Attendance Reports Parents Actually Understand

Pick the right report

SMS has nine standard reports. For parents, two cover almost everything: the Individual student report (one student's attendance and marks together) and the Attendance register (the full class register for a period).

The Individual student report is the one to send home. It answers the only question a parent really has: how is my child doing?

1. 1Open Reports from the sidebar.
2. 2Pick the Individual student report.
3. 3Choose the student and the session.

What each number means

Every report prints its own explanation at the bottom: what was included, what was left out, and how the numbers were worked out. Read it once and you can answer any parent's question.

Attendance percentage is attended periods out of recorded periods. Excused periods are left out. A blank means not marked yet — it is not an absence. If a report shows no percentage, the student has no recorded periods yet, not zero attendance.

Share it as a PDF

Export the report as a PDF and send it the way you already talk to parents — printed, or as a file. The PDF shows the same numbers you see on screen.

On paid plans you can also export as a spreadsheet or a plain file. The Free plan exports PDF only, which is the format parents need.

When a parent questions a number

Open the student's own page and look at their Attendance tab. It shows the timeline — every period, every status — so you can walk the parent through the exact days.

If a mark was corrected, the correction is recorded with a reason. You are never guessing; the record shows what happened.

Go further with visual reports

The Visual reports tab adds charts: attendance by subject, at-risk students, and more. They are the same numbers, drawn so patterns are easy to see.

Step-by-step: User guide. For the attendance itself, see How to Take Attendance in Seconds.