Reporting an absence or running late

Parents have two quick taps on every upcoming session: Won't attend (full absence) and Running late (will arrive after the start). Both notify the coach so they're never caught off guard at the door.

How it works

1. A parent opens the Parent portal and sees their child's next class on the dashboard.
2. They tap Won't attend on the session card.
3. You receive an email immediately with the student's name, class, and date.
4. The session card on the parent's dashboard changes to show "Absence reported" in red.
5. Your Today view shows a pre-absent pill on that class card with a count of how many students won't be there.

What coaches see

On the Today screen (Dashboard → Today), each class card with a reported absence shows:

• A yellow N pre-absent pill under the class name.
• The normal check-in progress bar reflecting enrolled students only.

Tapping the class opens the full register, where absent students are visible alongside present ones.

You also receive an email notification for every absence report — it includes the student's name, class, date, and any note the parent left. All coaches and owners on your club receive this email.

If a parent changes their mind

Parents can cancel a reported absence at any time from the parent dashboard. They tap Cancel report next to the session card. The pre-absent count on the Today view updates immediately and you will not receive another email (the cancellation is silent).

Running late

The lighter cousin of "won't attend" — for the child who's in the car but stuck in traffic. Parents tap Running late on the session card and pick an ETA (5, 10, 15, 20 min). You get a single push notification or email (your choice in Settings → Notifications) and the class card on the Today view picks up an orange Running late pill with the ETA.

Why have this at all?

• Don't lock the doors. If you bolt the venue door at the start of class, a late-arriving parent finds it locked and has to bang on it. The running-late ping tells you to leave it unlocked for the next 10 minutes.
• Don't mark them absent. A late tap stops you marking the student absent before they walk in.
• Less safeguarding chatter. Without this, parents WhatsApp the coach mid-session and the coach has to put the class on pause to read it.

The pill clears automatically once the student is checked in, or after the class ends. There's nothing for you to dismiss.

Tips

• No action required from you. The absence report is informational — you don't need to approve or reject it. It simply tells you who to expect.
• Absences apply to a specific session. If a student has a recurring class every Tuesday, a "Won't attend" report only covers the next upcoming session, not all future ones.
• Late reports still work. A parent can report an absence even on the morning of a session — the Today view always reflects the current state.

Encouraging parents to use it

Share this with your parents:

"If your child can't make it, please tap Won't attend on the class card in your parent portal. It takes two seconds and helps us plan ahead."

Related articles

• Recording attendance

  Use the kiosk view on a tablet or take attendance from the Attendance page. Mark students present or absent in seconds.

• Managing children

  Parent-side guide to adding multiple children, editing their details (DOB, medical, emergency contacts, photo consent), switching between children, age-out, and the 13+ self-login flow.

• Parent portal

  How parents join your club with a join code, access the parent portal, view their child's class schedule, and pay online.

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