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Absence Follow-Up · Education & Training

Follow up every unexplained absence before morning break

AI drafts a short, neutral check-in to each guardian and counts absences in a row from your register. Office staff approve the batch, and repeat absences go to Slack.

Available now $69 one-time · never renewsIncluded in Enterprise
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Free account to start. Buying and running live need a paid plan.

  • Runs on a schedule
  • 3 AI steps
  • A person approves before it acts
  • About 25 min to set up

Sound familiar?

The job, before and after this agent.

What it feels like today

  • “The office spends the morning calling and emailing about absences.”
  • “A run of absences only gets noticed when it's already a week long.”
  • “Some follow-ups sound accusatory, and parents push back.”

What you get with the agent

  • Each school day, reads today's absences and each student's register row.
  • Skips explained absences and counts absences in a row from the register, showing how it counted.
  • Drafts a short, neutral check-in asking the guardian how to report the reason, never mentioning fines or legal action.
  • Office staff edit or hold any message, then approve the batch; each is checked and emailed.
  • Posts the day's counts and students absent 3+ days in a row to your staff channel in Slack.

Before

9:15 and the phone list is long. You call, leave voicemails, email the rest, and only on Friday notice one student has been out four days.

After

By 9:15 the check-ins are drafted and approved in one pass, and the staff channel already shows the two students on their third day out.

How it works

The whole workflow, step by step.

Each school day the agent reads today's absences from your Google Sheet and looks up each student's register row. AI skips explained absences, counts absences in a row from the register, and drafts a short, neutral check-in asking the guardian how to report the reason — never mentioning fines or legal action. Office staff approve the batch; each approved message gets a final check and is emailed. Your staff channel in Slack then gets the day's counts and the students absent 3+ days in a row. It drafts and organises for a person to approve. It isn't a safeguarding system: urgent concerns stay with staff.

  1. TriggerWeekdays at 10:00
  2. App callRead today's absences
  3. LogicKeep today's absences
  4. LogicEach absent student
  5. App callLook up the student's register row
  6. AI stepDraft the check-in (or skip)
  7. Human approvalOffice approves today's check-ins
    • Approved:Each approved check-in
    • Rejected:Count the check-ins
  8. LogicEach approved check-in
  9. AI stepFinal check on the wording
  10. LogicCheck before sending
  11. LogicSend it?
    • Passes:Email the guardian
    • Held:Held
  12. OutputEmail the guardian
  13. OutputHeld
  14. LogicCount the check-ins
  15. AI stepList repeated absences
  16. App callPost the list to Slack
  17. OutputDone for today

This is the workflow that opens in your workspace when you set the agent up. Every step can be edited.

  1. Step 1Weekdays at 10:00Runs every school day mid-morning, after registration. Set your time zone on the trigger.
  2. Step 2Read today's absencesReads your “Today's absences” tab: one row per student absent today (from your register export or a FILTER of your register), with ID, student, class, guardian, guardian email, code or reason.
  3. Step 3Keep today's absencesIn code, not AI: works out today's date in your time zone and leaves out rows dated another day (an export that wasn't refreshed). Rows without a date are kept.
  4. Step 4Each absent studentRepeats the history lookup and draft for every absence today (up to 50 per run).
  5. Step 5Look up the student's register rowFinds the student's row in your register tab (by ID), with their recent attendance marks, to count absences in a row.
  6. Step 6Draft the check-in (or skip)AI decides whether the absence is unexplained, counts the absences in a row from the register, and drafts a short, kind check-in to the guardian.
  7. Step 7Office approves today's check-insToday's drafts wait in Reviews together. Office staff edit any message, set send to false on any that shouldn't go out (a reason just came in), and approve; nothing is sent before that.
  8. Step 8Each approved check-inRepeats the checks and send for every message in the approved batch.
  9. Step 9Final check on the wordingAI reads each approved message only for fines or legal threats, safeguarding language, attendance figures, other students, accusations and AI mentions — saying the student wasn't marked present and asking how to report the reason is fine. It must quote the exact sentence it objects to.
  10. Step 10Check before sendingIn code: drafted to send, still marked to send after review, guardian email present, and a subject and body with no placeholders left — plus the wording check's verdict. Anything that fails is held, with the reason.
  11. Step 11Send it?Messages that pass every check are emailed; skipped and held ones are counted in the Slack summary.
  12. Step 12Email the guardianSends the approved check-in from your workspace's sender, with replies going to your attendance office.
  13. Step 13HeldSkipped, set to not send or stopped by a check; the reason is in the run history.
  14. Step 14Count the check-insIn code, not AI: counts the check-ins sent, skipped (explained absences), held (with the reason) and failed, from what each step really did. When the batch was rejected, every count is 0.
  15. Step 15List repeated absencesAI lists the students absent several days in a row (from the register counts) for your attendance or pastoral staff. The check-in counts are added in code.
  16. Step 16Post the list to SlackPosts the students absent 3+ days in a row and the day's check-in counts (counted in code) to your attendance or pastoral channel.
  17. Step 17Done for todayThe run history keeps the drafts, what was sent and the list posted.

