Reporting an absence or running late

On an upcoming class, a parent taps Can't make it — on their dashboard under the child's next session, or on the child's own page. You get an email straight away, and the absence is already on the register when you open it.

Running late is a separate tap on the same card, and it only appears on the day of the class — it is the "we're in the car" signal, not the days-ahead one.

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 class card. There is no ETA to pick: it is one tap.

It shows on the day of the class and not before, whether or not you've opened the register yet. That last part changed on 14 September 2026: until then the button only appeared once a register was already open, which meant it was missing at the exact moment it exists for — ten minutes before class, with the coach not yet in the hall. A parent in that position messaged you instead.

It reaches you as a message from that parent in your inbox — "⏱️ Running late for Tuesday Juniors — Ayla on their way." If you have push notifications switched on for messages (Settings → Notifications), your phone buzzes too. It is a message, not a register change: nothing is marked for you, and the Today view doesn't change.

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.
• Don't mark them absent. Knowing they're on their way 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.

Reply to it like any other message, or don't — there's nothing to dismiss and nothing expires.

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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