Signing visitors in and out

It's up to you whether you ask visitors to sign in and out. Find out what to consider when deciding, and have a look at the approaches some schools take.

Last reviewed on 1 June 2022
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School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 9727
Contents
  1. You're not required to have visitors sign in and out 
  2. You can still use visitor books under the UK GDPR
  3. How schools have approached this 

You're not required to have visitors sign in and out 

It's up to you to decide whether this is appropriate. This also applies to parents and other visitors who attend events such as sports days.

However, it may be difficult for you to find a practical alternative that enables you to meet your health and safety obligations to visitors. 

Carry out a risk assessment before inviting in a large group of parents. Make sure adequate arrangements are in place to enable your school to account for all staff, pupils and visitors in the event of an emergency evacuation.

The DfE gave us this advice. 

Visitors may be particularly at risk in the event of a fire because they are less familiar with the premises. You should include arrangements for them (and anyone else who you’ve identified as at risk) in your emergency and