This guide explains how the student absence system works in Involve Education, covering how parents report absences and how staff manage them.

Overview

The student absence system creates a seamless connection between parents and school staff. Parents can report absences through the parent portal, and these reports are automatically routed to the appropriate school staff based on your school's configuration. All absence information integrates with your Management Information System (MIS) for complete attendance tracking.

Key benefits:

• Parents can report absences 24/7 from any device
• Complete audit trail of all absence reports
• Direct integration with your MIS
• Reduces phone calls and admin workload

For Parents: Reporting an Absence

Accessing the Absence Reporting System

1. Log in to the Involve parent portal
2. Navigate to your child's school page
3. Select "Report absence" from the menu

If you don't see this option, absence reporting may not be configured for your school. Contact the school office for assistance.

Step-by-Step: How to Report an Absence

The absence reporting system uses a simple three-step process:

Step 1: Select Child and Absence Type

Choose your child:

• Select which child will be absent
• You can select multiple children if more than one is absent
• If you only have one child at the school, they'll be selected automatically

Select absence type: Choose from the following categories:

• Illness - General sickness, flu, cold, etc.
• Medical/dental appointment - Doctor, dentist, hospital appointments
• Bereavement - Family bereavement requiring time off
• Religious observance - Religious holidays or observances
• Holiday - Family holiday or vacation
• Other - Any other reason (requires additional description)

Step 2: Specify Dates and Times

Set the absence period:

• Start date: When the absence begins
• End date: When the absence ends (leave blank for single-day absence)

Full day or partial day:

• All day: Leave times blank for a full-day absence
• Partial day: Enter specific start and end times if your child will miss only part of the day

Important rules:

• You cannot report absences for dates in the past
• End date must be after the start date
• Some schools limit reporting to same-day absences only
• For partial days, start time must be before end time

Step 3: Provide Additional Details

Supervision during absence: You must specify who will supervise your child:

Option 1: You will supervise (default)

• Check the box "I will be supervising my child during this absence"
• This is the standard option for most absences

Option 2: Another supervisor If someone else will supervise, provide:

• Supervisor's full name
• Their relationship to your child
• Contact phone number

Additional details:

• Add any extra information about the absence
• Explain special circumstances if relevant
• Provide context that might help staff understand the situation

Medical documentation: For extended illnesses, you may need to upload supporting documents:

• Medical certificates
• Doctor's notes
• Hospital letters

Your school will notify you if documentation is required based on the length of illness (typically after 5 days, but this varies by school).

Final confirmation:

• Review all information for accuracy
• Check the box to confirm the information is correct
• Click "Submit"

Understanding Absence Types and Codes

How Absence Types Work

When you select an absence type, the system automatically maps it to your school's official attendance codes. This ensures consistency between what parents report and what appears in the school's attendance records.

Standard Absence Mappings

Note: The exact codes may vary based on your school's configuration and which MIS they use.

Special Cases

Holiday requests: Some schools require different procedures for holiday requests. If you see a message when selecting "Holiday," follow the instructions provided (usually to contact the school office directly).

"Other" absences: When you select "Other," school staff will manually select the appropriate attendance code after reviewing your report and additional details.

For School Staff: Managing Absence Reports

How Absence Reports Reach You

When a parent submits an absence report, the system automatically routes it to the appropriate staff based on:

1. The student's year group and which division they belong to
2. The type of absence reported
3. Your school's pod configuration for absence management

Receiving Absence Notifications

You'll be notified through multiple channels:

Email notification includes:

• Subject: "Absence report: [absence type]"
• Parent's name and relationship to child
• Student name(s)
• Absence dates and times
• Full details of the report
• Link to view in Involve

In-app notification:

• Appears in your Involve dashboard
• Shows in your notification center
• Real-time alert when logged in

Mobile push notification:

• Instant alert on your mobile device (if enabled)
• Quick access to review the report

Reviewing Absence Reports

To view an absence report:

1. Click the link in your email or notification
2. Opens the absence event in Involve
3. Review all details provided by the parent
4. Check any attachments (medical notes, etc.)
5. Verify the information is complete and appropriate

What you'll see:

• Student name(s)
• Absence type and dates
• Supervision arrangements
• Additional details from parent
• Any uploaded documentation
• Parent contact information

Creating Absence Events Manually

Staff can also create absence events directly in the system (for phone calls, in-person requests, etc.):

Steps to create:

1. Create a new event in Involve
2. Select "Absence" as the event type
3. Choose students who will be absent (or select entire groups)
4. Set dates and times for the absence period
5. Select absence code (attendance officers only - this determines the MIS code)
6. Add notes about the absence
7. Save the event

Important properties:

• Absence events are hidden from student calendars (for privacy)
• Status shows as "Draft" until approved (if approval is required)
• Events sync automatically with your MIS

MIS Integration

Automatic Synchronization

Absence reports integrate seamlessly with your school's MIS:

What syncs:

• Absence dates and times
• Attendance codes
• Notes and details
• Approval status
• Parent contact information

Supported MIS systems:

• Arbor
• iSAMS
• Wonde
• Other systems via API

Planned Absence Notes

For integrated MIS systems, Involve creates "Planned Absence" notes:

What this means:

• Classroom teachers see upcoming absences in their registers
• Helps with lesson planning and preparation
• Teachers know in advance who won't be in class
• Improves communication across the school

Example: A teacher opening their register for Monday morning sees: "Emma Smith - Medical appointment 10:00-11:30 (Planned Absence)"

Attendance Code Synchronization

Real-time sync:

• When staff approve an absence, the code writes to the MIS immediately
• Updates happen in real-time during the school day
• Audit trail maintained in MIS comments

Code mapping:

• Parent selections map to your school's MIS codes
• Configured in Settings > Attendance
• Ensures consistency across systems

School Configuration

Essential Settings

To use the absence reporting system, configure these settings:

1. Student Absence Office Pod (Required)

Location: Settings > Contacts & Approvers > Student Absence Office Pod

• Select which staff pod receives absence reports
• Configure separately for each division if you have multiple
• Must be configured for parents to submit reports

2. Holiday Office Pod (Optional)

Location: Settings > Contacts & Approvers > Student Absence Office Pod

• Select which staff pod receives holiday requests specifically
• If not configured, holiday requests go to the Student Absence Office
• Or configure a custom message directing parents elsewhere

3. Absence Request Rules

Location: Settings > Contacts & Approvers > Student Absence Office Pod

Same-day only restriction:

• Enable to limit parents to reporting absences only for the current day
• Useful if you prefer advance absences to be handled differently
• Checkbox: "Only allow same day absences"

Medical note threshold:

• Set number of illness days before doctor's note required
• Default: 5 days
• Parents see upload option automatically when threshold reached
• Enter number in the field provided

Holiday message:

• Custom message shown when parents select "Holiday" as absence type
• Use if you don't accept holiday requests through the portal
• Example: "Holiday requests can't be submitted here. Please contact the school office directly."

4. Attendance Code Mappings (for 3D Attendance)

Location: Settings > Attendance

Map each absence type to your MIS attendance codes:

• Illness → I (or your code)
• Medical/dental → M (or your code)
• Bereavement → C (or your code)
• Religious observance → R (or your code)
• Holiday → H (or your code)

Important: Without proper code mappings, attendance won't save correctly to your MIS.