> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.edustream.ng/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Track Student Attendance with Real-Time Alerts in Edustream

> Set up digital check-in terminals, mark daily attendance, receive automatic absence alerts, and run detailed attendance reports for students and staff.

Edustream's attendance module replaces paper registers and manual parent phone calls with a real-time digital system. Teachers and administrators mark attendance from any device, parents receive instant push notifications when their child is absent, and the system builds a continuously updated attendance history that you can query by student, class, or date range.

<Note>
  The attendance module is available on the **Operations** and **Enterprise** plans. If you are on the Starter plan and would like to upgrade, visit **Settings → Billing → Change Plan** or contact the Edustream support team.
</Note>

***

## Setting Up Check-In Terminals

Edustream's real-time attendance terminal turns any device — a tablet at the school gate, a wall-mounted screen in a classroom, or a shared computer in the staffroom — into a digital check-in station.

### Configure a New Terminal

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Terminal Management">
    Go to **Attendance → Terminals** and click **Add Terminal**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name the Terminal">
    Give the terminal a descriptive name that identifies its location, for example *Main Gate*, *JSS Block Entrance*, or *Staff Room*.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Assign the Terminal to a Class or Zone">
    Select the class or school zone this terminal serves. A gate terminal may cover the whole school, while a classroom terminal is typically assigned to a single class.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Generate the Terminal Code">
    Edustream generates a unique terminal activation code. Enter this code on the device you want to use as the check-in station — open the Edustream Attendance app and enter the code under **Activate Terminal**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test the Terminal">
    Have a test student or staff member check in to verify the terminal is recording entries correctly before going live.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  A low-cost Android tablet mounted near the classroom door makes an excellent permanent check-in station. The Edustream Attendance app runs in kiosk mode to prevent students from accessing other device functions.
</Tip>

***

## Marking Attendance

Attendance can be recorded in two ways: through a check-in terminal (students or staff tap in themselves) or manually entered by a teacher directly in the attendance sheet.

### Mark Attendance Manually

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Attendance Sheet">
    Navigate to **Attendance → Daily Attendance**, then select the **Class** and **Date**. Today's date is selected by default.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review the Student List">
    Edustream displays the full class roster with each student's current status defaulting to **Present**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Update Each Status">
    For each student, set the attendance status to one of the following:

    * **Present** — student is in school and on time
    * **Late** — student arrived after the scheduled start time
    * **Absent** — student did not attend school
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a Remark (Optional)">
    Click the remark icon beside a student's name to add a note — for example, *Called in sick* or *Left early for medical appointment*.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Submit the Register">
    Click **Submit Attendance**. The register is saved and locked for that date. Any student marked **Absent** triggers an automatic push notification to their linked guardian within seconds.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Once an attendance register is submitted and locked, only a school administrator can reopen it for corrections. Submit carefully, and contact your administrator immediately if you need to amend a record.
</Warning>

***

## Parent Notifications for Absences

Edustream automatically notifies parents the moment a student is marked absent, so guardians are always informed without teachers needing to make individual phone calls.

### How Notifications Work

When a student is marked **Absent** on the daily attendance sheet, the system:

1. Sends a **push notification** to the Edustream Parent app on the guardian's phone. The notification reads, for example: *"Your child Amara Johnson (JSS 2A) has been marked absent today, Monday 14 July."*
2. Updates the **app icon badge** on the guardian's home screen to show the number of unread attendance notifications.
3. Logs the notification in the guardian's notification history inside the Parent Portal so they can review past alerts.

<Info>
  Push notifications are sent to all guardians linked to the student, not just the primary contact, ensuring both parents are informed even if one is unreachable. Guardians who have not installed the Parent app will receive the notification by email instead.
</Info>

<Tip>
  Encourage parents to install the Edustream Parent app and enable push notifications during enrollment. You can share the app download link from **Settings → Parent Portal → App Download Links**.
</Tip>

***

## Viewing Attendance Reports

Edustream compiles attendance data into filterable reports that help you spot patterns — a student with repeated unexplained absences, a class with consistently low Monday attendance, or a staff member approaching an absence threshold.

### Run an Attendance Report

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Attendance Reports">
    Go to **Attendance → Reports**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the Report Type">
    Choose from the available report types:

    * **By Student** — full attendance history for a single student
    * **By Class** — daily attendance summary for all students in a class
    * **By Date Range** — attendance across the school or a specific class between two dates
    * **Staff Attendance** — attendance records for teaching and non-teaching staff
  </Step>

  <Step title="Apply Filters">
    Set the date range, class, and any other relevant filters. For student-level reports, search by name or student ID.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Generate and Review">
    Click **Generate Report**. Edustream displays a summary table showing total days present, absent, and late, alongside an attendance percentage for each student or staff member in the selected scope.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Export the Report">
    Click **Export to PDF** or **Export to CSV** to save the report for record-keeping, sharing with parents at a meeting, or submitting to your school board.
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## Staff Attendance

Staff attendance is tracked through the same module and follows the same process as student attendance. Form teachers or administrators mark staff members present, late, or absent each school day.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Staff Attendance">
    Go to **Attendance → Staff Attendance** and select the date.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Mark Each Staff Member">
    Update the status for each staff member — **Present**, **Late**, or **Absent**. Add a remark if required (for example, *Annual leave* or *Official duty*).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Submit the Register">
    Click **Submit**. The record is saved and included in staff attendance reports accessible to administrators.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Student Attendance" icon="user-graduate">
    Track daily presence for every enrolled student. Absences trigger instant parent notifications and are summarized in per-student and per-class reports.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Staff Attendance" icon="briefcase">
    Monitor teaching and non-teaching staff punctuality and absence patterns. Data feeds into HR reports and can be exported for payroll processing.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>