This has been turned on by default for all centres from 5th April 2020.

To reduce the number of touches at sign in / out SmartCentral has introduced contactless sign in.

This allows parents and authorised contacts to log in/out, via their own phone, but with added security to ensure it is done in centre. (ie. it won’t work if you are in your car, in the carpark.)

If your centre has this function turned on the process is very simple :

The digital sign in screen displays a unique sign in code that changes daily.

Parents and Authorised Contacts log into SmartCentral through their portal account on their phone:

  • The parent / contact will be able to select the child to sign in.
  • They must provide any requested information (eg departure time) depending on the options enabled for the centre
  • they enter’s daily service code visible on the daily roll
  • click submit
  • a child can be marked absent without the sign in code

Done!

Signing out follows the same process.

Parents can sign in/out from their phones, at the same time as other parents or staff.

Disabling Contactless Sign In

Go to account -> Setup Org -> Scroll down to the Digital Attendance section. Tick the box to disable the function.

Other Contacts

We DO NOT recomend sharing logins and that’s not needed since Authorised Contacts now automatically get limited acces Portal Accounts created. A contact’s account only has access to sign in / out the child they are authorised to, they dont have access to other information like balances , statements or bookings.

Troubleshooting

Can’t See the Sign In/Out Childrens section

Parent 1 : Once logged in you will see your children in the “Sign In /Out” section, above their enrolments.

Parent 2 & authorised contacts: Once logged in you will see the, children you are authorised to collect, in the “Sign In /Out” section.

If you cannot see the “Sign In/Out Children section”;

  • Check they are on the rolls for today (check with the service, that they are); then make sure;
    • You are authorised to collect these children
    • You are in the service (where you can view the tablet with the code) or on the doorstep of the centre (to read the code on the window/door, but within a small distance from the centre’s tablet. You cannot sign in/out from the carpark or further away.
    • your mobile has the latest technology (operating system and internet browsing apps up to date)
    • you are using firefox, chrome or safari. Firefox and Chrome can be downloaded for free, safari comes with all things Apple.
    • Your internet signal is strong

Can’t enter the Sign In/Out code

If you have selected the child, and you are trying to enter today’s code and are not able to, check you have first ticked your name in the list of parents/carers.

Wrong parent/carer has signed in/Out the child

If the Digital Attendance Screen or the Attendance Report has recording the incorrect parent/carer, and contactless was used to sign in/out the child, check the parent/carer are selecting their name and not just ticking the first name in the list.