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Check a child in

A child is at the door. You need PTRS to record that they are here, so the headcount is right, their allergies are in front of you, and the record exists if anyone asks later.

What you need​

  • Today's session must be open for your site. Launching the kiosk opens it. Nothing else does.
  • A way to identify the child: their printed PTRS badge, or their name.

There are two routes. Neither records a room, and that matters for ratios.

RouteUse it for
The kiosk in QR Scan modeThe arrivals rush
Quick Check-In from the headerA child with no badge, or a correction

By badge at the kiosk​

  1. Open Attendance and press Launch Kiosk.
  2. Press QR Scan. Allow camera access when the browser asks.
  3. Hold the badge up to the viewfinder.

The screen reads Verifying, then shows the child's name and the time.

The badge must be one PTRS printed from the child's record. A shop-bought QR code, a web address or a plain member number gets "Unrecognized QR code" or "Invalid QR code".

A badge held against the camera does not check the child in over and over. The same badge scanned again within three seconds is ignored.

The grid of child tiles below the scanner is always empty

Manual mode shows a grid of tiles you can tap. It is fed by a list that nothing in PTRS fills in, so it is empty at every site. Scanning is the only kiosk route that works.

By name from the header​

  1. Open the quick-add menu in the header and choose Quick Check-In.
  2. In Session, pick today's open session for your site. The list shows the date, the site and how many children are already checked in. If it says "No open sessions found", launch the kiosk once to open one.
  3. In Member, type at least two letters of the child's name and pick them from the results.
  4. Leave Method on Manual. Choosing QR Scan here only changes the label on the record.
  5. Press Check In.

A message confirms the check-in and the dialog closes.

What PTRS records​

  • A check-in against today's session, timed at the moment PTRS received it, with you as the staff member who recorded it.
  • An entry in the audit trail.
  • A live update to everyone who has your site open, so the child appears at the top of the arrivals feed on every screen.
  • If the child has allergies on file, a separate alert. At the kiosk it is an amber message listing them. Read it before the child goes through.

A moment after the check-in, the kiosk may also show a warning about missing paperwork, such as forms or immunisations. It is a warning only. The child is already checked in by the time you read it.

When PTRS refuses​

Each of these means nothing was recorded.

What you seeWhat it means
Member '…' is already checked in.The child has an open check-in in this session. Check them out first if they left.
Member '…' cannot check in until (date) due to 24-hour illness return rule.An illness record gives a return date later than today.
Session is closed.The session has been closed. Launch the kiosk to open today's.
Attendance session with ID '…' was not found.Usually a kiosk tab left open from yesterday. Close it and launch the kiosk again.
Could not resolve staff member for current user.Your account is not linked to a staff record. An administrator has to link it.

PTRS can record an override of the illness rule, and writes the override into the audit trail under the name of whoever used it. No screen offers that override, so from the screen the block cannot be lifted. If the exclusion is wrong, someone with access to health records has to correct the illness record.

Putting the child in a room​

A check-in can name a room, and a check-in with a room is the only kind that counts toward any ratio figure. No screen in PTRS offers a room. The kiosk sends none and the Quick Check-In dialog has no room field, so every check-in you make counts toward no ratio anywhere.

If someone technical offers to record a room for you, read How ratio compliance is measured first. The staffing figure that check-in divides by is not a real count, so the ratio it produces will be wrong in a predictable way.

Checked against PTRS on 7 September 2026.