School Record Keeping – Tips,Types, Filling System, Vital Records

SCHOOL RECORDS AND RECORD KEEPING

Record Keeping is a very important function of an HM/Principal. HM’s/Principals who do not take record-keeping seriously will cause a lot of problems for the school operations so it must be taken serious y.

USEFUL QUESTIONS IN RECORD KEEPING

School administrators must ask themselves the following questions:

1. Must the record be retained in Paper Form?
2. Is it possible to convert the paper record to electronic form?
3. Is it necessary to have both the printed and electronic copy in the school at the same time?
4. Is the information obtainable from the internet or from the originator? In other words, if the records is lost or accidentally destroyed, can it be recovered from either the internet or the source?.
5. What is the cost of maintaining records in paper form compared to the cost of maintaining the same records in electronic form?.

RECORD STORING TIPS

Store records according to the following guidelines

1. Files consulted or referred to frequently must be kept in such a way that are easily accessible
2. Records (Files) must be arranged/organized logically so they can be retrieved quickly
3. If other people share the filling system, the system must make sense to all users.
4. Non-active records should be kept in less accessible drawers or cabinets.

TYPES OF FILING SYSTEMS SCHOOLS MAY ADOPT

There are five major ways to store records, whether the records are on paper micrographics or Magnetic media. These include:

ALPHABETIC METHOD: Files are labelled and filled by the sequence of letters in the alphabets. In other words, the files are arranged in Alphabetical order.

NUMERIC METHOD: In this method, Code numbers are assigned to different files Once the number is assigned, no decisions have to be made as to how to file records. They are simply filed in Numeric order. However, this method requires an INDEX to find materials. A numeric filing system works well for records that can be filed by Policy Numbers, product numbers, etc. The major advantage of the Numeric method is that it increases the confidentiality of records.

SUBJECT METHOD: Records are filed alphabetically, but according to Topic, Subject or Category rather than individual or business names. It is often combined with the alphabetic system.

GEOGRAPHY METHOD: Records are arranged alphabetically according to the names of Geographic location.

CHRONOLOGICAL METHOD: Records are arranged by date (Usually Year/Month/Day)

TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE FILLING AND RECORD KEEPING

1. Files/Records necessary for daily operations and daily usage should be easily accessible and retrievable. i.e. Active files should be closest to you.
2. Files/Records that are accessed infrequently should be stored in separate, less accessible location.
3. Access to confidential information must be restricted at all times
4. A record retention schedule must be developed. i.e. unnecessary records should no retained after a particular period.

VITAL RECORDS

Vital records/documents are those documents necessary for continuous operation of the business in case of Fire, Flood, Earthquake, Arson etc. Examples of school vital records include:

1. The schools registration documents
2. Students Academic Records
3. Personnel (Staff) Records
4. Fixed and Current Assets Records.
5. Financial Records
6. Debtors and Creditors records

IMPORTANT RECORDS EVERY HM/PRINCIPAL MUST KEEP

1. Students Academic Records
2. Teachers Attendance Register
3. Admission Register
4. Staff Movement Book
5. Withdrawal/Transfer Register
6. Visitors Record Book
7. School Log Book
8. Parents Database
9. Fixed Assets Book
10. Graduands Album
11. Ministry of Education approved syllabus
12. Teachers confidential files
13. Inspection Remarks Book
14. Punishment Book: Corporal punishment, Suspension, Expulsion, etc

RECORDS THE HM/PRINCIPAL MUST ENSURE TEACHERS KEEP

1. The Class attendance register
2. Diary
3. Continuous Assessment Records
4. Class Time Table
5. Lesson Notes