ManageBac+ enables schools to track both Homeroom and Class Attendance, providing flexibility across different programmes and scheduling structures.

Attendance settings are configured per programme and academic year, ensuring each cohort follows the correct structure and reporting requirements.

Overview

This guide is designed for administrators configuring attendance settings across programmes in ManageBac+.

Settings can be tailored per academic year and programme, allowing schools to align attendance tracking with their internal policies and schedules.

What's New

• Programme-level attendance configuration per academic year
• Support for both homeroom and class attendance tracking
• Customisable attendance periods and rotation cycles
• Automated email notifications for parents and administrators
• Enhanced flexibility for substitute homeroom attendance in PYP

Step-by-Step Navigation

Configure School-wide Attendance Settings

Settings > Attendance & Calendar > Settings

1. Navigate to Attendance & Calendar and open the Settings section.
2. Define global attendance preferences and policies.
3. Save changes to apply across all programmes.

1. Indicate whether attendance will be Available for Homeroom, Classes, or both
2. Whether you would like Parents to submit Attendance Excusals or not
3. Send Notifications to parents when their children are absent from the Homeroom
4. Send daily and weekly attendance to Admins
5. Send weekly Attendance Digest emails to administrators on the day selected at midnight.

Configure Attendance by Programme & Academic Year

Settings > Attendance & Calendar > Programme-Level

1. Select the relevant programme 
2. Select the academic year.
3. Set attendance schedule to either Weekdays or custom Rotation cycle (e.g. 5 days)
4. Select Categories that teachers can select from including Late, Health, Dress Code, etc.
5. Customize Categories to better fit your school's naming conventions and color schemes
6. Configure holidays 
   • Click on the dates within the calendar to configure your school holidays, to remove a holiday, click the date again
   • Holidays and days off are marked in yellow not counted in the attendance total, teachers will not be able to take attendance on these days. 
7. Set weekend days per programme to determine the first day of the week in student and teacher calendars. 
   • Schools with Saturday and Sunday as weekend will see Monday as the first day of the week on the Timetable. 
   • Schools with Friday and Saturday as weekend will see Sunday as first day of the week in Timetables.

Enable Substitute Homeroom Attendance (PYP)

Settings > Attendance & Calendar > Programme-Level > IB Primary Years

1. Select IB Primary Years via Attendance Programme-Level
2. Tick Enable Substitute Recording
3. Save your configuration.

Adjust Rotation Cycle Start Day

Settings > Attendance & Calendar > Programme-Level 

1. Select programme > Academic Year > Holiday Calendar
2. Adjust the first day of the cycle by clicking on the first date in the holiday calendar.
3. Save changes.

Configure Attendance Periods

Programme Settings > Attendance Periods

You can customise the number and duration of Periods for the academic year. With additional layers of customisation available, you can now include custom periods that are not classes or have number and duration of periods specific to the grade level and rotation day of a programme. 

1. Tick the boxes if you want to:
   • change how many class periods there are each day (or in a rotating timetable),
   • add an extra early class (Period 0),
   • or have different timetables for different grade levels.

2. Based on the settings you chose earlier, you can then:

   • choose which grade levels the timetable applies to, and

   • copy the class period setup across different days of the week or rotation cycles.

3. Select the number of Periods for each day and set the times for those periods. 
   • You can also include Custom Periods which can be blocks of time in the schedule where no classes are taught, e.g. Morning Assembly or Lunch Period
4. You can copy periods configurations from previous academic years per academic programme

Enable Parent Email Notifications

Settings > Attendance & Calendar > Settings

1. Enable automated emails for homeroom absences sent to Parents
2. Save settings.

Enable Daily Attendance Digests (Admins)

Settings > Attendance & Calendar > Settings

1. Enable Homeroom Attendance Daily Digest or Weekly Attendance emails
2. Save changes.

Tips & Best Practices

• Review attendance settings at the start of each academic year.
• Align attendance periods with your timetable for accurate tracking.
• Use automated emails to improve communication with parents.
• Regularly audit attendance categories and policies.

Warnings & Important Notes

Related Articles

Recording Homeroom or Class Attendance
Configuring Class Timetables / Rotation Days
Receiving Attendance Excusals

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to configure attendance every year?

Yes, attendance settings are tied to academic years and must be reviewed or updated annually.

Can I track both homeroom and class attendance?

Yes, ManageBac+ supports both types and allows you to enable them independently.

Who receives attendance notifications?

Notifications can be configured for parents (absence alerts) and administrators (daily & weekly summaries).

In Summary

• Attendance settings are configured per programme and academic year
• ManageBac+ supports flexible attendance tracking and notifications
• Regular review ensures accurate and effective attendance management

These tools help streamline attendance tracking within ManageBac+.