Example run

What goes in, and what comes out.

Example with fictional data

Comes in

Today's absences (fictional): 9 students, 3 with reasons already given. Register shows Ava absent Monday to Wednesday.

The agent produces

6 neutral check-ins drafted for office approval. Slack: 9 absent today, 3 explained, Ava on her 3rd day in a row.

What you need

Everything it takes to run it.

About 25 minutes from purchase to live. A checklist above the canvas takes you through each step.

Plan

Included in Enterprise; on other paid plans it's $69 once. Agents run live on paid plans, from Basic ($39/mo).

Your AI key

Connect any of 14 AI providers on your own key. Your provider bills usage directly, at cost; we add no markup.

Apps

Checklist

  • A paid plan (agents run live on paid plans).
  • An AI provider key (Settings → AI Providers).
  • Google Sheets and Slack, connected in Settings → Integrations.
  • A “Today's absences” tab refreshed before each run and a register tab, both with an ID column and guardian emails.

Setup, about 25 minutes

  1. Connect your AI provider. The AI steps run on your own key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and more). Add one in Settings → AI Providers.
  2. Connect Google Sheets. Connect the Google account that can open your attendance spreadsheet (Settings → Integrations → Google Sheets).
  3. Connect Slack. Connect your Slack workspace (Settings → Integrations → Slack) and invite the app to your attendance channel.
  4. Describe your attendance rules. Open “Draft the check-in (or skip)” and replace the placeholder with your codes, reporting route and sign-off.
  5. Pick your absences and register tabs. Open “Read today's absences” and “Look up the student's register row” and pick the account, spreadsheet and tab for each. Both tabs need an ID column.
  6. Add your attendance office inbox. Open “Email the guardian” and enter the Reply-to address.
  7. Pick the staff channel. Open “Post the list to Slack” and pick your account and channel.
  8. Test it with Dry Run. Press Dry Run: the agent runs on sample data with no messages sent and nothing written to your apps.
  9. Switch the trigger on. Open the trigger, set your time zone and switch the schedule on (weekdays at 10:00). Refresh today's absences tab before it runs.

Is it a fit?

Who it's for, and what it won't do.

Built for

  • School attendance and front-office staff
  • Small private and charter schools
  • Tutoring and training centers tracking attendance

What it doesn't do

  • It drafts and organises for a person to approve; it makes no attendance or disciplinary decision.
  • It isn't a safeguarding system: urgent concerns stay with staff and your safeguarding lead.
  • The “in a row” count uses only the history in your register sheet.
  • Nothing is emailed before the office approves the batch; it never mentions fines or legal action.

We list the limits up front so you can decide before you buy.

Price

$69 one-time

Per workspace. It never renews.

Available now
  • Included at no extra cost on Enterprise.
  • Buying and running it live need a paid plan, from Basic ($39/mo).
  • Dry Run costs nothing: simulated AI and app calls, nothing sent.
  • AI usage is billed by your own provider, at cost. No AI credits to buy from us.
Get this agent See how it works

One-time agent purchases aren't covered by the 30-day money-back guarantee. Refund policy

FAQ

Questions about Absence Follow-Up.

Is it a safeguarding system?

No. It drafts routine check-ins and lists repeated absences. It makes no attendance or disciplinary decision, and any concern about a child stays with your staff and safeguarding lead.

What if a message goes to the wrong family?

Nothing is emailed before office staff approve the batch, and each message gets a final check for the guardian email and wording. Try it with Dry Run on sample rows first.

How long does setup take?

About 25 minutes: connect Google Sheets and Slack, describe your attendance rules, and pick your absences and register tabs.

Is it worth paying for?

It's a one-time purchase that never renews, set against the daily round of calls and emails. You need a paid plan and your own AI key; Dry Run is free.

What should the sheets look like?

A “Today's absences” tab (export from your register or MIS, or a FILTER of your register) with ID, Student, Class, Guardian name, Guardian email, Code and Reason; and a register tab with one row per student (same ID column) and one column per school day with the mark (P, A, L…).

How does it count days in a row?

From the student's register row: the absent marks in a row ending today. It's only as accurate as the register in the sheet.

Is it a safeguarding tool?

No. It drafts routine check-ins and lists repeated absences. Any concern about a child stays with your staff and safeguarding lead.

Is this a subscription?

No. Absence Follow-Up is a one-time purchase of $69 per workspace and never renews. The Enterprise plan includes it at no extra cost. Running it live needs a paid plan (from Basic ($39/mo)), and your AI provider bills you directly for usage.

Can I test it before it touches real data?

Yes. Once it's set up in your workspace, Dry Run plays every step on sample data with simulated AI and app calls: nothing is sent and nothing in your apps changes. Switch the trigger on only when you're happy.

Put Absence Follow-Up to work.

Free account, no credit card. Your Agents page opens with Absence Follow-Up ready to buy and set up, then Dry Run it before it goes live.

Get this agent See how it works