Record or remove a child’s absence
Mark sickness or a personal holiday without changing the child’s usual schedule.
Checked against Meadow on 2026-10-12
Use an absence when a child will not attend care that was scheduled, including sickness or a family holiday reported in advance.
Record an absence
- Open the child’s profile and choose Mark absent from their available quick actions. Owners and managers can also use a day in Schedules.
- Choose the start and end dates. For one day, use the same date for both.
- Choose Out sick, On holiday or Absent and add a useful note if needed.
- Save and check the child’s status for those dates.
Parents can report absences when the setting has enabled that permission.
Choose the right kind of change
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| A child is sick or on a personal holiday | Mark absent |
| A child needs different hours on one date | This day only |
| No care is booked during the terms’ holidays | Not attending in the schedule’s outside-term choice |
| The whole setting is closed | Closure days |
An absence leaves the underlying schedule in place.
Change or remove an absence
Open the absence from the child’s record and use the available edit or remove action. In Schedules, select an affected day and choose Remove absence… where shown. Removing the absence makes the child expected again if their schedule and the setting’s opening dates say they should attend.
An absence covering today can be saved even if attendance was recorded earlier today. If the child is still checked in, saving the absence also checks them out. Review the recorded time if you are entering it later.
For other dates, existing attendance can block the absence. Check those records first. Correct an incorrect record; do not erase accurate attendance just to make an absence save.