Keyholders & out-of-hours access

Keyholders

A keyholder record is a row that says: this person has this key/fob/code from this date, until they bring it back. Run as an outstanding-only list, it’s the one screen you want when your insurer asks who has access after an out-of-hours incident.

What’s tracked

• Holder name + role — who has it. Use the staff person’s full name. Role is informational (caretaker, headteacher, premises officer).
• Kind — physical_key, electronic_fob, alarm_pin, safe_combination, gate_remote.
• Reference — internal asset/key code if you cut numbered keys.
• Label — a free-text description. “Sports hall back door, brass tag” is more useful than “Key 14”.
• Site — which site the access is for. A trust-wide master key goes against the central school.
• Issued on — when you handed it over.
• Returned on — when it came back. Set this to close the row.
• Notes — anything else. Whether it’s photographed, signed for, etc.

Default view

The default filter is outstanding — rows where returned_on is null. That’s the operational list.

Switch to All to see history. Switch to Returned for audit work, e.g. when someone leaves and you need to confirm everything they ever held has come back.

When someone leaves

Filter to that holder, set returned_on for each row. If something’s missing, raise a security ticket — and consider whether the lock needs changing.

Gotchas

• The register doesn’t enforce a return. Old rows hang around outstanding indefinitely if nobody closes them. Sweep the outstanding list at term-end at minimum.
• Reference is a free-text field. Two different rows can carry the same reference — useful for two keys cut to the same blank — but means you can’t search by reference and expect uniqueness.
• The register has no link to the keyholder’s user account. If a member of staff changes name (marriage, deed poll), update the row manually.

Related

• Sites, buildings, floors, rooms