Report an absence or one-off change

Let the school know your child won't be on the bus, for a single day or a stretch of days.

Who this is for: Parents and carers letting the school know about a day their child will not be on the bus.

Where it lives: The RollCall Parent App, on the Bookings tab.

Before you start: You are signed in and your child has a booking on the dates you are reporting.

Short on time? If you are in a hurry, section 2 is all you need, it walks through reporting an absence from start to finish. The rest is handy background.

1. What this guide covers

When your child is not catching the bus, a quick heads-up keeps everyone on the same page. Report it in the app and the driver's list updates, so no one waits at the stop for a child who is not coming.

This guide shows you how to report an absence for a single day or a stretch of days, how to file one fast from the timeline, and how to check what you have already reported. Your regular term booking stays in place for every other day.

2. Report an absence

Reporting an absence takes about a minute. You choose a reason, set the dates, confirm which bus journeys it affects, and submit.

1. Open Create Bus Absence. From the Bookings tab, check the right child is selected, then tap Make a change and tap the Create Bus Absence card, the first one. The form is on screen straight away.
2. Choose a reason and the dates. Tap the reason that fits, such as Sick or Bus Absence. Tap the From pill to set the first day, then the To pill for the last day. For a single day, set both to the same date.

   
   

   

   Reason, dates, affected journeys, confirm: the whole form on one screen.

   
   

3. Confirm the affected journeys. The Affected routes card lists every bus journey your child is booked on across those dates, all ticked to start. Untick any the absence does not apply to, keep at least one, then tick I confirm this absence applies to the route(s) and date(s) above.
4. Add a note, then submit. Add a short note if the school office should know anything, for example that a grandparent is collecting them. Tap Submit Absence, then tap OK on the Success message.
   The absence is on file for the journeys you confirmed, and you land back on the Bookings tab.

Tip: Report the absence as early as you can. The bus leaves on time whether or not the absence is filed, so an early heads-up means the driver has the right information from the moment the trip begins.

3. Absence or short-term change?

It helps to know which tool fits. Report an absence when your child will not be on the bus at all, for a sick day, a family trip, or an afternoon a grandparent collects them. The seat is held, the school has a clear record, and your child is expected back on the bus automatically once the dates end.

Use a short-term change instead when your child is still travelling, just from a different stop or on a day they do not usually catch the bus. That moves the seat rather than marking it unused. If you are ever unsure, reporting an absence keeps the clearest record.

4. File a day absent from the timeline

If you are already looking at the ten-day timeline, there is a faster way to report a single-day absence.

1. Open the timeline and tap the day. From Make a change, tap Short-term Bus Change, then tap the booked slot for the day your child will be away.
2. Tap Mark as Absent. The Create Bus Absence form opens with the child, the single day, and the Bus Absence reason already filled in. Confirm the affected journeys, tick the confirmation, and tap Submit Absence.

Worth knowing: If the option reads Marked as Absent and is greyed out, an absence already covers that day, so there is nothing more to do.

5. Check what you've reported

Every absence you file is kept in one place, so you can see what is on record before you file another.

1. Open Absence History. On the Create Bus Absence screen, tap the history icon in the top corner. Your absences appear grouped by month, newest first, covering every child on your account.
2. Tap a row for the detail. Tap any absence to see the full dates, the reason, any note, and when it was filed. Pull down to refresh if something you just filed has not appeared yet.

Tip: Check the history before filing a new absence. It is easy to file a duplicate when both parents are using the app.

6. How the school and driver see it

Once you submit, the school office sees the absence in their dashboard with your reason and any note, and the driver's list updates for each affected trip. Your child is not expected to scan on, and no one waits at the stop for them.

When the dates end, your child is expected back on the bus automatically, with nothing further for you to do. If your plans change and your child travels after all, just have them catch the bus as normal, and the driver reconciles what they see at the stop.

Questions parents ask

Can I cancel an absence I filed?

The app does not let you remove an absence yourself yet. If you filed one by mistake, or your plans change, contact your school office and ask them to clear it. Once it is cleared, your child is expected on the bus as normal again.

What's the difference between an absence and removing a booking?

An absence keeps the booking on file and tells the school your child will not be travelling, with a clear reason. Removing a booking simply frees the seat, with no record of why. When the school needs to know your child is away, an absence is the right choice.

I'm reporting this after the bus has already left.

File it anyway. You are not the first parent to report after the bus has gone. It still gives the driver and the school office a record of why your child was not on board, and there is no late penalty for filing after departure.

Will I be refunded for a day my child is away?

Whether a missed day affects the cost depends on your school's policy, and each school handles it differently. If you have a question about charges, contact your school office.

The form says there are no bookings on those dates.

The absence form needs at least one bus booking inside the dates you picked. Check the dates and that the right child is selected. If your child genuinely has no booking on those days, there is nothing for the bus system to mark, so let the school know through your usual attendance channel instead.

The reason I need isn't in the list.

The six reasons are the same at every school and cannot be changed. Pick the closest one, and use the notes field to give the school office the detail.

I'm a carer and I can't find Create Bus Absence.

Carers can file absences once the primary parent has shared booking access. If the Make a change button is missing or the Create Bus Absence card is greyed out, ask the primary parent to check your access.

This guide describes the RollCall Parent App version 4.0.0. Updated July 2026.