---
title: "Report an incident"
description: "File an incident report when a child is injured, has an allergic reaction, or has a behavior incident — with photos, witnesses, and parent notification."
type: guide
updated: 2026-10-10
canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/teachers/attendance/report-an-incident
roles: ["teacher", "center_admin"]
platforms: [ios, android, web]
---
Incidents happen. A scraped knee on the playground, a bite in the toddler room, an allergic reaction to an unexpected food. Every state requires you to document each one. Filing the incident report also triggers parent notification.

Short version first: this narrated video files a report for a scraped knee, start to finish.

<VideoEmbed
  src="phone-teacher-incident"
  title="File an incident report from your phone (narrated, 70 seconds)"
  captions={false}
/>

## File the report

1. Open the **Dashboard** tab.
2. Tap **Incident**. It's one of the four tiles under the **Quick log** bar. Your incident list opens.
3. Tap **+** (**Report Incident**). The **Report Incident** form opens.

<ScreenshotWithPointers
  src="/screenshots/teachers/attendance/report-incident-form.png"
  alt="Report Incident form in the staff app"
  pointers={[
    { x: 29.9, y: 7.9, caption: "Screen title — 'Report Incident'" },
    { x: 1, y: 13.2, caption: "Child * — pick the child involved (single-select)" },
    { x: 2.7, y: 48.2, caption: "Incident Type — Injury, Fall, Bite, Scratch, Bump, Allergic Reaction, Behavioral, Medical, Other" },
    { x: 2.7, y: 61.2, caption: "Description * — 'What happened?' Multi-line, required" },
    { x: 2.7, y: 78.1, caption: "Body Location — 'e.g., Left knee, Right arm' (optional but very helpful for licensing)" },
    { x: 2.7, y: 90.6, caption: "Action Taken — 'What was done to help?' (what first aid, did you call the parent, etc.)" },
  ]}
/>

4. Fill in:
   - **Child** — pick from your room's roster
   - **Incident Type** — the category
   - **Description** — what happened, in plain language
   - **Body Location** — if applicable ("left knee," "under right eye")
   - **Action Taken** — first aid applied, who was called
   - **Photos** — up to 5, for injuries or the environment (optional)
   - **Witnesses** — names, comma-separated (optional)
   - **Medical care** — First aid only, Seen by a doctor or clinic, Emergency room, or Hospitalized, and whether 911 was called. Your admin uses this to report to state licensing, so pick it whenever you know.

5. Tap **Submit** (on Android, **Submit Report**).

You'll see **Incident Reported** and "The incident has been recorded and the parent has been notified."

## Who gets notified

- **The child's parents** get a push notification immediately (and email if they've enabled it)
- **Your center admin** sees the incident in their dashboard's incidents report
- **The incident** lands in the child's feed for future reference

Parents acknowledge the report in their app. Where your center asks for a signature (Texas does by default), the parent draws their signature on the report instead, and NestliCare reminds them if they haven't signed. See [Parent signatures](/owners/safety/report-and-review-incidents#parent-signatures).

## What to describe in the description

Be specific and factual. Avoid judgment or speculation:

- **Good**: "Eli tripped on the edge of the rug while running to the block area. He landed on his left knee and started crying. No cut but a small scrape was visible."
- **Not great**: "Eli was running around like usual and hurt himself."

State licensing inspectors may read these reports. Clear, factual descriptions protect your center.

## Body location matters

For any physical injury, specifying the body location is critical. "Scrape on knee" is not the same as "scrape above left eye." The more precise, the easier to defend in a dispute.

## Photos — when and when not

**Do** photograph:
- Visible injury (cut, bruise, scrape) — parents will ask
- Environment where it happened if it might need fixing (loose tile, broken fence)

**Don't** photograph:
- The child's full face in distress (dignity)
- Anything that could identify another child in the background
- The bite mark in graphic detail — document location with words if the child is upset

Photos are shared only with the child's parents and your center's staff.

## What happens after you submit

On your side:
- Incident is logged with your user ID attached
- You can open it again from the **Incident** tile on the Dashboard tab. Teachers see the reports they filed and the reports for their own rooms' children.
- On the report you can see whether the parent has signed, tap **Send reminder** (one an hour), and save or print it as a PDF with the share button (iOS) or **Share PDF** (Android).

On the admin side:
- The incident appears on the web under **Families & Children → Incidents**
- Status starts as **Open**
- An admin follows up with the parent if anything more is needed
- If the child needed care beyond first aid, the admin reports it to state licensing
- Eventually the incident is moved to **Closed** once follow-up is done

Don't try to close the incident yourself — that's an admin-side action.

## Common scenarios

### Minor scrape

- Type: Injury
- Body Location: specific
- Description: what happened + that first aid was applied
- Action Taken: ice, bandaid, hug, returned to play
- Photos: one clear shot of the scrape

### Bite (toddler room)

- Type: Bite
- Body Location: specific
- Description: describe the event, not intentions
- Action Taken: separated the kids, ice, comforted
- Photos: location of mark, not facial features
- **Don't** name the biter in the injured child's report — licensing rules treat them as separate incidents. File each biter's report separately.

### Allergic reaction

- Type: Allergic Reaction
- Description: what was served, what happened, timing
- Action Taken: medication given (if authorized), 911 if called, parent called
- Photos: rash/hives if visible

## Troubleshooting

**Child isn't in the picker.** On iPhone, the form lists the children in your home room. On Android, it lists the children checked in today. For a child in another room, ask an admin to file the report.

**"Submit" is greyed out.** Required fields missing — usually Child, Incident Type, and Description. Fill all three.

**Photo won't upload.** Switch to wifi and retry. If a photo is stuck in a failed state, tap the X to remove and try a different one.

**Submitted the wrong child.** You can't change the report after you submit it. Tell your admin. They can correct it or remove it.

**Parent says they didn't get the notification.** Ask them to check that notifications are on for NestliCare in their phone settings, and that **Incidents** is on under **Me → Settings → Notifications** in the app. The report is in their app either way.

**Teachers filed the same incident twice.** Tell your admin. They can remove the extra one.