Gate

Pupils coming in at the school's gate today: who was on time and who was late, the last scans, and checking in by the pupil's card.

What it is for

The page shows the school's day at the gate as its tablets recorded it, and a pupil's arrival can be recorded here from their card when it was not scanned on a tablet.

Who uses it

The page opens for whoever holds “View the gate”, to look only, or “Record attendance: the register, the gate and exit permits”, to work in it. In the built-in roles: Owner, Manager, Team member, Principal, Stage supervisor, Teacher. They are granted to any role under Settings → Roles and permissions.

Step by step

1. Pick the school in the filters if you have more than one.
2. Scan the pupil's card with a USB scanner plugged into the computer and press “Check in”: the outcome shows under the field. Without a card, use “Find a pupil without a card” by name or number. A card carries a private code, not the pupil's number, so a pupil number alone is refused with “Old card: print it again”: a card printed before the private code; print it again from “Pupil cards”.
3. If a pupil forgot their card, type part of their Arabic name, their English name (if they have one) or their code in “Find a pupil without a card” and press “Search”, then “Check in” beside their name: the arrival is recorded just as if their card had been scanned. Never type a name in the “Check in by pupil code” field: it refuses it with “Not a code; search by name instead” and records nothing.
4. On a phone, a tablet or a computer with a camera, a camera button appears beside the field: press it and point the camera at the barcode printed on the pupil's card; the arrival is recorded when it is read, and the camera closes when the outcome shows.
5. The camera reads the card in Chrome on Android, and in other browsers through a built-in reader fetched from the network the first time the camera is turned on, so it needs a connection then and is not kept for offline use. If the camera is refused, allow it for this site in the browser's settings and try again; a USB scanner or typing the code always works.
6. Check today's arrivals and the last scans, and open the “Gate scan log” for any other day.

How it works

A pupil is marked present when they arrive within their shift's grace, late by the minutes after it, and absent when they scan after the shift's “Absent after” plus the grace minutes of “Attendance settings”: it shows “Absent (arrived late)”, their minutes late are kept, it counts as an absence and the absence notice goes out like any other. A second scan in a day changes nothing, and a scan past “Absent after” never changes a mark the teacher set on the register. A pupil marked absent with no excuse who then scans before “Absent after” becomes late or present, and their guardians are told of the arrival when the shift asks for it; one who scans after “Absent after” stays absent and the scan is a duplicate. Only a pupil's name, code and class are shown, and every check-in is logged. A card is matched by its private code alone, and a scan of a pupil's number alone is logged as an “Old card”. The camera keeps and sends no picture, only the code it reads, and the arrival is recorded exactly as if the code was typed, under the name of whoever recorded it.

On the page

• Today's counts: on time, late, scans, and the scans not recorded.
• Checking in by the pupil's card.
• Finding a pupil without a card by Arabic name, English name if there is one, or code, and checking them in beside their name.
• Who came in at the gate today, and when.
• The last scans and what each came to.

Questions

What does the pupil search show?

This school's pupils only, up to twenty, each with name, code and class. It searches the pupil's Arabic name, their English name if one is on file, and their code; a pupil with no English name is not found by typing their name in Latin letters, and Arabic names are not transliterated. If there are more, type more of the name. A pupil of another school is never shown and nothing is told about them. The ID number can be typed in the same field if the group chose it as the source of the card's code: it is searched without being kept in any record, and too many tries in a row pause it for a while.

Why was a scan refused?

The code is unknown, or the pupil is of another school or inactive, or has no shift today, or the card is an old one: it carries the pupil's number, not the private code, and shows “Old card: print it again”; print it again from “Pupil cards”. The outcome is written beside the scan.

Does a scan change an absence on a closed day?

Yes, if the absence has no excuse and the pupil scans before the “Absent after” limit: it becomes an arrival, the day stays closed, and its counts are updated. A scan after the limit leaves the absence and is a duplicate.

Why does “Absent (arrived late)” show for a pupil who scanned their card?

Because they arrived after the shift's “Absent after” plus the grace minutes, so they were recorded absent with their minutes late kept. To change that, edit “Absent after” under “Shifts”, or leave it empty so the gate never records an absence and a late pupil stays late.

What if the card of a pupil marked “Custom” is scanned?

The pupil is not re-marked: “Custom” stands as it was, and the scan is a duplicate.

Why is there no camera button?

The device offers the browser no camera, or the page was not opened over https. Type the code or use a USB scanner: they work on every device.

Is a card that carries the ID number accepted?

Yes, if the group chose the national ID as the source of the card's code (in “Card settings”): the number is matched to the pupil without being kept, and the pupil's code is logged, never the number. A card that carries the ID number is asked of the server; with no connection the tablet keeps it sealed, and only the server can read it, when the connection is back the same day.