The fire module keeps a copy of current attendance data in the case of a fire.

Biometric setup (swipecards, fingerprint scanners, etc.)

the instructions on the Pupil scan page should be used if you are using a biometric system for attendance.

Settings for registers

Registration preferences apply specifically and only to registers, unlike permissions and preferences which apply to all areas of PARS.

Restricting attendance codes

In PARS you can restrict staff access to attendance codes. Typically schools will only allow staff to enter present, late or absent codes for pupils; all other attendance is managed by the attendance officer. If you wish to restrict access to attendance codes, go to the permissions page.

Frequently asked questions

This is a list of frequently asked questions relating to attendance. For the answers to any of these questions, please go to attendance FAQ.

• There are pupils with no name on menus, registers, etc.
• My lessons are missing from my timetable
• All previous attendance marks have disappeared in SIMS and PARS
• In Attendance View why is there a pink triangle on one of the cells for a student?
• How do I add a Y or # code?
• Can comments be added to attendance marks?
• How to record AM and PM marks during a lesson
• Our AM or PM registration times are wrong
• I want teachers to only take one register for double/triple periods
• The marks for our AM/PM sessions keep changing unexpectedly
• Staff can't see notifications in their registers for pupils who are On Report
  
• I can't save an N code for a pupil in my register
  
  

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