A Designated Person
We recommend that, as part of your evacuation procedure, you designate a person responsible for the role of bringing a tablet, having a charged phone, and communicating with the parents.
Internet Access Whilst Away from the Building
Since Famly is a cloud-based app, it requires internet access. Not all settings have tablets with a built-in internet connection, but there are several solutions:
Make sure to have the app installed on a mobile phone with data (an internet connection), that way you'll be able to access the app directly from the phone. Naturally most practitioners will not use their phones during the day, so it make sense for this to belong to a manager or other office-based staff.
'Tether' your tablet with the app on to a mobile phone's data. Most internet-ready mobile phones can create their own (Wi-Fi) Mobile Hotspot for another device to connect to. Make sure to have previously connected the tablet to that phone's Hotspot at least once before, so the connection is recognised (thus saving time)
Make sure that the designated devices are fully-charged, and that you have a backup device.
Evacuation List
To get a complete overview (or register) of who's currently signed in to the setting:
Go to Reports and click on Custom Lists
Select the preset list Evacuation List. From here you'll be able to see the children that are signed in. You can add further details to this list, e.g. parent contact details. All information is live and updated in real time, as long as your are online. You can also create a staff evacuation list. Read more on the lists in Famly here.
OR
Log in to the app and click on the Home Icon → Overview then click on the All Rooms tab. Below the graph, click on the green icon of the tick (this also shows a count of how many staff and children are signed in). Here you'll be able to see all children and staff signed in.
Practice finding this list during your evacuation drills, so you become familiar with its location.
Contacting Parents
When all children and staff are accounted for, you can use the app to notify the parents of the emergency. Communication is vital in case of an emergency, but you do not want to cause too much panic. Therefore, the app allows you to write to only parents with children who are signed in when an emergency happens. To do this:
From the Home → Overview, click the All Rooms tab at the top
Next, click the green tick icon beneath the graph, to show the children who are signed in.
Now click Select all children on the right side of the screen, and click Send
Select Post and a new template will open where you can write to the parents
If tablets are lost, don't worry about the data in your Famly platform. All data in Famly is stored in the cloud, so you'll be able to access all your information from a different device.