Sunday school roster
A Sunday school roster with two leaders in every room
Kids’ church needs the right adults in the right rooms every week, not just enough bodies. FairTurns rosters leaders and helpers by the rooms they’re cleared for, and shows the whole term so nobody finds out at the door.
Free, with no limit on people or dates. No card.
Two adults per room, every week, from a small pool
Most churches run their kids’ programme on a simple rule: two cleared adults in every room, every week. With a crèche, a junior room and a senior room that’s six adults each Sunday, and they all miss the main gathering to be there. The parents who help do it gladly, but not every week.
The leader juggling it has an extra problem: not everyone who offers can be in every room. Some helpers still have their Working with Children Check or Blue Card in progress, some only want the crèche, and teenage helpers need an adult beside them. A spreadsheet doesn’t know any of that.
How FairTurns runs a kids’ programme
A team for each room
Crèche, Juniors and Seniors each get their own team, colour and team moderator, so each room leader runs their own roster.
Positions for leaders and helpers
Add “Leader, 2 people” and “Teen helper, 1 person”. Each Sunday gets those places in each room.
Only where they’re cleared
Limit each person to the positions you’ve approved them for. Fill never puts someone in a place they aren’t set up for.
Turns shared around
Fill gives each place to whoever has had the fewest turns, so parents get to join the main gathering most weeks.
School holidays
Cancel the Sundays you don’t run during the holidays, one date at a time. Each one can be brought back.
Names, not children
Only adults and helpers are on the roster. On the public link, use first names, and never put a child’s full name on it.
Set it up
- 01
Create the programme
Create your church and a team for each room or age group.
- 02
Add the positions
Add Leader and Helper positions with the number each room needs.
- 03
Add the adults
Invite leaders by email and tick the positions each is cleared for.
- 04
Set the Sundays
Click the first Sunday of term, set the times and make it weekly.
- 05
Fill the term
Press Fill for the term, cancel the holiday Sundays and share the link with leaders.
When you want it to run itself
Pro emails leaders who have accepted an invitation a reminder before their Sunday, which is when they remember to bring the craft supplies. If someone can’t make it they reply from the email, the room leader is told, and the next cleared adult in line is asked, so a room isn’t left with one adult.
A$1 a month per organisation, paid 1 to 5 years at a time. See Pro and pricing
Good to know
- Keep track of checks and clearances where you keep them now. FairTurns doesn’t store card numbers or expiry dates; it only places people in the positions you’ve set them up for.
- When a check expires, untick that position for the person, then run Redistribute with them unticked to hand their Sundays to others.
- Leaders don’t book their own Sundays: the room leader puts them on, and they mark the weeks they’re away.
- If you’re short of cleared adults one week, the empty place stays visibly empty on the roster rather than being filled with someone not set up for it.
Questions
Can I make sure every room has two leaders?
Yes. Give the Leader position a headcount of two and Fill puts two people on it each Sunday. If there aren’t enough leaders available, the empty place shows on the roster so you can see it early.
Can teenagers help without being counted as leaders?
Yes. Add a Teen helper position and limit the teenagers to it. They are rostered as helpers alongside the leaders and never into a Leader place.
Will the children’s names be on the roster?
The roster is for the adults and helpers on each Sunday, not the children attending. Anyone with the public link can see the names on it, so first names or initials are wise for teenage helpers.
What about holiday programmes and camps?
Add each day of a holiday programme or camp as a one-off date with its own times. Press Fill and the leaders are shared across those days too.
Can parents help once a term rather than monthly?
Yes. Add them like everyone else, and with Pro set them to Now and then so Fill uses them less often than your regular leaders.
Free templates and guides
Church roster template
Sunday teams in one table: music, sound, welcomers, kids’ church and morning tea.
Positions and headcounts
Name the jobs on each date and how many people each needs. Nobody gets a job they’re not set up for.
Planning a church roster for the year
Plan music, sound, welcomers, kids’ church and morning tea for the year: Easter, Christmas, holidays and how often people are on.
Similar rosters
Church rosters
Music, sound, welcomers, kids and morning tea on one shared church roster, free for every team.
Welcomers, ushers and greeters
Who is at the door, in the car park and on the aisles each week, shared out across the parish.
Scouts, guides and youth groups
Parent helpers, supper and hall lock-up for weekly meeting nights, shared between the families.