Attendance policies for language schools: a practical guide

A missed lesson costs a school either way. Charge for it and the student may feel it's unfair; don't, and the teacher's time and the seat in the group are lost. An attendance policy settles this once, in advance, so nobody has to argue it case by case.

What to cover

A good policy answers these questions in a few lines each:

• Cancelling in time. How much notice a student must give for a lesson not to count, for example 24 hours, and how they tell you.
• No-shows. Whether a lesson missed without notice is charged.
• Lateness. Whether a late arrival counts as attended, and whether the lesson still ends on time.
• Make-up lessons. Whether a missed lesson can be made up in another group or later, and for how long.
• Illness and emergencies. Whether you make exceptions, and who decides.
• School closures. That lessons on holidays and other closed days are not charged.
• Packages. Whether lessons expire, and what happens to them if a student leaves.

Group and one-to-one lessons are different

In a group class the lesson happens whether or not one student comes, so many schools charge missed group lessons and offer a make-up slot instead. In one-to-one lessons the teacher's hour is booked for one person, so the notice period matters more. Different rules for each are fine, as long as both are written down.

Keep it short and visible

Put the policy on one page. Show it when a student signs up or buys a package, and send it again at the start of each term. A policy students have never seen is hard to enforce.

Apply it the same way every time

Exceptions are where policies fall apart: if one teacher waives a no-show and another doesn't, students notice. Decide who may make exceptions, ask for a reason and keep a record of it. The next time someone asks, you can see what was decided before.

Review it each term

Look at how often each rule was used. If many students miss lessons at the same time of year, adjust the schedule rather than the policy. If you keep making the same exception, it probably belongs in the policy.

How Lessora does it

In Lessora you set the rules once under School settings → Lessons and balances: whether late arrivals, absences with notice and absences without notice use a lesson. Teachers mark attendance after class, and balances follow those rules. Students can tap I can't come to tell you about an absence, closures you add keep holidays free of lessons, and a teacher can waive a single charge only with a reason, which stays in the history.